Abstract:
A modular approach to mounting medical equipment on evacuation litters employs litter engagement members of various configuration and a plurality of rail members all having the same sectional profile. The rail members can be mounted to a variety of connectors and auxiliary pieces such that equipment supporting structures can be built on a patient bearing litter without sacrificing access to the patient.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62157955, filed May 6, 2015; also U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62159419, filed May 11, 2015; and, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62202963, filed Aug. 10, 2015, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to a structure for attaching to litters, including litters that meet NATO standards as well as civilian emergency medical litters, and for holding medical equipment useful in the care and/or transport of patients between locations. Further various components may be useful in mounting to alternative surfaces such as walls and vehicles or in temporary intensive care units in combat support hospitals. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The standard litter in use is the NATO litter or a modified version of the NATO litter. A common feature between the NATO litter and most modified versions is a two pole structure running in parallel to each other the length of an area to carry and support a patient such as nylon as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  showing the prior art. Usually, these litters are used in evacuating injured and/or wounded patients from their location of injury (or far forward facility) to a care facility for treatment. During transport, it is vital to monitor a patient&#39;s current medical status to allow medical personnel to attempt to maintain the status quo, which preferable is sufficiently stable to allow for transport. Civilian emergency responders may use litters developed by Stryker Corporation. In either case, a need continues to exist for an efficient and effective way to attach medical equipment to a transportable litter. 
         [0004]    Prior to my earlier development of critical care platforms for litters, litters did not allow for the attachment of medical monitoring equipment given their structure of two poles and a place for the patient, which usually is canvas or a similar material. Instead of two individuals moving a patient, it would take at least one additional person to move alongside the litter to move the equipment connected to the patient. Or the extra person may not be needed, because the equipment is put on top of the patient, which is not advisable in most medical situations given the weight of the equipment and notwithstanding the weight, the equipment may shift around on the patient and/or fall off of the patient and the litter. None of these possibilities associated with using the patient as the carrying platform are beneficial to treating the patient. 
         [0005]    The present invention is an improvement over the my past inventions as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,458,743 “Critical care platform for litters”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,922 “Critical care platform for litters”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,890 “Critical care platform for litters” all of which addressed the above problems and incorporated herein by reference. One substantial drawback to my prior devices, as may be seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , has been that they sacrificed a certain amount of access to the patient once the devices were placed on the litter. 
         [0006]    Notwithstanding the usefulness of the above-described approaches, a need still exists for improvements in lightweight attachment for litters that will allow particular equipment to be transported with the patient without requiring another individual to carry the equipment beyond the two individuals carrying the litter. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a light weight modular system that can be deployed in a variety of configurations with minimal loss of access to the patient on the litter by virtue of the unique interchangeable modular system. The system uses standardized rails and receivers that are readily secured to each other by locking mechanisms that are retained in place and are not susceptible to being lost or ill-fitting. The rail and receiver structural foundation extends into a plurality of connecting units that allow selective orientation of structural members based on the care giver&#39;s need in mounting equipment for a specific patient, thus treatment is not dictated by the equipment mounting regime but rather the equipment mounting regime can be modified by the needs of the patient. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Referring to the drawings which are appended hereto and which form a portion of this disclosure, it may be seen that: 
           [0009]      FIGS. 1 and 2  depict the prior art from my earlier inventions; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3A to 3D  are perspective views depicting one embodiment of NATO litter adapters; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  depicts a Stryker litter adapter; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  depicts my rapid jump frame assembly; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  depicts my rapid jump frame assembly from another side; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  depicts a second embodiment of a NATO litter interface; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of my rapid jump frame clamp; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of my expansion rail assembly; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an equipment mounting plate; 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is an exploded perspective view of a cradle mounting assembly; 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of an A frame assembly, 
           [0020]      FIG. 13  is an exploded perspective view of an IV support; and, 
           [0021]      FIG. 14  is an exploded perspective view of a triple rail adapter. 
