A multi-site ambulance transport stretcher

Abstract

This invention provides a multi-site emergency transport stretcher, belonging to the field of medical device technology. The stretcher includes: a stretcher body with a conveyor belt on the upper side and an articulated electric rocker on one side; adjustable-height support legs on the lower side of the stretcher body; an omnidirectional movable chassis at the lower end of the support legs, including Mecanum wheels and a drive motor; and a controller electrically connected to the conveyor belt, the electric rocker, the support leg height adjustment mechanism, and the Mecanum wheel drive motor. During the transfer operation, the controller synchronously controls the linear speed of the conveyor belt and the moving speed of the chassis, so that the two form a vector superposition of relative motion, realizing micro-motion non-destructive transport of the injured and sick. The advantages of this invention are that it solves the problems of poor mobility, non-adjustable height, and easy secondary injury of existing stretchers, and can be widely used in emergency scenes, intra-hospital transport, and operating room-ward connection operations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical device technology, and in particular to a multi-site emergency transport stretcher. Background Technology

[0002] In emergency medical care and clinical nursing practice, the transport and transfer of injured and sick personnel is a high-frequency, high-risk core operation. Currently, the transfer of injured and sick personnel from the ground to stretchers, and from stretchers to operating tables or hospital beds, still heavily relies on manual lifting and carrying by medical staff. This traditional operational mode has several insurmountable technical drawbacks:

[0003] Firstly, during manual lifting, the human spine, fracture ends, and soft tissues are easily subjected to shearing and torsional forces outside of physiological directions, which can easily cause secondary injuries. This risk is particularly prominent for patients with spinal injuries, multiple fractures, or postoperative conditions.

[0004] Secondly, most existing ambulance stretchers use a fixed structure with a chassis height that is not adjustable or has a limited range of adjustment. This makes it difficult to achieve a planar connection with operating tables, ICU beds, and ambulance stretcher platforms of different heights, increasing the risk of positional differences when patients are transferred to other beds.

[0005] Third, the lateral transfer of wounded and sick patients from stretchers to hospital beds or operating tables (i.e., "bed transfer") still mainly relies on "multiple people working together to lift, pull, and tug the bed sheet." This not only consumes a lot of manpower, but the transfer process is also unstable and can easily pull on the drainage tubes, monitoring leads, and infusion lines on the patient.

[0006] Existing patent documents, such as CN205054621U, disclose a stretcher bed with a conveyor belt, which uses the rotation of the conveyor belt to achieve patient translation. However, this solution uses traditional casters, lacking omnidirectional movement capability and height adjustment function, and does not achieve linkage control between the conveyor belt and the chassis movement. Another example is CN103961224A, which discloses a scoop stretcher, using a symmetrical scoop plate assembly to scoop up the wounded and sick, but it is essentially a rigid mechanical scoop plate.

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need in this field for an intelligent ambulance transport stretcher that combines omnidirectional mobility, highly adaptive adjustment, and active non-destructive transport capabilities. Summary of the Invention

[0008] This invention aims to provide a multi-site emergency transport stretcher to solve the technical problems of existing stretchers, such as poor mobility in confined spaces, inability to adjust height, susceptibility to secondary injuries during patient transfer, and low transfer efficiency.

[0009] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0010] A multi-site ambulance transport stretcher includes a stretcher body, a conveyor belt on the stretcher body, an entrance end on one side of the stretcher body, an electric rocker hinged at the entrance end, and the conveyor belt is designed based on the principle of a liquid shovel to transport the injured or sick person from the electric rocker at the entrance end to the stretcher body via the conveyor belt.

[0011] The stretcher body is equipped with height-adjustable support legs on its underside;

[0012] The lower end of the support leg is also provided with an omnidirectional moving chassis, which includes Mecanum wheels and Mecanum wheel drive motors, for realizing 360-degree rotation, lateral translation and forward and backward movement of the stretcher body;

[0013] It also includes a controller, which is electrically connected to the conveyor belt, the electric rocker, the height adjustment mechanism of the support leg, and the Mecanum wheel drive motor, respectively.

