GB2261605A - Stretchers and handling invalids - Google Patents

Abstract

A stretcher comprises an elongate, flexible and inflatable structure 10 having handles and stretcher pole receiving sockets 25, 31 along its longitudinal edges. The inflatable structure 10 may also be used with a flexible mat (12 Figure 2) to transfer an invalid from eg a bed to a chair. When inflated the structure 10 forms a load bearing bridge. One of the surfaces of the structure and one of the surfaces of the mat have coefficients of friction which are less than those of the other of said surfaces of the structure and the panel. <IMAGE>

Description

LOAD SUPPORTING APPARATUS This invention concerns apparatus for supporting loads, especially but not exclusively, human loads such as disabled persons.

A variety of devices, such as hoists, roller conveyors, sledges and boards, have been proposed to facilitate the movement of persons from one support, such as a bed, to another support, such as a wheelchair, but each thereof gives rise to specific problems, such as cost, weight, difficulty of use, especially in confined spaces, and all thereof are relatively cumbersome.

Additionally, it is known to use flexible sheets provided with handles or low friction surfaces to enable recumbent persons to be lifted or slid from one position to another, but although such sheets are easily inserted below a recumbent person, they can not themselves offer load bearing support for a person.

An object of the invention is to facilitate the moving of loads such as recumbent persons.

The present invention provides support apparatus comprising a hollow elongate flexible structure provided with an air inlet to admit air under pressure into the structure, wherein the structure is provided at least at its longitudinal margins with locators at least some of which serve as handles by which the structure may be carried and at least some of which serve as sockets to receive elongate rigid members or stretcher poles.

Some of the locators may be of handle form, and others thereof may be of socket form; but preferably, at least some of the locators are of a combined handle and socket form.

The locators are preferably made of flexible inelastic material.

According to the present invention there is further provided support apparatus comprising a hollow elongate flexible structure, and a flexible panel, wherein said structure is provided with an air inlet to admit air under pressure into the structure for inflating the structure to form a load bearing bridge, wherein the structure and the panel each have an upper surface and an undersurface, and wherein one of said surfaces of the structure and one of said surfaces of the panel have coefficients of friction which are less than those of the other of said surfaces of the structure and the other of said surfaces of the panel.

The structure may have locators, such as handles, thereon to receive rigid elongate members to form a stretcher, and the structure and/or the panel may have handles or other formations thereon which can be gripped or held easily to facilitate manipulation of the structure and/or panel.

The invention further provides a method of moving a load between two supports, using the apparatus of the invention and comprising the steps of:a) inserting the panel and part of the structure under the load, so that parts of the low friction surfaces abut, b) arranging and inflating the structure to bridge between the two supports, c) sliding the panel with the load thereon along the structure to transfer the load from one support to the other end, and d) removing the apparatus from beneath the load.

The interior of the structure is preferably divided into a plurality of parallel tubular compartments which are elongate, e.g. tubular, and extend longitudinally of the structure; and one or more of the compartments, e.g.

an intermediate compartment or compartments, may be of approximately rectangular cross-section. Additionally one or more of the compartments may be traversed, e.g.

vertically, by a multiplicate of threads linking the, or portions of the, flexible materials bounding the compartment or compartments. In this respect the structure may be partially formed from a drop-thread material in which flexible membranes are linked by elongate threads which serve to limit the maximum separation of the membranes.

The compartments may be interconnected for inflation in unison e.g. by way of a transverse compartment, or may be individually or severally inflatable via respective air inlets.

The compartments extending along the lateral margins of the structure may be thicker than the compartment or compartments therebetween.

The upper surface of the structure and the undersurface of the panel preferably have a coefficient of friction which is less than half, preferably about a quarter, of the coefficient of friction of the undersurface of the structure and the upper surface of the panel, or vice versa.

The apparatus preferably includes an inflatable cushion; and also preferably includes a portable battery powered air compressor or low pressure air pump unit.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein: - FIGURE 1 shows a plan view of an inflatable structure of an embodiment of the invention; FIGURE 2 shows a perspective view apparatus of the invention in situ on a bed and a chair alongside the bed, with the outline of a person being shown in broken lines; FIGURES 3 to 6 are perspective views showing a sequence of stages in an operation to lift a person from the ground into an elevating wheelchair using the apparatus; FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the apparatus for prone transport of a person.

The apparatus primarily comprises an inflatable structure 10, and may according to requirements include an inflation unit 11, a flexible panel, an inflatable cushion 14, poles 16, and an elevating wheelchair 44.

The structure 10 is rectangular, elongate and formed from a flexible impervious material so as to include several elongate chambers comprising outer chambers 21 and intermediate chambers 22 running longitudinally of the structure, and a transverse chamber 23 at one end which chamber 23 may serve as a manifold for the other chambers 21 and 22 and is connected to an inlet 24, preferably incorporating a valve. The chambers 21 and 23 are slightly thicker than the chamber 22. At the sides of the structure are locators 25 which serve as hollow handles and as pole sockets having open ends 30 through which stretcher poles 16 may be passed to extend alongside said sides, and the locators 25 have top and bottom openings 31 to enable them to be grasped as handles. The locators are made of flexible substantially inelastic material.