           [0022]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a triple rail adapter; 
           [0023]      FIG. 16  is view of a directional changer; and, 
           [0024]      FIG. 17A  to D shows multiple combinations possible with the modular system, wherein the combination of modular units are indicated by a plus sign. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    One or more of the objects of the invention can be achieved, at least in part, by providing a platform  100  which preferably attaches to the litter or other patient carrying mechanism, while also preferably being able to stand on its own when not attached to a litter or other patient carrying mechanism. The platform  100  and its different embodiments are a means for supporting and positioning medical equipment to the side and/or above the patient on the patient carrying device. Preferably, the at least one litter adapter allows for at least one piece of medical equipment, device(s), and/or container(s) such as monitors, pumps, ventilators, suction units, IV bags, oxygen bottles to be attached to the litter separately from the platform. 
         [0026]    In order to function properly, the modular frame must interface with the litter. Therefore I provide litter interface members to engage the poles of the litters and upon which the equipment mounting structure is built. Referring to  FIGS. 3 a  to 3 d   , one embodiment of the litter interface members are shown as sleeves  101  which fit onto the poles of the well know NATO litters. As is well known, NATO litters are provided with a fabric or web sling mounted between two poles. The poles are provided with feet proximate each end which are connected by a bolt which runs through the pole and a reinforcing plate and an aperture in the feet to engage a threaded nut. The sleeves  101  are utilized by removing the feet from the NATO litter, sliding the sleeves  101  over the portion of the litter pole adjacent the mounting position of the feet and then replacing the feet and reinforcing plate. The feet, plate and sleeve  101  are then secured to the pole by the original bolt which passes through aperture  101   a  and cutout  101   b  which accommodates the NATO plate. A critical component of the modular frame is the use of connecting rails  102 . Rails  102  are elongated shaped rails with at least one transverse slot  103  formed in each rail. Referring to  FIG. 3A to 3 , it will be noted that each sleeve  101  has a rail  102   a  affixed to it. All of the rails in the assembly have the same profile and dimension, however, some rails  102  are longer than others and some may also have a receiver channel  104  formed opposite the slots  103 , for purposes understood more fully from the remainder of the disclosure.  FIG. 4  depicts the interface member for a Stryker type litter which does not utilize round poles but rather uses generally rectangular poles. The interface member utilizes a channel member  201  and a movable clamp piece  202  to attach to the Stryker poles. Clamp piece  202  is urged against a pole within channel member  201  by rod  203  which is threadedly engaged with channel member  201  and manually adjusted using knob  204 . It will be noted that a standard mounting rail  102   b  with slot  103  formed therein is affixed to channel member  201 . In  FIG. 7  another embodiment of a NATO interface member is depicted as a semicircular foot  401  to which a rail  102   c  is affixed. 
         [0027]    Slots  103  formed in the rails  102  inter face with locking mechanisms to secure another component in place on the rail  102 . One embodiment of the locking mechanism can be seen in  FIG. 11 . Lock bar  153  is placed within slot  250  formed in a component, such as a cradle base  191 , having a receiver channel  104  formed therein. The slot  250  intersects the receiver channel  104  and a spring well  251  formed in the component. A spring  8  is placed in the well and compressed while lock bar  153  is inserted into slot  250  such that the spring  8  is captured in well  251  and spring detent  153   cb  on the lock bar  153 . Lock bar is urged toward the receiver channel  104  such that a locking tab  153   b  extends into the receiver channel  104 . Pivot end  153   d  is captured within the component while actuator end  153   a  is exposed so that the locking tab  153   b  can be moved out of receiver channel  104  by compressing spring  108 . 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6  one embodiment of a rapid jump unit assembly is shown. The rapid jump unit assembly allows rapid connection of a frame providing elevation to the litter by engaging the litter interface. It will be noted that the assembly includes a horizontal frame member  106  which defines a receiver channel  104  for receiving one or more rails  102  therein. For example, two of the above described NATO interface members depicted as a semicircular foot  401  may be engaged by horizontal frame member with their associated rail  102  locked in place by locking mechanisms using lock bars  153   a  and  153   b  to releasably engage slots in the interface members. Horizontal frame member  106  supports and is affixed to vertical frame members,  110  and  111 , formed by legs  113 ,  113 ′ and  114 ,  114 ′ which are telescopic and allow for variation in height above an associated litter. Legs  113 ′ and  114 ′ carry spring loaded detent pins  116  that are selectively engaged in apertures  117  in legs  113  and  114 . It will be immediately noted that the present design presents a great improvement in patient access when compared to the earlier designs which substantially blocked lateral access and visibility to the patient beneath the platform. Likewise, the present design provides easy and simple assembly, disassembly and addition to the system. 
