The present disclosure generally relates to medical devices such as tourniquets. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a tourniquet built into a clothing article either at an arm or leg portion of the clothing article for stopping blood flow to a wound.
It is known that tourniquets are used for stopping blood flow to wounds. A tourniquet is a tightly tied band applied around a body part such as an arm or leg in an attempt to stop bleeding or uncontrolled hemorrhage in an emergency situation. Typically, the tourniquet includes a piece of strap or tube wrapped around the arm or leg and tied tightly. Further, the tourniquet includes a windlass or stick wound underneath the strap. In the emergency situation, the strap is wrapped around the limb and the windlass is twisted until the strap is tightened enough such that the bleeding is stopped. Once it is determined that adequate pressure is achieved, the windlass is secured to lock its position.
Generally, the tourniquets are stored in a container, also referred to as a tourniquet storage device. The tourniquet storage devices are made up of a rigid or a non-rigid structure. Further, each of the tourniquet storage devices includes multiple compartments in various configurations for storing the tourniquets. During an emergency situation, an injured person struggles to retrieve a tourniquet from the tourniquet storage device. Delay in retrieving and application of the tourniquet to stop the bleeding results in a serious injury or causes death. The above situation becomes worse if a person carrying the tourniquet storage device is far away from the injured person.
In order to overcome the delay caused due to the retrieval and application of the tourniquet, several solutions have been provided in the past. One such solution includes providing a tourniquet affixed to a clothing article. An example of such a solution is disclosed in a United States granted U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,651, entitled “Military clothing having built-in tourniquets” (the “'651 Patent”). The '651 Patent discloses an article of clothing, body armor or garment having at least one limb-receiving sleeve includes a housing secured in encircling relation to the sleeve. A self-sustaining tourniquet is disposed within the housing. An opening is formed in the housing and a cover is provided to close the opening. The tourniquet is positioned fully within the housing when the cover is closed. The tourniquet is oriented in the housing so that a free end of the tourniquet is in registration with the opening. A handle is secured to the free end and is adapted to be grasped by a user when the cover is open. The diameter of the tourniquet is reduced when the handle is pulled upon. A ratchet and pawl structure prevents the tourniquet from loosening after the handle has been pulled.
Another example is disclosed in a United States granted patent No. 8465514, entitled “Tourniquet system” (the “'514 Patent”). The '514 Patent discloses a tourniquet system having at least one circumferential enclosed channel formed in a garment; a tourniquet band positioned in the at least one circumferential enclosed channel; a tightening and securing mechanism associated with the tourniquet band, wherein the tightening and securing mechanism includes two or more apertures formed therethrough, and wherein at least a portion of the tourniquet band loops through the apertures of the tightening and securing mechanism, such that when the tightening and securing mechanism is turned, a diameter of the tourniquet band is decreased and a tourniquet force is applied to an inside wall of the circumferential enclosed channel; and at least one portal in the garment, proximate the circumferential enclosed channel, to provide access to the tightening and securing mechanism.
Yet another example is disclosed in a United States granted patent No. 7981135, entitled “Garment with affixed tourniquet” (the “'135 Patent”). The '135 Patent discloses an article of clothing having a tourniquet affixed to the clothing at one end of the tourniquet, the tourniquet comprising a band comprised of an elastic and flexible material, the band having a width and a length, a first end and a second end, and a first face and second face, where at least a portion of the first face comprises hook-type fastener means, and where the second face comprises loop-type fastener means.
Although the disclosures disclose a tourniquet affixed to a clothing article that allows an injured person to quickly deploy or put on the tourniquet to stop the bleeding, they have few problems. For instance, the above-discussed disclosures allow storing only one tourniquet. If the person gets injured in more than one leg or arm, then the injured person may have to depend on emergency personnel to arrive or wait for the person carrying the tourniquet storage device to provide him with a tourniquet thereby delaying stopping of the bleeding from the wound.
Therefore, there is a need for providing a tourniquet built into a clothing article, which simplifies application or putting of the tourniquet and shortens the time between the infliction of a wound and application of the tourniquet.
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a tourniquet built into a clothing article and that avoids the drawback of known drain tourniquets.
