This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/FI2019/050833, filed Nov. 21, 2019, which claims priority to FI Application No. 20185993, filed Nov. 23, 2018, all of which are incorporated by reference, as if expressly set forth in their respective entireties herein.
The invention relates to an arrangement for mounting a plane on a wall.
EP publication 2349161 B1 discloses an arrangement for mounting a plane on a wall of a vehicle. Said plane establishes a base or platform for a patient or transport stretcher used in an ambulance vehicle. The plane is mounted on a wall of the vehicle by support arms and associated joints so that the plane may be horizontally moved away from the wall to a more central position in the vehicle and back alongside the wall. The plane may be moved away from the wall for a treatment procedure of a patient lying down, for example, or for receiving a patient lying on a stretcher into a vehicle, to be supported by the plane, or for moving a patient out of the vehicle and from being supported by the plane. The plane may be moved back alongside the wall for the transport of a patient lying down, or when there are no patients in the vehicle. When the plane has been moved alongside the wall, the support arms of the plane run substantially parallel to the vehicle wall, and when the plane is moved away from the wall, the support arms are at least partly oriented outward of the wall.
The arrangement disclosed in EP publication 2349161 B1 in practice restricts the utilization of a vehicle in said ambulance use to the transportation of patients in a lying down position, only, because the vehicle cannot be easily converted into a vehicle equipped with seats, for example, for transporting patients who are in a sitting position.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a new type of arrangement for mounting a plane on a wall.
The solution according to the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the independent claim.
The invention is based on a second joint arrangement of the support arm comprising a joint provided with a substantially horizontal turning axis, whereby said plane is turnable to a substantially horizontal usage position and to a substantially vertical storage position by means of said joints provided with a substantially horizontal turning axis.
An advantage of the invention is that in order to equip a vehicle in e.g. ambulance use with seats for patients transported in a sitting position, the plane and possibly its support arms need not be removed from the vehicle but the plane may be turned out of the way beside the wall in a substantially vertical storage position whereby it is easy to accomplish enough space in the vehicle to provide it with seats.
Some embodiments of the invention are presented in the dependent claims.
The invention is now described in closer detail in connection with preferred embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
For reasons of clarity, some embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the figures in a simplified form. In the figures, like reference numerals identify like elements.
The plane 2 may form e.g a platform or base which may be used to support a patient in a lying down position on a patient stretcher to transport the patient, or to carry out treatment procedures on the patient. In this case, the wall 1 may comprise an inner wall of an ambulance vehicle or another means of transportation, such as a helicopter or airplane, in connection with which the plane 2 is arranged. The plane 2 may also form a platform or base for supporting items or pieces of equipment to be transported. The platform 2 may in such a case be provided with e.g. substantially vertically upward extending sides to prevent the items or pieces of equipment from falling off the plane. A vehicle provided with an aforementioned plane 2 may form a mobile service point or vehicle, for example. The practical implementations, purposes and targets of use of the plane 2 may therefore be most diverse and not explicitly restricted to uses or purposes relating to treating or rescuing people although the mounting arrangement presented in the solution according to the following examples as well as the application of the plane 2 therein is assumed to be associated in particular with a mounting arrangement used in an ambulance vehicle for mounting a plane suited to receiving a patient stretcher on a wall structure of the ambulance vehicle.
The plane 2 comprises a front end 2a to be directed towards a front of a vehicle, a rear end 2b to be directed towards a rear of a vehicle, a first side edge 2c to be directed towards a wall 1 of a vehicle, a second side edge 2d to be directed away from a wall 1 of a vehicle, a top surface 2e to be directed upward, and a bottom 2f to be directed downward. For reasons of clarity, the figures do not show means included in the plane 2 for locking the patient stretcher to the plane 2.
The arrangement for mounting the plane 2 on the wall 1 comprises a first support arm 4 and a second support arm 5, positioned on the first side edge 2c side of the plane 2 and supporting the plane 2. The support arms 4, 5 have first ends 4′,5′ to be fixed to the wall 1, and second ends 4″,5″ to be fixed to the plane 2. In the longitudinal direction of the plane 2 between the front end 2a and rear end 2b of the plane 2, the first support arm 4 is arranged for positioning on the front end 2a side of the plane 2, and the second support arm 5 is arranged for positioning on the rear end 2b side of the plane 2. The first ends 4′,5′ of the support arms 4, 5 are fixed to a wall mount 3, common for the support arms 4, 5 and to be fixed to the wall 1, whereby the support arms 4, 5 are fixed to the wall 1 by means of said one common wall mount 3. However, the support arms 4, 5 may also be fixed to the wall 1 by separate wall mounts arranged for them.
