FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to mortuary services, and more particularly relates to methods and machines for transporting a deceased human up and/or down stairs and into and/or out of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Often the first call upon mortuary personnel is to remove a deceased person from a location requiring the use of stairs. Unfortunately, this is sometimes done by sliding the body down stairs or dragging it up stairs. For many reasons, these simple approaches can be less than optimal. Mortuary personnel are often at risk of slips, falls, and injuries to their backs, etc. Also, bereaved observers can be unnecessarily left with a feeling that their deceased love one has not been treated with proper respect, potentially creating a lasting negative impression of the mortuary providing these services.

Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and apparatuses for efficiently and safely transporting a deceased person in a controlled and dignified manner over stairs and into a vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to improve the process of moving a deceased person over stairs and into a vehicle.

It is a feature of the present invention to effectively utilize a battery powered stairclimbing hand truck which has been augmented and modified.

It is an advantage of the present invention to allow for improved abilities to raise the head and/or the feet of a human strapped to a battery powered stairclimbing hand truck.

The present invention is carried out in an “ergonomic” manner, in a sense that risk of slips, falls and back injuries are eliminated or at least greatly reduced. Additionally, the present invention provides a “dignified” manner of moving a deceased person over stairs, in the sense that a need to slide a deceased person down stairs has been eliminated in many situations.

Accordingly, the present invention is a method of removing, over stairs, a human from a first location and loading the human into a vehicle at a second location, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a system having a battery powered stairclimbing capability with hand truck wheels and a head end having a handle;

orienting the system in a horizontal configuration with the hand truck wheels and the hand truck handle touching a floor;

placing the human inside a bag at a first location, sliding in a supine position, the human and the bag, onto a structure attached to said system having a battery powered stairclimbing capability;

strapping the human and the bag to the structure;

releasing a prop stand release handle;

moving said head end so as to be more vertically disposed;

using said battery powered stairclimbing capability of said system to move said human over stairs;

lowering the head end toward the ground at a second location;

forcing said head end down and thereby raising a foot portion up high enough to roll said hand truck wheels in a vehicle;

pushing said system into the vehicle and causing a multi-stage prop stand to move to a more parallel orientation with respect to said structure; and

engaging a plurality of hand truck handles with features of said vehicle to inhibit the system from rolling with respect to the vehicle.

Additionally, the present invention is an improved system for moving a human body comprising:

a hand truck having a plurality of hand truck wheels and a hand truck handle;

a means for electrically assisting lifting of said hand truck up a flight of stairs;

a means for supporting a human body on said hand truck;

means for propping up said hand truck in a plurality of predetermined orientations between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation; and

a means for automatically latching said hand truck in each of said plurality of predetermined orientations when an orientation of said means for propping up said hand truck is being changed.

