Patent Publication Number: US-2016235609-A1

Title: Host structure for lying persons and vehicle provided with such a structure

Description:
The technical field of the invention is that of the structures intended to accommodate lying persons in stretchers, such as injured persons. Such structures can be found on board of ambulances as a medical compartment for carrying injured persons and providing first aid. 
     The space on board of these embedded structures is reduced, and in order to be capable to carry a maximum number of injured persons while positioning them to make them sufficiently accessible for them to be taken care of, it is necessary that one be able to handle the stretchers with the injured persons within the structure accommodating them. 
     The utility model DE202009008363thus describes a host structure comprising two superposed stretcher supports which can be vertically and horizontally moved by means of parallel rectilinear rails forming slides, the rails being arranged along a flat wall of the structure. 
     Such rails have the disadvantage that they cannot allow the optimum use of the volume of the structure if the structure has not a flat profile at the vicinity of the rails. Further, the exclusively rectilinear translation displacement of the stretcher supports according to the direction of the rails does not allow switching the position of the injured persons to make all of them accessible in a similar manner to a caregiver sitting beside. 
     Thus, the invention relates to a host structure for lying persons, the structure comprising at least two stretcher supports moveable along a circuit defined by guiding means parallel to each other, the host structure being characterized in that the ends of each stretcher support are attached via a pivot connection to a connecting means which is guided by one of the guiding means, each guiding means being conformed so as to form a closed circuit to allow a circular permutation of the stretcher supports. 
     According to one embodiment, each guiding means has at least one rail which guides the translation of the connecting means, wherein the axis of the pivot connection remains, during this guiding, parallel to a longitudinal direction of the stretcher support. 
     According to another embodiment, each guiding means has pulleys and at least one flexible link guided by the pulleys, the connecting means being attached to the flexible link, each pivot connection remaining parallel to a longitudinal direction of the stretcher support. 
     Advantageously, the mobility of the stretcher supports is provided by a motorization. 
     Advantageously, the stretcher supports are connected to each other so that the movement of one stretcher support along the circuit formed by the guiding means causes the movement of the other stretcher supports. 
     Advantageously, the movement of the stretcher supports with respect to the guiding means can be blocked. 
     The invention also relates to a sanitary vehicle, characterized in that the sanitary vehicle has at least one host structure comprising one of the preceding features. 
     Advantageously, the guiding means are positioned such that the stretcher supports remain throughout their path at a minimum distance D from a wall of the vehicle. 
     Advantageously, the stretcher supports are arranged parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle. 
    
    
     