[0014] During the transfer of wounded and sick personnel, the controller synchronously controls the linear speed of the conveyor belt and the chassis movement speed of the Mecanum wheel, so that the conveyor belt and the omnidirectional moving chassis form a vector superposition of relative motion, thereby realizing micro-motion relative displacement between the wounded and sick personnel and the stretcher body.

[0015] Preferably, the support leg adopts an elbow-type folding foot structure, which is driven by an electric push rod to realize the height adjustment of the stretcher body.

[0016] Preferably, the elbow-type folding leg includes a first connecting rod, the upper end of which is hinged to the stretcher body, and the lower end of which is hinged to the upper end of a second connecting rod;

[0017] The fixed end of the electric push rod is hinged to the stretcher body, and the output end is hinged to the connection point of the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod.

[0018] The lower end of the second link is connected to the omnidirectional moving chassis, and the middle part of the second link is also hinged to the lower end of the third link, and the upper end of the third link is hinged to the stretcher body.

[0019] When the electric push rod extends, it pushes the hinge point between the first link and the second link to move outward or downward. The first link rotates around its upper hinge point, and the second link rotates around its lower hinge point. The third link constrains the motion trajectory of the middle part of the second link, so that the entire mechanism moves according to the predetermined elbow trajectory.

[0020] The telescopic movement of the electric push rod drives the first link and the second link to switch between a folded state and an unfolded state, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering movement of the stretcher body relative to the omnidirectional moving chassis.

[0021] Preferably, the stretcher body is further provided with an extension device, including an expandable frame and a push rod assembly, which is driven by a motor to realize the width adjustment of the stretcher body.

[0022] Preferably, the electric rocker is also provided with auxiliary wheels on both sides.

[0023] Preferably, the stretcher body is also equipped with a battery for providing power.

[0024] Preferably, the conveyor belt is designed based on the principle of a liquid shovel, and the surface of the conveyor belt is made of a low-friction coefficient material. Its driving force distribution matches the pressure distribution on the contact surface of the wounded and sick. The continuous rotation of the conveyor belt replaces the insertion and shoveling of a hard mechanical shovel, thereby achieving non-destructive transfer of the wounded and sick.

[0025] Preferably, the controller is further connected to a control terminal, which is one or more of a wired controller, a built-in control panel, or a wireless remote controller.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0027] 1. Omnidirectional mobility: Utilizing the vector kinematics of the Mecanum wheels, it can achieve lateral translation and 360-degree rotation in narrow spaces, significantly improving the stretcher's ability to move through confined spaces such as hospital elevators, ward corridors, and emergency access routes.

[0028] 2. Zero-height-difference ground pickup: The stretcher platform is lowered to ground level by the elbow-type folding legs. With the active rotation of the conveyor belt, the patient who has fallen can be "sucked" onto the vehicle, completely avoiding manual lifting.

[0029] 3. Multi-height precise docking: The height of the support legs can be continuously and steplessly adjusted within a wide range, enabling seamless docking with different models of operating tables, ICU beds, and ambulance stretcher platforms.

[0030] 4. Width adaptive adjustment: The extension device allows for adjustment of the stretcher width. When folded, it facilitates passage through narrow spaces, while when unfolded, it provides a larger support surface.

[0031] 5. Active damage-preventing transport: By using the vector superposition control of the conveyor belt and chassis movement speed, the "micro-motion" smooth sliding of the injured and sick is achieved, replacing the traditional manual lifting operation and significantly reducing the risk of secondary injury.

