Stretcher Support Apparatus For An Ambulance

Abstract

The stretcher carrier is supported in an ambulance for tilting about a horizontal axis between a substantially horizontal position and a position inclined to the horizontal. Resilient means are provided to permit oscillation of the tilting axis in substantial vertical direction. The arrangement may also include locking means movable to an operative position to prevent in this position such oscillations.

Description

This invention relates to a stretcher support apparatus for an ambulance, and more particularly, though not exclusively, it relates to stretcher carrier means that are resiliently supported on the remainder of the vehicle, particularly at one end of the stretcher. Such resilient support is important especially for stretcher platforms which cantilevered ends, i.e., ends projecting forward beyond the rear part of the vehicle floor, to enable impacts arising during the journey to be absorbed elastically and kept from the stretcher platform.

An object of the invention is to provide such an elastic support of the stretcher carrier means adapted to obtain an efficient shock-absorbing springing of the stretcher in a simple manner.

Another object of the invention is to enable an adjustment of the springing effect of the elastic support.

A further object of the invention is to enable a tilting movement of the stretcher carrier means relative to the ambulance and especially resiliently supported at one or both ends on the ambulance so as to allow, for instance, a patient to be treated in the so-called Trendelenburg's position for shocks.

These and other objects of the invention are to be taken from he following description of an embodiment of the invention.

The invention also includes an ambulance provided with a stretcher support apparatus as set forth above.

The invention will now be described, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a stretcher support apparatus according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial elevational view of the front part of the stretcher carrier support shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial elevational view of the rear part of the stretcher platform support shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a front view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, partly in section.

Throughout this specification, terms describing directions should be taken to refer to these directions as viewed on the drawings; moreover, terms such as "front," "rear," etc. refer to the normal forward travel of an ambulance with the stretcher support apparatus of the invention mounted therein. Thus "front" refers to the left-hand side of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

Referring to the embodiment of a stretcher support apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-4, a standing or seating space 10 is provided in an ambulance behind the driving seat (not shown) and is bounded at the back by a substantially vertical front wall 11 of a rear-elevated vehicle floor portion 12. The rear end of the vehicle is closed in known manner by a vehicle door.

The stretcher carrier means of the apparatus is constituted by a stretcher platform 13 which consists essentially of a lower nondisplaceable part or undercarriage 14 and an upper part 15 which is capable of sliding in longitudinal guides relative to the lower part 14 and which is provided with longitudinal guide rails for a stretcher 16.

A front direction control member or pair of direction control members 17 in the form of a pivoted guide arm or arms serve for the front mounting or supporting of the stretcher platform 13, the said direction member or pair of direction control members 17 being mounted at the front end of the rear vehicle floor 12 in a hinge join 18. The or each member 17 is articulated by means of a pivot joint 19 to the lower part 14 of the stretcher platform 13, so that the stretcher platform 13 can be tilted about the front horizontal transverse axis formed by the joint 19 of the direction control member(s) 17, as is indicated by the dot-dash position 13' of the apparatus, in which tilted position an apostrophe has been added to the reference numbers of the displaced parts.

The rear end of the stretcher platform 13 is supported loosely on the rear vehicle floor 12 by means of one or several, if desired, resilient feet 20.

To provide the resilient support of the control member(s) 17, the or each control member 17 is provided with a downwardly pointing bracket arm 21, on which an approximately frustoconical, optionally hollow, rubber of plastic buffer 22 is secured to act as a resilient element. The buffer 22 may be fitted on the arm 21 of the direction control member 17 to be adjustable in the vertical direction or lockable, for example, by means of set screws. For a horizontal position of the direction control member 17, the buffer 22 is supported in the horizontal direction on the approximately vertical front wall 11 of the rear ambulance floor or on a corresponding part linked to the vehicle. When impacts arise during travel, the stretcher platform 13 can yield in a vertical direction as a result of the "give" of the elastic buffers 22. In order to avoid overly strong oscillations, the resilient element or the elastic buffers may be provided with damping, or may be made of a plastics material with strong self-damping properties, for instance butyl.

