Roll-in Emergency Cot Retractable Trailing Legs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multipurpose roll-in emergency cots are inadequate in managing cot weight and loading at higher heights, particularly when being rolled into various rescue vehicles like ambulances, vans, aircrafts, and helicopters, where space and weight are premium.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates retractable and collapsible telescoping trailing legs that can be positioned closer to the rear of the cot, allowing them to support the weight during loading and then collapse and retract, enabling higher loading heights and improved weight management by shifting the center of gravity forward onto the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the trailing legs are fixed and extended, then the cot provides stable support on the ground, but the cot cannot be loaded at higher heights and manual effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The trailing legs are designed to be movable rather than fixed, transitioning between extended and retracted positions. The legs include telescoping sections that can extend outward to provide ground support during loading, then retract inward to enable the cot to be rolled into vehicles at higher loading heights, reducing manual lifting effort
Solution Approach 2:
The trailing legs are divided into multiple telescoping sections that can independently extend and retract. This segmentation allows the legs to provide extended support when needed while being compact when retracted, resolving the contradiction between providing stable support and enabling high-height loading
2Reliability
If the trailing legs extend far past the support frame, then weight distribution is optimized during loading, but the cot width increases when legs are extended
Solution Approach 1:
The trailing legs use a nested telescoping structure where inner sections are contained within outer sections when retracted. This allows the legs to extend far past the support frame for optimal weight distribution during loading, while maintaining a compact width when retracted for transport through narrow openings
3Ease of operation
If the cot is designed for high loading heights, then loading into vehicles is facilitated, but the center of gravity becomes unstable during rolling
Solution Approach 1:
The trailing legs dynamically adjust the cot's center of gravity by extending during loading operations to provide stable support at high heights, then retracting during transport to lower the center of gravity and improve stability during rolling into vehicles
Data Source
AI summary
A roll-in cot for patient transport and method thereof are disclosed. The cot provides a patient transporter having a support frame configured to support a stretcher on a top side of the support frame and having a sliding track mounted to an under-side of the support frame. A pair of collapsible leading legs is pivotally mounted on the underside of the support frame, and a pair of collapsible and retractable trailing legs is pivotally mounted to the underside of the support frame and also moveably coupled to the sliding track. The trailing legs are configured to swivel from a raised position to a collapsed, unretracted position wherein the pair of trailing legs extend a first horizontal distance past a trailing end of the support frame. The pair of trailing legs are further configured to slide inwardly from a collapsed, unretracted position to a collapsed, retracted position wherein the pair of collapsible and trailing legs extends a second horizontal distance past a trailing end of the support frame, wherein the second horizontal distance is less than the first horizontal distance.