HK1179504A - A hand-hoisted lifting sling - Google Patents

Description

Manual lifting sling device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to lifting devices, and more particularly, to a manual lifting sling device.

Background

Hospitals often use lifting sling devices to carry patients or persons with impaired mobility. A key issue in using a lifting sling device is to prevent accidents and to avoid cross-contamination between patients. The lifting sling devices that were the earliest used were made of woven fabric, and the structure was comparatively complicated, and the design was reasonable inadequately for the product cost is high.

Therefore, these lifting sling devices need to be reused due to cost issues and are therefore inevitably prone to cross-contamination. The process of washing slings made of textile fabric does not always kill the organisms causing the infection, especially when the temperature to which the slings are subjected is used for the washing. Thus, when the textile sling is washed or even dried at a temperature higher than the temperature to which the sling can withstand, in an attempt to kill all infectious organisms, damage to the sling will result. Slings may also be lost or damaged during transport between the point of use and the point of washing, and therefore it is necessary to prepare enough spare slings to be available for use by the patient while some of the slings are being washed or transported. Some hospitals prohibit the use of slings based on the adverse effects that result. If the cost of the lifting sling device can be reduced, the lifting sling device can be beneficial to being popularized for disposable or limited use, thereby solving the problem of cross infection among patients. Therefore, it is an urgent need to solve the problem of how to effectively develop a lifting sling device with reasonable design and low cost.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problem of providing a manual lifting sling device aiming at the defects of complex structure and high cost of the existing lifting sling device.

The technical scheme adopted by the invention for solving the technical problems is as follows: constructing a manual lifting sling device comprising:

a bottom support part for supporting the buttocks and the legs of the patient;

a rear support portion in inclined angular engagement with the bottom support portion for supporting the patient's back;

a left side blocking part and a right side blocking part which respectively limit the patient at the left side and the right side, wherein the left side blocking part and the right side blocking part are simultaneously jointed with the bottom supporting part and the rear side supporting part; and at least two lifting handles are arranged on the left side blocking part and the right side blocking part.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the present invention, the fabric is a woven fabric or a non-woven fabric.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the present invention, edges of the bottom support, the rear-side support, the left-side block and the right-side block are folded and/or reinforced and integrated by sewing.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the present invention, the bottom support and the rear support are cut to fit the body shape and provided with wrinkles.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the invention, the fabric is provided with a logo.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the invention, the fabric is laminated with one or more layers of woven or non-woven films.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the invention, a breathable non-biodegradable or biodegradable film is attached to one or both sides of the fabric.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the invention, the fabric is made of a non-biodegradable material comprising polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate or polyamide.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the invention, the textile fabric is made of a biodegradable polymer material, which is polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoate, polybutylene adipate-terephthalate, polybutylene succinate, poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate, or a blend of a plurality of materials thereof.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the invention, the fabric is made of thermally bonded non-biodegradable or biodegradable randomly oriented fibres.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the present invention, the non-woven fabric is made of a continuous filament web or a short fiber web which is hydroentangled or needled.

In the manual lifting sling device according to the invention, the non-woven fabric is made of a continuous filament or staple web bonded with a non-biodegradable or biodegradable chemical, including a latex binder or adhesive.

The invention also provides a method for preventing cross-contamination between patients being transported, each patient having a dedicated manual lifting sling device as described above.

The implementation of the manual lifting sling device has the following beneficial effects: the manual lifting sling device provided by the invention has the advantages of simple structure, reasonable design, high comfort level and low cost, and can be configured for each patient to be used for a limited number of times.

Drawings

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a manual lifting sling device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic view of the use of the manual lifting sling device according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

The invention relates to a manual lifting sling device which is used for supporting the body of a patient to carry manually. In some cases, such a manual lifting sling device may also be used as a stretcher. The terms "manual lifting sling device", "sling", "lifting sling" and "stretcher" are used interchangeably in the description of the present invention and refer to a sling or stretcher that may be frequently used by caregivers or patient carriers. For example, the device may be used to transport an injured patient from the incident site to an adjacent ambulance, which may be referred to as a stretcher. When the patient is subsequently moved from the bed to another location in the hospital, the device may be referred to as a lifting sling device.

