1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a maneuverable ambulance chair. More particularly, the present invention relates to a chair that allows an ambulance attendant to safely attend to a patient because the chair is both secured to the floor, wall, or other secured structure of an ambulance and maneuverable, allowing an ambulance attendant access to the patient at any number of positions while remaining restrained in the chair.
2. Background and Related Art
The time between when an ambulance picks up a patient to when the ambulance arrives at its destination is often critical to saving a patient's life. Because of this, ambulance attendants such as Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics and Nurses must work feverishly en route to the hospital. Performing this life-saving work is often very dangerous to ambulance attendants because not only do ambulances travel at high speeds, but ambulance attendants are often not restrained in their seats in order to be better able to maneuver around a patient to provide life-saving care. Thus, ambulance attendants often sacrifice their own safety in order to retain the mobility needed to appropriately position themselves near the patient. In addition, ambulance attendants need to stay mobile in order to reach needed medical items that may be stored in various locations around the interior of an ambulance. Thus, a need exists for a safe way for ambulance technicians to work on patients while traveling in ambulances.
The present invention relates to a selectively maneuverable ambulance chair. More particularly, the present invention relates to a chair that allows an ambulance attendant to safely attend to a patient because the chair is both secured to the floor, wall, or other secure structure of an ambulance and maneuverable, allowing an ambulance attendant access to the patient at any number of positions while remaining restrained in the chair.
In some embodiments, the chair is connected to a track system in the floor of the ambulance. In one such embodiment, the chair is locked into a channel or track having the ability to passively engage and actively release. In this embodiment, the chair moves along the channel. The chair and channel can be configured in a number of manners. For instance, in some embodiments, multiple chairs and channels exist. In one embodiment, two substantially straight channels exist on different sides of the patient and allow each attendant lateral mobility from either the top to the bottom of the patient or from side to side. In another embodiment, one channel exists that allows an attendant to move to any side of the patient. In yet another embodiment, the chair keeps the attendant restrained while allowing sufficient mobility for the attendant to reach from head to toe of the patient. One skilled in the relevant art would understand that any number of configurations is possible to allow sufficient mobility and appropriate attendant positioning.
In other embodiments, the chair may be mounted on an elevated track that passes over the wheel well of the ambulance in order to provide more room to work alongside the patient. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the track for the maneuverable chair may be located on a vertical surface, such as the wall of the ambulance. The present invention embraces other methods of supporting a maneuverable chair known to those skilled in the art, such as a ceiling-mounted support structure and track.
In some embodiments, the chair also swivels 180 degrees. This allows the ambulance attendant to retrieve supplies, while remaining secured in the chair. In other embodiments, the chair swivels 360 degrees, allowing the ambulance technician to turn the chair in either direction, while also being able to selectively lock the chair into one position in order to retain stability. In still other embodiments, the chair tilts up and down and from side to side, allowing the attendant to selectively position him/herself. In all configurations, the chair restrains the attendant, keeping him or her safe in the case of abrupt changes in direction or even in accidents.
While some embodiments have manual releases, which allow the attendant to manually control the movement of the chair, other embodiments allow the chair to move via power. One such embodiment uses a ball and screw mechanism and allows the chair to move with power along the track.
In other embodiments, the layout of the entire rear portion of the ambulance positions items close enough to the attendant that he/she can reach any item while remaining restrained in the chair.
While the methods and processes of the present invention have proven to be particularly useful in the area of ambulances, those skilled in the art can appreciate that the methods and processes can be used in a variety of different applications and in a variety of different areas of manufacture to yield similar safety-related benefits.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth or will become more fully apparent in the description that follows and in the appended claims. The features and advantages may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Furthermore, the features and advantages of the invention may be learned by the practice of the invention or will be obvious from the description, as set forth hereinafter.
In order that the manner in which the above recited and other features and advantages of the present invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that the drawings depict only typical embodiments of the present invention and are not, therefore, to be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, the present invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The present invention relates to a maneuverable ambulance chair. More particularly, the present invention relates to a chair that allows an ambulance attendant to safely attend to a patient because the chair is both secured to the floor of an ambulance and maneuverable, allowing an ambulance attendant access to the patient at any number of positions while remaining safely restrained in the chair.
In the disclosure and in the claims the term “chair” shall refer to “any chair-like device that allows a person to sit or stand and that functions to both restrain a person and allows sufficient mobility to be able to attend to a patient.”
In the disclosure and in the claims the term “ambulance” shall refer to “any transportation vehicle including cars, trucks, planes, helicopters, motorhomes and the like that would benefit from the maneuverable ambulance chair.”
In the disclosure and in the claims the terms “track” and “channel” shall be interchangeable and shall refer to “any device known to one skilled in the art that facilitates the selective directed movement of a chair along a surface.”
