Abstract:
A field litter support ( 1 ) includes two side structures ( 2, 3 ), each supporting at least one wheel ( 4 ) in order to define a frame ( 40 ), connecting devices ( 38   a   , 38   b   , 38   c   , 38   d ) for attaching a litter ( 100 ) to the frame ( 40 ), elements ( 5 ) adapted to reciprocally move the side structures ( 2, 3 ) and a mechanism ( 6 ) for blocking the elements ( 5 ), and therefore the structures ( 2, 3 ), in a predetermined position, attachable to the structures ( 2, 3 ). The structures ( 2, 3 ) are reciprocally moved close or away along the axis ( 60 ) of the wheels ( 4 ) without removing the frame ( 40 ). This characteristic, however, does not jeopardize the size, because, once the field litter support ( 1 ) has been packaged, it has a size equivalent to the one of the closed field litter supports of the prior art.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention refers to the field of the field litter supports. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As it is known, the field litter supports, adapted to support different types of field, emergency litters, spinal boards, and scoop stretchers, substantially comprise a frame equipped with big wheels, characterized by the fact it can be packaged in order to be easily transported. 
     Unfortunately, the packaging step of the litter supports of the prior art is time consuming because it is necessary each time to remove the wheels and put them in another place, in some litter support types, in a suitable compartment which is formed in the closed structure, in other types. 
     This steps of connecting or disconnecting the wheels from the frame, besides the fact they are provided with fast attaching and detaching systems, slow the steps of preparing the litter support, and are rather troublesome. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to solve the above mentioned problems by providing a further litter support adapted to be folded in a simple way and without removing its wheels. 
     Therefore, the main advantage consists of having a litter support which is certainly more handy than the litter support of the prior art, by keeping at the same time the size of the folded litter supports of the prior art. 
     Said objects and advantages are all met by the field litter support, object of the present invention, which is characterized by what is recited in the attached claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       This and other characteristics will be better pointed out by the following description of a preferred embodiment shown, as an exemplifying and non limiting example, in the attached drawings. 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the opened litter support according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the litter support of  FIG. 1  but in a closed arrangement, 
         FIG. 3  shows an enlarged view of a detail of the litter support in the opening or closure step, 
         FIG. 4  shows an enlarged view of a detail of the litter support in an opened arrangement, 
         FIG. 5  shows a side view of the litter support with a litter mounted on it, 
         FIG. 6  shows an enlarged partial view of a further detail of the invention, 
         FIGS. 7-9  show sequential operative steps of mounting the field litter on the field litter support object of the present invention, 
         FIGS. 10-12  shows sequential operative steps of mounting an emergency litter on a field litter support according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 13  shows an enlarged detail of the field litter support with some applied accessories. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Particularly referring to the figures,  1  generally indicates a field litter support of the type comprising a frame  40  equipped with at least two wheels  4  and connecting devices  38   a ,  38   b ,  38   c  and  38   d  for attaching a litter  100  (an emergency, field litters, spinal board or scoop stretcher) to said frame  40 . 
     For the sake of the description simplicity, it is considered a frame  40  formed by two side structures  2  and  3 , each supporting a wheel  4 . 
     Said field litter support  1 , according to the present invention, also comprises:
         means  5  integral with said side structures  2 ,  3  which enable to reciprocally move close or away structures  2 ,  3  along an axis  60  passing through the center of said wheels  4 ;   a mechanism  6  for blocking means  5 , and therefore structures  2 ,  3 , in a predetermined position, connectable to the same structures  2 ,  3 .       

     For the sake of simplicity, since said side structures  2  and  3  are identical, it will be described just one of the two. 
     The side structure  2  of the frame  4  consists of a tubular element  7  substantially forming a closed circuit. In fact, it is possible to distinguish two posts  7   a  connected at the top by a portion  7   b  having the shape of a handle and at the bottom by a portion  7   c  having the shape of an arc. 
     Wheel  4  is rotatably connected to the center of said arc-shaped portion  7   c  and is integral with it, in a way so that during the step of closing the device, it is not necessary to remove the wheel from its seat as it is instead done with the devices of the prior art. 
     The means  5  adapted to move close or away said side structures  2 ,  3  are formed by four rods  8 ,  9 ,  10 , and  11  arranged as a pantograph, in other words, there are coupled two by two, centrally pivoted in hinge points  12  and  13  and parallelly located one to the other. 
