Hospital trolleys

Claim 1

A hospital transfer trolley comprising a wheeled undercarriage; a left ram mounted on the undercarriage and movable up and down with respect to the undercarriage, said left ram being tiltable about a horizontal pivot; an upper frame mounted on the left ram and means to raise, lower, or tilt said frame selectively in response to varying positions of the ram, the upper frame having parallel end pieces sufficiently transversely spaced from each other to receive therebetween a hospital bed, operation table or trolley, opposed tracks in the end pieces, the end pieces being provided with lift members which can be raised or lowered with respect to the end pieces; a patient supporting element which can be inserted in the opposed tracks in the end pieces said element being movable to and from a position in which it is supported below a stretcher or the like supported by the lift members in a raised position; power means for selectively raising, lowering or tilting the ram, and power means for selectively raising and lowering the end pieces and wherein said undercarriage is U-shaped and comprises an elongated beam, two substantially parallel wheeled end pieces on which the ends of said beam are supported, a first central support column secured to said beam, a second support column pivotally mounted in said first support column and tiltable about a horizontal axis, a lift ram movable up and down within said second support column, an upper frame carried at the top of said lift ram, said upper frame including a side beam and parallel end pieces providing a U-shape generally coincidental with that of the undercarriage, and extendable braces connecting said pivotable support column with one of the end pieces of the undercarriage, and means for selectively extending or retracting said brace thereby to lift said second support column and also the upper frame about a horizontal axis.