Emergency Stretcher Locking Mechanism for Hot-Drop Impact Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Emergency stretchers experience significant impact loads during the 'hot-drop' function, leading to potential damage, and existing solutions fail to adequately dampen these impacts while maintaining functionality and reducing side-to-side tilting.
Innovation Solution
A dampening system with a locking mechanism that includes elongate members with a high slenderness ratio and adjustable bumpers to absorb energy, combined with a support frame structure that provides increased stiffness and adjustable load height, allowing for safe and stable operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the base is quickly released and lowered from compact configuration to ground engaging position, then the hot-drop function is achieved allowing single EMT to remove stretcher, but significant impact loads are generated on various components
Solution Approach 1:
A dampening system is incorporated into the stretcher base structure that activates during the hot-drop function to cushion and reduce impact loads on various components. This allows the base to be quickly released and lowered while protecting the stretcher from damage through energy absorption mechanisms.
2Stability of the object's composition
If additional frame structure is added to increase base stiffness, then side-to-side tilting is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure is divided into multiple segments including cross-members and support elements that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows the base to achieve increased stiffness and reduced side-to-side tilting through strategic placement of structural elements rather than requiring a completely rigid monolithic frame.
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 effectively reduces impact loads on stretcher components, enhances stability by minimizing side-to-side tilting, and allows for adjustable load heights to accommodate various emergency vehicle configurations, ensuring durability and safety.
Implementation Method 1
each of the elongate members has a high slenderness ratio and thus exhibits spring force properties to thereby further absorb energy when the locking mechanism is in its unlocked position and the support members engage the stop
Implementation Method 2
the locking mechanism is configured to provide a stop so that when the locking mechanism is in its unlocked position and the support members are released, the locking mechanism absorbs energy from the support members when the support members engage the stop
Data Source
AI summary
A stretcher includes a patient support, a base, a plurality of support members supporting the patient support relative to the base, which are adapted and arranged to raise or lower the base relative to the patient support, and a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is actuatable between a locked position wherein the locking mechanism locks the support members at a fixed height and an unlocked position wherein the support members are released from being locked at the fixed height so that the base or the patient support may be moved relative to the other. Further, the locking mechanism is configured to provide a stop for the support members and absorb energy from the support members are release and the support members engage the stop.