The present invention also provides a method of preventing cross-contamination between patients being carried using a manual lifting sling, i.e. patients being carried by two persons using a non-biodegradable or biodegradable manual lifting sling, wherein each patient has its own dedicated manual lifting sling device. Preferably each lifting sling device is clearly marked to clearly identify which patient the sling is for. The lifting sling may be marked with permanent ink to ensure it is not used by others. Further, the fabric in the lifting sling is made of a biodegradable polymer material, and it has been found that biodegradable non-woven slings cost only a fraction of the cost of a textile sling and are well within the reach of most people. Thus, each individual can be provided with a dedicated sling, which prevents cross-contamination between patients, and because the fabric material used for the manual lifting sling device is biodegradable and/or compostable, the sling which is discarded after use does not contaminate the environment.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a manual lifting sling device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1, the manual lifting sling device 10 is shown to include a base made of fabric: a bottom support 12, a rear support 11, a left stop 13 and a right stop 14. Wherein the bottom support portion 12 is positioned at the bottom for supporting the buttocks and legs of the patient. The rear support portion 11 is inclined at an angle to the bottom support portion 12 for supporting the back of the patient. The lower side edge of the rear support 11 engages the rear side edge of the base support 12 and is preferably inclined at an obtuse angle to facilitate seating of a patient in the manual lifting sling device 10. The rear support portion 11 and the bottom support portion 12 are preferably in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, with two longer bottom edges joined together.

The left side blocking part 13 and the right side blocking part 14 respectively limit the patient at the left side and the right side. The left and right hand stops 13, 14 are each engaged with both the bottom support 12 and the rear support 11. In some embodiments, the left hand side barrier 13 is generally triangular in shape with one base meeting the left hand side waist of the bottom support 12 and the other base meeting the left hand side waist of the rear side support 11. Similarly, the right side blocking portion 14 corresponds to it. In other embodiments, the left hand stop 13 is formed by two triangles that engage the bottom support 12 or the rear support 11, respectively, as in fig. 1, to enlarge the space enclosed by the manual lifting sling device 10. The manual lifting sling device 10 is symmetrical about a central axis.

At least 2 lifting handles 15 are provided on both the left hand block 13 and the right hand block 14. For example, in the present embodiment, 1 lifting handle 15 is provided on the upper and lower sides of the left hand barrier 13, respectively, to exert force on the back area and the leg area of the patient, respectively. Similarly, the right hand block 14 is also provided with 2 lifting handles 15.

Preferably, the edges of the bottom support 12, the rear support 11, the left barrier 13 and the right barrier 14 are all folded and/or reinforced and are integrated by stitching. For example, multiple folds at the edge 16 and stitching or ultrasonic bonding with a needle or thread. Preferably, the bottom support 12 and the rear support 11 are cut to fit the body shape, for example with folds 18. In the region 17 where the lifting handle 15 is provided, it is reinforced, for example thickened, and a fabric membrane is additionally added to the fabric.

Additionally, a logo may be provided on the fabric of the manual lifting sling device 10. Such as sewing a label or writing the associated text with a permanent ink pen. For example, the patient's name may be written on the top of the label, or some other general identification character, such as "do not wash", "do not iron", "do not spin", etc.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing a state in which the manual lifting sling device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is used. The patient sits in the space enclosed by the manual lifting sling device and the back, buttocks and legs are supported by the sling. The manual lifting sling device is carried by two people. Each person grasps 2 handles on each side of the sling, one of which supports the back of the patient and the other supports the hips and legs of the seated patient.

The present invention may be made of woven or non-woven fabrics. Preferably, a nonwoven fabric may be provided with a raised pattern formed by rolling (calendering) to give the appearance of a woven fabric. The sling device may be reinforced by an accessory fabric layer. The manual lifting sling device provided by the present invention has been tested to withstand 50 lifts of 190kg without any signs of wear, despite the recommended safe weight of 120 kg.

In addition, the fabric may be laminated with one or more layers of woven or nonwoven films. Breathable or non-breathable films may also be laminated to one or both sides of the biodegradable nonwoven fabric of the sling to allow for the absorption of any body fluids of the patient during lifting and handling.

The manual lifting sling device of the present invention may be made of a non-biodegradable fabric. These non-biodegradable materials include PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or PA (polyamide), as well as other man-made polymers.

Preferably, the manual lifting sling device of the invention may also be made of a non-woven biodegradable/compostable material, typically PLA (polylactic acid), or a blend of mainly PLA plus a small amount of PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), or a blend of mainly PLA plus a small amount of PHA and PBAT (polybutylene adipate-terephthalate), or a blend of mainly PLA plus a small amount of PHA, PBAT and PBS (polybutylene succinate), or a blend of mainly PLA plus a small amount of PBAT and PBS, or a blend of mainly PLA plus a small amount of PHB (poly- β -hydroxybutyrate).

