The present invention relates to an inflatable stretcher for carrying a patient thereon, and more particularly to an inflatable stretcher that can be quickly inflated and enables operators to conveniently transfer the patient lying thereon to another support surface.
In the past, it is relatively difficult to manually move an immovable patient, such as an injured person in an accident, an aged person or other disabled persons, onto a bed or a stretcher that provides a support surface, and at least two or three nursing personnel are needed to laboriously complete this work. To solve this problem, an inflatable stretcher has been developed and introduced into the market to enable easy transport of an immovable patient with fewer operators.
The conventional inflatable stretcher usually has a plurality of perforations formed on a bottom surface thereof. When using the conventional inflatable stretcher, first position the inflatable stretcher with the perforated bottom surface facing toward a support surface that is fixedly located below the inflatable stretcher. The support surface can be, for example, a floor surface, a bed or a table top. When the inflatable stretcher filled with air is subjected to pressure, the air in the inflatable stretcher will be automatically released from the inflatable stretcher via the perforations to produce continuous pressurized air streams, which together form supporting airflow with an upward lifting force between the bottom surface of the inflatable stretcher and the support surface. Therefore, the nursing personnel or operators can move the patient with less effort.
Further, the conventional inflatable stretcher is internally provided with a plurality of widthwise-extended connection members, which divide an air space in the conventional inflatable stretcher into a plurality of air passages. With these air passages, the whole inflatable stretcher can be uniformly expanded when being inflated with air. In addition, the conventional inflatable stretcher has an outer peripheral edge higher than a central area thereof to protect the patient from falling off when being transported on the conventional inflatable stretcher.
It is noted the supporting airflow released from the bottom surface of the conventional inflatable stretcher is uniformly distributed over the entire bottom surface of the inflatable stretcher to support and lift all parts of the patient at the same time. However, the weight of the patient lying on the inflatable stretcher is not always uniformly distributed over the whole bottom surface of the inflatable stretcher. Therefore, some areas of the conventional inflatable stretcher that are compressed by the lying patient will require more time to be lifted up when compared with other areas that are not compressed by the patient's weight. That is, with the conventional inflatable stretcher, a longer time is needed to lift up the patient from the inflatable stretcher. Since the patient becoming immovable usually requires an urgent medical treatment, it is desirable to shorten the time needed to move the immovable patient from the inflatable stretcher onto a medical support surface and increase the chances of successfully saving the immovable patient's life. In conclusion, the conventional inflatable stretcher still needs improvement.
A primary object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art inflatable stretcher by providing an improved inflatable stretcher, which has a plurality of perforations formed on a lower cover member thereof and arrayed corresponding to the shape of a human body, so that an increased air lifting force can be formed at positions of the inflatable stretcher over where a large part of a lying patient's body weight is distributed, enabling operators to conveniently move the inflatable stretcher and the patient lying thereon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable stretcher that provides two opposite air inlets, so that the inflatable stretcher can be normally inflated by connecting one inflation device to one of the air inlets or be more quickly inflated by connecting two inflation devices to both of the air inlets, making the inflatable stretcher more convenient for use.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable stretcher that includes holding elements for stably holding the inflation devices to the inflatable stretcher, so that the inflation devices won't separate from the inflatable stretcher in the process of inflating the inflatable stretcher.
To achieve the above and other objects, the inflatable stretcher provided according to the present invention is configured for carrying a patient thereon and enables operators to conveniently transfer the patient from the inflatable stretcher to another support surface. The inflatable stretcher of the present invention includes an upper cover member, a lower cover member, a plurality of first partitioning members, a plurality of second partitioning members, a first inflation inlet forming member, and a second inflation inlet forming member.
The upper cover member has a lengthwise-extended upper peripheral edge, the lower cover member has a lengthwise-extended lower peripheral edge and is provided with a plurality of perforations. The lower peripheral edge of the lower cover member is fixedly connected to the upper peripheral edge of the upper cover member to define an air space between the upper and the lower cover member. The perforations are arrayed lengthwise on the lower cover member to form an overall pattern that is contoured to the shape of a human body.
