Splint carrying case
Drew 1 Apr. 8, 1975 SPLINT CARRYING CASE OTHER PUBLICATIONS [75] Inventor: John Alan Drew, London, England DePuy Fractum Appllimc3s Catalogue P [73] Assignee: John Drew, London, W.5, England cewed May 966&#39; [22] Filed; Jam 18&#39; 1973 Primary E.taminer--Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner.l. Yasko F&#39;P 324,748 Attorney, Agent. or Firm-Hill, Gross, Simpson, Van  
  Santen, Steadman, Chiara &amp; Simpson [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 25. [972 United Kingdom 3503/72 [57] ABSTRACT The case is to carry a dismantled splint frame. The as- U.S. R; sembled frame has a pair of elongate ide members [5 ll Int. Cl. which extgnd from a |imb-engaging member and are Field of sefll&#39;fhw connected together remote from the limb-engaging 150/34, 52 R; 206/632. 465 G. 16 5 member; when in use, the side members lie on either side of the injured limb. The carrying case comprises a UN REfEI&#39;BIICE-S Ciled sheet of material having flaps which are foldable to UNITED STATES PATENTS form a closed case for containing the dismantled parts 874,446 12/1907 Slater l28/87 R Ofthe Splint frame; the p are retained in the folded 2,260.2lh 10 1941 Doyle 1211 11? R posilioh y fflslehcrs the mmcrial- A slceve forma- 2 3(H.534 1 H1942 Goodwin 128/87 R tion on the sheet receives the side members, when the 2.302.868 1 H1942 lnvidiato l28/87 R splint frame is in use. so that the part of the sheet be- 3.3X5.067 /1 5 Egurdner 123/37 R tween the side members serves as a sling for the in- 2.5l6,925 8/1950 Shaw 128/87 R jured limb h portkms f the sheet wi ouside the side members can be wrapped over the limb.  
 PATENTEUAPR&#39; ems snznaugs PATENTEDAPR a 1915 sum u 0F 5 PATENTEUAPR&#39; ems SHEET 5 5 SPLINT CARRYING CASE The present invention relates to splint frames and carrying cases for splint frames.  
  When considering the provision of a splint for use by ambulance crews, mountain rescue teams, and potholing teams, and for use under other arduous conditions, an important factor is portability of the splint.  
  The invention is based on the idea of providing a splint frame which is dismantlable, and carrying the parts of the splint frame in a case which can be used as a sling for the injured limb,  
  The invention provides a carrying case for a dismantlable splint frame having a pair of elongate side members which extend from a limb-engaging member and which lie on either side ofthe limb when in use, the side members being connected together remote from the limb-engaging member, the carrying case comprising a sheet of material having flaps which are foldable to form a closed case for containing the dismantled parts of the splint frame, fasteners on the material to retain the flaps in the folded position, and a sleeve formation on the sheet to receive the side members, when the splint frame is in use, so that the part of the sheet between the side members serves as a sling for the limb, while the portions of the sheet outside the side members may be wrapped over the limb.  
  The sleeve formation may comprise a single sleeve to receive both side members, or preferably a pair of sleeves to receive the respective side members.  
  Preferably there are two pairs of opposed flaps. lt is convenient for each pair to be provided with cooperating fasteners. The flaps lying on either side of the sleeve formation may preferably have cooperating straps and rings so that the flaps can be tightened when folded QVCI&#39;.  
  Pockets maybe provided on the sheet (preferably in at least one flap) to accommodate dismantled parts of the splint frame; these pockets should preferably include elongate pockets for rod-shaped parts of the splint frame.  
  The invention also provides a splinting outfit comprising the carrying case defined above containing the dismantled parts of the splint frame.  
  The invention further provides a dismantlable splint comprising a pair of elongate side members which extend from a limbengaging member and which lie on either side of the limb, when in use, the side members being connected together remote from the limb engaging member, and a sling constituted by the carrying case defined above, the side members passing through the sleeve formation.  
  The limb-engaging member may comprise a U- shaped member. each arm of which carries a swivellable connectorstub which receives the corresponding side member. The arms of the U-shaped member preferably carry connectable straps.  
  The side members may conveniently be telescopically adjustable to accommodate different limb lengths. The side members are preferably made up of interconnectable rods, together with a bridging piece to link the side members to each other.  
  The invention will be described further, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dismantlable leg splint frame;  
  FIG. 2 is a plan view of a carrying case for the dismantled splint frame, the case being partly opened;  
  FlG. 3 is a plan view of the carrying case fully opened and holding dismantled parts of the splint frame;  
  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the splint, with the carrying case acting as a sling; and  
  FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 with the sling strapped over.  
