Removable Weather Shield for Medical Stretchers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical stretchers lack protection from adverse weather conditions and provide inadequate privacy for patients during transportation, leading to secondary issues like cold or infection and demoralization due to visibility.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight, waterproof weather shield device with a self-supporting frame that can be quickly secured to a medical stretcher, forming an arched shape to cover the patient while allowing visibility and easy removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a medical stretcher is designed to be lightweight and portable for outdoor use, then it can be easily transported in adverse weather conditions, but the patient remains exposed to weather elements without protection
Solution Approach 1:
The weather shield is designed as a separate, detachable component that can be independently attached to the stretcher frame. This segmentation allows the stretcher to remain lightweight for portability while providing weather protection when needed, resolving the contradiction between lightweight design and patient protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The weather shield incorporates a flexible frame with adjustable connectors that can be quickly assembled and disassembled. This dynamic design enables the shield to be attached when weather protection is needed and removed when not needed, maintaining the stretcher's lightweight nature while providing protection on demand.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a weather shield device is added to protect the patient, then weather protection and privacy are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The weather shield serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides weather protection, ensures patient privacy, and maintains stretcher portability through its detachable design. This multi-functionality justifies the added structural complexity by delivering multiple benefits from a single integrated device.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield employs a flexible fabric cover stretched over a lightweight frame, creating a simple yet effective protective enclosure. This approach provides comprehensive weather protection and privacy without requiring complex rigid structures, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid frame structure is used for the weather shield, then structural stability is improved, but the ease of assembly and removal decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The frame incorporates flexible elements and movable connectors that allow the structure to be easily assembled and disassembled while maintaining stability when configured. The flexibility enables quick attachment to the stretcher, and once assembled, the interlocking connectors provide structural stability for weather protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame is divided into multiple segments connected by joints, allowing each segment to be independently positioned and secured. This segmentation enables straightforward assembly and removal operations while the interconnected segments provide structural stability when the shield is fully assembled and in use.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the weather shield covers the entire stretcher, then patient privacy is improved, but access by medical personnel becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The shield's flexible frame and fabric construction allow it to be dynamically adjusted or opened to provide medical personnel access to the patient while maintaining coverage and privacy when access is not needed. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between comprehensive coverage for privacy and accessibility for medical care.
Data Source
AI summary
A weather shield device for a medical stretcher includes a generally square-shaped malleable main body member that is constructed from one or more layers of waterproof fabric. An elongated hollow channel is positioned along the periphery of the main body for receiving and housing a self-supporting frame. The frame and main body are transitioned between a folded position, a fully open position and an arched position for use with a stretcher. A plurality of connectors are disposed along the sides of the main body and function to selectively engage the sides of a medical stretcher. When secured onto the stretcher, the frame forms an arched shape so as to fully cover the stretcher with the waterproof main body, and a pair of semi-rigid struts maintain a set separation distance between the sides of the main body when in the arched position.