Apparatus for transferring patients

Claim 1

A self contained patient transferring device for attachment to a transfer cart having a height-adjustable, horizontal platform sufficient to hold a patient and wheels for ease of moving the transfer cart from place to place, said patient transferring device comprising: a pair of slider mechanisms; a plurality of parallel disposed rollers outlining an upper track and a plurality of parallel disposed rollers outlining a lower track, all of said rollers journaled to and between said pair of slider mechanisms, the length of said rollers being sufficient to support a patient in a prone position along his length and the rollers of the upper track being displaced along the slider mechanism sufficient to support his width; a pair of superposed endless belts, one of said endless belts stretched around the plurality of rollers outlining the upper track and a second of said endless belts stretched around the pluraliTy of rollers outlining the lower track, both of said endless belts being of sufficient width to cover the rollers; said pair of slider mechanisms, the pairs of parallel disposed rollers and the pairs of superposed endless belts forming a rectangular frame member having a top and bottom and ends; a common drive means mounted on said frame member connected to said plurality of rollers outlining the upper track and said plurality of rollers outlining the lower track to selectively rotate the upper and lower tracks, said lower track rotating to drive both tracks to and from an extended position via said slider mechanism and said upper tracks rotating to place and remove the patient from the patient transferring device, a plurality of universal joining means, one for each of the plurality of rollers of both tracks and all located in the same vertical plane thereby forming two sections of the upper and lower tracks; and means to raise and support one section of the upper and lower tracks while keeping the second section in the horizontal position.