 THE SPLINT FRAME In the splint frame illustrated in FIG. 1, which is an example of one type of dismantlable splint frame which can be carried in the case described below, a pair of elongate side members 1,2 extend from a thighengaging member 3 and are interconnected by a roughly U-shaped bridging piece 4. The thigh-engaging member 3 has a U-shaped metal skeleton (not visible) covered with a replaceable sheath 5 of plastics material which is padded with a resilient material such as foam rubber. The member 3 can be varied in size, e.g. by bending the skeleton. The sheath 5 extends beyond the ends of the skeleton to form two straps 6,7. A strip 8 of plastics material is attached to the longer strap 6 and carried a length ofVelcro loop tape 9 which cooperates with a length of \lelcro hook tape 11 on the strap 7 when the straps are closed over the thigh. (Velcro&#34; is a Trade Mark).  
  The side members 1,2 are connected to a pair of tubular connector stubs 12,13 which are swivellably mounted on the skeleton of the thigh-engaging member 3 and which project through the sheath 5. The swivellable stubs allow the splint frame to be arranged to fit a right leg or a left leg; in FIG. 1 the splint frame is arranged for a right leg, the side member 1 being longer than the side member 2. The members 1,2 are made up to the required length from the arms 14,15 of the bridg ing piece 4 and from rods l6,17,18,19 each having an extension pin 21,22,23,24 respectively at one end and being hollow at the other end, which is provided with an Allen screw (not visible).  
  The longer side member 1 consists of the arm 14 which is received by the hollow end of the long rod 16 whose extension pin 21 is in turn received by the hollow end of the short rod 18; the pin 23 of this rod 18 is received by the stub 12 where it is again held by an Allen screw. The short rod 18 has a hole 25 near its pin 23 and the arm 14 of the bridging piece 4 has two spaced holes 26,27, these holes are intended to receive suspension hooks which support the splint when the patient is in a hospital bed.  
  The shorter side member 2 consists of the arm 15 (having suspension holes 28,29) received by the long rod 17, whose pin 22 is received by the short rod 19 (having a suspension hole 3] whose pin 24 is in turn locked in the tubular stub 13 by an Allen screw. It will be noted that the short rods 18 and 19 are of different length. If the splint frame is to be set up for a longer leg, the shorter rod 19 could be replaced by a rod of the same length as the rod 18, the variation in the length of the side members 1,2 being selected by the telescopic sliding of the long rods 16,17 on the arms 14,15 of the bridging piece 4.  
 THE CARRYING CASE The carrying case is best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. It comprises a sheet 51 of material, which in this instance is made up from woven fabric. The sheet 51 has a pair 3 of side flaps 52,53 and a pair of end flaps 54,55. The flaps 52 to 54 are in one piece with the central portion 56 of the sheet, while the flap 55 is a separate piece at tached to the central portion 56 by seams 57.  
  A piece 58 of material is sewn onto the flap 52. Longitudinal seams 59 define two elongate pockets 61,62 which receive the frame rods 16,17, and a short pocket 63 which receives an Allen key 32 for use in assembling the splint. The pockets are closed by a flap 64 sewn to the sheet 51 and bearing a strip of book tape 65 which cooperates with a strip of loop tape 66 sewn across the pockets.  
  A piece 67 of material is also sewn onto the flap 53. Longitudinal seams 68 define two elongate pockets 69 and a shorter elongate pocket 71, which receive the frame rods 18 and 19 respectively. The pockets are again closed by a flap 72 bearing hook tape 73 which cooperates with loop tape 74 sewn across the pockets.  
  Two sleeves 75,76, which are intended to receive the side members of the assembled splint frame, extend f down the central portion 56 of the sheet 51 and into the end flap 54. The sleeves are straight but converge towards each other from top to bottom as seen in FIG. 3. Each sleeve 75,76 is defined by a strip 77,78 of mate rial, whose edges are sewn to the sheet 51 along parallel seams 79,81.  
  The end flap 54 has three lengths of loop tape 82 spaced along the hem on the inside. This loop tape 82 cooperates with three lengths of hook tape 83 spaced along the hem of the other end flap 55, on the outside. The dismantled thighcngaging member 3 and bridging piece 4 (and, if desired, spare components of different size) are placed on the central portion 56 of the sheet 51 and are covered by folding over the end flaps 54,55 and connecting the tapes 82,83 (see FIG. 2).  
  A pair ofstraps 84,85 are sewn on the outside of the side flap 52 at a position 86,87 remote from the edge of the flap (see also HO. 5}. The outer face of each strap 84,85 bears a strip of loop tape 88 and a strip of book tape 89 arranged end to end. (In the drawings the loop tape 88 is at the free end of the strip, but ofcourse the loop and strip tapes could be interchanged.) A pair of approximately rectangular rings 91,92 are attached to the outside of the side flap 53 by loops 93,94 of material sewn to the flap.  
  To close the carrying case, after the end flaps 54,55 have been folded over, the flap 53 is first folded across (FIG. 2), and the Hap 52 is then folded across to over-- lap the flap 53. The straps 84,85 are then threaded through the respective rings 91,92 and are secured by pressing the loop tape 88 against the hook tape 89. Thus the flaps 52 to 55 are fastened in the folded positron.  