Preferably, the sling may be made from thermally bonded biodegradable/composted polymeric randomly oriented fibers, but may also be made from dry-laid, chemically bonded (using a biodegradable binder) fabrics, or from dry-laid or hydroentangled (hydroentangled) fabrics. The material is generally breathable (unless a non-breathable biodegradable film is adhered thereto) but does not pass through water, and perforations may need to be provided in the sling for reducing patient access to the bath. The fabric may be made from a continuous filament or staple web that is hydroentangled or needled. The fabric may be made from a continuous filament or staple web bonded with a non-biodegradable or biodegradable chemical, including a latex binder or adhesive.

In order that the discarded manual lifting sling device, which is no longer in use, does not negatively impact the environment, the fabric in the manual lifting sling device is preferably a biodegradable and/or compostable fabric. The biodegradable and/or compostable fabrics discussed above will be discussed below. The biodegradable material adopted in the invention can ensure that the sling device has corresponding bearing capacity and prevent accidents in lifting; meanwhile, the manufacturing cost of the sling device cannot be increased, so that a patient can bear the special sling device for a special person, and the occurrence of cross infection is avoided.

Among the currently common biodegradable polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) has an advantage in the field of biodegradable/compostable polymers for plastics and fabrics in that although PLA is extracted from natural and renewable materials, it has thermoplasticity and can be melt extruded to produce plastic articles, fibers and fabrics, which have good mechanical strength, toughness and softness compared to similar materials made based on petroleum synthesis, such as polyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene) and polyesters (polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene terephthalate). PLA is made from lactic acid, a fermentation by-product extracted from corn, wheat, grains, or sugar beets. When polymerized, lactic acid forms an aliphatic polyester having dimer repeat units shown below:

it has been found that poly (polyhydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) can be produced by the natural synthesis of a variety of bacteria that serve as intracellular storage materials for both a source of carbon and a source of energy. Wherein the copolyester repeating unit of P (3HB-co-4HB) is shown as follows:

polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), a biodegradable polymer that is not currently produced from bacterial sources, but can be synthetically produced from petroleum-based products. Although the melting point of PBAT is 120 ℃ lower than that of PLA, PBAT has higher elasticity, superior impact strength, and good melt processability than PLA. Although PLA has good melt processability, strength and biodegradability/compostability, its elasticity and impact strength are poor. While blends of PBAT and PLA have enhanced elasticity, flexibility and impact strength. The chemical structure of PBAT is shown below:

the polybutylene succinate (PBS) can be synthesized by the polycondensation reaction of ethylene glycol. The chemical structure of PBS is shown below:

although P (3HB-co-4HB) products have been shown to be readily biodegradable in soil, sludge and seawater, the rate of biodegradation in water is very slow due to the lack of microorganisms in the water (Saito, Yuji, ShigeoNakamura, Masaya Hiramitsu and Yoshiharu Doi, "Microbial Synthesis and Properties of Poly (3-hydroxybutyric-co-4-hydroxybutyric)," Polymer national 39(1996), 169-. The shelf life of P (3HB-co-4HB) products should therefore be very good in clean environments such as dry storage in sealed packages, cleaning solutions, and the like. However, discarded P (3HB-co-4HB) fabrics, films, and packaging materials should be susceptible to degradation when placed in dirty environments containing microorganisms such as soil, river water, river mud, sea water, and compost of manure and sand, sludge, and sea water. It should be noted that polylactic acid (PLA) is not readily biodegradable in the above dirty environments and ambient temperatures, but must be composted. First, the heat and humidity in the compost heap must break down the PLA polymer into smaller polymer chains and finally into lactic acid. Microorganisms in compost and soil consume smaller polymer fragments and lactic acid as nutrients. Thus, Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) mixtures such as P (3HB-co-4HB) products with PLA should enhance the degradation of products made from blends of PHAs-PLA. In addition, products made from blends of PHA and PLA should have enhanced shelf life in a clean environment. However, in the last 10 years, the price of PLA has been reduced substantially to only a little higher than synthetic polymers such as polypropylene and PET polyesters; at the same time, the price of PHAs continues to remain 2 to 3 times higher than that of PLA, which can be synthesized on a large scale from lactic acid. PHAs are made from bacteria having a specific carbon source and must be extracted from the bacteria using a solvent. Therefore, blending more than 25% PHA with PLA to melt extrude and form products such as woven, knitted and non-woven fabrics, films, food packaging containers, and the like, is not commercially feasible.

