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US 10,518,116 B2Granted
Patient evacuation and recovery hauling system
AssigneeSkedco, Inc.
InventorCarston R. Calkin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An evacuation hauling system for transporting evacuation litters during an emergency. The hauling system includes a drive line forming a pathway between a first station and a second station, and a drive system operable by a drive prime mover to move the drive line between the first and second stations. An evacuation litter is detachably coupled to the drive line and is moveable along the pathway between the first and second stations as the drive line is moved. The hauling system may include a pulley supporting the drive line to maintain a separation between a transport leg of the pathway from the first station to the second station, and a return leg of the pathway from the second station to the first station.
Claims20
An evacuation hauling system for transporting evacuation litters, the evacuation hauling system comprising:
- a drive line forming a pathway between a first station and a second station, wherein the pathway includes a transport leg from the first station to the second station and a return leg from the second station back to the first station;
- a drive positioned at one of the first station or the second station, the drive operatively associated with the drive line and moving the drive line along the pathway between the first and second stations;
- a drive prime mover operatively coupled to the drive and configured to power the drive;
- a first pulley positioned at one of the first station or the second station, the pulley supporting at least a portion of the drive line and directing the pathway of the drive line so that the transport leg and the return leg are offset from one another to avoid overlap along the pathway;
- and
- a first evacuation litter detachably coupled to the drive line and moveable along the pathway between the first and second stations, the first evacuation litter including a flexible base panel sized to underlay and support a person laying thereon, the flexible base panel having a header section and an opposite footer section, and a first peripheral side and an opposite second peripheral side, the footer section configured to roll inwardly to provide a foot support for the person, the first evacuation litter further including one or more restraining straps each extending transversely across the flexible base panel from the first peripheral side to the second peripheral side for securely restraining the person within the first evacuation litter, and an attachment strap positioned along the header section for coupling the first evacuation litter to the drive line, wherein the drive line and the attachment strap together urge the header section of the flexible base panel to roll upwardly toward the drive line in a rolled configuration to form a head support for the person, and wherein the drive line and the attachment strap together maintain the header section in the rolled configuration during movement of the first evacuation litter along the pathway between the first and second stations.
3 more elements
A method of transporting evacuation litters via an evacuation hauling system, the method comprising:
- positioning a first pulley at one of a first station or a second station;
- forming, via a drive line supported by the first pulley, a pathway between the first station and the second station, the pathway including a transport leg from the first station to the second station and a return leg from the second station back to the first station, wherein the first pulley separates the drive line so that the transport leg and the return leg are offset from one another to avoid overlap along the pathway;
- detachably coupling a first evacuation litter to the drive line, the first evacuation litter being movable along the pathway between the first and second stations;
- powering a drive, via a drive prime mover operatively coupling to the drive, the drive positioned at one of the first station or the second station;
- and
- moving, via the drive, the drive line and first evacuation litter along the transport leg of the pathway between the first and second stations, wherein the first evacuation litter includes a flexible base panel sized to underlay and support a person laying thereon, the flexible base panel having a header section and an opposite footer section, and a first peripheral side and an opposite second peripheral side, the footer section configured to roll inwardly to provide a foot support for the person, the first evacuation litter further including one or more restraining straps each extending transversely across the flexible base panel from the first peripheral side to the second peripheral side for securely restraining the person within the first evacuation litter, and an attachment strap positioned along the header section for coupling the first evacuation litter to the drive line, wherein the drive line and the attachment strap together urge the header section of the flexible base panel to roll upwardly toward the drive line in a rolled configuration to form a head support for the person, and wherein the drive line and the attachment strap together maintain the header section in the rolled configuration during movement of the first evacuation litter along the pathway between the first and second stations.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.