GB2138069A - Securing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A 'quick lock' securing device comprises a first member (6) including spaced along its axis recess (14) means to locate a head (17) of a first securing unit in a fixed position, and a second member (9) including a plurality of bores (18), each bore (18) including an enlarged portion (19) through which the head (17) of a quick lock (1) may pass and extending therefrom a reduced portion (20) through which a shank (21) of a quick lock (1) may pass but the head of a quick lock (1) may not pass, the distance between the enlarged portions (19) of adjacent bores (18) being the same as the distance between adjacent recess (14) means of the first member (6), the second member (9) being parallel and slidable with respect to the first member (6), the device also including means to slide the second member (9) from a first position in which the enlarged portion (19) of each bore is aligned with the recess (14) means to allow passage to the head (17) of quick lock through the second member (9) to be engaged in the recess (14) of the first member, to a second position in which the reduced portion (20) of each bore is aligned with the recess (14) means to prevent passage of the head (17) of the quick lock (1) out of the recess (14) in the first member (6). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Securing device This invention relates to a device for securing objects to a surface and in particular for securing wheelchairs, stretchers etc., to the floor of an ambulance.

Previously there has only been very limited means for securing items of patient carrying equipment safely to the floor of an ambulance so that the items of equipment do not move about the body of the ambulance while it is in motion. Such items requiring to be secured include incubator cots, wheelchairs and stretchers.

A standard design has been used throughout the ambulance service for many years.

This design uses a device which has become known as a "quick lock". The quick lock includes means to fix the device securely to a wheelchair, stretcher, cot or other form of patient carrying equipment. Each quick lock includes a projection which includes at its end an enlarged head portion joined to the rest of the quick lock by a shank of reduced crosssection. In the present system each ambulance has three fixed plates in the saloon of the vehicle into which the head and shanks of the quick locks may be inserted. Each fixed plate includes a key-hole-like slot into which the head of the quick lock is inserted. The head will pass through the enlarged portion of the slot but not through the reduced portion of the keyhole, the quick lock is then slid along the plate until the shank lies within the reduced portion so that the head can not pass out of the reduced portion.This retains the quick lock in the plate.

The fixed position of the plates means that wheel chairs can only be secured at the rear of the vehicle where they are inconvenient and effectively block off the rear doors of the ambulance thus making it necessary to move the wheelchair when anyone wants to get in or out of the vehicle. The stretcher type cots used for emergency services can only either be secured against the sides of the vehicle or moved slightly out from the sides. This can be very inconvenient.

According to this invention there is provided a device for securing a 'quick lock' as herein described to a surface, the device including a first member including spaced along its axis recess means to locate a head of a first securing unit in a fixed position, and a second member including a plurality of bores, each bore including an enlarged portion through which the head of a quick lock may pass and extending therefrom a reduced portion through which a shank of a quick lock may pass but the head of a quick lock may not pass, the distance between the enlarged portions of adjacent bores being the same as the distance between adjacent recess means of the first member, the second member being parallel and slidable with respect to the first member, the device also including means to slide the second member from a first position in which the enlarged portion of each bore is aligned with the recess means to allow passage of the head of the quick lock through the second member to be engaged in the recess of the first member, to a second position in which the reduced portion of each bore is aligned with recess means to prevent passage of the head of the quick lock out of the recess in the first member.

To affix an object such as a wheelchair to the ambulance floor surface the wheelchair is wheeled to its required position and the nearest bore on the second member is chosen.

The quick lock is attached to the wheelchair and the head and shank is inserted into the the bore to engage the head in the recess of the second member is slide with respect to the first member to retain the wheelchair in position. Preferably the ambulance includes two such devices extending along each side of the ambulance body to give the operator greater flexibility.

With such a device a wheelchair and a stretcher cot can be fitted into an ambulance at any position which gives the doctor or an ambulance man much greater flexibility. It allows the driver of the vehicle complete freedom as to where any patient carrying equipment can be rigidly secured in the vehicle and this in turn gives the advantage that any member of staff who is required to travel in the saloon of the vehicle can have a patient carrying equipment in what ever position they require in order that they can walk around it whilst the vehicle is in motion to tend to the patient whilst at the same time the equipment itself is secured to the vehicle.

Preferably the device is in the form of a channel which is fitted into a recess in the surface so that the top surface of the securing unit is aligend with the surface of the ambulance floor so that no grooves or projections are formed which could be dangerous.

Preferably the second member may also lie in a third position with respect to the first member in which the recess means are aligned to the solid part of the second member between its bores. This means that the device will be totaliy shut-off and no heels or other objects can enter into the channel inadvertently.

Preferably the channel is in the form including a top plate including bores aligned with recesses in a bottom plate the second slidable member being slidabie between these two plates.

Preferably the channel also includes a plastic bearing member at its base.

Preferably also the channel includes a draining member at one or both of its ends so that the channel can be thoroughly cleaned out.

An example of a device in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1A is a plan view of the device; Figure 1B, 1C and 1D are plan views of components of the device; Figure 2 is a schematic section through I-I of Fig. 1 A in Position 1, 2 and 3 of the second member with respect to the first member; Figure 3 is a schematic view of quicklock; and, Figure 4 is a schematic view of the handle.

On the ambulance floor is fixed two elongate devices running from the front to the back of the ambulance at each side of the vehicle cab.

The device is set into a plastic channel 2 (shown only in Fig. 2 (Position 1)) which is set into the floor of the ambulance. At one end of the channel 2 is a draining hole connected to a tube 3 to aid cleaning of the channel 2.

