Patient care equipment management system

• US 20050000019A1
• Filed: 03/17/2004
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Newkirk, David C., Cerimele, Michael E., Schwartz, Steven J., Graham, Mark A., Ruehl, John W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,065,812 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 5/600
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/002 Supply appliances, e.g. columns for gas, fluid, electricity supply vertical ducts or channels for receiving utility lines E04F17/08; installations of electric cables or lines, wall trunking H02G3/0431; structural combinations of lighting devices with other articles F21V33/0068; stands or trestles as supports for apparatus or articles F16M11/00; buildings for public purposes E04H3/08
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/005 mounted on the wall
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/008 mounted on a mobile base, e.g. on a trolley
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 13/107 Supply appliances supply appliances for dental machines A61C1/0007
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/80 for connecting a trolley to a device, e.g. bed or column table
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/012 raising or lowering of the whole mattress frame A61G7/005, A61G7/008 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/0503 Holders, support devices for receptacles, e.g. for drainage or urine bags hanging-up devices for infusion A61M5/1414
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1415 Stands, brackets or the like for supporting infusion accessories
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1417 Holders or handles for hanging up infusion containers
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/18 with mechanism for moving the apparatus relatively to the stand
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/2014 around a vertical axis F16M11/2035 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/28 Undercarriages for supports with one single telescoping pillar
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/34 Members limiting spreading of legs , e.g. "umbrella legs"
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/42 with arrangement for propelling the support stands on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/022 repositionable
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 2200/063 Parallelogram arms
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 2200/065 with a special structure, e.g. reinforced or adapted for space reduction

Abstract

An equipment management system provides an equipment support for supporting patient care equipment. The equipment support may be mountable on an arm that extends from a wall, on a column depending from the arm, on a wall mount, on a stand, or on a patient support. Various methods may be used to vertically move the equipment support up and down to engage and disengage the equipment support from supporting devices.

Claims

1. An apparatus for supporting patient care equipment relative to a patient support, the apparatus comprising

an engager coupled to the patient support,

an equipment support to be coupled to the engager, and

a stand to be removably coupled to the equipment support, the stand comprising a set of legs movable between a storage position and a use position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of legs is configured to be suspended above the floor in the storage position when the stand is supported in a first position, and the set of legs is configured to engage the floor and move from the storage position to the use position as the stand moves from the first position to a second, floor-engaging position.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the engager comprises a support arm and a coupler positioned on a distal end of the support arm.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support arm is pivotably mounted on the patient support.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the support arm comprises a post receiver and the equipment support comprises a post, and the post is receivable in the post receiver to couple the equipment support to the support arm.

6. A system for supporting patient care equipment, the system comprising a patient support having a base frame and an intermediate frame movable between a raised and lowered position relative to the base frame, the patient support having a head end and sides,

a support arm coupled to the intermediate frame, and

an equipment support configured to be mounted on the support arm, the equipment support carrying medical equipment for monitoring the patient,

wherein the equipment support can be moved between a use position at the head end of the patient support and a transport position along a selected one of the sides of the patient support.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the support arm is pivotably coupled to the intermediate frame.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the patient support has a longitudinal axis, and the support arm is pivotable between a substantially longitudinally extending position and a substantially laterally extending position relative to the patient support.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the equipment support is configured to be supported at least partially over the patient support when the equipment support is mounted on the support arm and the support arm is in the laterally extending position.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the support arm has a distal end that is vertically below the intermediate frame when the arm is in the laterally extending position.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the equipment support includes a post and the support arm includes a post receiver for receiving the post.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the post is conical frustum shaped.

13. The system of claim 6, further comprising a stand for supporting the equipment support, the stand having collapsible legs that extend when the equipment support is lowered into its resting position on the floor and collapse into a transport position when the stand is raised off of the floor.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein each collapsible leg has a castor wheel mounted thereon.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein each collapsible leg has a slide pad mounted thereon.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein each collapsible leg has a joint, the joint connecting two upper leg members with a single lower leg member.

17. The system of claim 6, wherein the equipment support is rotatably mounted on the support arm.

18. An equipment support system comprising

a telescoping arm configured to be mounted relative to a hospital wall to extend therefrom, the arm comprising

a proximal portion having a mount end pivotably mounted relative to the wall and a second end extending away from the wall, and

a distal portion coupled to the second end of the proximal portion and configured to telescope relative to the proximal portion, and

an equipment support coupled to the distal portion and configured to support patient care equipment thereon.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the proximal portion of the telescoping arm does not pivot relative to the distal portion.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising a console configured to house the telescoping arm and the equipment support when the system is not in use.

21. A patient care equipment stand to be positioned relative to a patient in a patient support, the stand comprising

a hub,

a plurality of legs attached to the hub, the legs have a deployed, use position and a transport position,

a spring for biasing the hub and legs toward the transport position, and

an actuator for moving the hub and legs to the deployed, use position when the actuator contacts a support surface.

22. The stand of claim 21, further comprising a central post, wherein the hub comprises a ring circumscribing the post.

23. The stand of claim 21, further comprising a link extending between the hub and the plurality of legs.

24. The stand of claim 21, wherein the actuator is a hollow tube configured to sleeve over the central post, the tube having a first, floor-engaging end and a second, hub-engaging end.

25. An apparatus for supporting a patient and medical equipment relative to a floor of a hospital room, the apparatus comprising

a patient support having a base on the floor and a patient-support portion that is supported above the base,

a motorized lift coupled to the patient-support portion, the motorized lift having a distal end movable between a raised and lowered position, and

an equipment support coupled to the distal end of the support arm.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the motorized lift comprises a top frame member and a bottom frame member movable relative to the top frame member.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the motorized lift includes actuator buttons for controlling movement of the motorized lift between the raised and lowered positions.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the motorized lift comprises a linear actuator.

29. An apparatus for supporting medical equipment in a patient care environment, the apparatus comprising

an equipment support having a frame for supporting medical equipment and a post extending downwardly therefrom,

wherein the post is configured to be received by any one of the group comprising a patient support post receiver, a stand post receiver, a support arm post receiver, and a wall-mounted post receiver.