         [0029]    It should be understood that basic building blocks of the system are the mounting rails  102  and mating receivers  104  used to connect the components. These building blocks are used to secure the rapid jump unit assembly to the litter. Horizontal frame member  106  has a mounting rail  102   a  affixed centrally to its upper surface and a pair of mating receivers  104   a,    104   b  formed at its opposite ends. The mounting feet  401  of the interface members rest on the top of the litter poles, thus, a catch assembly  131 , shown in  FIG. 8 , is affixed to horizontal frame member  106  using mounting rail  102   b  and block  132  which has receiver  104   c  formed longitudinally within it. Affixed to or formed on block  132  is a clevis  133  which receives a pivot pin  134  which passes through a catch lever  136  such that the lever  136  is captured within the clevis yet free to rotate about the pin  134 . Lever  136  carries a pair of opposing lock collars  137  to which a double armed J strap  138  is pivotally mounted such that it can hang from collars  137  and partially engage a litter pole. With the J strap  138  positioned beneath the litter pole, the lever  136  can be pivoted upwardly to an over-center position bring the J-strap  138  into gripping engagement with the litter pole, thus capturing the litter pole between the J-strap  138  on the bottom and the mounting feet on the top of the litter pole as seen in  FIGS. 13 to 15 . Spring loaded locking collar  140  includes a rear lip  141  that prevents rotation of lever  136  until the internal spring (not shown) is compressed. Lever  136  may have a compression spring captured within slot  139  such that the J-strap properly seats against the litter pole and may have a storage slot  130  transversely formed in cap  142  storing the J strap  138 . 
         [0030]    At the upper ends of legs  113 ′ and  114 ′ a rod  161  is mounted parallel to and spaced from horizontal frame member  106  as seen most clearly in FIG&#39;s  5  and  6 . Rod  161  passes through two legs  165  of latch block  162  and the body  163  of barrel lock. Each latch block  162  has a plurality of spaced apart receivers  104   d  &amp;  104   e  formed therein which mate with mounting rails  102   d  &amp;  102   e  that are affixed to the underside of platform  100  as shown in  FIG. 10 . The locking mechanism for these receivers, illustrated more clearly in  FIG. 16 , is a spring biased transverse locking bar connected to a rod and urged into the cavity of the receivers. A knob is connected to rod enable one to pull on the knob, compress the spring and withdraw the locking bar to insert the rails. 