The biodegradable nonwoven fabric, the biodegradable film and the laminate structure of the nonwoven fabric and the biodegradable film are shown in table 1. Pure PBAT films with 9 micrometers (μm) and 9 μm PBAT films with 20% calcium carbonate are available from suppliers in china. Melt Blown (MB) containing 20% polypropylene (PP) (non-biodegradable) is available from Biax-Fiberfilm corporation, USA(non-biodegradable). A typical mass of 80g/m is available from the Saxon Textile research structure in Germany²Black Spunbond (SB) PLA with carbon black. In separate tests, 5-13g/m were used²The pure PBAT film and PBAT film with 20% calcium carbonate were laminated to Vistamaxx MB and black SB PLA containing 20% PP. In general, 0.5 to 12g/m should be used²Preferably 1 to 7g/m²Hot melt-bonding. In addition, two layers of SB PLA were laminated and bonded using a melt adhesive. The weight, thickness, toughness, elongation at break, tear strength, burst strength, water vapor transmission rate (MVT), and hydrohead (hydrohead) tested for all raw materials and laminate structures are shown in fig. 1. It should be noted that these are only some examples of different embodiments of the invention and that different layers of the following materials will be applied using meltingBonding together: PBAT films, or other biodegradable/compostable films, can be applied directly to a substrate by extrusion coating without the need for adhesives. The laminate structure can be joined or bonded together by, but not limited to, hot spot calendering, integral calendering, or ultrasonic welding. In addition, instead of melt adhesives, adhesives or latexes based on glue or water or solvents have been used to bond the laminated structures together.

Table 1 strength and barrier properties of the polymers

^*DSN: indicating that it has not been burst due to high elasticity

As shown in table 1, a 9 μm pure (100%) PBAT film (sample 1) had good elongation in the MD direction and elongation at break in the CD direction as high as 300% or more. Burst strength tests could not be performed on samples 1 to 5 because all of these films and laminate structures were very elastic, did not break during testing and did not exhibit deformation after testing. The water vapor transmission rate of sample 1 was quite good, 3380g/m per 24 hours²While the static head is 549 mm. With 20% calcium carbonate (CaCO)₃) The PBAT film of (sample 2) has similar data as sample 1, with both WVTR and hydrostatic head being relatively lower. PBAT films similar to samples 1 and 2 and having a thickness of 6 μm or less are also expected to have good elongation and higher WVTR, although the hydrohead may be lower. Meltblown sample 3 contained 80% of(polymers based on Vistamaxx polyolefins are highly elasticSex and made by ExxonMobil) and 20% PP, since the fabric is moderately open, thus having MD and CD elongation of about 300% and 8816g/m per 24 hours²High WVTR. Although MB Vistamaxx fabric is not biodegradable, it is an example of an elastic nonwoven material that is possible to make from biodegradable polymers such as PBAT and other biodegradable polymers with very high elongation and deformation recovery capabilities. The head of sample 3 was quite high, 1043mm, indicating that it has good barrier properties. It should be noted that 20% PP was added to Vistamaxx polymer granules and physically mixed before the blend was fed to the MB extruder and melted so that Vistamaxx MB fabric was not too sticky. If 100% Vistamaxx is melt blown, it will be very sticky and may clump during rolling and be difficult to spread out (un-wind) in subsequent lamination or use.

Pure PBAT with Vistamaxx and containing 20% CaCO using a hot melt adhesive compared to Vistamaxx alone₃The laminated structure of PBAT of (a) significantly increases MD and CD toughness. This sample also had very high MD elongation and especially high CD elongation (390% for sample 4 and 542% for sample 5). Samples 4 and 5 also had significantly high MVTR values, 1671 and 1189g/m per 24 hours, respectively²And has a high head of 339 and 926mm of water, respectively. It should again be noted that PBAT films have been able to be extrusion coated directly onto MB 100% Vistamaxx or MBVistamaxx with some PP with or without hot melt adhesives, and extrusion coating has allowed the use of thinner gauge PBAT films, as low as 4 or 5 μm, and thus higher MVTR, but possibly lower hydrohead.

The target weight of black SB PLA was 80g/m²The MD toughness was 104N and CD toughness was 31N, but with a lower MD elongation at break of 3.6% and a high CD elongation of 30.7%. The burst strength is 177KN/m²And the WVTR is quite high, 8322g/m per 24 hours²And the head is quite obvious, 109 mm. MD and CD toughening of 80gsm Black SB PLA laminated to neat PBAT with Hot melt adhesiveThe properties were respectively higher than those of pure SB PLA, which were respectively 107 and 39N, but the CD elongation was only 9.8%. However, PBAT laminated with SB PLA had a higher burst strength of 220KN/m². But the air permeability still remains excellent, WVTR is 2459g/m per 24 hours²And has a very high head of 3115mm of water. Laminated with 20% CaCO₃The SB PLA of PBAT of (a) has similar properties as sample 8, except that the head is relatively low, although still up to 2600mm water. SBPLA laminates with thinner PBAT films, and in particular thinner PBAT films formed by extrusion coating deposition, can produce protective garments for medical, industrial, or sports applications with high MVTR because they are comfortable to wear and have a high water purification head for barrier protection. Barrier protection can be further enhanced by applying a finish (fluorosilicone or other type of finish) on the SB PLA either on the PBAT film side or on either side, either before or after lamination of the film. Barrier protection can also be enhanced by laminating MB PLA with SB PLA before or after lamination of the film. It is also possible to add a finish to the polymer melt used for the preparation of, for example, PBAT films, SB or MB PLA.

