Patient Transport Retainer Damping for Controlled Unloading
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional patient transport apparatuses face issues during loading and unloading into and out of emergency transport vehicles, where the engagement bar may inadvertently miss the hook, causing the apparatus to be pulled out before the base and wheels can be lowered, potentially leading to the head end dropping significantly.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of a biasing device and dampener mechanism that provides increased resistance to movement, ensuring the engagement member securely engages the retainer and prevents accidental disengagement during unloading, using a torsion spring or swing arm to pivot the engagement member and a dampening element to resist wheel rotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the patient transport apparatus is pulled out at excessive speed during unloading, then the unloading process is faster, but the engagement bar may inadvertently miss the hook and allow the apparatus to be pulled out before the base and wheels can be lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The dampener mechanism is pre-configured to automatically engage when the apparatus moves during unloading, providing immediate resistance to prevent excessive speed. This preliminary protective action ensures that even if users pull too quickly, the engagement bar remains controlled and cannot miss the hook, thus maintaining reliability while allowing faster unloading.
Solution Approach 2:
The dampener acts as an intermediary mechanism between the engagement bar and the hook. It provides a controlled resistance force that mediates the interaction, allowing the engagement bar to remain engaged with the hook even during faster unloading operations, thus preventing accidental disengagement while improving unloading speed.
2Ease of operation
If the engagement bar is designed to freely move for easy engagement, then the ease of operation is improved, but the risk of accidental disengagement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement bar is designed with dynamic characteristics - it can freely move and engage with the hook during normal operations, but the dampener mechanism dynamically activates to provide resistance when movement exceeds normal parameters. This dynamic design allows easy engagement while preventing accidental disengagement through conditional resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the resistance parameter based on operational conditions. During normal engagement, the engagement bar moves freely with low resistance. When excessive movement is detected during unloading, the dampener increases resistance to prevent disengagement, thus maintaining both ease of operation and reliability through parameter adjustment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures secure engagement and controlled movement of the patient transport apparatus, preventing accidental disengagement and ensuring safe loading and unloading by providing controlled resistance to movement, thereby stabilizing the apparatus during transport.
Implementation Method 1
a dampening element to resist wheel rotation
Implementation Method 2
using a torsion spring or swing arm to pivot the engagement member
Data Source
AI summary
A patient transport apparatus is provided for use with a retainer of a transport vehicle. The patient transport apparatus comprises a support structure comprising a patient support surface to support a patient. An engagement member is coupled to the support structure and arranged to engage the retainer when unloading the patient transport apparatus from the transport vehicle. A dampener is operable in a standby state or a resistance state such that the dampener provides increased resistance to movement of the patient transport apparatus in the resistance state as compared to the standby state. The resistance state of the dampener is activated by manually moving the patient transport apparatus in a first direction and the standby state is activated by manually moving the patient transport apparatus in a second direction, opposite the first direction.