Into channel 2 is placed a cover channel 4 (shown in Fig. 1 D cover) channel 4 is galvanised steel and fits within channel 2.

Fixed into the recess 5 of the channel 4 is placed plastics bearing plate 6. Rivets pass through holes 7 in the plastics plate 6 and into holes 8 in channel 4 to fix the plastics plate 6 into position.

Above plate 6 lies the slidable metal plate 9 which slides within channel 4 above the plastics plate 6. The plate 9 is not fixed to any other components of the device and is shorter than the rest of the device to allow longitudinal sliding.

Fixed over the sliding plate 9 is a cover plate 10. The plate 10 is fixed to the channel 4 by rivets passing through holes 11 and 12 in the plate 10 and channel 4 respectively.

The cover plate 10 and plastics plate 6 have aligned bores 1 3 and 14 at fixed spaces along their length. The channel cover 4 includes recesses 1 5 of the same size and spacing as bores 1 3 and 14. The bores 1 3 and 14 are the same diameters as the head 1 7 of the quick locks 1.

The slidable plate 9 includes bores 1 8 along its length. Each bores 1 8 includes an enlarged portion 1 9 and a reduced portion 20. The diameter of enlarged portion 1 9 is the same as the bores 1 3 and 14 to allow a head 1 7 of a quick lock 1 to pass therethrough the reduced portion will accommodate the shank 21 of a quick lock 1 but will not allow passage of a head 1 7.

The slidable plate 9 is slidable between Position 1, Position 2 and Position 3 as shown in Fig. 2.

In Position 1 the enlarged portion 1 9 of the bore 1 8 in the slidable plate 9 is aligned with bores 1 3 and 14 to allow the head 1 7 of a quick lock to be inserted into the recess 1 5 in channel 4.

In Position 2 the reduced portion 20 of the bore 1 8 in the slidable plate 9 is aligned with bores 13 and 14 so that head 17 of a quick lock is retained in space 22 beneath reduced portion 20. This is the locked position in which a quick lock is locked securely into position.

In Position 3 the part of plate 9 between bores 1 8 is aligned with bores 1 3 and 14 to shut off the holes in the device to avoid any danger of any heel of a shoe engaging in one of the holes causing an accident.

The operating handle has two projections 23 and 24 spaced from each other. The fixed plates of the device, ie., cover plate 10 and plastics plate 6 include arcuate slots 25. At the centre point of arcuate slot 25 of cover plate 10 is defined a central bore 26. The slidable plate 9 includes a lateral slot 27.

The projection 23 is inserted into central bore 26 and the projection 24 is inserted through slot 25 to engage the lateral slot 27.

The handle is pivoted relative to the central pin 23 fixed within central bore 26. The projection 24 slides within arcuate slot 25 and pulls the slide 9 longitudinally by the slot 27. It is enlarged laterally to accommodate lateral movement of projection 24 since it describes an arcuate, non-linear path.

All the parts of the device not made of plastics are made of galvanised, non-stick metal.

The device includes three sets of arcuate slots 25 so that the device can be moved into its locked position from 3 different positions in the ambulance which is convenient when working in small space.

A wheelchair, stretcher cot etc., may be fixed in any position in the ambulance merely by choosing suitable bores in the device into which the quick locks 1 may be inserted.

Claims (11)

1. A device for securing a 'quick lock' as herein described to a surface, the device including a first member including, spaced along its axis, recess means to locate a head of a first securing unit in a fixed position, and a second member including a plurality of bores, each bore including an enlarged portion through which the head of a quick lock may pass and extending therefrom a reduced portion though which a shank of a quick lock may pass but the head of a quick lock may not pass, the distance between the enlarged portions of adjacent bores being the same as the distance between adjacent recess means of the first member, the second member being parallel and slidable with respect to the first member the device also including means to slide the second member from a first position in which the enlarged portion of each bore is aligned with the recess means to allow passage of the head of the quick lock through the second member to be engaged in the recess of the first member, to a second position in which the reduced portion of each bore is aligned with the recess means to prevent passage of the head of the quick lock out of the recess in the first member.

2. A device according to claim 1, comprising a channel mounted in the surface so that its top surface is aligned with the surface on which it is mounted.

3. A device according to claim 2, in which the second slidable member lies above the first member, and in which the first member includes recesses of the same diameter as the head of the first securing unit.

4. A device according to claim 3, which also includes a top plate lying above the second slidable member, the top plate including bores of the same diameter as the recesses fo the first member, with the same distances between the bores.

5. A device according to any one of the claims 2 to 4 in which, the channel includes a plastics bearing plate, lying beneath the second slidable member.

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the second member may lie in a third position with respect to the first member, in which a solid part of the second member between its bores is aligned with the recess means, to define a fully closed position.

7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the means to slide the second member comprises a handle including a projection which engages in a recess in the second member.

8. A device according to claim 7, in which the operating handle includes two projections spaced apart from each other and in which the device includes a fixed cover plate lying above the second member, including an arcuate slot and a central recess, the second member including a lateral slot, the operating handle sliding the second member with respect to the cover plate by inseting one projection into the central recess and one into the arcuate slot so that it engages the slot in the second member and rotating the handle about the central recess so that the second member is slid longitudinally with respect to the cover plate.

9. A device according to claim 2, in which the channel includes drainage means to aid cleaning.

10. A device in accordance with claim 1 and arranged substantially as described herein.

11. A device for securing a quick lock to a surface substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 2. An ambulance including two devices in accordance with any of the claims 1 to 11 secured to the ambulance floor.

1 3. An ambulance substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.