Abstract:
A rescue sled for picking up victims of water or ice accidents and transporting them to safety, which sled can be carried in the back of an ambulance or other vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a rescue sled for picking up and transporting persons who may be involved in water and ice accidents, of the type which is buoyant, and can be towed over ice and snow with a person strapped thereon. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Various devices have been proposed as rescue equipment for rescuing persons trapped on thin ice, or stranded on a flooded river or creek. A situation where a person ventures out onto thin ice and breaks through, or is unable to return is common and presents a difficult scenario for rescue personnel. The rescue equipment must be capable of easy movement over the ice, must be easily grasped by the person, and then moved over ice and/or snow to return the victim to safety. 
     Rescue equipment must be lightweight, it must be easily deployable and capable of supporting a person, useful on ice or water or snow, and be transportable in an ambulance or other rescue vehicle. 
     Various pieces of equipment have been proposed, such as those shown in the U.S. Patents to Paden et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,690; Rickenbacker U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,367; Eisenhauer U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,635; Cashmere U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,664; Brooks, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,195; Kraft U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,362; Nixon et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,784; Daouk U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,416; Glydon et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,179; Ziff U.S. Pat. No. D216,530; Diemond et. al. U.S. Pat. No. D219,463; and Helms U.S. Pat. No. D322,770. 
     Ice rescue equipment is also offered by Marsars, 17 Terrill Ave., Hamilton, N.J. 08619 but none of the available equipment is useful for the wide variety of situations that rescue personnel face. 
     The rescue sled of the invention is useful in snow, ice and water rescue operations, is easily transportable and provides many other positive advantages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a rescue sled for use by rescue personnel who are involved in ice or water rescue operations for picking up and transporting persons. 
     The principal object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled for use in picking up and transporting persons. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled which can support a person on water or ice. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled that has rungs so that it may be used as a ladder. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled that can be used in multiples. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled that can be pulled behind a boat. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled that can travel over snow. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled that can be ferried over water. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled that is easy to make, durable and long lasting in use. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a rescue sled that can be deployed by one person. 
     Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the rescue sled of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the rescue sled of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the rescue sled of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line  4 — 4  of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line  5 — 5  of FIG. 3, and, 
     FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line  6 — 6  of FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are merely illustrative and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structures disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     When referring to the preferred embodiment, certain terminology will be utilized for the sake of clarity. Use of such terminology is intended to encompass not only the described embodiment, but also technical equivalents which operate and function in substantially the same way to bring about the same result. 
     Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1-6 of the drawings, the rescue sled  10  is therein illustrated. 
     The sled  10  includes a body of multipiece molded construction with an outer skin  12  of polyethylene, filled with plastic foam  13 , preferably polyurethane foam, which imparts buoyancy to the sled. 
     The sled  10  is of rectangular configuration with a deck  14 , a rounded front end  15 , which is prow shaped, with straight sides  16 , and a rear end  17 , which is also rounded, but to a lesser degree than front end  15 . 
     The sled  10  has a plurality of holes  18  therein adjacent the front end  15  and rear end  17 , three being illustrated, which can receive a rope or ropes (not shown) for towing or to fasten to another sled (not shown). 
     The sled  10  adjacent the sides  16  is provided with a plurality of rectangular holes  20  on each side, four being illustrated. The holes  20  can receive straps (not shown), which can be used to secure a person (not shown) to the sled  10  for transport. 
     The sled  10  has a plurality of transversly extending hand holds  25 , which are in the deck  14 , four being shown, which permit the sled to be used as a ladder. 
     The sled  10  has a bottom  26  which has a pair of spaced ribbed runners  27  extending longitudinally, which are rectangular in shape with sloped ends  28 , to assist the sled in traveling over ice or snow. 
     In use the sled  10  can be slid on the runners  27  across snow or ice, and to the location of the person to be rescued (not shown). If the ice cannot support the person&#39;s weight then the person can grab onto one of the hand holds  25 , and climb onto the deck  14  of the sled  10 . The holes  18  may have a rope or ropes (not shown) therein to enable rescue personnel to pull the sled  10  and person (not shown) to safety, with the sled capable of supporting the person whether the sled is in the water, on the ice or on snow. If the person is stranded on an island, or a vehicle in the water, the sled can be ferried over the water to the person and then returned to safety. 
     It will thus be apparent that the objects of the invention have been achieved.