[0032] 6. Intelligent centralized control: Through the flexible combination of multiple control terminals, a single person can complete the entire transfer operation, greatly reducing the labor intensity of medical staff. Attached Figure Description

[0033] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the invention and are used together with the embodiments of the invention to explain the invention. They do not constitute a limitation of the invention. In the drawings:

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the first structure of the stretcher main support leg unfolded according to the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the second structure of the stretcher main support leg unfolded according to the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the third structure of the unfolded stretcher body described in this invention;

[0037] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the folded structure of the main support leg of the stretcher described in this invention;

[0038] In the diagram: 1-Stretcher body; 2-Conveyor belt; 3-Entry end; 4-Electric rocker; 5-Support leg; 6-Omnidirectional moving chassis; 7-Extension device; 8-Controller; 9-Auxiliary wheel; 10-Battery;

[0039] 501 - Folding foot with toggle mechanism; 502 - Electric actuator; 503 - First link; 504 - Second link; 505 - Third link;

[0040] 601 - Mecanum wheel; 602 - Mecanum wheel drive motor;

[0041] 701 - Expandable frame; 702 - Actuator assembly; 703 - Motor. Detailed Implementation

[0042] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, a multi-site ambulance transfer stretcher includes a stretcher body 1, a conveyor belt 2 on the stretcher body 1, an entrance end 3 on one side of the stretcher body 1, an electric rocker 4 hinged at the entrance end 3, and the conveyor belt 2 is designed based on the principle of a liquid shovel to transport the injured or sick from the electric rocker 4 at the entrance end 3 to the stretcher body 1 via the conveyor belt 2.

[0044] The stretcher body 1 is equipped with height-adjustable support legs 5 on its lower side;

[0045] The lower end of the support leg 5 is also provided with an omnidirectional moving chassis 6, which includes Mecanum wheels 601 and Mecanum wheel drive motors 602, for realizing 360-degree rotation, lateral translation and forward and backward movement of the stretcher body 1.

[0046] It also includes a controller 8, which is electrically connected to the height adjustment mechanism of the conveyor belt 2, the electric rocker 4, the support leg 5, and the Mecanum wheel drive motor 602.

[0047] During the transfer of the wounded and sick, the controller 8 synchronously controls the linear speed of the conveyor belt 2 and the chassis movement speed of the Mecanum wheel 601, so that the direction of movement of the conveyor belt 2 toward the inside of the stretcher body 1 is opposite to the direction of movement of the omnidirectional moving chassis 6 away from the wounded and sick, so that the conveyor belt 2 and the omnidirectional moving chassis 6 form a vector superposition of relative motion, thereby realizing micro-motion relative displacement between the wounded and sick and the stretcher body 1. Specifically, the linear speed of the conveyor belt 2 and the chassis movement speed are configured so that the relative speed between the wounded and sick and the ground approaches zero or is within a preset low speed range, thereby realizing micro-motion relative displacement between the wounded and sick and the stretcher body 1.

[0048] The "liquid shovel" principle described in this invention refers to using the continuous rotation of the conveyor belt 2 to replace the traditional insertion-type shovel action of a rigid mechanical shovel, achieving non-destructive transfer of the wounded and sick. Specifically, this invention uses the conveyor belt 2 as the interface between the wounded / sick and the stretcher. The surface of the conveyor belt is made of a low-friction coefficient material. In the "suction" mode, the conveyor belt rotates inward towards the stretcher, while the stretcher as a whole slightly retracts. The clothing or sheets under the wounded / sick come into contact with the conveyor belt and are drawn into the stretcher under the action of friction. Because the rotation of the conveyor belt is continuous and flexible, the wounded / sick is as if lifted and moved horizontally by a layer of flowing "liquid," completely avoiding the insertion action of a rigid shovel.

[0049] Furthermore, the support leg 5 adopts a toggle-type folding foot 501 structure, which is driven by an electric push rod 502 to achieve height adjustment of the stretcher body 1.

[0050] Specifically, the elbow-type folding foot 501 includes a first connecting rod 503, the upper end of which is hinged to the stretcher body 1, and the lower end of which is hinged to the upper end of the second connecting rod 504.

[0051] The fixed end of the electric push rod 502 is hinged to the stretcher body 1, and the output end is hinged to the connection point of the first connecting rod 503 and the second connecting rod 504.

