Person Hoist Clamping Device for Safe Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hoists for moving persons lack secure and natural movement paths, often causing unsafe situations and discomfort due to excessive freedom of movement and uneven loading, particularly for individuals with conditions like hemiplegia or hemiparesis.
Innovation Solution
A hoist with a clamping device featuring pivotally connected clamping elements that actively engage the person's chest and legs, allowing for controlled, natural movement paths and secure positioning, using actuators to manage the lifting column's position and the clamping elements' force, mimicking the assistance of a care worker.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a lifting belt is used to move a person, then the person can be moved from seated to standing position, but the person has excessive freedom of movement which creates unsafe situations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible lifting belt that wraps around the person's body, providing support while maintaining comfort. The belt's flexibility allows it to conform to the body shape while the clamping elements provide controlled restriction of movement to ensure safety during the lifting operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamping elements can adjust their clamping force and position along the lifting belt, changing the parameters of restriction dynamically. This allows the system to provide appropriate support while limiting excessive freedom of movement, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and safety.
2Force
If armpit supports are used to provide lifting force, then the person can be supported, but considerable lifting force is exerted on the armpits which is painful
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of concentrating lifting force on single armpit supports, the patent segments the lifting force distribution across multiple clamping elements positioned at different locations on the person's body (chest, waist, legs). This distributes the mechanical stress and prevents painful concentration of force on sensitive areas like armpits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from vertical armpit support to a multi-dimensional clamping system that engages the body at multiple levels and orientations. The clamping elements can be positioned at various heights and angles, distributing the lifting force across the entire body rather than concentrating it at the armpits.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed guide path is used for clamping movement, then only a single lifting movement is possible, but the path cannot be adapted to different user needs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamically adjustable clamping elements that can move along the lifting belt and change their position and orientation during operation. This dynamic capability allows the system to adapt to different user needs and movement paths without requiring complex fixed guide mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A hoist for moving persons, provided with a base structure, provided with one lifting column having a straight longitudinal axis and a lower end and which is provided with a first actuator for realizing a lifting movement, provided with a clamping device which is connected to the lifting column so as to be movable in the direction of the longitudinal axis and has at least one set of cooperating clamping elements which are designed for clamping a person to be moved, provided with a horizontal shaft by which the lifting column is pivotally connected to the base structure, and provided with a second actuator connected to the lifting column and to the base structure, and configured for varying the pivotal position of the lifting column with respect to the base structure.