If the resilient suspension is to be eliminated, particularly if a cardiac massage of a patient lying on the stretcher is to be carried out, then this can be effected by pivoting a double-action lever 24 pivoted at 23 to the arm 21 of the direction control member with a lever arm 25 constructed as a handgrip and a locking lever arm 26 represented by the continuous line into the dot-dash position 24'. In this way the locking lever arm 26 is rigidly supported on a roll 27 in position 26' at the front boundary wall 11 of the vehicle floor and hence rigidly supports the direction control member 17.

A rear pair of support-forming direction control members 27, shown enlarged in FIGS. 3 and 4, serve for tilting and supporting the stretcher platform 13. The pair of direction control members which are preferably provided in pairs on either side of the vertical central longitudinal plane of the stretcher platform consists of a lower direction control member 28 and an upper direction control member 29. The lower member 28 is pivoted by means of a hinge joint 30 to a bearing yoke 31 rigidly fitted on the vehicle floor, the upper member 29 being pivoted to a yoke 33 rigidly fixed to the nondisplaceable part 14 of the stretcher platform 13 by means of a pivot joint 32. The two direction control members 28 and 29 are provided to each other by a hinge joint 34, and a stop limits the upright terminal position of the pair of direction control members shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in a toggle leverlike manner.

A locking device is provided to lock the pair of support-forming control members in their two terminal positions. For this purpose the direction control member 28 is provided with two bores 35 and 36 serving as ratchet bores for a ratchet pin 37 that is located in a housing 38 at the control member 29 and is biased by a spring 39 in a bore-engaging direction to lock the direction control members 28 and 29 either in the folded together position of the pair of members (position 27' in FIG. 1) or in the upright position corresponding to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The ratchet pin 37 is linked to a Bowden wire 40 which leads to a foot pedal 41 located in the standing or seating space 10. The foot pedal 41 is pivoted at 42 and connected with the Bowden wire 40, the connection being in a bearing housing 43.

In FIG. 1 the stretcher platform 13 is shown in the horizontal or operating position. In this position it is supported on the rear vehicle floor 12 by means of the feet 20, while the front end of the stretcher platform is supported by the direction control member(s) 17 and the elastic buffer(s) 22 in resilient manner. Thus the joint 19 can oscillate vertically about joint 18 within the limits of the "give" of the elastic buffers 22. To eliminate or bypass the resilient suspension the lever 24 can be pivoted into position 24' as already described.

In the horizontal position the guide rails of the stretcher platform 13 forming the upper part 15 may, moreover, be pushed forward with respect to the lower part 12 into a position 15" or, particularly for loading or unloading the stretcher platform into a rear position 15'" projecting through the rear door of the ambulance.

For tilting the stretcher platform about the front joint 19 the rear pair of support-forming direction control members 27 are unlocked by the Bowden wire by kicking down the foot pedal 41, whereby the ratchet pin 37 is pulled out of the bore 35 of the lower direction control member 28, enabling the stretcher platform to be brought into the tilted position 13' in response to application of light pressure by an operator on the front grips of the stretcher 16. In the terminal position the uprighted pair of controls 27 are locked by virtue of the ratchet pin 37 engaging in the bore 36 of the lower direction control member 28.

To lower the stretcher platform, the foot pedal 41 is kicked down again to make the Bowden wire 40 withdraw the ratchet pin 37 from he bore 36. A slight lifting movement of the front grips of the stretcher while tilted in position 16' will pivot the stretcher platform back if it does not return into the horizontal position under its own weight or under the weight of the stretcher with the patient on it.

Preferably, the elastic buffers provided are in every case to be dimensioned so that they ensure a substantial elastic deflection of about 30 mm. between the unloaded stretcher position and that of the stretcher with a person on it. Also, the degree of resiliency to be provided is to be such that the buffers can additionally absorb the impacts that arise during the journey, e.g. road shocks, when the stretcher is loaded.