[0052] The lower end of the second link 504 is connected to the omnidirectional moving chassis 6, and the middle part of the second link 504 is also hinged to the lower end of the third link 505. The upper end of the third link 505 is hinged to the stretcher body 1.

[0053] When the electric push rod 502 extends, it pushes the hinge point of the first link 503 and the second link 504 to move outward or downward. The first link 503 rotates around its upper hinge point, the second link 504 rotates around its lower hinge point, and the third link 505 constrains the motion trajectory of the middle part of the second link 504, so that the entire mechanism moves according to the predetermined elbow trajectory.

[0054] The telescopic movement of the electric push rod 502 drives the first link 503 and the second link 504 to switch between the folded state and the unfolded state, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering movement of the stretcher body 1 relative to the omnidirectional moving chassis 6.

[0055] Furthermore, the stretcher body 1 is also equipped with an extension device 7, including an expandable frame 701 and a push rod assembly 702, which is driven by a motor 703 to realize the width adjustment of the stretcher body 1, so that the stretcher can switch between the transfer mode and the bed mode.

[0056] Furthermore, its electric rocker 4 is also equipped with auxiliary wheels 9 on both sides.

[0057] Furthermore, the stretcher body 1 is also equipped with a battery 10 for providing power.

[0058] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown in the figure, this is the first embodiment of the present invention. When it is necessary to transfer a wounded or sick person who has fallen to the ground, the operator drives the Mecanum wheel drive motor 602 through the controller 8 or manually pushes the stretcher to move the entire stretcher to the appropriate position next to the wounded or sick person, and adjusts the direction so that the entrance end 3 is aligned with the wounded or sick person.

[0059] The controller 8 issues a command to drive the electric push rod 502 of the elbow-type folding foot 501 to retract, gradually lowering the height of the stretcher body 1 to near the ground (approximately 0-5 cm). During the descent, the angle of the electric rocker 4 is simultaneously adjusted so that the end of the entrance end 3 touches the ground. At the same time, the height of the support leg 5 near the entrance end 3 is lower than that of the support leg away from the entrance end 3, causing the stretcher body to be in a slightly tilted position, further reducing the distance between the entrance end and the ground, making it easier for the injured or sick to slide in.

[0060] Controller 8 starts conveyor belt 2, controlling it to move towards the inside of the stretcher (linear speed set to 2-10 meters per minute, depending on the patient's weight and the coefficient of friction of clothing). At the same time, the controller fine-tunes the movement speed of Mecanum wheel 601, causing the stretcher to move away from the patient at a very low speed (e.g., 0.5-1 meter per minute), creating a synchronous reverse movement between the conveyor belt and the ground.

[0061] The injured or sick person is smoothly "sucked" into the main body of the stretcher 1 by the combined action of the friction of the conveyor belt and the slight displacement of the stretcher as a whole, without the need for manual lifting.

[0062] The core of this embodiment lies in the combination of the "liquid shovel" principle and "synchronous reverse motion." By lowering the support leg 5 near the entrance end 3 compared to the support leg 5 away from the entrance end 3, the stretcher body 1 forms a slight tilt angle, with the end of the entrance end 3 touching the ground, eliminating the step difference between the ground and the stretcher. The inward rotation of the conveyor belt 2 and the slight backward movement of the stretcher create a vector superposition, resulting in extremely low relative speed between the patient and the conveyor belt 2. The patient is smoothly slid into the stretcher as if being lifted by "liquid," avoiding the injury caused by rigid shoveling.

[0063] When the stretcher needs to be transferred from the ground to the ambulance, the operator drives the Mecanum wheel drive motor 602 via the wireless controller 8 or manually pushes the stretcher to move it to the rear door of the ambulance. Using the lateral translation function of the Mecanum wheels 601, the stretcher is adjusted to be parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, with the entrance end 3 facing the interior of the ambulance. The controller 8 then sends a command to drive the electric push rod 502 of the toggle-type folding foot 501, gradually raising the stretcher body 1 to the same height as the ambulance floor. At this point, the auxiliary wheels 9 on both sides of the electric rocker 4 are in contact with the ambulance floor, providing support and guidance for the front of the stretcher body 1, ensuring a smooth entry into the ambulance and avoiding impacts caused by height discrepancies or improper docking angles.

