Patent Application
20130276502
The disclosed vehicle extraction method and tool is for use in the extraction of accident victims from a vehicle, such as from underneath a dashboard and steering column, when that vehicle has been compressed or crushed as the result of an automobile accident. The vehicle extraction method and tool is used to expedite the expansion of the interior of a crushed vehicle using the tool in combination with extension ram devices, either manual, air or hydraulic powered, to engage the tool and a second part of the vehicle to be expanded, such as the dash, and then to expand the vehicle to permit access to a victim inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle. Safe access to the interior of a crushed vehicle and removal of crash victims is thereby expedited to permit quicker transfer to emergency transport vehicles for critical care over other existing emergency extraction devices and techniques.
Extracting victims from crushed vehicles has often involved saws and cutting implements as well as devices such as the well known Jaws of Life™. However when the portions of the vehicle to be cut away are in contact with the victim, it is difficult to cut hardened steel without causing further injury to a trapped victim. As well, with new alloys and compounds being used in vehicle cutting is an even less desirable option, making expansion of a crushed vehicle the preferred option in many environments.
Similarly, prior expansion devices such as the Jaws of Life™ have very limited expansion capacities and are best suiting to the forced opening of doors or other limited separations and are not suited to expanding the interior of a vehicle.
Prior whole vehicle expander emergency rescue tools principally focused on steering column lifting devices requiring the use of chains or devices used to cut windshields. However, none of these involve the same elements or relationship of components defined by the present vehicle extraction tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,014 to Smith, discloses a very large frame which either fits over or under an entire automobile which has winches attached to two ends to pull a collapsed automobile apart.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,029 to Bertino discloses a hood bridge which allows for the placement of two chains, one end having a pulley or a fulcrum over which the chain is allowed to pull in a perpendicular direction, the two chains placed within the device holding two chains and forcing them together to lift the steering column, which has been wrapped with one piece of the chain and hooked around the column. A fluid operated door opening device, including a pair of hydraulic piston rams used to pry open a door or other structure, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,304 to Hill.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,260 to Gehron a T-bar with an extending levered arm is placed on the hood of a damaged vehicle, after which a chain winch is attached to the T-bar which has been anchored to the front of the vehicle, and a second chain is attached to the levered arm and the steering column, the chain winch forcing the levered arm towards the front of the vehicle, lifting the steering column by the chain wrapped around the steering column. A very similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,144 to Keeble, except that a passenger side air bag shredder is included on the T-bar to puncture any passenger side air bag which might deploy during rescue operations.
While the devices disclosed above do address the issue of expanding the interior of a vehicle, in particular the raising of a steering column, all of them require gaining access to the passenger compartment and then attempting to wrap a chain around a steering column that is often blocked by the very victim they are trying to extricate from the vehicle. They do not provide a means to safely expand a vehicle when the steering column may not be accessible. They also require anchoring the device to the front of the vehicle, which may be damaged due to a head-on collision. As well in some vehicles, especially after an accident, the front of the vehicle may lack the stability needed to be used as a reliable anchor.
Often vehicles, especially those involved in accidents where in the passenger compartment has been compressed, lack the integrity to be safely expanded through prior means. A traditional ram or jack must be secured against multiple hard points in the vehicle to be effective otherwise the effect is not to expand a vehicle, but to merely punch holes in a vehicle as the integrity of multiple hard points is rarely sufficient to withstand the stresses needed to expand the passenger compartment of a vehicle. Traditional methods have involved the use of the above mentioned expanders, but focused on the hard point of the steering column. Lacking in the prior art is a means to provide a second hard point to permit efficient expansion when the steering column may not be available or otherwise when two hard points may not be available.