Referring now to the embodiment shown in
This embodiment also shows a track 14 on a floor 16 of the rear portion of the ambulance 12. The maneuverable ambulance chair 10 is connected to the track 14 and can move laterally in either direction on all portions of the track 14. Such movement allows an ambulance attendant (not shown) seated in the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 to position him/herself in a large variety of positions alongside or at the head of a patient (not shown) in a cot 22. In some embodiments, the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 may selectively rotate 180 or 360 degrees at any particular position on the track 14. This allows the attendant the ability to easily access any supplies or other materials needed to attend to the patient, even if the supplies are located to the side of or behind the attendant, such as in cabinets 18.
When movement of the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 is desired, the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 may be allowed to relatively freely slide along track 14 to the desired location alongside or at the head of the patient on the cot 22, as may be appreciated by reference to
The embodiment of
In some embodiments, the available room in the back of an ambulance 12 may be limited, and the space occupied by the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 should be limited so as to provide more room for the cot 22 and patient. In instances where space is at a premium, an embodiment of the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 such as that depicted in
The maneuverable ambulance chair 10 in this embodiment includes a back portion 42, a seat portion 44, and a leg portion 46. Other embodiments are envisioned that include only a seat portion 44 or only a seat portion 44 with either a leg portion 46 or a back portion 42. In the depicted embodiment, the seat portion 44 is provided with rollers 48 that rest on and roll over the roller track(s) 30 of the bench 28. This allows the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 to easily move from side to side when desired to better access a patient and/or supplies. The ambulance wall 34 and the side wall 56 of the bench 28 may be provided with recessed channels 40 similar to the recessed channels discussed previously with respect to
In embodiments lacking a back portion 42 and/or a leg portion, a single recessed channel 40 may be provided engaging only the remaining portion 42, 44, or 46, or multiple recessed channels 40 may be provided to engage locking guide members 58 on the remaining portions 42, 44, or 46. Additionally, the recessed channel 40 may be provided as part of the top of the bench 28, and may be close to or integrally formed with the roller track(s) 30. In some embodiments, a release mechanism (not shown) may be provided to allow the attendant to selectively release and engage the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 to allow for desired movement and then a desired fixed location. Although the embodiments discussed with respect to
As may be appreciated by reference to
Although embodiments have been discussed where the track 14 is located on the floor 16, on an elevated bench 28, or on a wall 34 of the ambulance 12, still other embodiments are envisioned where the track 14 is located above the maneuverable ambulance chair 10, such as high on the wall 34 of the ambulance 12, or even on a ceiling of the ambulance 12. Such an arrangement may be particularly advantageous to eliminate obstructions along the floor of an ambulance to prevent attendants from tripping and to prevent difficulties when loading or unloading a patient and cot 22. One of skill in the art will readily appreciate how to provide a track 14 that is an overhead track or ceiling-mounted support structure that adequately supports a maneuverable ambulance chair 10 against unwanted movement, such as during sudden direction changes, acceleration or deceleration, bumps, or ambulance accidents.
In many embodiments of the invention, it is desirable to provide the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 with the ability to passively engage and actively release from the track 14. This means that the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 is typically automatically locked against unwanted movement as long as the attendant is passive, i.e. doing nothing to release the maneuverable ambulance chair 10. To release the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 and allow movement, the attendant must actively actuate a release mechanism and then hold the mechanism in its released state until the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 is in the desired location. When the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 is in the proper location, the attendant simply releases or stops holding the mechanism in its released state, and the mechanism automatically re-engages the track 14 to prevent further movement. This safety feature better prevents unwanted movement in manual systems, as it is more difficult to accidentally cause movement, and if a sudden unexpected ambulance movement occurs and the attendant releases the mechanism, the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 is automatically secured against further motion.
While some embodiments have manual releases, which allow the attendant to manually control the movement of the maneuverable ambulance chair 10, other embodiments allow the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 to move via a powered mechanism. One such embodiment uses a ball and screw mechanism that allows the chair to move with power along the track. In such embodiments, the ball and screw may be located within the recessed channel 40, and the attendant actuates the screw to move the maneuverable ambulance chair 10 to the desired location. Once stopped at the desired location, the screw and ball or other powered mechanism prevents further unwanted movement of the maneuverable ambulance chair 10.
Thus, as discussed herein, the embodiments of the present invention embrace a chair that allows an ambulance attendant to safely attend to a patient because the chair is both secured to the floor, wall, or other structure of the ambulance and maneuverable, allowing an ambulance attendant access to the patient at any number of positions while remaining secured in the chair.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/758,102, filed Jan. 11, 2006, and entitled “Maneuverable Ambulance Chair.”
Number | Date | Country | |
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60758102 | Jan 2006 | US |