Patent Publication Number: US-6669659-B2

Title: Portable foldable splint

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to a medical splint and more particularly to a portable foldable lightweight splint which is especially useful by outdoorsmen, campers, athletes, etc. 
     Medical splints have been widely available but most of them have been cumbersome and awkward to carry and store and are difficult for individuals to apply in emergency conditions. Outdoorsmen such as campers and hikers often must carry their food and equipment with them and thus are constantly confronted with minimizing the size and weight of that equipment. 
     One piece of medical equipment which outdoorsmen consider necessary to take with them is a medical splint for use in an emergency to restrain movement of a body part such as an arm, wrist, leg or ankle following an accident or fall. Preferably the splint should be lightweight, small in size and easy to carry, expandable to accommodate placement around an arm or leg but must also be strong enough to restrain and support the arm or leg until the outdoorsmen can receive attention in a proper medical facility. 
     The medical splint of the invention as described hereinafter, has been developed to satisfy those needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the primary object of this invention resides in the provision of a portable, foldable, medical splint which is light in weight and easy to store and carry. 
     Another object of the invention resides in the provision of the above-identified splint which includes a plurality of segments foldable upon themselves into a storage position but yet expandable and adjustable to provide a splint of desired length and configuration to accommodate and support a particular part of the human body such as an arm or leg. 
     Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of the above identified splint wherein an endless number of segments may be connected together to provide a splint of desired length. 
     Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of the above-identified splint wherein adjacent segments are rotatably connected together by a cooperating releasable lock mechanism which permits those adjacent segments to be folded back upon each other or to be angularly adjusted with respect to each other as required for application against the injured body part. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide the above-mentioned splint which comprises two adjustable side assemblies each including a plurality of segments adjustable with respect to each other, with the two assemblies being applied against opposite sides of an injured body part. Each of the segments includes a pair of slots through which a Velcro strap can slide so as to extend around the injured body part. 
     Another object of the invention is provide the above-mentioned splint wherein the segments have sufficient strength and stability so as to provide firm support for the injured body part when the side assemblies are firmly held in place by the Velcro straps. 
     Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of the above medical splint wherein the segments are constructed of a material such as polycarbon or ABS plastic and wherein no metal is contained in either the segments or the strap so that the splint may remain in place on the injured body part while X-rays are being taken. 
    