The first end 4′,5′ of the support arm 4, 5 has a first joint arrangement 6, 7 by means of which the first ends 4′,5′ of the supports arms 4, 5 connect to the wall 1 at substantially the same horizontal level. The first joint arrangement 6, 7 comprises a joint shaft 8, 9 running through the first end 4′,5′ of the support arm 4, 5 in a substantially vertical direction. At the first end 4′,5′ of the support arm 4, 5, said joint shaft 8, 9 forms a substantially vertical turning axis in relation to which the first end 4′,5′ of the support arm 4, 5 may turn in relation to the wall 1 so that the support arm 4, 5 turns in relation to the wall 1 in a substantially horizontal plane whereby the plane 2 may be moved substantially horizontally away from the wall 1 to the position shown in
At the first end 4″,5″ of the support arm 4, 5 there is a second joint arrangement 10, 11 by means of which the second end 4″,5″ of the support arm 4, 5 connects to the plane 2. The second joint arrangement 10, 11 comprises a joint shaft 12, 13 running through the second end 4″,5″ of the support arm 4, 5 in a substantially vertical direction. At the second end 4″,5″ of the support arm 4, 5, the joint shaft 12, 13 forms a substantially vertical turning axis in relation to which the second end 4″,5″ of the support arm 4, 5 may turn when the plane 2 is moved substantially horizontally away from the wall 1 to the position shown in
The joint shaft 12, 13 included in the second joint arrangement 10, 11 is dimensioned and arranged in the second joint arrangement 10, 11 so that the joint shaft 12, 13 extends in the vertical direction of the support arm 4, 5 below the second end 4″,5″ of the support arm 4, 5. In such a case, in the joint shaft 12, 13 portion extending below the second end 4″,5″ of the support arm 4, 5, it is possible to arrange a substantially horizontally running joint shaft 16, 17 for example through the joint shaft 12, 13, as shown in the figures, in order to arrange the joint 14, 15 provided with a substantially horizontal turning axis as part of the second joint arrangement 10, 11 whereby the joint shaft 16, 17 thus forms the turning axis of the joint 14, 15 provided with a substantially horizontal turning axis, and the joint 14 forms a first joint provided with a horizontal turning axis and connected to the first support arm 4, and the joint 15 forms a second joint provided with a horizontal turning axis connected to the second support arm 5 at substantially the same horizontal level. By means of said joints 14, 15, the plane 2 may be turned to the substantially horizontal usage position shown in
When the plane 2 is turnable to the substantially vertical storage position shown in
In the embodiment shown in the figures, the joint shaft 12, 13 forms a first joint part of said joint 14, 15 provided with a horizontal turning axis, and a support structure 18, 19 arranged in connection with the plane 2, in the embodiment of the figures in connection with the bottom 2f of the plane 2, in particular, forms a second joint part of the joint 14, 15. So, the support structure 18 forms the second joint part connected to the joint 14 in the first support 4 and provided with a horizontal turning axis, whereas the joint shaft 12 forms the first joint part connected to said joint 14. Correspondingly the support structure 19 forms the second joint part connected to the joint 15 in the second support 5 and provided with a horizontal turning axis, whereas the joint shaft 13 forms the first joint part connected to said joint 15. When said support structures 18, 19 turn in relation to the joint shafts 12, 13 by means of the horizontal turning axis formed by the joint shafts 16, 17, the plane 2 may be turned to the substantially horizontal usage position and back to the substantially vertical storage position.
The support structure 18, 19 comprises, in the substantially horizontal usage position of the plane 2, a first portion 18′,19′ to be oriented substantially vertically, and in connection with it a second portion 18″,19″ to be oriented substantially horizontally and arranged in connection with the bottom 2f of the plane 2. The first portion 18′ 19′ of the support structure 18, 19, to be oriented substantially vertically, forms the portion of the support structure 18, 19 connected to the joint 14, 15 provided with said horizontal turning axis. Said first portion 18′,19′ of the support structure 18, 19 is advantageously dimensioned and arranged to extend over the top surface 2e of the plane 2 to the extent that the joint shaft 16, 17 forming the turning axis of the joint 14, 15 provided with a horizontal turning axis may be arranged to be positioned over the top surface 2e of the plane 2. As a result, the plane 2 may be turned up to a 90-degree vertical position, or even more, in relation to the horizontal usage position of the plane 2 before the plane 2 hits the support arms 4, 5 when the plane 2 is turned to its substantially vertical storage position.
In the embodiment of the figures, the second portion 18″,19″ of the support structure 18, 19, which is to be oriented substantially horizontally, is a support structure running in the substantially lateral direction between the side edges 2c, 2d of the plane 2. In the bottom 2f of the plane 2, there are arranged recesses 20, 21 matching said second portions of the support structures 18″,19″ to receive said second portions 18″,19″ of the support structures 18, 19 without adding to the height of the plane 2.
In the arrangement shown in
The guide rod 23 forms a forced-control element which guides or forces the joint shaft 13 to slide downward in the vertical direction of the second end 5″ of the support arm 5. The forced control is the result of the vertical height of the guide rod 23 reducing when the guide rod 23 turns from the substantially vertical position of
In connection with the joint shaft 13, a gas spring may also be installed, which affects the joint shaft 13 in an upward lifting manner and makes the plane 2 lighter to lift.
The connecting part 28 may be a substantially straight part whereby the joint 14 provided with a horizontal turning axis is placed in the vertical direction of the vertical joint shaft 12 to substantially the same location or height as the mounting point 29, or as shown in
In the solutions presented in the figures, the support arms 4, 5 are formed of one piece. The support arms 4, 5 may also be formed of two or more parts joined in a fixed or pivoted manner to each other.
Those skilled in the art will find it obvious that, as technology advances, the basic idea of the invention may be implemented in many different ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not restricted to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20185993 | Nov 2018 | FI | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/FI2019/050833 | 11/21/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2020/104729 | 5/28/2020 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3606619 | Hans | Sep 1971 | A |
4100858 | Bue | Jul 1978 | A |
4378128 | Holling | Mar 1983 | A |
6055688 | Helmsderfer | May 2000 | A |
8479664 | Nelson | Jul 2013 | B2 |
20080023976 | Myers | Jan 2008 | A1 |
20190375325 | Zappolini | Dec 2019 | A1 |
20220117389 | O'Hara | Apr 2022 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1161386 | Jan 1964 | DE |
1197164 | Apr 2002 | EP |
1 586 803 | Oct 2005 | EP |
2 349 161 | Aug 2011 | EP |
WO 2010043753 | Apr 2010 | WO |
WO 2011100807 | Aug 2011 | WO |
Entry |
---|
European Search Report in EP Application No. 19886282.3-1113/3883431, dated Jul. 20, 2022 (8 pages). |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220000685 A1 | Jan 2022 | US |