Caregiver lifting harness and use thereof

Abstract

A lifting harness for assisting a worker to transfer a load is provided, the lifting harness comprising: a belt; a pair of lifting pads slidably mounted on the belt; a back including a pair of arms attached to the belt, the pair of arms converging towards a distal end; a loop proximate to the distal end; and a mobile lifting strap, the mobile lifting strap including a strap first distal end, a strap second distal end and a length therebetween, the length slidably extending through the loop; a first lifting loop proximate to the strap first distal end; and a second lifting loop proximate to the strap second distal end.

Claims

1. A lifting harness for assisting a worker to transfer a load, the lifting harness comprising: a belt; a pair of lifting pads slidably mounted on the belt; a back including a pair of arms attached to the belt, the pair of arms converging towards a distal end and a leg extending between the loop and the arms; a loop proximate to the distal end; and a mobile lifting strap, the mobile lifting strap including a strap first distal end, a strap second distal end and a length therebetween, the length including a cylindrical section, the cylindrical section slidably extending through the loop; a first lifting loop proximate to the strap first distal end; and a second lifting loop proximate to the strap second distal end.

2. The lifting harness of claim 1, wherein the loop is a tunnel member.

3. The lifting harness of claim 2, wherein the back is adjustable.

4. The lifting harness of claim 3, wherein the lifting pads each include two apertures and the lifting pads threadedly, adjustably engage the belt.

5. The lifting harness of claim 3, wherein each lifting pad includes a protrusion extending inward from the belt.

6. The lifting harness of claim 5, wherein the lifting harness comprises webbing.

7. The lifting harness of claim 6, wherein the lifting loops are padded.

8. The lifting harness of claim 7, further comprising a first proximal lifting loop which is proximal to the first lifting loop and a second proximal lifting loop which is proximal to the second lifting loop.

9. The lifting harness of claim 8, wherein the lifting loops are adjustable.

10. The lifting harness of claim 9, wherein the mobile lifting strap is adjustable.

11. A method of transferring a load, the method comprising: providing a user with a lifting harness which comprises a belt, a pair of lifting pads slidably mounted on the belt, a back including a pair of arms attached to the belt, the pair of arms converging towards a distal end, a loop proximate to the distal end, and a mobile lifting strap, the mobile lifting strap including a strap first distal end, a strap second distal end and a length therebetween, the length slidably extending through the loop, a first lifting loop proximate to the strap first distal end, and a second lifting loop proximate to the strap second distal end; the user donning the lifting hardness; adjusting the lifting pads on both sides of the user's waist, in the soft tissue between the user's lower rib cage and their pelvic brim; tightening the belt to create a protuberance in the lifting pads that indents the soft tissue; adjusting a length of the back; placing at least one wrist of the user through a lifting loop on each of a left side and a right side of the mobile lifting strap; and lifting the load with the user's wrist.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the load is a patient.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic of the harness of the present technology.

(2) FIG. 2A is an exploded view of the belt of the harness of FIG. 1 or a transfer belt with flexible lifting pads; FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a flexible, soft protrusion on a lifting pad extending inward from the belt. FIG. 2C is a perspective view of the belt with firm or hard protrusions on the lifting pads extending inward from the belt.

(3) FIG. 3 is a front view of the harness on a worker.

(4) FIG. 4 is a back view of the harness on the worker.

(5) FIG. 5 is an alternative embodiment of the harness of FIG. 1.

(6) FIG. 6A is a side view of the harness on the worker showing loading of the forces on the harness and the worker; and FIG. 6B shows the lifting pads protruding into the soft tissue of the user's torso.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) Except as otherwise expressly provided, the following rules of interpretation apply to this specification (written description and claims): (a) all words used herein shall be construed to be of such gender or number (singular or plural) as the circumstances require; (b) the singular terms “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in the specification and the appended claims include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise; (c) the antecedent term “about” applied to a recited range or value denotes an approximation within the deviation in the range or value known or expected in the art from the measurements method; (d) the words “herein”, “hereby”, “hereof”, “hereto”, “hereinbefore”, and “hereinafter”, and words of similar import, refer to this specification in its entirety and not to any particular paragraph, claim or other subdivision, unless otherwise specified; (e) descriptive headings are for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any part of the specification; and (f) “or” and “any” are not exclusive and “include” and “including” are not limiting. Further, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted.

