1999-04-12
2000-06-13
Melius, Terry Lee
Beds
Field stretcher
5627, 441 83, A61G 1013
Patent
active
060732873
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a rescue device intended for use in traffic accidents and also in accidents at sea that involve man overboard situations.
It is a common occurrence in traffic accidents that the vehicles involved, for instance cars, are so demolished as to render it impossible to remove injured persons from the vehicles in the normal way. In these situations, the rescue personnel cut-away the vehicle in a manner suitable with respect to the situation on hand, whereafter the injured persons are removed from the vehicle and often placed on a stretcher, depending on the nature of their injuries. Such movement of the injured person is a critical step in this procedure, since the person concerned may be unconscious and the rescue personnel may not be aware of the injuries sustained by the person. His/her injuries may be worsened in the worst of cases.
In the case of accidents at sea that involve man overboard situations, it is often difficult to rescue a person in the water from a boat. The problem is one of lifting the person from the water and place him/her in the rescue boat. The person in the water is often heavy to lift, due to the sodden state of the person's clothing, while lifting is made even more difficult when the person concerned is unconscious. In the case of man overboard situations, it is very important to take-up the person concerned as quickly as possible, since the human body cools down very rapidly when submerged in water, particularly when the water has a low temperature.
A further problem that occurs in the aforesaid situations is that the rescue devices used will preferably be made of a material that will not absorb fluid, such as water and blood, for instance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to solve the aforesaid problems. This object is achieved with a rescue device according to claim 1. The rescue device comprises an elongated sheet-like structure on which an injured person is placed, a plurality of tubular members that are disposed in the longitudinal direction of the sheet-like member and function to reinforce the device, and a plurality of carrier elements by means of which the device can be carried. The sheet-like structure of the rescue device includes a first stable sheet which braces the structure, a resilient second layer having closed pores located adjacent the first sheet, and a third, smooth sheet which is disposed adjacent the second sheet centrally opposite the first sheet. The third sheet is the sheet on which the injured person is placed and because even the resilient sheet is made of a material having closed pores, the sheet-like member will not absorb fluid. The inventive rescue device also includes securing or fastening means on the first sheet which enable the device to be secured to the railings of a boat, buoyancy means disposed on the first sheet-like sheet, gas supply means connected to the buoyancy means, and an activator connected to the gas supply means and functioning to fill the buoyancy means with gas from the gas supply means so that the rescue device will be made buoyant.
Because the inventive rescue device is constructed in the aforedescribed manner, it is suitable for use in traffic accidents and also in accidents at sea which involve man overboard situations. Furthermore, the inventive rescue device will not absorb fluid.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inventive rescue device;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rescue device shown in FIG. 1, said view being taken on the line A--A in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet-like structure used in the inventive rescue device;
FIG. 4 is a first schematic illustration of the manner in which the inventive rescue device can be used in man overboard situations; and
FIG. 5 is a second schematic illustration of the manner in which the inventive rescue device can be used in man overboard situations.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of
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Fasth Rolf
Investment AB Falneria
Melius Terry Lee
Santos Robert G.
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