Patent Application
20210244591
In an emergency situation where a person, victim or patient (collectively referred to as “the patient” or “patients”) needs to be rescued or moved, often a first responder or several first responders arrive on the scene with no tools to help a patient in need of movement. Such emergency situations might include incidents where the patient might be in harm's way, such as when there is a fire, flood or other emergency, and the patient needs to be moved promptly.
Furthermore, there are situations where the first responder is called to a non-emergency situation known as “Citizen Assist” situations. In these situations, sometimes a person or patient just needs assistance in getting to a standing or sitting position. This exercise is difficult when the person or patient is large and it is difficult to lift or support the person or patient without compromising the position of the first responder which can lead to mechanical injuries.
Currently firefighters and other first responders (collectively referred to as “rescuer” or “rescuers”) resort to lifting very large patients by trying to lift a patient from behind with arms under their armpits. This position puts the rescuer at risk for back injury. This technique is difficult due to poor grip on patient and other rescuers being unable to assist in lifting. Large patients may have most of their weight in their hips and legs and a lift by their armpits is difficult. At times, this lift is painful for the patient.
As an alternative, some rescuers opt to roll a patient onto a tarp that has handles on the sides of it and then moving the tarp with the patient on the tarp out of the threatening zone and to a rescue vehicle. This mechanism requires a patient lying flat and rolling from one side to the other side to get the tarp underneath the patient. The patient is lifted in the lying down position. There are times when space does not allow for a patient to lie flat. Other times, the rolling action may not be easily performed.
Thus there is a need for a lifting mechanism that is lightweight and easily transportable on a rescuer. The lifting mechanism should be simple to use and operable by one or more rescuer. Furthermore, the lifting mechanism is should be useable when space is not conducive to rolling back and forth onto a tarp.
These shortcomings are addressed by the present invention referred to as a rescue strap. The invention pertains to aiding rescuers to effectively carry a patient in need of assistance. However, it can be appreciated that this rescue strap may be used by other operators that just want to move a patient for other means such as medical, entertainment, or recreational.
The present rescue strap addresses these above-mentioned problems by allowing the rescuer to easily carry the strap as the rescue strap bundles into a tight wad that can be folded into a carrying bag or tied into a bundle with another strap, string or rope. The rescue strap is designed to lift a patient from his torso and hips simultaneously. This design helps with the weight distribution and demands on the rescuer when lifting the patient.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the rescue strap has a lead end and a rear end. The rescue strap is comprised of a top strap made of a durable and flexible material and a bottom strap made of a durable and flexible material secured to the first strap by a plurality of stitch works. The plurality of stich works create a plurality of strap loops along a length of said bottom strap. Optionally, a center point marker may be located in a center region of the bottom strap or a center region of the top strap.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the rescue strap wraps around the torso of patient and is fed through one of the strap loops to create a secure connection around the patient's torso. Optionally, the rescue strap then wraps around the patient's upper legs and through other strap loops making another girth hitch to lift a patient up from the hips. This method allows rescuers to handle the patient such that will riot slip off or require patient to assist rescuers with their own strength. Lifting from the torso and hips simultaneously puts the rescuers in good lifting form and provides adequate support to lift patient.
A rescue strap 10 as shown in
Now referring to
To create the loop affect, the top strap 12 and the bottom strap 14 may be of substantially the same length in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the bottom strap 14 may be longer than the top strap 12 and when the stitches are made in consistent intervals, a bend is generated in the bottom strap 14. In the most preferred embodiment, the top strap 12 is longer than the bottom strap 14. In on embodiment using an 18 feet rescue strap 10, the bottom strap 14 is 18 feet long while the top strap 12 is 19 to 22 feet long. By stitching the top strap 12 every 8 inches for every 6 inches of the bottom strap 14, a natural bend in the top strap 12 is created that form the strap loops 18. The strap loops 18 are stitched one right after another create a continuous strap of handles or loops which provides sizing options depending on patient's size when feeding around patient s torso and legs. This design also provides many available handles for rescuers to lift from depending on the location of the patient 19 and rescuer. Now referring to
In a preferred embodiment, the width of the top strap 12 and the bottom strap 14 differ to make it easier to grip the rescue strap 10 and feed the lead end 22 or rear end 24 of the rescue strap 10 through respective loops. To aid with the identification of the top strap 12 from the bottom strap 14 when in operation, the top strap 12 may be made of different color than that of the bottom strap 14. An optimal design will have the top strap 12 as being red and having a top strap width being the slightly less wide than the bottom strap 14. The bottom strap 14 in this embodiment will have a black strap being slightly wider than the top strap 12. The bottom strap is preferably about 3 inches wide, but could be between 1 and 6 inches wide. The top strap 12 is preferably about 2 inches wide and may vary in width in conjunction with the bottom strap 14. The top strap 12 can be the same width as the bottom strap; however, it is preferred that it is less wide so it can be easier to find the different straps and gripping it.
A center point marker 26 is preferably located in a center region 28 of the bottom strap 14 or in a center region 28 of the top strap 12. The center region 28 is generally defined as a region located in the central ⅓rd section of the rescue strap 10 which applies to both the bottom strap 14 and the top strap 12, but is preferably more centrally located in the central 1/10th section of the rescue strap 10. In a preferred embodiment, the center point marker 26 is a tag or small loop and is located at or near the center of the rescue strap 10. This center point marker 26 serves as a marker that a rescuer can pin near the center of a patient's chest or body when beginning the deployment of the rescue strap 12 on the patient 19. The center point marker 26 is preferably a simple off-colored fabric or durable material that is easily spotted and adhered through a stitch or glue to the rescue strap 12.
Now referring to
Now referring to
While a particular embodiment of the rescue strap has been described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62972037 | Feb 2020 | US |