[0064] Simultaneously, the support leg 5 near the entrance end 3 retracts, gradually transferring the weight of the front of the stretcher to the auxiliary wheels 9. The Mecanum wheels 601 on the front and rear sides continue to rotate into the ambulance, while with the assistance of medical personnel, the front of the stretcher is pushed into the ambulance compartment. When the rear support leg 5 approaches the ambulance compartment, the controller 8 retracts the rear support leg 5, allowing the entire stretcher body to slowly enter the compartment. At this time, the controller 8 can adjust the height of the stretcher body 1 within the ambulance compartment to accommodate the position of the fixation devices or provide a more comfortable position for the injured or sick.

[0065] In addition, the stretcher body 1 is equipped with an adjustable-width extension device 7. When there is a shortage of beds in the emergency department, observation room, or ward, the stretcher can be unfolded and used as a temporary bed. The operator issues a command through the controller 8 to drive the motor 703 of the extension device 7, which in turn unfolds the expandable frame 701 to both sides simultaneously through the push rod assembly 702. The overall width of the stretcher gradually expands from the folded state (e.g., 40 cm) to the maximum width (e.g., 120 cm). When the expandable frame 701 is unfolded to the target width, the controller 8 automatically locks the extension device 7 to maintain a stable width. At this time, the stretcher body 1 forms a wide and flat support plane, which can be used as a temporary hospital bed.

[0066] To make the main body 1 of the stretcher more stable, its support legs 5 are installed on the outside of the expandable frame 701. When the expandable frame 701 is extended to both sides, the support legs 5 can move flexibly laterally through the Mecanum wheel 601 at the lower end, thereby increasing the lateral span between the support legs 5 and significantly improving the stretcher's anti-overturning ability and overall structural stability in the wide-extension state.

[0067] With its width adjustment mechanism and the omnidirectional rotation of the Mecanum wheels 601, the stretcher can flexibly switch between "transfer mode" (narrow width for easy passage) and "bed mode" (wide width for easy rest and examination), making it not only a transfer tool but also a multifunctional medical device that integrates transfer, temporary bed, and nursing platform, significantly improving the utilization rate and practicality of the equipment.

[0068] In this implementation case, controller 8 supports three operating modes:

[0069] Mode 1: Handheld wired controller. Operation is performed by inserting a wired controller 8 into the side of the stretcher body 1. This mode is suitable for environments with strong electromagnetic interference.

[0070] Mode 2: Built-in control panel. Located on the side frame of the stretcher body 1, it is a touch-screen or membrane button panel for convenient operation directly next to the stretcher.

[0071] Mode 3: Wireless Remote Control. Utilizing wireless communication technology, this mode allows operators to control the stretcher from the optimal observation position, which is especially convenient when docking in confined spaces.

[0072] Its controller 8 also has the following functions:

[0073] One-click transfer: After pressing the "transfer" button, the controller automatically executes the entire process of height adjustment, rocker angle adjustment, and synchronous movement of the conveyor belt and chassis.

[0074] Speed ​​adjustment: The moving speed is adjustable from one meter to one hundred meters per minute, and the conveyor belt speed is adjustable from zero to fifty meters per minute.

[0075] Battery Management: Battery 10 provides power to all electric components. The controller monitors the battery level in real time and issues an alarm when the battery is low.

[0076] This invention allows a single person to complete the entire transfer operation through a flexible combination of various control terminals, significantly reducing the labor intensity of medical staff. It solves the problems of poor mobility, non-adjustable height, and easy secondary injury of existing stretchers, and can be widely used in emergency scenes, intra-hospital transfers, and operating room-ward connection operations.