The current method and tool is designed to permit spreading or expanding the interior of a crushed vehicle and may be used both internally and externally. The method and tool requires no access to the interior of the passenger compartment to effect expansion of the interior of the vehicle. The current device acts as a supplemental structural element to a crushed vehicle by providing an array of hard points or receiving points in which to set an expanding ram or jack. The current device provides additional utility in being capable of being broken down to smaller and lighter components and used as a single unit, or as a sub-unit or combination of sub-units. Once placed, a ram or jack may then be fitted to the tool on one end, and then to a suitable hard point on the vehicle frame or a second tool on the other end.
The disclosed vehicle extraction tool is preferably comprised of a three-part bar or a length of high grade aluminum with an anchor on each end and a series of receiving points along the length of the tool which is comprised principally of three structural bar portions which may be joined to form a single compound structural bar. While solid steel, hollow steel and other materials can be used, in the preferred embodiment the device is comprised of three portions, each of which is about 36 inches long, 4 inches wide and 5 inches deep and made of high grade aluminum, such a FORTAL® type or 7075 alloy aluminum. While a full length structural bar of 96 or more inches is functional, and for some situations preferable, not all applications require a full length bar and often it is desirable to use a shorter bar. Further, storage, lifting and placement of a full length bar may be difficult due to constraints in available storage areas, or due to conditions at the scene of an accident and placement of a crushed vehicle.
While the device may be any number of portions, preferably the device is comprised of a central portion and a first and second end portion, each of generally equal length. The portions are joined together and may be secured by any number of means, trough preferably male to female socket connectors are used with securing pins. While male to female connectors may be used in any sequence, including having a first end portion with a male connector and a second end portion with female connecter allowing end portions to be joined in a two portion assembly or to be readily used with multiple center portions in series, in the preferred embodiment the end portions have male connectors, are mirror images and interchangeable with a center portion with two receiving female connectors.
Multiple receiving points are provided along each portion. Receiving points may be square, raised ridges, or any manner of allowing a hydraulic ram or jack to gain footing. In the preferred embodiment the receiving points area series of recesses approximately 3 inches in diameter, and ¼ to 1 inch deep. While the device is fully functional with only one or two receiving points, to provide further utility, preferably receiving points are displaced along the entire the length of the structural bar. Further utility may be obtained with receiving points on multiple sides of the structural bar. Further utility is provided though the use of swivel mounted u-type anchors at the distal ends of the first and second end portions.
In use it is determined which length of structural bar is needed for use. Then either a single portion, or an assembled structural bar of two or more portions is assembled, the portions secured together, and then placed in any one of a number of orientations relative to a vehicle. A hydraulic ram or jack is then set against a vehicle point on one end, and one of the receiving points on the structural bar on the other end. The hydraulic ram is then activated and expanded. The resulting force on the structural bar then expands a crushed vehicle through force on the vehicle point on the one end and the structural bar on the other, the structural bar providing a secondary structural point to increase the effectiveness of the hydraulic ram or jack. At times further utility may be provided by adding a secondary support plate between the hydraulic ram and the vehicle point, or using a remaining structural bar element for receiving the second end of the hydraulic ram or jack.
To further facilitate the effectiveness of the tool it is disclosed that the roof of a vehicle may be removed and cuts may be made at break points to facilitate the desired expansion.
Once the desired expansion of the crushed vehicle has been achieved, the victim or passenger(s) of the vehicle can be safely removed and transported to a hospital for further care.
Thus, it is among the objectives of the disclosed vehicle extraction tool to:
Provide a structural bar which is comprised of easily managed portions which may be assembled to varying lengths, the component parts being usable as single units or multi-portion assemblies.
Provide a structural receiving point for receiving one end of a jack or hydraulic ram which may then have a second end placed against a vehicle point to be expanded.
Provide a reinforcing element to a vehicle in a collision to permit force to be applied to a point in a crushed vehicle and thereby expand the interior of a crushed vehicle.
Provide an external structural element for a crushed vehicle to permit force to be applied to a crushed vehicle and thereby allow the expansion of the interior of the crushed vehicle.
The above description and other objects, advantages, and features of the present embodiment will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 6—is a depiction of three assembled portions of the tool being used, secured externally to a vehicle and the hydraulic ram disposed external to the vehicle, the hydraulic ram traversing the distance between the tool and a forward brace of the vehicle.