         [0031]    Also supported by the legs  165  of latch block  162  is a spring biased latch bar  164  which extends through slots in the legs  165  of latch body  162 . A pair of springs captured in spring wells  160  in the legs  165  urge the latch bar  164  toward the lock barrel body  163 . Lock barrel body  163  has a pair of grooves  166  offset by 90 degrees into which latch bar  164  is selectively biased to lock the latch block into position. Release handle  167  includes arms  168  which engage the ends of latch bar  164 . Slots  169  formed in the arms  168  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  such that rod  161  passes there through yet handle  167  is free to move transversely of rod  161  to push latch pin  164  into a release position such that latch block  162  is free to rotate about rod  161  relative to lock barrel body  163 . The grooves  166  is bordered by beveled surfaces, such that when release handle is rotated the latch pin moves in the slots to release the latch body and allow the supports  110  and  111  to pivot selectively approximately 90 degrees relative to the latch block and thence 90 degrees relative to a platform  100  secured to latch block  162  between a supporting position and a stowed position. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 10 , Platform  100  also has a number of mounting rails  102   f  and  102   gt  affixed to the sides or edges thereof to which the aforementioned medical devices may be attached for support. Platform  100  may also have a number of mounting holes formed therein as shown in  FIG. 5  of U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,890 which is incorporated herein by reference. It should be understood that when rapid jump unit assemblies are deployed on each litter pole, the platform can be supported across the litter at a selected height by engagement with the latch block  162  of each rapid jump unit assembly, however, this is only one embodiment of the invention. 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , it will be seen that expansion rails  102   h,    102   i  and  102   j  may be provided in sets. The expansion rails may be connected to each other using lock pins  153   d  and e as previously explained. As many sets of expansion rails may be used as may be needed, thus, the expansion rails may be engaged with latch blocks from rapid jump unit assemblies on each side of the litter to provide a different mounting structure for medical equipment. By way of example a medical monitoring device may need to be placed on the structure and repositioned so that an attending care giver can see the monitor display. In such a situation, a cradle as shown in  FIG. 11 and 11   a  can be used on rails  102 . Cradle base  191  has formed within it a pair of receivers  104  into which rails  102  may be locked by locking pins  153  as previously discussed. The base  191  includes a race  192  for a set of bearings  193  and a mounting plate  194  which are all conventionally connected. Mounting plate  194  has a series of spaced apart recesses about its circumference that are engaged by spring biased pin  196  as a locking mechanism to secure the mounting plate in position. It will be understood that a monitor or other device would sit atop a tray connected to the cradle mounting plates by fasters such as the four bolts shown in the figures. While the present cradle may be used for monitors and the any manner of connection required such as straps and clamps, and it is also to be understood that the disclosed rail and receiver concept is readily adapted to provide connection to other medical equipment, device(s), and/or container(s) such as pumps, ventilators, suction units, IV bags, oxygen bottles to be attached to the litter separately from the platform 
         [0034]    Likewise, multiple sets of expansion rails  102   h,    102   i  and  102   j  may be used in combination to extend along either side of the litter between pair of litter interfaces such as sleeves  101  or claims  201 . To facilitate such structures I provide additional connectors, such as a triple rail connector and a single rail connector. The single rail connector and the triple rail connector shown in  FIG. 15  are in many ways similar in operation to the latch mechanism of the rapid jump assembly. Rail connector rod  171  passes through two legs  175  of rail block  172  and the body  173  of rail connector barrel lock. The rail block  172  has three receivers  104   m,    104   n  and  104   o,  aligned parallel to each other and oriented 90 degrees from each other. Each receiver can engage with a separate mounting rail  102 . Rails positioned in the receivers can be engaged by another embodiment of the locking member as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . Captured concentrically of the three receivers within rail block  172  is a lock rod  186  which has a portion thereof tapered to a narrower diameter. Also captured within rail block  173  are three inwardly biased pins  187  which extend through apertures into receivers  104   m, n,  and  o.  Lock rod  186  is biased by a concentric spring  188  such that the major diameter of the lock rod forces the pins outwardly into the receivers. Lock rod  186  is axially movable by pulling on knob  189  or pushing on the opposite end of lock rod  186  to align the tapered portion with the pins, thus allowing them to retract from the receivers  104  and disengage from any slot  103  within the receivers simultaneously. In the single rail version a lock mechanism using a locking pin  153  is used. 
         [0035]    Also supported by the legs  175  of rail block  172  is a spring mounted latch pin  174  which extends through slots in the legs  175  of rail block  172 . Rail barrel lock body  173  has a plurality of grooves  176  offset by 45 degrees into which a latch rod is selectively biased by a spring mounted in spring well  179  to lock the rail block into position. A pair of actuator knobs  181  and  182  engage the ends of the latch rod. Slots  180  formed in the legs  175  as shown in  13  such that the latch rod to connects to knobs  181  and  182  and is movable within the slot to disengage from rail barrel lock body  173  and allow the rail block to be reoriented relative thereto. Rail barrel lock body has a rail receiver  1041  secured to it with a locking mechanism using lock pin  153   g,  therefore a rail  102  secured in any of the three receivers  104   m, n  or  o,  can be incrementally offset from a rail in receiver  1041 . Thus, if an extension rail set is connected to a litter interface members  101  or  201  by using a single rail or triple rail connector, a railing may be formed alongside the litter which can be tilted outwards away from the litter as medically needed. 
