EP3709834B1

EP3709834B1 - Clamp for a wrist strap

Info

Publication number: EP3709834B1
Application number: EP18800180.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Karen VERGAUWE
Original assignee: Televic Healthcare NV
Current assignee: Televic Healthcare NV
Priority date: 2017-11-15
Filing date: 2018-11-13
Publication date: 2021-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-13
Also published as: BE1025718B1; CN111356381B; BE1025919A1; BE1025919B1; EP3709834A1; BE1025718A1; CN111356381A

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention is generally related to the field of healthcare technology. More specifically, the invention relates to solutions for improving the operational safety of appliances used in elderly care.

Background of the invention

In hospitals and residential homes and care homes for the elderly, nowadays more and more use is being made of healthcare technology. The increased interest in healthcare technology results among other things from new technological developments which offer more possibilities for offering care remotely or making a residential environment 'intelligent' with healthcare domotica. In the first place, healthcare technology serves as a support for improving the quality of life of the care recipient (for example in terms of independence, safety etc.). In the case of dementia care, this involves, among other things, detecting falls or disorientation, personal alarms etc.
To detect disorientation behaviour, often an appliance is used which, for example by emitting GPS signals, allows the person concerned to be located. Such an appliance is normally attached to the person by means of a wrist strap or ankle strap. It is extremely important that the person cannot release and remove such an appliance independently.
NL1041489 discloses a system for electronic location monitoring. The system comprises a transmitter which is attached to the body by means of a sleeve, typically around a wrist, ankle or neck. The sleeve is provided with a lock which consists of two push-fit elements which may be connected together by a one-way snap connection. To release the lock, one of the elements must be destroyed.
Document US2012/050532 concerns a portable personal tracker device which can communicate via a mobile network. The device comprises a wrist-mounted part with a wrist strap and a closure which fastens the wrist strap to a user's wrist. The strap can be locked remotely and also emits an alarm if it is opened in a specific mode. The housing has a position-detecting part, which detects the position of the user wearing said wrist-mounted part, and a cellular transmitter/receiver part, which communicates information via the mobile network. The remote control button can receive the lock alarm and can also offer remote control depending on circumstances.
US 2013/182382 discloses a clamp according to the preamble of claim 1.
Such a system is both complex and costly. Simpler and cheaper solutions are therefore desirable. Ascom markets a wireless transceiver which can be worn as a wrist strap or pendant transmitter (see among other things webpage https: //www.ascom.com/be/nl-be/products/category/patient-resident-devices/patient-pendants.html). To prevent removal the wrist strap can be locked. The locking is secured by two separate lock parts, one of which must be pushed through one of the holes in the wrist strap in order then to be mounted on the other lock part.
There is a need for an alternative way of closing such a strap easily without the wearer simply being able to remove the attached closure and without the wearer being stigmatised.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide for a clamp for a wrist or arm or ankle strap which can only be removed given access to a tool which is adapted to cooperate with the closure.
The above objective is accomplished by a clamp and a kit comprising a clamp and a tool according to the present invention.
In a first aspect the invention relates to a clamp for preventing removal of a wrist strap attached to a device by means of two ends, one end comprising a strap closure with a buckle and a closing pin, and the other end being provided with a longitudinal row of holes for receiving the closing pin. The clamp is configured to be slid over the buckle while the strap is closed. The clamp is provided with a cover side and comprises at least two lateral sides. At least two legs are placed on the inside of the cover side of the clamp and are directed inwardly so as to form an angle with the cover side.
With the proposed clamp it is indeed impossible for the wearer to release the strap. Once the clamp is arranged over the buckle, the closing pin is held down by the clamp in the buckle and the strap cannot be released; the legs are fixed behind the edge of the buckle, so the proposed clamp can no longer simply be released by pulling or twisting the clamp. The proposed clamp can be used with a wrist strap, ankle strap, arm strap, collar strap etc...
In a preferred embodiment the clamp comprises on the inside of the cover side a recess which is adapted to receive the closing pin. Thanks to the recess provided for the closing pin, the clamp fits perfectly on the buckle. Advantageously, on each side of the recess, at least one leg is placed on the inside of the cover side of the clamp and is directed inwardly so as to form the angle with the cover side. In a preferred embodiment the clamp has precisely one leg on each side of the recess.
In preferred embodiments the at least two lateral sides comprise a lower edge. In this way the clamp is guided when slid over the buckle.
In a preferred embodiment the third lateral side is positioned to block the wrist strap closure.
In one embodiment the clamp comprises a second cover side on the underside of the clamp.
In further embodiments the clamp comprises a sloping central bar starting from a position of the clamp where the closing pin can be received. In some embodiments a flat part is provided between that position and the sloping central bar.
In preferred embodiments the cover side has one or more openings for the at least two legs. If a recess is present, there is preferably on each side of the recess one or more openings.
In another aspect the invention relates to a kit comprising a clamp as described above and a tool for releasing the clamp. The tool comprises a plate or shaft which, at an edge at one end of the plate or shaft, is provided with at least two angled legs configured to lift up the at least two legs.
In preferred embodiments the number of angled legs of the tool is equal to the total number of legs of the clamp. In other embodiments the number of angled legs of the tool is smaller than the total number of legs of the clamp.
In preferred embodiments the angled legs form an angle of 165° with the plate or shaft.
For purposes of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain objects and advantages of the invention have been described herein above. Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such objects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
The above and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements in the various figures.

