Roll-in Chair Cot Height Adjustment Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ambulance cots face difficulties in navigating stairs and narrow hallways due to fixed cot height positions, making it challenging for paramedics to transport patients safely and efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A roll-in chair cot with adjustable height positions, including a fully lowered, fully elevated, and intermediate position, allowing for flexible patient positioning and easy maneuverability through various environments, along with a convertible design from a cot to a chair configuration for improved navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cot is positioned in fully lowered or fully elevated height position, then the patient can be transported in supine position, but it becomes difficult for paramedics to traverse stairs and narrow hallways
Solution Approach 1:
The cot height is made dynamically adjustable rather than fixed. The mechanism allows the cot to be positioned at multiple heights (fully lowered, intermediate, fully elevated) to adapt to different environmental conditions such as stairs, narrow hallways, and patient loading requirements, thereby resolving the contradiction between transport safety and maneuverability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cot height parameter can be changed between three distinct positions. By adjusting the height parameter according to the specific situation (e.g., lowering for narrow hallways, elevating for patient loading), the system achieves both safe patient transport and ease of maneuvering through various environments.
2Reliability
If the cot is positioned in fully lowered or fully elevated height position, then patient transport in supine position is enabled, but it becomes difficult for paramedics to place the patient on the cot
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic height adjustment allows the cot to be positioned at an intermediate height that facilitates easy patient placement. Paramedics can adjust the cot to a convenient height for transferring patients, then adjust to fully lowered or fully elevated positions for transport, thus resolving the contradiction between safe transport and ease of patient placement.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the cot height parameter to an intermediate position during patient placement, paramedics can easily transfer patients onto the cot. The height parameter is then adjusted to fully lowered or fully elevated positions for safe transport, resolving the contradiction between ease of patient placement and transport safety.
3Device complexity
If the cot has fixed height positions, then the structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate different environments such as stairs and narrow hallways
Solution Approach 1:
The cot incorporates a dynamic height adjustment mechanism that allows it to adapt to different environments. The mechanism provides three height positions (fully lowered, intermediate, fully elevated) that can be selected based on the specific environment (stairs, narrow hallways, patient loading areas), thereby achieving adaptability while maintaining reasonable structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cot height parameter can be changed between three discrete positions to accommodate different environmental requirements. This parameter adjustment capability enables the cot to adapt to stairs, narrow hallways, and various patient loading scenarios without requiring a completely complex mechanical structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A roll-in chair cot which is movable between a chair position, a fully lowered cot height position, a fully elevated cot height position, and an intermediate cot height position is disclosed. With the chair cot positioned in the intermediate position, the chair cot is approximately bed height such that a patient may be laterally transferred from the bed to the chair cot in a generally supine position.