 USE OF CASE AS SLING The carrying case holding the dismantled splint frame. as shown in FIG. 3, provides a complete splinting set, kit, or outfit. The use of the splint frame with the carrying case fitted as a sling is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The side members 1.2 of the splint frame are first assembled by fitting together the rods 16 to 19 and bridging piece 4 to a suitable size for the injured leg, explained above. The side members 1,2 are then passed through the respective sleeves 75,76 ofthe opened out case, and the thighengaging member 3 is connected to the free ends of the members 1.2 (FIG. 4).  
  The central portion 56 and flap 54 ofthe sheet 51 be tween the sleeves 75,76 serves as a sling for the injured leg and is not stretched taut between the side members 1,2. The flaps 55 hangs down freely and is therefore not visible in FIGS. 4 and 5. To strap the injured leg in the splint, the side flaps 52,53 are wrapped over the leg, as shown in FIG. 5. (The pockets 61 to 63, 69, and 71, will of course have been emptied] The straps 84,85 are threaded through the respective rings 91,92, tightened until the leg is held firmly, and then fastened by pressing the tapes 88,89 together.  
 ALTERNATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. For example, the sheet 51 may be in a single piece with integral flaps or may be made up of a number of pieces; the flaps could all be attached to a distinct central piece. More or fewer than four flaps can be used: for example, the end flap 55 can be dispensed with, the other end flap 54 being lengthened and being made securable to the opposite end of the sheet. Although the illustrated splint frame and case have been described in relation to a leg, it is evident that they can be used on an injured arm with slight adaption, such as providing hinges in the side members.  
  The sheet 51 may be of plastics material; here the sewn seams may be replaced by adhesive bonds, welds, or autogenous welds. A laminate of fabric and plastics material may also be used. Other fastenings may be used besides those shown, such as press fasteners, buttons, or straps and buckles.  
  The sleeves 75,76 may be formed in ways other than that illustrated. For instance, the sheet of material could be gathered up to form a fold which is then sewn lengthwise to define a sleeve. Alternatively a separate tubular sleeve offlexible material can be sewn or other wise fixed to the sheet 51.  
  The pair of sleeves may be replaced by a single sleeve which receives both side members 1,2 so that the iniured limb is supported by a double layer of material. Alternatively, two or three pairs of sleeves could be provided to accommodate differing limb sizes.  
 I claim:  
  1. A carrying case for a dismantable splint frame having a pair ofelongate side members which extend from a limb-engaging member and which lie on either side of the limb when in use, the side members being connected together remote from the limb-engaging member. the carrying case comprising a flexible sheet ofmaterial having top and bottom foldable flaps and a pair of side flaps for containing the dismantable parts which are foldable to form a closed case, fasteners on the material to retain the flaps in the folded position, and a sleeve formation on the sheet to receive the side members, when the splint frame is in use, so that the part of the sheet between the side members serves as a sling for the limb. while the portions ofthe sheet outside the side members may be wrapped over the limb.  
  2. A carrying case as claimed in claim 1. in which the sleeve formation comprises a pair of sleeves to receive the respective side members.  
  3. A carrying case as claimed in claim 1, in which the sheet has two pairs of opposed flaps.  
  4. A carrying case as claimed in claim 1, further comprising pockets on the sheet to accommodate dismantled parts of the splint frame.  
 5. A splinting outfit comprising A. The dismantled parts of a dismantable splint frame which. when assembled. comprises a limb-engaging member and a pair of elongate side members extending from the limb-engaging member and being connected together remote from the limb-engaging member; and  
 B. A closed case containing said dismantled parts, the case comprising a flexible sheet of material having top and bottom foldable flaps and a pair of side flaps for containing the dismantable parts which are folded to form the closed case, and fasteners on the material to retain the flaps in the folded position; the sheet having a sleeve formation adapted to receive the side members of the assembled splint frame, so that the part of the sheet between the side members serves as a sling for the limb, while the portions of the sheet outside the side members may be wrapped over the limb.  
 6. A dismantable splint comprising:  
 A. A limb-engaging member;  
 B. A pair of elongate side members which extend from the limb engaging member and which are connected together remote from the limb-engaging member; and  
 C. A sling constituted by a flexible sheet of material having a sleeve formation which receives the side members so that the part of the sheet between the side members serves as a sling for the limb, while the portions of the sheet outside the side members may be wrapped over the limb, the sheet also having top and bottom foldable flaps and a pair of side flaps for containing the dismantable parts, and having fasteners to retain the flaps in the folded positron.  
  7. A splint as claimed in claim 6, in which the limbengaging member comprises a U-shaped member, each arm of which carries a swivellable connector stub which receives the corresponding side member.  
  8. A splint as claimed in claim 6, in which the limbengaging member comprises a metal skeleton sheathed in padded plastics material.  
  9. A splint as claimed in claim 6, in which the side members are telescopically adjustable to accommodate different limb lengths.  
  10. A splint as claimed in claim 6, in which the side members are made up of interconnectable rods together with a bridging piece to link the side members to each other.