As depicted in
In the preferred embodiment, the structural bar 10 is comprised of a pair of end portions, being a first end portion 15 and a second end portion 17, each with a male connecting member 46, which may be secured to a central portion 16, which has female receiving sockets on each end. Each of the portions may be of any usable length, but in the preferred embodiment, each portion is approximately 36 inches such that when all three portions are assembled, the complete structural bar 10 is approximately 96 inches long, and approximately 4 inches wide and 5 inches deep.
In use a proper length for a structural bar is determined, and then as needed a single end portion 15 may be used, or multiple portions 15/16/17 may be joined together to create the desired length of structural bar 10. Male connectors 45/46 are fitted to female sockets as desired on a central portion 16, then may be secured with pins 41/42, which may be locked with cotter pins 50.
Just about any useful length, width and depth may be used for the portions, with 36 inches being selected as a balance between utility and manageability. Longer portions may be used as well as shorter portions and it is disclosed that it may be useful for a rescue crew to carry multiple portions of multiple lengths, using portion segments as receiving plates or longer bars for leverage. Further, portions may be color coded to allow ready determination of the type of portion, such as length and whether a portion has a male or female coupler end. Use of multiple length structural bars permits fitting the length of a bar used to the size of a vehicle and particular needs of any rescue.
Displaced along one or more sides of each portion of the structural bar are a number of receiving points 12 for receiving an force impeller such as a hydraulic ram or jack 22 (Shown in
The selected width and depth of the disclosed structural bar 10 are merely a preferred balance of strength, principally through material depth, and useful width to allow the ease fitting a hydraulic ram or jack 22 to receiving points 12. Smaller or wider and deeper structural bars may be constructed to fit more targeted uses, and the use of more exotic and expensive materials or metal alloys would facilitate tubular or larger and lighter weight structural bars, the disclosed dimensions being a preferred embodiment balancing utility and economic considerations.
Further utility is achieved though the attachment of end anchors 14a/14b such as swivel mounted u-bar hoist rings to the end portions 15/17.
The structural bar 10 may be placed against the back seat 32 of a vehicle 30. An expansion ram 22, such as a Holmatro® 4332, is then placed with a first end 26 in a receiving point 12, and a second end 27 against a distal point on the vehicle to be expanded, such as against the dashboard, or even into a second, shorter structural bar or receiving plate placed in the dashboard. The expansion ram 22 is then activated, imparting force on the structural bar 10 and the distal portion of the vehicle 30, to effect expansion of the crushed vehicle 30. If needed, the ram may be re-set to an alternate receiving point 12, and an alternate distal point in the vehicle 30 and activated a second or third time, or as often as needed to effect useful vehicle 30 expansion and permit the rescue of all trapped occupants.
While a hydraulic expansion ram 22 is disclosed as the preferred means of imparting expansive force, the means of implementing expansion may include manual expansion rams, pneumatic expanders and similar devices.
The means of setting an end 26 of the expansion ram 22 to a receiving point 12 external to the vehicle 30 may be used in conjunction with tandem expansion ram 22 setting internal to the vehicle 30, or alternating expansions with internal placement
Depending on the needs of the expansion, it may be preferable to support the structural bar 10 with blocks and secure such by chaining 28 to a center brace 33 as shown in
In the general operation the structural bar 10 and expansion ram 22 may be set, activated, reset to alternate receiving points 12 and activated again any number of times as needed to safely expand the interior of a vehicle to permit the extraction of trapped occupants. As well it is disclosed the present rescue tool may be used in conjunction with prior technologies in any number of combinations.
It should be understood that various modifications and changes to the arrangement, operation and details of the disclosed tool and methods of use may be made to effect the utility and manner of practicing the disclosed invention. The above enabling disclosure of the best mode of practicing the invention should be seen as an exemplar and non-limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the claims presented.