When two layers of SB PLA were fusion bonded together to form sample 9, the MD and CD toughness and burst strength were essentially twice that of sample 6, which was a one-layer structure. Corresponding to 110g/m²The target MD and CD toughness values for the elongation at break (% elongation) of a patient lifting sling produced by SB PP are at least 200 and 140N per 5cm, respectively, with elongation values in both MD and CD of at least 40%. As shown in table 1, the MD toughness of the two adhesively bonded SB PLA layers was 215N, but the CD toughness was only 50% of the desired rating. And the elongation at break of MD and CD is much lower than the desired minimum of 40%. MD and CD elongation of SB PLA can be enhanced by blending PLA with 5 to 60% PBAT or preferably 20 to 50% PBAT prior to extrusion of the SB fabric. Additionally, PBAT and PBS can be blended with PLA to obtain a fabric with desired MD and CD toughness and elongation values, as well as stability after heat exposure. Additionally, SB webs can be bonded by a process other than hot spot calendering to achieve greater multidirectional strength and elongation to include hydroentanglement and needle punching. Can be used forGenerate 110g/m²And greater weight of needle punched SB PLA without the need to laminate or adhesively bond two or more SB PLA fabrics together to achieve the desired strength and elongation values.

In table 2, two SB PLA fabrics were compared, one consisting of 100% PLA and the other consisting of 80% PLA and 20% PHB by mass. The table shows that the 80% PLA/20% PHB blend has better MD and CD toughness than 100% PLA SB with 4 times the MD elongation and 3 times the CD elongation of 100% PLA SB. Sample 9 in table 1 was prepared using hot melt adhesive lamination of two layers of sample 11, the fabric so produced having very high MD and CD tensile and tear strengths, and higher elongation than previously described sample 9.

TABLE 2 comparison of the Properties of SB 100% PLA with SB 80% PLA/20% PHB

While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. A manual lifting sling device, comprising:

a bottom support part for supporting the buttocks and the legs of the patient;

a rear support portion in inclined angular engagement with the bottom support portion for supporting the patient's back;

a left side blocking part and a right side blocking part which respectively limit the patient at the left side and the right side, wherein the left side blocking part and the right side blocking part are simultaneously jointed with the bottom supporting part and the rear side supporting part; and at least two lifting handles are arranged on the left side blocking part and the right side blocking part.

2. The manual lifting sling device as defined in claim 1, wherein said fabric is a woven or non-woven fabric.

3. The manual lifting sling device of claim 1, wherein the edges of the base support, rear support, left and right hand stops are folded and/or reinforced and are integrally formed by stitching.

4. The manual lifting sling device of claim 1, wherein the bottom support and the rear support are cut to fit the body shape and provided with corrugations.

5. The manual lifting sling device as recited in claim 1, wherein said fabric is provided with indicia.

6. The manual lifting sling device of claim 1, wherein said fabric is laminated with one or more layers of woven or non-woven film.

7. The manual lifting sling device of claim 1, wherein a breathable non-biodegradable or biodegradable film is attached to one or both sides of said fabric.

8. The manual lifting sling device as defined in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said fabric is made of a non-biodegradable material comprising polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate or polyamide.

9. The manual lifting sling device as recited in any one of claims 1-7, wherein the fabric is made of a biodegradable polymer material selected from the group consisting of polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoate, polybutylene adipate-terephthalate, polybutylene succinate, poly- β -hydroxybutyrate, and blends thereof.

10. The manual lifting sling device as defined in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said fabric is made of thermally bonded non-biodegradable or biodegradable randomly oriented fibres.

11. The manual lifting sling device as recited in any one of claims 1-7, wherein said fabric is made from a continuous filament or staple fiber web that is hydroentangled or needled.

12. The manual lifting sling device as recited in any one of claims 1-7, wherein the fabric is made from a continuous filament or staple fiber mesh bonded with a non-biodegradable or biodegradable chemical, said chemical comprising a latex binder or adhesive.

13. A method for preventing cross-contamination between patients being transported, wherein each patient has a dedicated manual lifting sling device according to any one of claims 1 to 12.