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US 4,178,032 AGranted
Apparatus for synchronously elevating and lowering air-ambulance litter with crash attenuation capability
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorHorace T. Hone
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Patient litter apparatus adapted for use in an air-ambulance operable to permit elevating and lowering the litter and patient while maintaining the litter in a horizontal position at all times and with provisions for locking the apparatus with the litter at a selected position of elevation, and further with provisions for attenuating a large scale force, such as that created by a down-crash of the air-ambulance, to thereby reduce the risk of injury to the patient and preserve the structural integrity of the apparatus.
Claims9
Litter elevating and lowering apparatus adapted for use in an air-ambulance comprising:
- (A) a pulley-cable defining a continuous cable having two selectively spaced vertical oriented portions and two crossed portions connecting the vertical portions so that motion of the cable over the pulleys will cause the vertical portions to move vertically upwardly and downwardly synchronously,
- (B) litter support means connected to said cable vertical portions to provide level support for a patient bearing litter and for synchronous vertical litter motion with said cable vertical portions,
- (C) means to cause said continuous cable to move over said pulleys to cause said litter support means to be either elevated or lowered synchronously,
- (D) locking means to lock said cable against motion with said litter support means in a selected position of elevation and,
- (E) crash attenuating means operatively associated with said continuous cable to permit said cable side portions and hence said litter support means to move gently a selected vertical distance in response to a preselected G-level load imposed thereon by a down-crash or other force to thereby attenuate the force and spare the patient the full impact of the down-crash load and prevent cable rupture as a result thereof.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.