[0077] Finally, it should be noted that the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. However, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-site ambulance transfer stretcher, characterized by: The stretcher body (1) is provided with a conveying belt (2), one side of the stretcher body (1) is provided with an entrance end (3), the entrance end (3) is hinged with an electric flap (4), the conveying belt (2) is used for conveying the wounded from the electric flap (4) of the entrance end (3) to the stretcher body (1) through the conveying belt (2); The lower side of the stretcher body (1) is provided with an adjustable height support leg (5); The lower end of the support leg (5) is further provided with an omnidirectional mobile chassis (6), the omnidirectional mobile chassis (6) comprises a Mecanum wheel (601) and a Mecanum wheel driving motor (602), which is used for realizing 360-degree rotation, lateral translation and forward and backward movement of the stretcher body (1); Further comprising a controller (8), the controller (8) is electrically connected with the conveying belt (2), the electric flap (4), the height adjusting mechanism of the support leg (5) and the Mecanum wheel driving motor (602) respectively; When performing the wounded transfer operation, the controller (8) synchronously controls the linear velocity of the conveying belt (2) and the chassis moving speed of the Mecanum wheel (601), so that the conveying belt (2) and the omnidirectional mobile chassis (6) form a relative motion of vector superposition, realizing the micro-motion relative displacement between the wounded and the stretcher body (1).

2. The multi-site rescue transfer stretcher of claim 1, wherein: The support leg (5) adopts a toggle folding foot (501) structure, which is driven by an electric push rod (502) and is used for realizing the height adjustment of the stretcher body (1).

3. A multi-site rescue transfer stretcher according to claim 2, wherein: The toggle folding foot (501) comprises a first connecting rod (503), the upper end of the first connecting rod (503) is hinged with the stretcher body (1), and the lower end of the first connecting rod (503) is hinged with the upper end of a second connecting rod (504); The fixed end of the electric push rod (502) is hinged with the stretcher body (1), and the output end is hinged with the connection point of the first connecting rod (503) and the second connecting rod (504); The lower end of the second connecting rod (504) is connected with the omnidirectional mobile chassis (6), the middle part of the second connecting rod (504) is further hinged with the lower end of a third connecting rod (505), and the upper end of the third connecting rod (505) is hinged with the stretcher body (1); When the electric push rod (502) is stretched out, the hinge point of the first connecting rod (503) and the second connecting rod (504) is pushed to move outward or downward, the first connecting rod (503) rotates around the upper end hinge point, the second connecting rod (504) rotates around the lower end hinge point, and the third connecting rod (505) restricts the movement track of the middle part of the second connecting rod (504), so that the whole mechanism moves according to the predetermined toggle track; The telescopic movement of the electric push rod (502) drives the first connecting rod (503) and the second connecting rod (504) to switch between the folded state and the unfolded state, thereby realizing the lifting movement of the stretcher body (1) relative to the omnidirectional mobile chassis (6).

4. The multi-site rescue transfer stretcher of claim 1, wherein: The stretcher body (1) is further provided with an extension device (7), which comprises an extensible frame (701) and a push rod assembly (702) and is driven by a motor (703) to adjust the width of the stretcher body (1).

5. The multi-site rescue transfer stretcher of claim 1, wherein: The electrically-driven hinged plate (4) is further provided with auxiliary wheels (9) on both sides.

6. The multi-site rescue transfer stretcher of claim 1, wherein: The stretcher body (1) is further provided with a battery (10) for providing power.

7. The multi-site rescue transfer stretcher of claim 1, wherein: The surface of the conveying belt (2) is made of a low-friction coefficient material, the driving force distribution of the conveying belt is matched with the pressure distribution of the contact surface of the wounded or sick person, the continuous rotation of the conveying belt is used to replace the insertion type shoveling of the hard mechanical shoveling plate, and the lossless conveying of the wounded or sick person is realized.

8. The multi-site rescue transfer stretcher of claim 1, wherein: The controller (8) is further connected with a control terminal, and the control terminal is one or a combination of multiple of a wired controller, a built-in control panel or a wireless remote controller.

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