Claims

What we claim is:

1. Stretcher support apparatus for an ambulance comprising elongated stretcher carrier means having a front and a rear part; front and rear connecting means for connecting said stretcher carrier means in the region of said front and rear parts to fixed parts of said ambulance, one of said connecting means comprising at least one substantially horizontal guide member hingedly connected at one end to the respective part of said stretcher carrier means and hingedly connected at the other end to the respective part of said ambulance and the other of said connecting means comprising link means permitting tilting of said carrier means about the hinge connection at the one of that guide member; and resilient means associated with said guide member for resiliently resisting tilting thereof about the hinge connection at said other end thereof so that the part of that stretcher carrier means connected to that one end of said guide member may oscillate in substantially vertical direction.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the resilient means is provided with oscillation damping means.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the resilient means is made at least in part of a self-damping material.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the resilient means is in the form of a buffer made of a resilient material.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in combination with means by which the resilient means is adjustably secured to said guide member.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein means are provided for rendering the resilient means ineffective.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said last-mentioned means includes a double-action locking lever connected in parallel to said resilient means so as to permit the rigid supporting of the stretcher carrier means by said at least one guide member.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said locking lever is mounted on said at least one guide member.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said at least one guide member has a bracket arm for receiving said resilient means, said locking lever being mounted on said bracket arm.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said guide member has a bracket arm projecting substantially vertically from said guide member and receiving said resilient means.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 in combination with a locking lever mounted on said bracket arm and capable to render said resilient means ineffective.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said link means comprise at least one pair of members having adjacent ends hinged to each other and hinged at the other ends to the respective parts of said carrier means and said ambulance, said members being movable between a collapsed and an extended position to swing during movement of said members from said collapsed to said extended position said carrier means about the hinge connection at said one end of said guide member to thereby bring said carrier means in a position inclined to the horizontal.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein locking means are provided for locking said hinged members in their collapsed and extended positions.

14. Stretcher support apparatus for ambulance comprising stretcher carrier means; connecting means connecting said stretcher carrier means to said ambulance and comprising at least one guide member connected to a part of said stretcher carrier means and to a fixed part of said ambulance; a bracket arm on said guide member; resilient means mounted on said bracket arm for resiliently supporting said stretcher carrier means and for permitting relative oscillation between said parts; and means for rendering said resilient means ineffective and comprising a double-action locking lever mounted on said bracket arm and connected in parallel to said resilient means so as to permit rigid supporting of said stretcher carrier means by said at least one guide member.

15. Stretcher support apparatus for an ambulance comprising stretcher carrier means; connecting means connecting said stretcher carrier means to a fixed part of said ambulance and comprising means for tiltably supporting said stretcher carrier means relative to said ambulance about a transverse axis of said carrier means on an end part of the latter; a tilting mechanism on the other end part of said carrier means and including at least one pair of scissorslike collapsible and extensible in series connected members extending between said stretcher carrier means and said fixed part; resilient means for resiliently supporting said tiltable support means; and locking means for locking said members in their collapsed and extended positions and comprising a resiliently biased locking pin on one of said members, said locking pin having an end portion receivable in any of said at least two recesses formed in the other of said members.

16. Stretcher apparatus for an ambulance comprising stretcher carrier means; connecting means connecting said stretcher carrier means to a fixed part of said ambulance and comprising means for tiltably supporting said stretcher carrier means relative to said ambulance about a transverse axis of said carrier means on an end part of the latter; a tilting mechanism on the other end part of said carrier means and comprising at least one pair of scissorslike, collapsible and extensible in series connected members extending between said stretcher carrier means and said fixed part; resilient means for resiliently supporting said tiltable support means; locking means for locking said members in their collapsed and extended positions; and controlling means for remotely controlling said locking means.

17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein said controlling means comprise a Bowden wire arrangement.

18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein a foot pedal is provided for the remote operation of said locking means.

19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stretcher carrier means includes a stretcher platform which is longitudinally slidably arranged on an undercarriage constituting a part of said stretcher carrier means.

20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stretcher carrier means includes a stretcher platform which is longitudinally slidably arranged on an undercarriage constituting a part of said stretcher carrier means.

21. Stretcher support apparatus for an ambulance comprising stretcher carrier means; connecting means connecting said stretcher carrier means to said ambulance and comprising at least one guide member connected to a part of said stretcher carrier means and to a fixed part of said ambulance; resilient means associated with said guide member and abutting against a face of said ambulance for resiliently supporting said stretcher carrier means and for permitting limited relative oscillation between said parts; and rigid means operatively connected to said stretcher carrier means and movable between an inactive position and an active position abutting against said face for preventing in said active position oscillation between said parts.