In order to achieve the object, the present disclosure provides a clothing article having a tourniquet, which simplifies application or putting of the tourniquet and shortens the time between the infliction of a wound or injury and application of the tourniquet.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a user wears the clothing article on high at the waist or on the leg. In one example, the user includes an emergency responder or military person. The clothing article includes a belt. The belt presents a holster having a holster or holster pouch or magazine pouch. At the end of the holster, the clothing article has a tourniquet. The tourniquet includes a tourniquet strap, a windlass rod and a V-ring. The tourniquet strap encompasses a buckle or hook and loop such as a Velcro for tightening the tourniquet strap on the arm or leg. The tourniquet strap mounts at the holster. Further, the windlass rod mounts to the tourniquet strap. When the user gets injured on the leg, the user twists the windlass rod to further tighten the tourniquet strap such that bleeding stops from the injured area. Further, the V-ring helps to lock the position of the windlass rod once it is determined that adequate pressure is achieved on the leg.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a clothing article encompassing a tourniquet is disclosed. In the present aspect, the clothing article comes in a vest configuration in that the clothing article is worn either directly on the body or over another clothing article such as a shirt or military uniform and so on worn by the user. In the present aspect, the tourniquet mounts at each sleeve of the clothing article. The tourniquet includes a tourniquet strap, a windlass rod and a V-ring. The tourniquet strap encompasses a buckle or hook and loop such as a Velcro for tightening the tourniquet strap on the arm or leg. The tourniquet strap mounts over the sleeve. Further, the windlass rod mounts to the tourniquet strap. When the user gets injured on arm, the user tightens the tourniquet strap and twists the windlass rod to further tighten the tourniquet strap such that bleeding stops from the injured area on the arm. Further, the V-ring helps to lock the position of the windlass rod once it is determined that adequate pressure is achieved on the arm.
In addition, the clothing article includes straps at the rear side of the clothing article. The straps help to pull the injured user wearing the clothing article from one place to another. In one implementation, the clothing article encompasses a cutaway section that helps to separate the straps, once the user has been pulled to a desired location. Further, the clothing article presents a nameplate to put on the name of the user for easy identification of the user wearing the clothing article.
In one advantageous feature of the present disclosure, the clothing article having the tourniquet shortens the time between the infliction of a wound or injury to bleeding control because the tourniquet is worn as everyday garment. When injury occurs the wearer only has to turn the windlass rod to tighten the tourniquet strap to stop blood flow to the injury. Further, the V-ring can be used to ensure that the windlass rod is properly secured so that the tourniquet strap is tightly put around the arm or leg.
Features and advantages of the subject matter hereof will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of selected embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying FIGURES. As will be realized, the subject matter disclosed is capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the scope of the subject matter. Accordingly, the drawings and the description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature.
With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.
Before the present constructional features and working principle of a clothing article including a tourniquet is described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular clothing article comprising the tourniquet as described, since it may vary within the specification indicated. Various constructional features for the clothing article comprising the tourniquet might be provided by introducing variations within the components/subcomponents disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention or disclosure, which will be limited only by the appended claims. The words “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” and “including,” and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.
In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
It should be understood that the present disclosure describes a clothing article including a tourniquet. In one implementation, the clothing article is worn high at the waist or on the leg. The clothing article includes a belt. The belt presents a holster having a holster pouch or magazine pouches. At one end of the holster, the clothing article provides a tourniquet. The tourniquet includes a tourniquet strap, a windlass rod and a V-ring. The tourniquet strap mounts at the holster. Further, the windlass rod connects to the tourniquet strap. When a user gets injured on the leg, the user tightens the tourniquet strap by twisting the windlass rod to further tighten the tourniquet strap such that bleeding stops from the injured area. Further, the V-ring allows to lock the position of the windlass rod.
In another implementation, the clothing article comes in in a vest configuration. Here, the tourniquet mounts at sleeves of the clothing article. The tourniquet helps to stop blood flow to the injured area on the arm.
Various features and embodiments of a clothing article including a tourniquet are explained in conjunction with the description of
Clothing article 10 presents a holster 18 extending from the belt 12. Holster 18 provides a material made of a fabric, leather or any other suitable material. Holster 18 encompasses a holster pouch 20. Holster pouch 20 comes in the shape of a firearm or gun such that holster pouch 20 holds or stores the firearm. Further, clothing article 10 includes a tourniquet. The tourniquet comprises tourniquet strap 22. As can be seen in
Now referring to
It should be understood that the construction of clothing article 50 shown in
Further, clothing article 70 includes a tourniquet. The tourniquet includes tourniquet strap 78. As can be seen in
In order to use clothing article 70 for stopping bleeding from an injury, a user wears belt 72 on his leg suspending holster 76 from belt 72. When the user gets injured, the user uses the tourniquet i.e., tourniquet strap 78, windlass rod 84 and V-ring 86 to stop bleeding from the injury. In order to stop bleeding from the injury, the user tightens the tourniquet strap 78 and twists the windlass rod 84 until the tourniquet strap 78 tightens enough to ensure that the bleeding is stopped from the injury. As explained above, windlass rod 84 twists and V-ring 86 locks the position of the windlass rod 84 such that tourniquet strap 78 is held tightly around the leg of the user once it is determined that adequate pressure is achieved on the leg.
