Vehicle Litter Support Arms for Faster Loading and Space Saving
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Solution Overview
Problem
Emergency vehicles lack efficient systems to support, secure, and manage litters during transportation, requiring frequent loading and unloading of patients, which is inefficient and cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable litter support system for vehicles, featuring a support framework with rotatable and extendable upper and lower litter support arms or beds, connected to the vehicle's wall and floor, allowing for secure storage, easy loading/unloading, and efficient use of space within the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If litters are loaded and unloaded frequently during patient transport, then patient care can be provided, but time is lost and efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The litter support arms are pre-positioned in an extended configuration outside the vehicle interior, allowing litters to be loaded directly onto the arms at the vehicle entrance without requiring interior space manipulation. This preliminary positioning of the support structure eliminates the time-consuming process of adjusting litter supports during patient transfer operations.
2Productivity
If litter support space is increased to accommodate multiple litters, then more patients can be transported, but vehicle interior space is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The litter support arms extend in the horizontal dimension outside the vehicle interior, allowing multiple litters to be accommodated along the length of the arms without occupying valuable interior space. This dimensional extension transforms the support system from an interior-based structure to an exterior-based structure, effectively increasing transport capacity while preserving interior space for patient care activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The litter support arms are designed to be rotatable and extendable, allowing them to dynamically adjust between a retracted position (when not in use) and an extended position (when loading/unloading patients). This dynamic capability enables the system to provide high patient transport capacity when needed while minimizing space occupation during normal vehicle operation.
3Ease of operation
If litter support arms are made extendable for easy loading, then loading efficiency improves, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The litter support arms incorporate rotatable joints and extendable mechanisms that allow smooth, controlled movement between retracted and extended positions. These dynamic features enable emergency personnel to easily position the support arms for litter loading without requiring complex manual adjustment procedures, as the mechanisms are designed for intuitive operation during emergency responses.
Data Source
AI summary
A litter support system for a vehicle including a support framework connectable to a wall of the vehicle, an upper litter support arm for holding a litter, the upper litter support arm connected to the support framework, a lower litter support arm for holding a litter, the lower litter support arm connected to the support framework, wherein the upper and lower litter support arms are connected to the support framework such that the upper and lower litter support arms are rotatable between a store position and a first support position and movable substantially horizontally between the first support position substantially adjacent to and near the support framework and a second support position substantially extended outwardly from the support framework.