     Each of said rods  8 ,  9 ,  10 , and  11  has at their respective ends eyelets  8   a ,  8   b ,  9   a ,  9   b ,  10   a ,  10   b ,  11   a  and  11   b  engaging upwardly and downwardly four bars  14 ,  15 ,  16 , and  17 , hinged to the side structures  2  and  3 , forming in this way rotating pairs. In fact, during the step of opening and/or closing the field litter support  1 , by the force applied by an user to said side structures  2  and  3  of frame  40 , the rods  8 ,  9 ,  10 , and  11  rotate around said four bars  14 ,  15 ,  16 , and  17 . 
     As it is clearly shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the mechanism  6  for blocking means  5  is integral with bars  14 ,  15  inserted by their ends in openings  22 ,  23 ,  24 , and  25  present in the side structures  2 ,  3  wherein they can freely rotate. 
     Moreover, each bar  14  and  15  supports, approximately midway along its length, a further rod  18  and  19  respectively connected to bars  14  and  15 , for example by means of hooking means or by welding. 
     By considering, for example, rod  18 : the first half  18   a  from the side of the bar  14  has a cylindrical shape, while the second half  18   b  has the same of a half of cylinder. The same is true for the rod  19  having a first cylindrical half  19   a  on the side of the bar  15  and a second half  19   b  having the shape of a half of cylinder. 
     Said rods  18  and  19  are hinged one to the other in a hinge point  20  present in the corresponding second halves  18   b  and  19   b.    
     It is pointed out that said rods  18  and  19 , after having being rotated around the hinge point  20  and having being taken on the same horizontal axis, they jointly form only one stiff rod ( FIG. 4 ). 
     The mechanism  6  for blocking the two side structures  2 ,  3  is characterized by a sleeve  21  splined to the rod  19  and abutting against elastic means  26  (for example a spring) located between the rod  15  and the sleeve  21 . 
     During the operation, when the rod  19  moves to the same horizontal axis of rod  18 , the sleeve  21 , urged by the elastic means  26 , moves along the rod  19  and covers the hinge point  20  by blocking in this way the rotation of said rods  18  and  19 . In other words, the sleeve  21  blocks the rods  18  and  19 , horizontally located, and consequently blocks the same field litter support  1 . 
     The field litter support  1  is provided with two front foldable bucks  27  and  28  and two back foldable bucks  29  and  30 , which are identical, fixable to the side structures  2  and  3  by means of straps which are hinged to said bucks  27 ,  28 ,  29 , and  30 , the bucks can vertically rotate around the straps in order to occupy two positions corresponding to the opening and closure of the field litter support  1  ( FIGS. 1 and 6 ). 
     Said bucks  27 ,  28 ,  29 , and  30  are necessary if the field litter support  1  is parked for loading/unloading a litter  100 , or for causing the patient to take the Trendeleburg posture on said litter  100 , that is the legs are higher than the rest of the body ( FIG. 5 ) or the anti-Trendeleburg posture, that is the legs are lower than the rest of the body. 
     Further, said front and rear bucks  27 ,  28 ,  29 , and are connected two by two by a pair of tubular elements  33  hinged in the center by a hinge point  34 . By acting on said pair of tubular elements  33  the litter support  1  is folded (as shown in  FIG. 2 ) or unfolded. 
     A side base  41  integral with the pair of tubular elements  33 , and outwardly projecting from at least one of said two bucks  27  and  28 , enables the operator to quicker and easier close the litter support  1  by simply pushing it by a foot. Therefore, by applying a force to said base  41 , since the base is integrally connected to one of said two tubular elements of the pair of tubular elements  33 , the tubular element, integral with the base, rotates around the hinge point  34  and it rotates also the second tubular element. 
       FIG. 6  is a detailed view of the rear bucks  29  and  30  of the field litter support  1 . In the shown example, in an exemplifying and non limiting way, said bucks  29  and  30  have two mechanisms  36 ,  37  which act as extension, shown located between a first operative working position, shown by the left buck  29 , wherein the mechanism  36  is under the buck  29 , and a rest non-operative position, shown by the right buck  30 , wherein the mechanism  37  is parallel to the buck  30 . Said mechanisms  36  and  37  are positioned in the two cited positions, respectively the operative and non-operative ones, by an elastic element (not shown because is known) such as a spring. 
     In other words, in order to take the Trendeleburg or anti-Trendeleburg postures, it is necessary that the field litter support  1  is forwardly or backwardly unbalanced. In order to obtain this goal, in an example of the embodiment the rear bucks  29  and  30  can be extended so that the front portion of the field litter support  1  is higher, in other words where the laid down patient has the legs. 
