The present disclosure generally relates to a protective enclosure for, and a method of, protecting a patient on a stretcher, and, more particularly, to safeguarding the patient's privacy, as well as to shielding the patient from inclement weather.
Stretchers are frequently used by ambulance and hospital personnel and in routine and emergency situations to transport an injured or ill individual. The individual is placed on a stretcher and wheeled or carried from the scene of an accident or other location to an ambulance, and from the ambulance into an emergency room of a hospital. If the emergency room is busy, the individual may remain on the stretcher for a long period of time until medical care arrives, and sometimes, especially if an empty bed is not readily available, medical care may be administered to the individual while being supported on the stretcher in the emergency room. Even after being admitted to the hospital, the individual may be moved from place to place on the stretcher for medical treatment.
As satisfactory as such stretchers have been in transporting individuals, patient privacy concerns arise for such individuals on stretchers. Many individuals do not wish to be stared at by strangers, and often may feel embarrassed when moved on a stretcher in public. Many individuals value their privacy and do not wish to have their faces and identities exposed in ambulances, emergency rooms and hospitals. In addition, such individuals are sometimes exposed to inclement weather, e.g., rain, snow or hail, while being transported in a supine or sitting position and are not protected from the elements.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide patient privacy and protection from inclement weather to such individuals on stretchers.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and locations of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The structural and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
In accordance with one feature of this disclosure, a protective enclosure protects a patient supported on a mattress on a stretcher. The protective enclosure includes a pair of slidable base portions and a cover connected to, and extending between, the base portions. The base portions are movable toward and away from each other in a transverse common plane underneath the mattress along a transverse axis that extends widthwise of the mattress. The cover bounds an interior space in which a body part, e.g., principally, the head, and preferably also, the upper torso, of the patient, is received. The cover has an overhead structure that extends along the transverse axis above the transverse common plane. The cover acts as a screen and provides patient privacy and protection from inclement weather.
More particularly, the protective enclosure comprises a first enclosure part having a first, generally planar, slidable base panel; a first, generally planar, upright panel hinged to the first base panel; and a first, generally planar, overhead panel hinged to the first upright panel. The protective enclosure also comprises a second enclosure part having a second, generally planar, slidable base panel; a second, generally planar, upright panel hinged to the second base panel; and a second, generally planar, overhead panel hinged to the second upright panel. The first and second base panels are movable toward and away from each other in a transverse common plane underneath the mattress along a transverse axis that extends widthwise of the mattress. The first and second overhead panels extend along the transverse axis above the transverse common plane. The first and second upright panels and the first and second overhead panels together constitute a cover that bounds an interior space in which the aforementioned body part of the patient is received. The cover acts as a screen and provides patient privacy and protection from inclement weather.
In accordance with another feature of this disclosure, a method of protecting a patient supported on a mattress on a stretcher, is performed by forming a first enclosure part with a first, generally planar, slidable base panel; a first, generally planar, upright panel hinged to the first base panel; and a first, generally planar, overhead panel hinged to the first upright panel; and, also, by forming a second enclosure part with a second, generally planar, slidable base panel; a second, generally planar, upright panel hinged to the second base panel; and a second, generally planar, overhead panel hinged to the second upright panel. The method is further performed by inserting the first and second base panels underneath the mattress, by moving the first and second base panels toward and away from each other in a transverse common plane underneath the mattress along a transverse axis that extends widthwise of the mattress, by moving the first and second upright panels jointly with the first and second base panels along the transverse axis to an adjustment position in which the first and second upright panels straddle, and contact, opposite lateral sides of the mattress, and by interconnecting the first and second overhead panels to extend along the transverse axis above the transverse common plane to form a cover that bounds an interior space in which the aforementioned body part of the patient is received.
Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 10 in
As best shown in
The enclosure 10 is attached to stretcher 50 as follows: First, the first and second base panels 22, 42 are inserted underneath the mattress 52 and are movable, as shown in phantom lines in
Then, the first and second overhead panels 26, 46 are interconnected so that they extend along the transverse axis above the transverse common plane to form a cover that bounds an interior space 60 (see
As best seen in
In a preferred embodiment, the first and second overhead panels 26, 46 include front overhead flaps 32, 62 that are respectively foldable about linear creases, fold lines, or hinges 31, 61 toward the mattress 52, and rear overhead flaps 34, 64 that are respectively foldable about linear creases, fold lines, or hinges 33, 63 toward the mattress 52. The front and rear overhead flaps 32, 34 are cut to form end projections 36, 38, and the front and rear overhead flaps 62, 64 are cut to form end projections 66, 68. The first and second upright panels 24, 44 respectively have front inclined slots 35, 65 and rear inclined slots 37, 67.
As best seen in
Although the rear overhead flaps 34, 64 could be folded downwardly about hinges 33, 63 toward the mattress 52 until the end projections 38, 68 are received in the rear inclined slots 37, 67, it is preferred not to do so. Instead, the first upright panel 24 has front and rear notches 72, 74, which were formed when the end projections 36, 38 were cut; and the second upright panel 44 has front and rear notches 76, 78, which were formed when the end projections 66, 68 were cut. As best seen in
In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. For example, rather than forming the protective enclosure of two parts, it is also contemplated to form the protective enclosure of one piece. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present teachings.
The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes,” “including,” “contains,” “containing,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or arrangement that comprises, has, includes, contains a list of elements does not include only those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or arrangement. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a,” “has . . . a,” “includes . . . a,” or “contains . . . a,” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or arrangement that comprises, has, includes, or contains the element. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms “substantially,” “essentially,” “approximately,” “about,” or any other version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, in another embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1%, and in another embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20170145711 A1 | May 2017 | US |