In the embodiments shown in FIGURES 1 to 6, the upper or obverse face of the structure 10 is made from or is coated with a material having a low coefficient of friction, whereas the under or reverse face of the structure has a much higher coefficient of friction, but in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 7 the low friction surface is on the underside and the higher friction surface is on the upper side.

The structure 10 is used in conjunction with the panel which in the embodiments shown in FIGURES 1 to 6 is in the form of a mat 12 which is primarily made from an inelastic tear and stretch resistant flexible material, having an under or reverse face made from or coated with a material having a low coefficient of friction, whereas the upper or obverse face has a much higher coefficient of friction. The mat is rectangular and has an area generally but not necessarily half that of the structure, and has handles 26 at each side, and, optionally, at each end. The mat may incorporate internal padding, especially in a mid-portion thereof, for comfort of the person resting on the mat.

The cushion 14 is formed from the same or a similar impervious material so as to have a single square chamber and an inlet 24A; and, as indicated in broken lines in FIGURE 1, has about the same width as the structure 10.

The cushion 14 preferably has a thickness, when fully inflated, of about twice or thrice the inflated thickness of the structure 10. The cushion 14 may be integral with, secured to, or separate from the structure 10, and preferably has an internal structure, e.g. comprising partitions and webs or bands, arranged to give some stability to maintain the shape of the cushion and limit the tendency of the cushion to distort when loaded or stressed.

The apparatus can be used to transfer a person from one supporting surface, e.g. a bed 28 or seat 29 to another surface adjacent thereto and over any reasonable gap e.g. of ten to twenty centimetres, therebetween. One suitable method is partially illustrated in FIGURE 2 and comprises the steps of: (a) gently moving a person 27, e.g. by turning or rocking the person, to enable the mat 12 and one end portion of the structure 10 to be inserted between the person 27 and a bed 28; (b) placing the other end portion of the structure 10 on a chair 29 and inflating the structure 10 by means of the unit 11; (c) supporting the persons back whilst drawing the mat 12 along the inflated structure in the direction of arrows A until the person and mat are over the chair, and (d) deflating the structure and removing the mat and structure from between the person and the chair.

It will be readily appreciated that during step (c) the structure serves as a load supporting bridge between the bed and the chair, and that the abutting low friction faces minimise the frictional resistance to movement of the mat and the tendency to drag the structure with the mat.

In the event of the bed being higher than the chair by more than a few centimetres, or if the chair is higher than the bed, the apparatus is disposed so that the cushion 14 is located under whichever end of the structure 10 is lower and is inflated to raise that end before the person is slid along the structure. In all cases it is preferred to arrange for the inflated structure to slope slightly downwards in the direction in which the person is to be moved, to reduce the effort required to drag the mat along the structure.

The apparatus ' can be used in a multiplicity of different situations e.g. to move a person from a wheelchair to a bed, bench, car, bath seat, or from any thereof to any other thereof, generally in the manner hereinbefore described. However, the apparatus has further uses. For example, a person lying on a surface may be rolled, tilted or otherwise moved to enable the mat and structure to be inserted together longitudinally between the person and the surface. The structure can then be inflated and used as a stretcher, with or without insertion of stretcher poles 16 through the handles 25.

The apparatus greatly reduces the effort involved in moving a disabled person, and can be used to enable helpers to lift such a person, e.g. when the person has fallen, without calling upon further assistance. For example and referring to FIGURES 3 to 6, the person represented by a load 27A is rocked to enable the mat 12 and one end of the structure 10 to be inserted below the person with the cushion 14 under the other end of the structure as indicated in FIGURE 3; the structure is then inflated until rigid and the mat 12 is drawn to move the person over to the other end of the structure (FIGURE 4); the cushion is then inflated to raise the person (FIGURE 5) as elevating wheelchair 44 or other elevating device is then moved, with its seat 45 lowered, so that the first end of the structure rests over the seat 45 and the mat is drawn along the structure until the person is in the wheelchair (the mat and person may need to be turned on the structure, which partial rotation is facilitated by the low inter-surface friction) as indicated in FIGURE 6; and then the seat 45 is raised until the person is raised to a normal sitting position, prior to the structure being deflated and removed or rolled up alongside the person in the wheelchair, for subsequent use.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 7 the structure lOA is longer than the structure 10 shown in FIGURES 1 to 6, but otherwise have similar construction and utility, so as to provide sufficient areas for supporting and moving a tall person whilst the structure is employed as a stretcher.

The structure 10A may be the structure 10 used in an inverted condition so that the low friction surface is on the underside to help to retain the person on the structure as the latter is slid across surfaces, so that the structure can be slid easily from one surface to another.