     Said extension mechanisms  36 ,  37  can be obviously located on the front bucks  27  and  28  rather than on the rear bucks  29  and  30 . In the same way, it is possible to provide one extension mechanism for each bucks  27 ,  28 ,  29 , and  30 , this solution falling anyway in the scope of the attached claims. 
     Four devices  38   a ,  38   b ,  38   c , and  38   d  for hooking the litter are fixable to the handle-shaped portion  7   b  of each side structures  2  and  3 . It can be noted that these devices are located in the horizontal area of the portions  7   b  of the side structures  2  and  3  in order to stably fixing a litter  100 . 
     Since said hooking devices  38   a ,  38   b ,  38   c , and  38   d  are identical, it will be described just one for simplicity. 
     Device  38   a  generally comprises two substantially tubular elements  42   a  and  43   a  parallelly and specularly located one on the other, connected one to the other in order to form a vice ( FIG. 2 ). 
     The upper element  42   a  has a first hole  44   a  on the shortest side, located inside the litter support  1 , and a second through hole  45   a  on the longest sides. 
     Said first hole  44   a  is used in the open arrangement when it is desired to support some spinal boards. In fact, the hole  44   a  acts as a seat for one of the two ends of a telescopic rod  46  located between the two side structures  2  and  3  orthogonally to the latter. 
     In other words, as it is clearly shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  7  and  10 , in order to arrange the spinal board, or any element having a width smaller than the conventional litters, it is necessary to form a support on the field litter support  1  on which locate the spinal board. Said support is formed by two telescopic rods  46  and  47  which respectively enter holes  44   a ,  44   d , and  44   b ,  44   c  of elements  42   a ,  42   b ,  42   c , and  42   d  of the hooking devices  38   a ,  38   b ,  38   c , and  38   d.    
     Instead, through holes  45   a ,  45   b ,  45   c , and  45   d  are provided for receiving said telescopic rods  46  and  47  both when they are not necessary (therefore as a function of the type of litter to be positioned), and when the litter support  1  is folded. In the example shown in  FIGS. 1 and 10 , the rod  47  is parallel to the handle-shaped portion  7   b  of the side structure  3 , inserted in the through holes  45   a  and  45   b  of the tubular elements  42   a  and  42   b , while rod  46  is inserted in holes  44   a  and  44   b  of elements  42   a  and  42   d.    
     As it is shown in figures, each element  42   a ,  42   b ,  42   c ,  42   d  has a seat  48   a  fixedly receiving a telescopic bar adapted to be grasped by the user, as a handle. 
     In the attached figures, there are two telescopic bars  50  and  51  respectively hooked to the elements  42   a    42   b , and elements  42   d    42   c.    
     The hooking device  38   a  further provides an arm  52   a  having a C-shape downwardly hinged to the outer end of the element  43   a  around which said arm  52   a  can rotate in order to cover two main operative positions for respectively hooking and releasing the litter  100 . Particularly, an element, for example a spring (not shown in figures), contained in the element  43   a , enables the C-shaped arm  52   a  to enter and exit the two mentioned positions. 
     Said hooking devices  38   a ,  38   b ,  38   c , and  38   d  can be easily and intuitively used by any user. 
       FIGS. 7 ,  8 , and  9  show sequential operative steps for locating an emergency litter  100  on the field litter support  1  and, therefore, the operative positions of arms  52   a ,  52   b ,  52   c ,  53   d  of the hooking devices  38   a ,  38   b ,  38   c , and  38   d.    
     Instead,  FIGS. 10 ,  11 , and  12  show sequential operative steps for locating a spinal board  100 , or any element having a width less than the conventional litters, on the field litter support  1 , according to the present invention. 
     Lastly, according to the present invention, it is possible to hook to the handle-shaped portions  7   b  of each side structures  2  and  3 , a bar  53  and  54  for hooking fluid distributors and accessories ( FIG. 13 ), such as for example a bottle-holder  55 , flow meter  56 , phlebo-holder (not shown). 
     It is pointed out that, thanks to said bars  53  and  54 , said litter supports  1  form an autonomous operative medical unit, because, unlike the prior art, advantageously, it is not necessary a further accessories-holder trolley and a further user for moving said trolley. Since the field litter support  1 , object of the present invention, has the possibility to also transport the accessories necessary for medical operations, it also enables a reduction of the authorized personnel.