       The invention will become more apparent upon reading the following description made with reference to the appended drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a cross-sectional view of a vehicle comprising a host structure according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows a cross-sectional view of a vehicle comprising a host structure according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a partially cutaway three-quarter view of a host structure according to the invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a partially cutaway three-quarter detailed view of a host structure according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     According to  FIG. 1 , a vehicle  100  with wheels  101  has a host structure  1  with a prismatic section arranged within a compartment of the vehicle comprising an enlarged part extending above the wheels  101  and a narrower part arranged between the wheels  101 . The host structure  1  has three pod-shaped stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  for accommodating lying persons  3   a,    3   b,    3   c  who can be injured. A carrying stretcher (not shown) can be arranged in each stretcher support. It will also be possible to place the injured person directly in the stretcher support which will then be provided with cloth or foam layers ensuring his/her comfort. 
     The stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  are parallel to each other and are oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis  103  of the vehicle  100  (axis of the vehicle visible in  FIG. 3 ). 
     The host structure  1  has guiding means  5 , parallel to each other, and located at the ends of the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c.  The guiding means  5  are integral with walls (walls not shown) of the host structure  1 . The guiding means  5  could also be attached to the walls of the vehicle or to intermediary frames  7 , such as the frame visible in  FIG. 3  and which makes the guiding means  5  integral with the floor of the vehicle for example (only one of both required frames  7  is shown in  FIG. 3 ). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 , each stretcher support  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  has, at each of its ends, a connecting means  15  which carries a pivot connection  6  parallel to a longitudinal axis of the stretcher support  2   a,    2   b,    2   c.  Each pivot connection  6  is located above the center of gravity G of the stretcher support  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  so as to ensure the pendulum stability of said support, particularly when said support is occupied. 
     According to the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the guiding means  5  have rails  8  forming a closed circuit  5   a . These rails  8  are intended to guide the translation of the connecting means  15  which carry the pivot connections  6  throughout the circuit  5   a  thus formed. 
     The rail  8  can thus follow a substantially curvilinear path in correspondence of and at a distance D from the inner wall of the vehicle, so as to be capable of bringing a stretcher support  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  to areas within the vehicle having a habitability and a reduced accessibility such as in the enlarged upper part of the passenger compartment, for example. The distance D between the rail  8  and the inner wall of the passenger compartment is selected so as not to have interferences between the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  and the inner profile of the passenger compartment throughout the path of the circuit  5   a  formed by the rail  8  of the guiding means  5 . 
     Further, a circular permutation of the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  can thus be performed so as to bring a selected stretcher support  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  close to a caregiver  99  placed in a care area S of the passenger compartment so that he/she can provide care in the best ergonomic and access conditions to the injured person  3   a,    3   b,    3   c.    
     It is obvious for the person skilled in the art that motor means such as a motorization (motor means not shown) could be added to the host structure  1 , and in particular to the guiding means  5  so as to move the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  without any physical efforts. 
     The stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  can be spaced apart from each other by an interval that is constant along the circuit  5   a  of the guiding means  5  so as not to create interferences between the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  and to allow the movement of only one stretcher support to cause a movement with the same extent of the other stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c.    
     This constant spacing and driving means between the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  can be provided, for example, by chocking means  30  shown in  FIG. 4 , which can comprise for example a series of contiguous rollers  30  contained in each rail  8  and located between each connecting means  15  of the successive pivot connections  6 . As it can be seen in  FIG. 4 , the connecting means  15  has cylindrical profiles cooperating with rollers  30  for allowing the pivoting and rolling of the rollers. The connecting means  15  will generally have a parallelepiped shape and will slide in the rail  8  by means of a suitable clearance. 
     The host structure  1  can have at least one blocking means  9 , such as a brake, preventing the permutation movement of the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  during the transport or care phases, for example. 
     Each stretcher support  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  can also have, at a connecting means  15  of a pivot connection  6 , a stop means  12  preventing the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  from swinging when the permutation movement is blocked, thereby allowing to stabilize the position of the injured person if his/her condition or the care needs it. 
     Such stop means  12  can have a blocking rod  12  capable of sliding in a part of a stretcher support  2   a  to be able to engage or not, depending on a selection of the user, in a bore  13  of a connecting means  15 . The connecting means  15  will have several bores  13  to allow immobilizing the swing of the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  for different orientations of the connecting means  15  adopted during the path thereof along the circuit  5   a  and with respect to the stretcher support  2   a.  In  FIG. 4 , only two bores  13  on each connecting means  15  are shown. 
     According to a second embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the guiding means  5  has pulleys (or toothed wheels)  16  intended to guide a closed flexible link  11  (such as a chain or a belt). This flexible link  11  is guided by the pulleys or wheels and carries the connecting means  15  of the pivot connections  6 , and allows the simultaneous drive of all the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  along the closed circuit  5   a  defined by the position of the pulleys or toothed wheels  16 . 
     Such a flexible link  11  also allows providing a fixed interval between the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c , the interval being selected once again so as to prevent interferences between the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c.    
     The path of the flexible links  11  between the pulleys  16  or wheels is arranged such that the stretcher supports  2   a,    2   b,    2   c  can perform a circular permutation movement between the different useful positions on board of the vehicle. 
     Host structures comprising three stretcher supports have been shown in the figures. It is of course possible, depending on the available volume, to define a host structure comprising a greater number of stretcher supports.