Arrangement for transfer of a trolley between suspended rails and suspended rail system comprising such an arrangement

Abstract

An arrangement for safe transition of a trolley between a first and a second suspended rail when they are in an end-to-end position with each other, and for safe operation of the trolley when the rails are in un-aligned positions relative each other. The arrangement comprises a liftable first stop member, a liftable second stop member and two pairs of engaging members.

The liftable stop members are adapted to block the trolley from accidentally leaving the rails when the rails are in the un-aligned positions, and to unblock the rails when the rails are in the end-to-end position. The engaging members of the pairs of engaging members are arranged to engage with each other when the rails are in the end-to-end position to lift the stop members, thereby unblocking the rails in order to allow a transition between the rails.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention relates to the field of suspended rail systems for patient lifts. In particular, the invention relates to a system for allowing safe transfer of a patient lift trolley between two suspended rails.TECHNICAL BACKGROUND[0002]Patient lifts which ride on suspended rail systems are commonly used as an aid for lifting, lowering and moving persons who need such assistance, for example patients, elderly or disabled persons. The patient lift is usually coupled to a trolley which rides in a rail of the suspended rail system. Such suspended rail systems may comprise primary rails which are non-movable, e.g. attached to the ceiling, and one or more secondary rails which are suspended from the primary rails and movable relative these. There may arise a need to transfer the patient lift from one secondary rail to another, or between a secondary rail and a fixed rail, or between any two rails. This type of transfer may be achieved by positioning t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004]It is an object of the present invention to provide a time-efficient and safe arrangement for allowing transition of a trolley between a first and a second suspended rail, and for preventing the trolley from accidentally leaving the rails, and at the same time providing such an arrangement with a simple and cost-effective construction. A further object of the present invention is to provide a suspended rail system comprising such an arrangement.

Problems solved by technology

One problem with such a mechanism may be that both secondary rails need to be moved to the predetermined position where a guide is attached to a primary rail in order to make a transfer possible.

Another problem is that the trolley may accidentally leave one of the rails, thereby causing an accident, because a stop member may be lifted without having another rail positioned end-to-end, e.g. when a rail is positioned such that its stop member wheel engages with a guide which is attached to a primary rail.

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