Improvements in the Construction of Ambulance Stretchers.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 10th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Ambulance Stretchers.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD RIORDAN Surgeon Major Medical Staff Sheerness, Co. Kent
England do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:―
It consists of the joining together of stretchers such as are used by armies in the
field so that they can be employed as scaling ladders or for similar purposes in
connection with military operations.
The notion of utilising field stretchers as ladders is entirely new and original: to
render it practical my plan is to construct stretchers so that the poles of one can be
fastened on to the ends of those of another and in this way double the length of the
poles of each stretcher and thus form the sides of a ladder.
Between the poles of the stretchers ropes are passed across beneath the canvas.
which forms the bed of the stretcher, these ropes or cordings are attached to the poles
at intervals so as to form steps when the stretcher is required to form a ladder, these
rope steps are formed after the manner of those in the ratlines in the rigging
of a ship.
This invention can be carried into effect either by the conversion of the stretchers
at present in use in armies such as the Regulation Field Pattern Stretcher is in the
British Army (a) by the addition of ropes to be used as steps which are fixed to the
sides of the poles, also by the addition of metal fixings to the ends of the poles by
which they can be fastened together or (b) by the construction of a new pattern
stretcher specially planned so as to fulfil both the requirements of a stretcher and
ladder in order that the former may be convertible into the latter which is the object
aimed at in my invention.
Dated this Ninth dort of Anil 1000
W. E. RIORDAN,
Surgeon Major, M.S.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Ambulance Stretchers.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD RIORDAN, Surgeon Major, Medical Staff Sheerness, Kent,
England, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The ambulance field stretchers hitherto employed have never been constructed so
that they could be used as escalading ladders.
The object aimed at is to construct stretchers such as are used for ambulance
purposes so that they can in addition to their use as stretchers be used as escalading
fadders.
I will describe my invention as applied to the War Department Regulation field
stretchers known as No. IV or Surgeon Major Farris's field stretchers stating how
the ends of two of these stretchers can be fastened together and the stretchers
converted into a ladder although the invention is applicable to other field stretchers
whether made of wood or metal.
The poles of one stretcher are attached to those of another by means of metal fixings
after the manner shown in the accompanying drawing. When the end of the pole
shewn in figure 2 is inserted into the hollow end of the pole shewn in figure 1, it is secured
there by a screw placed on the under side of the handle which forms the end of the
pole. The screw is held in its place by a pin; the thread of the screw terminates
before reaching the end of the screw, in this thread a pin which projects from the

page_text: side of the screw hole runs and thus the screw (when unscrewed so far as to liberate
the end of the pole figure 2.) is prevented from being entirely withdrawn from its
socket or from at any time falling out.
When the end of the stretcher shown in figure 1 is not in use as a ladder a plug is
held in its hollow end by means of the above screw. This plug is attached to the
head of the screw by a short chain.
The steps or rungs of the ladder which are made of rope are thus arranged. They
pass between the poles beneath the canvas which forms the bed of the stretcher, holes
are bored through the poles through which these rope steps are passed and where they
are secured as shown in the drawing, fig. 3, thus there is sufficient distance between
the canvas and the steps to allow the foot to rest on them.
When two stretchers are fastened together and required for use for escalading the
ladder is formed along the back of the stretchers, the first step. of the ladder will be
the iron traverse which holds the poles apart. The next five steps are of rope, the
upper traverse of this stretcher is reversed and the wheel blocks changed from one
pole to the other so that the traverse is level with the top of the canvas and as
it cannot close downwards it thus forms a step. The lower traverse of the top
stretcher of the ladder is reversed and both the traverses of this stretcher are secured
by means of runners so as to form steps.
Allowing the handles of the upper stretcher to run 5 inches into those of the lower
the step between the traverses will be 12 inches, thus all steps of the ladder will be the
same distance apart, the total length of the poles of the ladder formed by the two
stretchers will be 15 feet with ten steps of rope and four of iron, in all 14 steps.
In the improvement in the construction of ambulance stretchers the special feature
of novelty claimed in this invention are,
.
(1) The fastening together of the ends of the poles of two or more stretchers and
(2) The fixing of steps between the poles of a stretcher so that by these means
ambulance stretchers can be used as an escalading ladder which is the object of this
invention and for this reason a stretcher so constructed may be named The Escalading
Field Stretcher.
Sheerness. 9th January 1890.
W. E. RIORDAN,
Surgeon Major, Medical Staff.