Each of the first partitioning members has an upper edge and a lower edge connected to an inner surface of the upper cover member and an inner surface of the lower cover member, respectively. The first partitioning members are widthwise spaced from one another in the air space to thereby define a plurality of widthwise-extended air release passages in the air space.
Each of the second partitioning members has an upper edge and a lower edge connected to an inner surface of the upper cover member and an inner surface of the lower cover member, respectively. The second partitioning members are disposed in the air space at positions close to two opposite ends of the first partitioning members, such that a flow opening is formed between each second partitioning member and each first partitioning member that is located adjacent to the second partitioning member. The flow openings respectively have a cross-sectional area smaller than that of each air release passage. In an operable embodiment, the second partitioning members are located within a central area of the air space.
The first inflation inlet forming member is connected to between the upper peripheral edge and the lower peripheral edge to thereby define a first air-in passage. The first air-in passage has a first air inlet, which is communicable with an external environment, and a plurality of first air delivery ports, which are communicable with the air space. The second inflation inlet forming member is disposed immediately below the first inflation inlet forming member and connected to between the upper peripheral edge and the lower peripheral edge to thereby define a second air-in passage. The second air-in passage has a second air inlet, which is communicable with an external environment, and a plurality of second air delivery ports, which are communicable with the air space.
The first inflation inlet forming member is connected along two opposite widthwise-extended longer sides to between the upper and the lower cover member to define the first air-in passage. The first inflation inlet forming member has two opposite lengthwise-extended shorter sides, one of which is fully connected to between the upper and the lower cover member while the other one is only partially connected to between the upper and the lower cover member to form the first air inlet. The second inflation inlet forming member is connected along two opposite widthwise-extended longer sides to between the upper and the lower cover member to define the second air-in passage. The second inflation inlet forming member also has two opposite lengthwise-extended shorter sides, one of which is fully connected to between the upper and the lower cover member while the other one is only partially connected to between the upper and the lower cover member to form the second air inlet. The second air inlet and the first air inlet are oriented in two opposite directions.
The upper cover member has a plurality of lift-up sections formed along the upper peripheral edge, and the lower cover member has a plurality of pull-down sections formed along the lower peripheral edge in correspondence to the lift-up sections. The first air inlet is located adjacent to two corresponding lift-up section and pull-down section while the second air inlet is located adjacent to another two corresponding lift-up section and pull-down section. The lift-up sections and the corresponding pull-down sections can be moved toward and pressed against one another to close the first air inlet and the second air inlet, or can be moved away from one another to open the first and the second air inlet.
The inflatable stretcher further includes a plurality of connection strips, which respectively have an end fixedly connected to one of the upper cover member and the lower cover member and another opposite end detachably connected to the other one of the upper cover member and the lower cover member. In addition, one of the upper cover member and the lower cover member is provided with at least one holding element for connecting to an air hose of the inflation device.
In a preferred embodiment, the first air inlet of the inflatable stretcher is detachably connected to one inflation device. Air supplied by the inflation device first expands the first air-in passage, bringing the first air-in passage to compress and reduce a volume of the second air-in passage. The overall pattern formed by the perforations consists of a left outer pattern, a middle pattern and a right outer pattern, which are sequentially spaced widthwise on the lower cover member. The middle pattern is lengthwise divided into an upper-half portion and two laterally spaced lower-half portions, and the lower-half portions respectively have a width smaller than that of the upper-half portion.