In one implementation, the user uses clothing article 70 either separately, or along with clothing article 10 or clothing article 50. In order to use clothing article 70 along with clothing article 10, the user puts on holster 76 on one leg and holster 18 on another. Whenever there is an injury, the user uses the tourniquet provided at respective holster 76 or 18. For example, the user puts on clothing article 10 on the right leg and clothing article 70 on the left leg. When there is an injury on the right leg, the user tightens tourniquet strap 22 and uses windlass rod 24 and V-ring 30 to further tighten tourniquet strap 22 to stop bleeding from the injury, as explained above. Similarly, when there is an injury on the left leg, the user tightens tourniquet strap 78 and uses windlass rod 84 and V-ring 86 to further tighten tourniquet strap 78 to stop bleeding from the injury, as explained above.
A person skilled in the art appreciates that clothing article 10 mounts at a higher portion of the legs and clothing article 50 mounts at a lower portion of the legs, however the use of the clothing articles should not be construed in a limited sense. Further, a person skilled in the art appreciates that each of clothing articles 10, 50 and 70 includes a tourniquet that helps to stop bleeding from an injury on legs. Although it is shown that the clothing articles come in the form of holsters, a person skilled in the art appreciates that the clothing article may come in the form of shorts or trousers with the tourniquet explained above. Such clothing articles having the tourniquet come in one or both leg portions of the clothing article to stop bleeding from injury on one leg or injuries on both legs.
In accordance with the current embodiment, each of the sleeves 104 presents tourniquet 110.
In the current embodiment, when an arm of the user gets injured, the user tightens windlass rod 112. As specified above, tourniquet strap 111 includes a buckle or hook and loop such as Velcro, which helps to tighten the tourniquet strap 111 around the arm. Subsequently, the user twists windlass rod 112 until tourniquet strap 111 tightens enough to stop the blood from the injury. Further, V-ring 114 helps to lock the position of the windlass rod 112 once it is determined that adequate pressure is achieved on the arm by tourniquet strap 111. Concurrently or consecutively, emergency personnel or other bystanders use straps 154 to pull the user e.g., proximity to an ambulance or safe area. Further, the emergency personnel use cutaway cord 156 to separate straps 154 from clothing article 100 and provide further medical care needed to the injured user of clothing article 100.
Further, clothing article 200 includes rear portion 220. At rear portion 220, clothing article 100 provides rear nameplate portion 222 for putting on the name of the user. Further, clothing article 200 includes straps 224 extending from rear portion 220. Straps 224 help in pulling an injured user wearing clothing article 100 from one place to another. Further, clothing article 200 includes pins 226 for pulling front nameplate portion 214. A person skilled in the art understands that releasing pins 226 allows the straps 224 to be removed.
In the current embodiment, when an arm of the user gets injured, the user tightens the tourniquet by twisting windlass rod 206 until tourniquet strap 205 tightens enough to stop the blood from the injury. Further, V-ring 208 locks the position of windlass rod 206 such that tourniquet strap 205 is held tightly around the leg of the user once it is determined that adequate pressure is achieved on the leg. Concurrently or consecutively, emergency personnel or others use straps 224 to pull the user e.g., proximity to an ambulance or safe area. Further, the emergency personnel pull front nameplate portion 214, release pins 226 to separate straps 224 from clothing article 200 and provide further medical care needed to the injured user of clothing article 200.
A person skilled in the art understands that the user wears clothing articles 100 or 200 over shirts or uniforms and uses the tourniquet to stop bleeding from the arm. Further, as the tourniquet is provided at the sleeves of the clothing article, it is easier to tighten the tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Further, the V-ring ensures that the windlass rod is properly secured so that the tourniquet strap is tightly put around the arm thereby stopping the blood flow to the injury on the arm. Further, clothing articles 100 or 200 help to drag the user with the help of straps 154 and 224 provided at the rear of clothing articles 100 and 200, respectively.
Based on the above, it is evident the clothing article including the tourniquet is easy to use in the event of the user is injured. The user puts on the tourniquet strap and twists the windlass rod to tighten the tourniquet strap around the leg or arm. Further, the V-ring ensures that the windlass rod is properly secured so that the tourniquet strap is tightly put around the arm/leg to stop the blood flow to the injury. As the user will be able to quickly install the tourniquet around the arm/leg, the presently disclosed tourniquet helps to quickly apply pressure around the arm or leg portion of the user in order to stop bleeding from the injury. As such, the tourniquet shortens the time between the infliction of a wound and bleeding control.
Although the above disclosure is explained considering that the tourniquet is built into a clothing article, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the tourniquet might be provided as a separate component. The tourniquet comprising the tourniquet strap, the windlass rod and V-ring might be provided as separate apparatus and the tourniquet might be used to stop blood flow to the injury on arm or leg using the explanation provided above.
It should be understood that the shape, size and placement of each component shown in figures are provided for illustrative purpose only and should not be construed in a limited sense. A person skilled in the art will appreciate alternate parts and/or mechanisms that might be used to implement the embodiments of the present invention/disclosure and such implementations will be within the scope of the present disclosure.
While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from this disclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variants within the scope of the disclosure.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional Application No. 62/979,374, filed Feb. 20, 2020, all of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62979374 | Feb 2020 | US |