(8) Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. Where a specific range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range, is included therein. All smaller sub ranges are also included. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges are also included therein, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range.

(9) Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the relevant art. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also be used, the acceptable methods and materials are now described.

(10) A lifting harness, generally referred to as 10, is shown in FIG. 1. It includes a belt 12, lifting pads 14, which are slidably mounted on the belt 12, an inverted Y-shaped back, generally referred to as 16, a mobile lifting strap 20 and a stretchable chest strap 23 which is attached to each side of the mobile lifting strap 20. With the exceptions of the closures and adjustors, the lifting harness 10 is made of fabric and in the preferred embodiment, webbing.

(11) The back 16 has two arms 22, 24 that are attached to the belt 12 and converge to a leg 26. The back 16 can be adjusted to different lengths for optimal fit. The distal end of the leg 28 is adjustably attached to a tunnel member 30, which in one embodiment is a loop of webbing. A suitable adjustor is a side quick release buckle 32. The tunnel member 30 is slidably mounted on a cylindrical section 34 which extends between the mobile lifting strap 20 and is continuous with them, thus the mobile lifting strap 20 and the cylindrical section 34 form one continuous mobile lifting strap. The distal ends 40 of the mobile lifting strap 20 are fitted with two padded loops, a proximal loop 42 and a distal loop 44, one proximal to the other. Vertical adjustment of the padded loops 42, 44 is accomplished by adjusting the length of the tunnel member 30 or leg 26 with the side quick release buckle 32.

(12) In an alternative embodiment, the two arms 22, 24 converge at the side quick release buckle 32 and there is no leg 26. In either embodiment the two arms 22, 24 may be adjustably attached to the belt 12 with a side quick release buckle or may include an adjustor along their length, such as a cinch.

(13) As shown in FIG. 2A the belt 12 has an adjustable buckle 46 which is a side quick release buckle. Each lifting pad 14 has two apertures 48, 50 through which the belt 12 is threaded. This allows for horizontal adjustment of the lifting pads 14. The lifting pads 14 are to be located on the soft tissue of the torso between the lower rib cage and the pelvic brim. This lifting zone is where the soft tissues are easily displaced without injury or discomfort. In one embodiment, the lifting pads 14 form lifting ledges when the belt 12 is tightened around the user's waist, causing the lifting pads 14 to form protuberances which press into the soft tissue. The lifting pads are flexible. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 2B the lifting pads 14 are a soft material which includes a protuberance 52 which is thicker, for example, about 1 cm to about 3 cm deep and that extend inward from the belt 12. The protuberance 52 is soft. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 2C, the protuberance is firm or hard. In all embodiments, the lifting pad 14 itself or the lifting pad protuberance 52 protrude into the soft tissue on both sides of the waist between the lower rib cage and the pelvic brim.

(14) FIG. 3 shows a back view of the harness 10 on a caregiver. The lifting pads 14 are correctly placed on the torso between the lower rib cage and the pelvic brim. The inverted Y-shaped back 16 transmits large upward vertical forces to the lifting pad 14 when the caregiver loads the harness 10.

(15) FIG. 4 shows a front view of the harness 10 on the caregiver. The padded loops 42, 44 are positioned on the caregiver's chest ready for use. These can be adjusted vertically.

(16) In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the shoulder straps are independent and each shoulder strap 18, 20 includes an adjustor 54 for adjusting the height of the padded loops 42, 44. In yet another embodiment, both the size and the height of the padded loops 42, 44 can be adjusted with adjustors on each padded loop 42, 44.