         [0036]    At times it may be necessary to change the direction of the rails thus I also provide a directional changer as shown in  FIG. 16  which is simply a changer body  211  with three parallel receivers  104   p  formed on one face and a rail  102   p  formed on an orthogonal face extending perpendicular to the receivers  104   p.  The locking mechanism associated with the receivers is the same as is used in the latch block  162 , namely a spring biased transverse locking bar  158   a  connected to a rod and urged into the cavity of the receivers  104   p.  A knob  159   a  is connected to rod  158   b  enable one to pull on the knob  159   a,  compress the springs and withdraw the locking bar  158   a  from the receivers  104  to insert one or more rails  102 . The lock bar  158   a  seats in groove  103  to hold the inserted rails  102  in place. 
         [0037]    In some instances it may be desirable to use a more robust structure, therefore I provide an A frame vertical assembly, as shown in  FIG. 12 , that can be used instead of the rapid jump unit assembly. The A frame vertical assembly is also based on a pair of receivers  104  which engage a rail  102  and lock thereto with locking pin  153 . The rail  102  may be part of a side assembly as described above or may be a rail  102  supported between two interfacing feet  401  and clamped to the litter by a catch assembly  131 . The receivers support clevis&#39;s  201  and  202  to which the lower ends of a pair of legs  203  and  204  are pivotally mounted. The upper ends of legs  203  and  204  are pivotally connected to a base box  205  which constrains the legs  203  and  204  to separate at no greater than a 90 degree angle. Affixed to the base box  205  is a standard rail  102   q.  It will be noted in the drawings that the rail  102  is oriented horizontally on the side of the base box  205 . A build out using the A frame could use a single or three way rail connector mounted to rail  102   q  with a directional changer mounted in receiver  104 . By rotating the rail connector 90 degrees and locking it in position, the three rail receivers of the directional changer are oriented to receive one or more rails  102  extending across the litter, thereby providing mounting space above the litter. Accessories such as the cradle base  191  or any other device can be mounted on a build out from the A frame vertical assembly. 
         [0038]    It should be noted that a build out may simply have a vertical component. By way of example, a need will almost always exist for an IV hanger at a height above the litter. It should be understood that litter adapters  101  and  201  can easily support such a hanger simply by affixing rail adapter and a directional changer to either of them and inserting a rail extension assembly therein. An IV hanger  215  such as shown in  FIG. 13 . As seen in  FIG. 13  IV hanger  215  includes a tubular base  216  into which a pair of formed stainless steel IV hooks  217  are inserted. The hooks may be held in place by set screws or any other conventional manner. Tubular base  216  includes a receiver  104 r into which a rail  102  can be inserted and locked into position by lock pin  153   r.    
         [0039]    In the preceding paragraphs, I have discussed securing a platform to a litter, securing side mounting rails to a litter, securing bridge mounting rails across a litter, securing monitoring equipment mounted on a rotatable cradle to either a bridge built with a rapid jump unit assembly or an A frame assembly, and vertical mounting of accessories such as an IV holder. The combination of disclosed elements are displayed in  FIG. 17A  to D wherein  17 A depicts one combination of elements,  17 B another,  17 C yet another, and  17 D a fourth combination. However, these are not all of the possible combinations available with my modular system. It should be clear that through the use of standardized rails and receivers and locking elements to connect the receivers as well as rail adapters and direction adapters to change the orientation of the rails, a care giver can build on the litter almost any configuration structure necessary, without sacrificing access to the patient as was necessary in the devices shown in my earlier patents. 
         [0040]    While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain embodiments thereof, and many details have been put forth for the purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.