The structures 10 and 10A are highly buoyant and may be used as floating stretchers for aquatic rescue.

The invention is not confined to details of the foregoing examples, and includes within its scope and provides any apparatus, structure or unit having any novel part, feature or function (or novel combination of parts, features of functions) disclosed herein or in the drawings, and any novel method disclosed herein or indicated in the drawings.

Claims (14)

1. Support apparatus comprising a hollow elongate flexible structure provided with an air inlet to admit air under pressure into the structure, wherein the structure is provided at least at its longitudinal margins with locators at least some of which serve as handles by which the structure may be carried and at least some of which serve as sockets to receive elongate rigid members or stretcher poles.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the locators are arranged to serve both as handles and sockets.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the locators are formed from a flexible inelastic material.

4. Support apparatus comprising a hollow elongate flexible structure, and a flexible panel, wherein said structure is provided with an air inlet to admit air under pressure into the structure for inflating the structure to form a load bearing bridge, wherein the structure and the panel each have an upper surface and an undersurface, and wherein one of said surfaces of the structure and one of said surfaces of the panel have coefficients of friction which are less than those of the other of said surfaces of the structure and the other of said surfaces of the panel.

5. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the structure has locators, such as sockets, thereon to receive rigid elongate members to form a stretcher; and wherein the structure and the panel have handles or other formations thereon which can be gripped or held easily to facilitate manipulation of the structure and the panel.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the structure is divided into a plurality of parallel tubular compartments which are elongate, e.g. tubular, and extend longitudinally of the structure.

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 wherein one or more of the compartments, e.g. an intermediate compartment or compartments, is of approximately rectangular crosssection.

8. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 or 7 wherein the compartments are interconnected for inflation in unison e.g. by way of a transverse compartment.

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein the compartment extending along the lateral margins of the structure is thicker than the comnpartment or compartments therebetween.

10. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the upper surface of the structure and the undersurface of the panel preferably have a coefficient of friction which is less than half, preferably about a quarter, of the coefficient of friction of the undersurface of the structure and the upper surface of the panel, or vice versa.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the structure is provided with an inflatable cushion.

12. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, FIGURES 3 to 6 or FIGURE 7 of the accompanying drawings.

13. A method of moving a load between two supports, using apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim and comprising the steps of:a) inserting the panel and part of the structure under the load, so that parts of the low friction surfaces abut, b) arranging and inflating the structure to bridge between the two supports, c) sliding the panel with the load thereon along the structure to transfer the load from one support to the other end, and d) removing the apparatus from beneath the load.

14. A method of moving a person using the apparatus claimed in any one of the Claims 1 to 12 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

14. A method of moving a person using the apparatus claimed in any one of the Claims 1 to 12 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. Support apparatus comprising a hollow elongate flexible structure, and a flexible panel, wherein said structure is provided with an air inlet to admit air under pressure into the structure for inflating the structure to form a load bearing bridge, wherein the structure and the panel each have an upper surface and an undersurface, and wherein one of said surfaces of the structure and one of said surfaces of the panel have coefficients of friction which are less than those of the other of said surfaces of the structure and the other of said surfaces of the panel.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the structure has locators, such as sockets, thereon to receive rigid elongate members to form a stretcher; and wherein the structure and the panel have handles or other formations thereon which can be gripped or held easily to facilitate manipulation of the structure and the panel.

3. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the structure is divided into a plurality of parallel tubular compartments which are elongate, e.g. tubular, and extend longitudinally of the structure.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 wherein one or more of the compartments, e.g. an intermediate compartment or compartments, is of approximately rectangular crosssection.

5. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 or 4 wherein the compartments are interconnected for inflation in unison e.g. by way of a transverse compartment.

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 3, 4 or 5 wherein the compartment extending along the lateral margins of the structure is thicker than the comnpartment or compartments therebetween.

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the upper surface of the structure and the undersurface of the panel preferably have a coefficient of friction which is less than half, preferably about a quarter, of the coefficient of friction of the undersurface of the structure and the upper surface of the panel, or vice versa.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the structure is provided with an inflatable cushion.

9. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the structure is provided at least at its longitudinal margins with locators at least some of which serve as handles by which the structure may be carried and at least some of which serve as sockets to receive elongate rigid members or stretcher poles.

10. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the locators are arranged to serve both as handles and sockets.

11. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 or 10 wherein the locators are formed from a flexible inelastic material.

12. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, FIGURES 3 to 6 or FIGURE 7 of the accompanying drawings.

13. A method of moving a load between two supports, using apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim and comprising the steps of:a) inserting the panel and part of the structure under the load, so that parts of the low friction surfaces abut, b) arranging and inflating the structure to bridge between the two supports, c) sliding the panel with the load thereon along the structure to transfer the load from one support to the other end, and d) removing the apparatus from beneath the load.