Transferable patient care equipment support

• US 7,748,672 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2007
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Walke, James L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shriver, II; J. Allen
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH, ERIN W
• Application Number:
  US11/851,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20090065668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 248/288.11, 248/289.11, 248/292.12, 748/13.L, 748/13.R, 403/92, 403/93, 403/94, 403/95, 403/96
• US Class Current: 248/207
• 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 12/004 mounted on the ceiling
• 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: F16B 9/00 Connections of rods or tubular parts to flat surfaces at an angle with a part of or on one member entering a hole in the other and involving plastic deformation F16B17/006; friction-grip releasable fastenings in general F16B2/00; making press-fit connections B23P11/00, B23P19/00; fluid-tight connecting of pipes to reservoirs, sheets, or the like F16L, e.g. joining pipes or rods conveying fluids to walls F16L41/00

Abstract

A patient care equipment support is transferable between a first device having a first coupling member and a second device having a second coupling member. The equipment support comprises an equipment supporting portion configured to support patient care equipment, and a coupler extending downwardly from the equipment supporting portion. The coupler has a central opening and a plurality of peripheral openings disposed about the central opening. The first coupling member engages the central opening and at least one of the peripheral openings when the equipment support is carried by the first device. The second coupling member engages the central opening and at least one of the remaining peripheral openings when the equipment support is transferred to the second device.

Claims

1. A patient care equipment support for use with a device having a coupling, the equipment support comprising:

an equipment supporting portion configured to support patient care equipment, and

a coupler extending downwardly from the equipment supporting portion, the coupler having a post with a central opening and an annular ring coupled to the post and having a plurality of peripheral openings disposed about the central opening, the coupling having a first portion that extends upwardly into the central opening with an upper end of the first portion terminating within the central opening of the post when the equipment support is carried by the device, and the coupling having a second portion extending upwardly into at least one of the peripheral openings of the annular ring when the equipment support is carried by the device.

2. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein the central opening is located below the plurality of the peripheral openings.

3. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein the plurality of peripheral openings are arranged in a generally circular pattern concentric with the central opening.

4. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein the post has a lower portion extending downwardly from the annular ring.

5. The equipment support of claim 4, wherein the central opening of the post has a generally circular cross section.

6. The equipment support of claim 4, wherein the second portion of the coupling comprises a pair of pins that are received in a respective pair of adjacent peripheral openings of the annular ring when the equipment support is carried by the device.

7. The equipment support of claim 6, wherein the central opening opens through a downwardly-facing surface of the post.

8. The equipment support of claim 6, wherein the central opening is located at a lower elevation than the plurality of the peripheral openings.

9. The equipment support of claim 4, wherein the post has an upper portion extending upwardly from the annular ring.

10. The equipment support of claim 4, wherein a first distance between the annular ring and the equipment supporting portion is greater than a second distance between the annular ring and a lower end of the post.

11. The equipment support of claim 4, wherein the post is rotatable relative to the annular ring about a longitudinal axis.

12. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein each peripheral opening has a non-round cross section.

13. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein each peripheral opening has a generally heart-shaped cross section.

14. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein each peripheral opening has an upwardly tapering conical wall.

15. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein the plurality of peripheral openings comprises ten openings arranged in a generally circular pattern concentric with the central opening.

16. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein the equipment support comprises one of an IV pole and a rack adapted to carry infusion equipment.

17. The equipment support of claim 1, wherein the device comprises one of a hospital bed, an arm system, a wheeled cart or stand, a surgery table and a stretcher.

18. A patient care equipment support comprising:

an equipment supporting portion configured to support patient care equipment, and

a post extending downwardly from the equipment supporting portion, the post having a central opening, and

an annular member coupled to a lower portion of the post with a first portion of the post extending downwardly from the annular member and a second portion of the post extending upwardly from the annular member, the annular member having a plurality of peripheral openings arranged in a generally circular pattern concentric with the central opening.

19. The equipment support of claim 18, wherein the post has a generally circular cross section.

20. The equipment support of claim 18, wherein the central opening opens through a downwardly-facing surface of the post.

21. An apparatus for use with a patient care equipment support that has a first coupler having a post with a central opening and an annular ring with a plurality of peripheral openings arranged in a generally circular pattern concentric with the central opening, the apparatus comprising:

a support,

an arm extending outwardly from the support, and

a second coupler including a coupling member carried by the arm and having an upwardly extending lower pin configured to engage the central opening and the second coupler further including a body carried by the arm and two upper pins extending upwardly from the body to be received in two respective peripheral openings of the plurality of peripheral openings when the equipment support is carried by the apparatus.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the body of the second coupler has a concave surface that abuts an outer surface of the post when the equipment support is carried by the apparatus.

23. A system comprising:

a first device having a first coupling,

a second device having a second coupling, and

a patient care equipment support comprising;

an equipment supporting portion configured to support patient care equipment, and

a coupler extending downwardly from the equipment supporting portion, the coupler having a post with a central opening and an annular member with a plurality of peripheral openings disposed about the central opening, wherein the first coupling includes a first portion received in the central opening and a second portion received in at least one of the peripheral openings when the equipment support is carried by the first device, and wherein the second coupling includes a third portion received in the central opening and a fourth portion received in at least one of the remaining peripheral openings when the equipment support is transferred to the second device, wherein first and third portions of the first coupling and second coupling, respectively, occupy respective portions of the central opening at the same time during transfer of the patient care equipment support from the first device to the second device.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the equipment support is transferred from the first device to the second device as the first coupling carrying the equipment support is lowered while the second coupling is generally aligned with the central opening and said at least one of the remaining peripheral openings to a position where the first coupling is at a lower elevation than the coupler permitting the second coupling to carry the equipment support and allowing the first device to move away from the second device.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the equipment support is transferred from the first device to the second device by raising the second coupling while the second coupling is generally aligned with the central opening and said at least one of the remaining peripheral openings to a position where the coupler is at a higher elevation than the first coupling permitting the second coupling to carry the equipment support and allowing the first device to move away from the second device.

26. A patient care equipment support transferable between a first device having a first coupling and a second device having a second coupling, the equipment support comprising:

an equipment supporting portion configured to support patient care equipment, and

a coupler extending downwardly from the equipment supporting portion, the coupler having a central opening and a plurality of peripheral openings disposed about the central opening, wherein the first coupling engages the central opening and a first set of two peripheral openings and the second coupling engages the central opening and a second set of two peripheral openings as the patient care equipment support is transferred from the first device to the second device, wherein portions of the first coupling and second coupling occupy respective portions of the central opening at the same time during transfer of the patient care equipment support from the first device to the second device.

27. The equipment support of claim 26, wherein the equipment support comprises one of an IV pole and a rack adapted to carry infusion equipment.

28. The equipment support of claim 26, wherein the first device comprises one of a hospital bed, an arm system, a wheeled cart or stand, a surgery table and a stretcher.

29. The equipment support of claim 26, wherein the second device comprises one of a hospital bed, an arm system, a wheeled cart or stand, a surgery table and a stretcher.