Abstract:
The present invention relates to a quick application bandage for medical applications to prevent instant loss of blood or other bodily fluid. The bandage does not require any adhesive, straps or other attachment applications for quick attachment to the living appendage. The bandage is constructed of deformable metal members or bands embedded in padded bandage materials to enable compression around the injured area or bodily member. The snap compression bandage is adaptable for reuse and will return to its original shape after each application. The bandage is especially useful for first responders or military personnel such in naval or army operations where injuries may require immediate urgent attention.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART 
       [0001]    The invention relates generally to a special bandage application which applies easily to injuries without the inconvenience of adhesives and or other methods of attachment to the injured limb or member of the human body or an animal body. 
         [0002]    The limitations of the prior art in this area suggests the need for such an improved bandage for ease of use and ease of application to an injured part of the human body or to an animal body for therapeutic and medical treatment remedy. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,630 issued Sep. 4, 2007, to Webb teaches a hot/cold therapy pack which is attached to the human body by rigid member which is supported by a skeletal structure. The skeletal structure has a plurality of elongated leg portions that wrap around the human body part for treatment. The particular application of this bandage does not indicate that the supporting skeletal structure may be repeatedly used with no deformation from its original sizing. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,837,638 issued Nov. 23, 2010, to Miros teaches a heat exchange bladder with flexible attachment devices which is attached to the afflicted or injured body area by means of a tied attachment. The bladder has an opening at a center section that provides flexibility. The cover of the bladder may comprise a nylon loop outer surface to allow the upper lower sections to be easily attached and adjusted. The invention requires an exchange bladder with an opening and does not easily conform to the size of the body part to be treated, and instead requires straps to tie on the bladder. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,500 issued Apr. 25, 1995, to Dyrek describes a therapy pack using Velcro fasteners. The Dyrek teaching recites Velcro as a means of fastening the therapy to the patient. The patent describes elastomeric straps having restricted micro-fastener areas for versatile connection on the anatomical surface. The structure requires Velcro which will wear over time and thus not be useful to attach the therapy pack to an injured body part. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,159 issued Aug. 27, 2002, to Edwards et al., also describes a therapy neoprene wrap using Velcro fasteners. The disadvantage of Velcro fasteners being that they do not snap into position and under continual wear will no longer successfully fasten or secure the bandage wrap. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,402 issued Nov. 24, 1992, to McCoy also describes a therapy wrap using Velcro fasteners. The disadvantage of Velcro fasteners being that they do not snap into position and under continual wear will no longer successfully fasten or secure the bandage. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,810 issued May 12, 1992, to Fortney teaches a therapy wrap using buckle fasteners. The wrap is applied with a thermal pack using straps and buckle fasteners around the affected appendage. The disadvantage of buckle fasteners is the difficulty of fastening the buckles on a large wound or body part injury. The additional disadvantage is that the buckles may break or wear so that they no longer function for securing the therapy wrap. 
         [0009]    In view of these teachings and disclosures of bandages or medical wraps for attaching bandages to injured areas or limbs of the human body, it is apparent that that there is a need for a more convenient device or apparatus to apply bandages to an injury. This device or apparatus would overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by being reusable, readily conformable to the injured area, and quick to apply in any environmental context. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention relates to a quick application bandage for medical applications to prevent instant loss of blood or other bodily fluid and for treatment of bodily injuries by the instant application of medicine through the bandage. The invention of a snap compression bandage may be used to apply a bandage or therapeutic wrap to a human body injury or to an animal injury. 
         [0011]    An advantage of the invention is that the bandage does not require any adhesive, straps or other attachment applications for quick attachment to the injured bodily limb or appendage. The bandage is constructed of a layer of deformable metal members embedded in padded materials to enable compression around the injured area or body member. On top of the layer of deformable metal members is a cloth layer which may be applied to the injured area. 
         [0012]    Another advantage of the invention is that the snap compression bandage is adaptable for reuse and will return to its original shape after each application. 
         [0013]    Another advantage of the invention is that the metal members that form the underlying structure of the bandage deform and curl under pressure to take the shape of the appendage being bandaged. 
         [0014]    Another advantage of the invention is that when the injury is examined or cleaned, the snap compression bandage may be removed as the metal members will deform to their original size and dimension for reapplication to the injured body area. 
         [0015]    Another advantage of the invention is that the snap compression bandage may hold a bandage, a hot/cold gel pack, a bandage laced with medicine including pain relievers such as “Novocain,” or a bandage laced with antibiotics in a pre-packaged delivery system for immediate application to the injured body limb or member. 
         [0016]    Another advantage of the invention is that the snap compression bandage may be made in variable sizes to accommodate the injury limbs of a large person or large animal or small person or small animal. 
         [0017]    Another advantage of the invention is that the snap compression bandage, in view of its quick application and versatile construction, may be used in a number of adverse environments such as desert conditions, in extreme hot environments with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit or extreme cold environments with temperatures under 32 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as underwater environments. 
         [0018]    Another advantage of the invention is that it may be used in urgent care applications for first responders, police, or military. With regard to military, it may be used by Navy Seal Team personnel or by Army Ranger personnel when immediate application of a pressurized bandage may be needed to prevent loss of blood or even to maintain the viable integrity of an injured appendage. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a human hand and arm with the attached snap compression bandage wrapped around an injured portion of the arm and hand. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a drawing of the snap compression bandage, open and ready to be applied. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a drawing of the snap compression bandage closed, as when applied to an injured limb. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a drawing of the side cross section of the snap compression bandage, showing the compressing bands of the bandage covered by a protective covering. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a drawing of the snap compression bandage with the extremities of the bandage rolled up and under compression. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a thawing of the snap compression bandage being applied to a human wrist and arm, with one side compressing around the human arm and the other side about to be applied to the human arm. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a flow chart showing the method of using and applying the snap compression bandage. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    The present invention relates to a quick application bandage for medical applications to prevent instant loss of blood or other bodily fluid and for treatment of bodily injuries by the instant application of medicine through the bandage. 