(17) FIG. 6A shows a side view of the harness 10 on the caregiver. The caregiver's wrists rest on the selected padded loops 42, 44, leaving the caregiver's hands free to grasp the patient. The arrows indicate the force exerted by the weight of the patient. Much of the weight is transferred to the lifting pads 14, which are pressed into the torso between the pelvic brim and the lower rib cage (the lifting zone) by the weight. There are various configurations that can be used by the caregiver, ranging from both wrists being in the same padded loop, for example 42 on both sides of the mobile lifting strap 20, to one wrist being in one padded loop 42 on one side while the other wrist is in another padded loop 44 on the other side, to one wrist remaining free and the other wrist resting on the loop 42 or 44 from both sides of the mobile lifting strap 20. Additionally, even if the wrists are in the same padded loop 42 or 44 on each side of the mobile lifting strap 20, one may be positioned higher than the other. Adjusting the position of the wrists is on the fly and allows for adjustments in and out, up and down and front to back. As shown in FIG. 6B, the lifting pads 14 provide horizontal grip as they indent the torso in the lifting zone. This lifting zone is where the soft tissues are easily displaced without injury or discomfort. The lifting pads 14 allow the caregiver to use the strength of their core, rather than the strength of their arms and shoulders to lift the patient. This allows the caregiver to lift a much higher weight than without the harness 10. Further, the harness 10 allows the caregiver to position themselves in a multitude of vertical and horizontal positions that are normally required when lifting and transferring a patient. The design of the harness 10 allows a caregiver or first responder to lift weights normally too large for the arm and shoulder muscles and to transfer the weight to large trunk and thigh muscles via the lifting pads 14. The mobile lifting strap 20 with 2 loops on either side translate into using one or both arms in a multitude of awkward vertical and horizontal positions that are normally required when lifting patients.

(18) In another alternative embodiment, a pair of lifting pads are provided on a transfer belt, which is worn by a patient. This is analogues to what is depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B. As shown in FIG. 2A, the belt 12, which is an exemplary transfer belt, has an adjustable buckle 46 which is a side quick release buckle. Each lifting pad 14 has two apertures 48, 50 through which the belt 12 is threaded. This allows for horizontal adjustment of the lifting pads 14. The lifting pads 14 are to be located on the soft tissue of the torso between the lower rib cage and the pelvic brim. This lifting zone is where the soft tissues are easily displaced without injury or discomfort. In one embodiment, the lifting pads 14 form lifting ledges when the belt 12 is tightened around the patient's waist, causing the lifting pads 14 to form protuberances which press into the soft tissue. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the lifting pads 14 are a firm material which includes a protuberance 52 which is thicker, for example, about 1 cm to about 3 cm deep and that extend inward from the belt 12, along the length of the lifting pad 14, such that they protrude into the soft tissue of the patient. When used with a transfer belt, the lifting pads 14 allow the force of lifting to be transferred to the soft tissue of the torso between the lower rib cage and the pelvic brim. This is much more comfortable for the patient. The transfer belt 12 is tightened around the patient and the lifting pads 14 are adjusted so that they are in the lifting zone. Force is exerted and the patient is moved.

(19) In yet another embodiment, the transfer belt is integrated into an exoskeleton that fits a patient's torso. The exoskeleton or any extension of the transfer belt further distributes the weight of the patient. It includes attachment points, such as metal rings, to allow the patient to be attached to a lifting mechanism. The lifting pads and transfer belt function as described above, allowing the patient to be transferred, or brough from a sitting to a standing position with most of the pressure being exerted to the lifting zone.

(20) While example embodiments have been described in connection with what is presently considered to be an example of a possible most practical and/or suitable embodiment, it is to be understood that the descriptions are not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the example embodiment. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific example embodiments specifically described herein. Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed in the scope of the claims, if appended hereto or subsequently filed.