In another preferred embodiment, the first and the second air inlet of the inflatable stretcher are respectively detachably connected to one inflation device. Air supplied by the two inflation devices expands the first air-in passage and the second air-in passage at the same time. The overall pattern formed by the perforations consists of a left outer pattern, a left inner pattern, a right inner pattern and a right outer pattern, which are sequentially spaced widthwise on the lower cover member. The left inner pattern and the right inner pattern are respectively lengthwise divided into an upper-half portion and a lower-half portion; and the lower-half portions respectively have a width smaller than that of the upper-half portions. It is noted the left inner pattern and the right inner pattern are mirror images of each other.
Further, the air space also includes two air flow passages located at two lateral sides of the air release passages; and the first air delivery ports and the second air delivery ports respectively have an opening facing toward the air flow passages.
The present invention is characterized in that the flow openings formed between the second partitioning members and the first partitioning members respectively have a cross-sectional area smaller than that of each air release passage, enabling air supplied from the inflation device into the air space to produce an increased air lifting force at positions corresponding to a lying patient's hips. Further, by superposing the first inflation inlet forming member on the second inflation inlet forming member, the operators can conveniently select, depending on actual need of use, to inflate the inflatable stretcher from one side or two sides thereof. In the case of inflating from two sides of the inflatable stretcher, the inflating time can be shortened. Moreover, the provision of the lift-up sections, the pull-down sections, the connection strips and the holding elements on the inflatable stretcher work together to stably hold the air hoses of the inflation devices in place. Therefore, it is able to avoid undesired separation of the air hoses from the inflatable stretcher in the process of inflating.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
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The inflatable stretcher 1 can be inflated using one or two inflation devices 2, as shown in
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When the perforations 122 are arrayed according to the first or the second preferred embodiment, an air lifting force produced by the air in the inflatable stretcher 1 can directly act on the trunk and limbs of the patient lying on the inflatable stretcher 1, enabling the inflatable stretcher 1 to more quickly lift the patient to a higher position.
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Each of the first partitioning members 14 has an upper edge and a lower edge connected to an inner surface of the upper cover member 11 and an inner surface of the lower cover member 12, respectively. The first partitioning members 14 are transversely disposed in the air space 13 to parallelly space from one another, so as to define a plurality of widthwise-extended air release passages 141 in a central area of the air space 13, as well as a lengthwise-extended air flow passage 142 at each of two lateral sides of the air space 13. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, part of the first partitioning members 14 that are disposed in the air space 13 at positions corresponding to a user's head, trunk and hips are uniform in height, while other first partitioning members 14 that are disposed in the air space 13 at positions between the user's (i.e. the patient's) hips and feet have a decreased height to form a slightly recessed area.
Each of the second partitioning members 15 also has an upper edge and a lower edge connected to the inner surface of the upper cover member 11 and the inner surface of the lower cover member 12, respectively. The second partitioning members 15 are disposed in the air space 13 at positions close to two opposite ends of the first partitioning members 14. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the second partitioning members 15 are located perpendicular to the first partitioning members 14 and within the central area of the air space 13; such that a flow opening 151 is formed between each second partitioning member 15 and each first partitioning member 14 that is located adjacent to the second partitioning member 15. The flow openings 151 respectively have a width, which is the closest or the vertical distance from the end of each first partitioning member 14 to the adjacent second partitioning member 15. Therefore, the flow openings 151 respectively have a cross-sectional area smaller than that of each air release passage 141. Further, the flow openings 151 are distributed in the air space 13 at positions generally corresponding to two lateral sides of the patient's hips when the patient is lying on the inflatable stretcher 1, such that the air lifting force provided by the air in the inflatable stretcher 1 at areas corresponding to the patient's hips is higher than other areas.
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The handles 19 and the fastening straps 10 all are fixedly connected to between the upper cover member 11 and the lower cover member 12, and are symmetrically located at the left and the right side of the inflatable stretcher 1. The handles 19 enable the operators to conveniently pull or move the inflatable stretcher 1, and the fastening straps 10 are used to hold the patient in place on the inflatable stretcher 1 so that the patient won't fall off the inflatable stretcher 1 when being transported.
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The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180200130 A1 | Jul 2018 | US |