         [0027]    The features of the invention are presented in the figures and elements of the figures to illustrate the construction and application of the invention 
         [0028]    A demonstration of the essential application of the invention snap compression bandage is shown in  FIG. 1 ; the human hand  110 , the human wrist  120 , and the human arm  130  have been injured and the snap compression bandage  140  has been applied to the affected area. The snap compression bandage  140  has been wrapped around the affected area to provide protection from environmental contamination as well as medication  150  to the affected area. The bandage is shown around the human wrist and hand but may be designed to cover various size limbs and variable size injuries or various sizes of afflicted areas. 
         [0029]    A demonstration of the construction of the invention snap compression bandage is shown in  FIG. 2 . The invention is constructed from two layers of material. One layer is cloth and is usually sterile woven cotton cloth  210  and is located entirely on one side which will face and adhere to the injured body limb. The other layer or backing of the snap compression bandage  220  is constructed from a layer of flexible metal bands  230  which bend around the injured body limb. The metal bands  230  are made of flexible metal of the type normally used for a carpenter&#39;s flexible tape measure and are bendable metal strips of uniform length. The metal bands are bistable spring metal, which will coil when slapped against the appropriate object such as a human wrist for example. The slap on band exists in two states; the elongated state, and the coiled state. These metal bands may be stretched to lie flat or to curl around the affected body limb. The bandage with the layer of flexible metal bands deforms around the injured bodily member or limb. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  shows a top view projection of the contracted snap compression bandage when the metal bands  230  have contracted around a body limb (not shown). The backing of the contracted bandage  210  contains the bandage material which is laced with anti-pain or anti-bacterial or other medicinal or therapeutic treatment that is needed to be transferred to the injured body tissue. 
         [0031]    Further,  FIG. 4  illustrates the side view of the invention snap compression bandage showing the layer of cloth bandage material  210  on the top which will face the injured body limb. The side view of  FIG. 4  also shows the layer  230  below the bandage material consisting of the metal bands which will contract around the injured body limb. The cloth bandage material  210  transmits medicine in the form of anti-pain or anti-bacterial treatment or other therapeutic treatment to the affected area. A preferred cloth layer would be made of sterilized woven cotton. The snap compression bandage can be pretreated with a permeable membrane with directional usage to automatically drain bodily fluids away from the damaged appendage/body part to speed healing of a wound. The cloth layer of the snap compression bandage may also be fitted with a fiber fill as an additional absorbent layer. 
         [0032]    The invention snap compression bandage, as it would be packaged and delivered to consumers, is shown in  FIG. 5 . Each half of the bandage  510  is rolled to the center  520  so that the bandage will occupy minimal space for shipping, storage, and transport to medical support applications.  FIG. 5  shows the bandage material  530  before application with therapeutic treatments for transfer to the injured body limb.  FIG. 5  also shows the curl of the contracting bandage members  540  which will expand when the bandage is applied to the injured body limb or wound. 
         [0033]    The application of the invention snap compression bandage to an injured limb is shown in  FIG. 6 . The injured limb or arm is positioned for insertion into the bandage which compresses around the injured limb, one half of the bandage at a time. One half of the bandage  610  is compressed around a human patient&#39;s injured wrist  620 . The other half of the bandage  630  is then allowed to close on the remainder of the exposed wrist  640 . The opening and closing of the bandage around the injured bodily member may be done with repeated applications and with repeated treatments of anti-pain medications or anti-bacterial medication or other various therapeutic medications. The application of therapeutic medications using this quick compression bandage has advantages for the emergency responders or war fighting personnel for treatment of human injuries. The bandage may also be used in a veterinary context for treatment of animal injuries. 
         [0034]    The method of using the snap compression bandage is shown by the steps in  FIG. 7 . The first step  710  is determining that there is an injury that requires quick and urgent treatment. The second step  720  is opening the bandage containing a cloth layer with a metal band layer below the cloth layer so that the metal band layer is flat and the cloth layer above the metal band layer is able to be applied to the injured bodily member or limb. The third step  730  is determining whether the bandage should have therapeutic medication applied to the cloth layer. The fourth step  740  is applying the medication if needed. The fifth step  750  is placing the injured bodily member on top of the cloth layer of the bandage. The sixth step  760  is allowing each half of the bandage to compress and snap closed around the injured limb. 
         [0035]    The invention of a snap compression bandage, in view of its quick application and versatile construction, may be used in a number of adverse environments such as desert conditions, in extreme hot environments with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit or extreme cold environments with temperatures under 32 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as underwater environments. 
         [0036]    The invention is capable of being used in urgent care applications for first responders, police, or military. With regard to military, it may be used by Navy Seal Team personnel or by Army Ranger personnel when immediate application of a pressurized bandage may be needed to prevent loss of blood or even to maintain the viable integrity of an injured appendage. The quick application of the snap compression bandage permits application with a few seconds of opening the bandage and compressing it on the wound or injured limb or appendage. 
         [0037]    When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
         [0038]    Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to a certain preferred embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiment(s) contained herein.