    
     Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from reading the following detailed description of the invention wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a generally perspective view of the foldable, adjustable splint of the invention as applied to the injured leg of a person; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the splint of the invention in its folded condition, together with the Velcro straps and pads for holding the splint on the leg; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the folded splint taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of the splint of the invention with the various segments in extended adjustable positions; 
     FIG. 4 a  is another plan view of the splint with the segments in various angular positions; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the strap which is used with each of the segments of the foldable splint of the invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of one of the segments forming the splint, the segment being illustrated in essentially full size; 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line  7 — 7  of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line  8 — 8  of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line  9 — 9  of FIGS. 1 and 4 a  illustrating the releasable, rotatable locking mechanism by which one end of a segment is locked together with the adjacent end of a next segment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, the novel splint  10  of the invention includes a pair of adjustable side assemblies  12  and  14 , with assembly  12  including a plurality of strips or segments  12   a  through  12   e  and assembly  14  including segments  14   a  through  14   e . All the segments  12   a  through  12   e  and  14   a  through  14   e  are identical in construction and are shown in FIGS. 6-9. 
     The construction of each of the segments is illustrated in FIGS. 6-8 in essentially full size and will be described with respect to segment  12   a . Each segment is of generally rectangular shape and has a width W of about 2 ½ inches, a length L of about 6 inches and a thickness T of about {fraction (3/16)} inches. 
     An opening  20  is provided at the left end  22  of the segment and a larger opening  24  is provided at the right end  26  of the segment. Openings  20  and  24  are centered along the width W of the segment and are spaced a center distance of about 4 inches along the length L of the segment. A shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 a plurality of locking projections or fingers  28  project outwardly from the front face  30  of the segment, with each finger  28  including an outwardly radially projecting lug  32 . A clear opening  34  is provided radially outwardly of each of the fingers  28 . 
     Also projecting outwardly from front face  30  are a plurality of equally radially spaced elements or teeth  36  on a radius outwardly beyond lugs  32  and openings  34 . 
     At the other end  26  of the segment a counter bore  40  extends inwardly from front face  30  to opening  24  and provides an annular locking shoulder  42 . A plurality of equally spaced shallow elements or recesses  44  equal in number to teeth  36  are formed in the rear face  31  of the segment and extend around opening  24  so as to align with teeth  36  when one end  22  of one of the segments is locked together with one end  26  of a next adjacent segment. The way in which these adjacent ends lock together is illustrated in FIG.  9 . For example, when the end  26  of segment  12   a  is placed over the end  22  of segment  12   b , fingers  28  and lugs  32  are snapped in place through opening  24  to the position illustrated in FIG. 9 so that the lugs  32  engage and lock against annular shoulder  42  and teeth  36  align with and nest within recesses  44 . 
     The end  26  of segment  12   a  can thus be releasably rotatably locked in any adjusted position with the end  22  of segment  12   b  and retained in that position by the locking engagement between teeth  36  and recesses  44  and lugs  32  engaging against shoulder  43 . The fingers  28  and lugs  32  have some flexibility which enable the two segments to be rotatably adjusted with respect to each other to obtain any desired adjusted position but the fingers and lugs are sufficiently rigid to hold the segments in that desired position once it is obtained. 
     Each splint assembly  12  and  14  include any number of segments, for example 4-7 segments in each assembly, with each assembly being quickly put together by simply snapping the fingers  28  on one end of a segment through the opening  24  on the other end of an adjacent segment as illustrated in FIG.  9 . When the splint is not in use, each of the assemblies can be quickly folded in a storage position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 simply by rotating adjacent segments back upon themselves so that they overly each other in a folded, compact arrangement as illustrated in those drawings. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 1, when the splint assemblies  12  and  14  are placed on opposite sides of a body part such as the injured leg of a person, a Velcro strap  60  wraps around opposing segments of assemblies  12  and  14  and the leg of the person to hold the splint firmly in place. As shown in FIG. 6, each segment includes an upper slot  50  extending along the length of the segment and positioned adjacent the upper edge  52  of the segment, with the slot  50  including an open access portion  54  which breaks through that upper edge so that a strap  60  may be slid through portion  54  down into slot  50 . Similarly a slot  56  is provided adjacent the lower edge  58  and includes an access portion  59  for receiving the strap. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 5, each strap  60  has a buckle  62  at one end, a smooth finished inner side  64  and a rough outer side formed by Velcro surface  66 , with the free end  68  passing through the buckle  62  and bending back upon itself to lock against a double sided Velcro pad  70  which is removable from and reattachable to the outside surface  66  to accommodate a body part of any size. 
     In use when placing the splint on an injured body part, for example the leg or ankle as shown in FIG. 1, the segments of each assembly  12  and  14  are adjusted to a desired position and then placed on opposite sides of the leg and ankle. The free end of a strap  60  is then placed outwardly through slot  50  on segment  12   c  around the outside of the segment inwardly through slot  56 , extended around the bottom of the leg, placed outwardly through slot  56  of segment  14   c  upwardly over the outside of the segment and inwardly through slot  50  of segment  14   c , over the top of the leg through buckle  62  and folded back upon itself into tight locking engagement with the Velcro pad  70 . A strap  60  is then similarly applied to the remaining opposing segments. When completed, because the straps pass through slots  50  and  56  of each segment, the straps firmly hold the assemblies  12  and  14  in place on the injured body part, with the smooth inside surface  64  of the straps wrapping around the body part and causing no irritation thereto. The two assemblies  12  and  14  of the splint  10  are held firmly in place and the splint has sufficient strength and stability to restrain movement of the body part and keep it immobile until the injured person can get to a proper medical facility. 
     It is apparent that the invention as described above accomplishes the objectives initially set forth and provides a medical splint which is foldable, compact, lightweight, but yet sufficiently stable and rigid when applied to a body part to keep that body part from moving. The splint is readily adjustable to accommodate various angular positions as necessary. It is quickly and easily applied and made commercially available at a reasonable cost. 
     The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.