Adjustable tourniquet tie
OwnerGeorge R. McDowell, IIIinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tie that can be adequately tighten so as to be used as a tourniquet that can be loosened when required. The tie includes an elongated strap having teeth formed thereon that engage with teeth in a locking head to allow movement in only one direction (tightening). A release tab in conjunction with a backplate enables the teeth in the locking head to be disengaged from the teeth on the elongated strap when the release tab is depressed so that the strap can move in an opposite direction (loosen the tourniquet). The release tab and the backplate are configured to face away from the body part to provide more room for engagement and provide necessary leverage to loosen the tie. A handle can be secured to the tie after it is secured around the body part to provide more leverage to adequately tighten the tie.
Claims20
An adjustable tourniquet, comprising:
- an elongated planar strap having a plurality of strap teeth formed on at least one side thereof;
- a releasable locking head formed adjacent to a first end of the strap, wherein the locking head includes:
- a main body having a passthrough to receive a second end of the strap in a locking direction to form a loop to secure around a body part, wherein amount of the strap that traverses the opening controls size of the loop;
- at least one locking head tooth extending into the passthrough and being complementary to the plurality of strap teeth when the second end of the strap enters the passthrough, wherein the at last one locking head tooth is adapted to engage with at least one strap tooth for preventing movement of the strap in a release direction;
- a release tab engaged with a first side of the main body and having a first side connected to the at least one locking head tooth and a second side extending away from the first side of the strap, wherein the second side of the release tab is wider than the first side;
- and
- a backplate engaged with a first side of the main body and having a first side adjacent the passthrough and a second side extending away from the first side of the strap, wherein the backplate is substantially parallel to the release tab, wherein the backplate is wider and longer than the release tab, and wherein the backplate includes an opening therethrough larger than the release tab;
- wherein the release tab and backplate extend away from the loop secured around the body part when the strap is in the passthrough and are accessible by a user, wherein the release tab is configured to be depressed by a first finger of the user, wherein the backplate is configured to receive a second finger of the user to provide resistance when the release tab is depressed toward the backplate by the first finger, wherein the depressing of the release tab is to release the at least one locking head tooth from engagement with the at least one strap tooth to permit the strap to be moved in the release direction;
- and
- a handle connectable to the strap after the strap has been secured around the body part, wherein the strap is to provide more leverage to sufficiently tighten the adjustable tourniquet.
A method of providing a releasable tourniquet around a body part, the method comprising:
- providing an elongate planar strap having a plurality of strap teeth formed on at least one side and a locking head formed on one end;
- and
- securing the strap around the body part by
- inserting an opposite end of the strap into an opening in the locking head in a locking direction and forming a loop to receive the body part, wherein amount of the strap that traverses the opening controls size of the loop;
- locking the strap in the locking head by engaging at least one lock tooth formed extending into the opening in the locking head with a complementary at least one of the strap teeth to prevent movement of the strap in a release direction;
- placing a handle on the second end of the strap;
- and
- pulling the strap with the handle to adequately tighten the strap around the body part so as to act as a tourniquet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.