Fig.1 illustrates a wrist strap as considered in the present invention.
Fig.2 illustrates an embodiment of a clamp according to the invention. Fig.2A shows how the clamp is pushed onto the buckle of the wrist strap. Fig.2B shows embodiments of the clamp in detail.
Fig.3 illustrates an embodiment of a clamp which also comprises a cover on the underside.
Fig.4 illustrates a central bar which runs to the inner edge of the top side.
Fig.5 illustrates an embodiment of the tool with which the clamp can be removed.
Fig.6 illustrates an embodiment of a clamp and tool according to the invention.
Fig.7 illustrates the use of the tool for removing the clamp.
Fig.8 illustrates another embodiment of the tool.

Detailed description of illustrative embodiments

The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims.
Furthermore, the terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.
It is to be noticed that the term "comprising", used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising means A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.
Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.
Similarly it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.
Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
It should be noted that the use of particular terminology when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to include any specific characteristics of the features or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.
The present invention relates to a clamp which ensures that the wrist strap, pendant or ankle strap worn by a person cannot be removed without access to a suitable tool of form and dimensions adapted to the wrist strap or ankle strap concerned. Use of the tool allows the wrist strap to be removed without damaging the clamp or the wrist strap. Both may consequently be reused.
In an embodiment as a wrist strap, the strap is intended to attach to the wrist a device such as for example a watch or a transmitter, such as an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver or a GPS device or any other known means for locating persons. Reference is made to Fig.1. The wrist strap (10) is provided at one end with a conventional closure with buckle (11) and closing pin (12). The other end comprises a longitudinal row of holes (13) through which the closing pin may pass. The closing pin is attached in a conventional fashion to a crosspiece (14) of the buckle, around which the closing pin may rotate through a specific angle in order to be brought through one of the holes. Often, at the outermost end of the wrist strap, the buckle is provided with a small recess on which the end of the closing pin may rest. In this way the closing pin does not protrude with its full thickness above the edge of the buckle, but only partly.
One embodiment of a clamp according to the invention is shown in Fig.2. The clamp (1) is dimensioned in such a way that it is suitable for being slid over the buckle (11) (Fig.2A). This means that it is not possible to give generic dimensions for the clamp since these are entirely dependent on the dimensions of the wrist strap closure (i.e. the buckle) on which the clamp according to the invention must fit. The aim is that the clamp according to the invention can be pushed over the closure of the wrist strap when the latter is closed, in other words when the closing pin (12) has been brought through one of the holes (13) and rests on the outside of the buckle.
The clamp according to the invention has a cover side (2) on the top, i.e. a side which can be pushed over the wrist strap closure in order to protect it largely or even fully, and two or three lateral sides (3,4,5). Two lateral sides (3,4) on the two side edges of the wrist strap are formed in such a way that they facilitate the sliding of the clamp over the wrist strap closure. In a preferred embodiment, these lateral sides are therefore provided with a lower edge (6) which holds the clamp firmly on the wrist strap closure. Preferably, a third lateral side is provided on the wrist strap which lies transversely over the wrist strap. This third lateral side may run completely over the width of the wrist strap or be simply an extension of one of the other two lateral sides.
Optionally, the clamp according to the invention may also comprise a complete cover (7) on the underside of the clamp. This is shown in Fig.3. In that case an opening is provided in said third lateral side (5) to let the wrist strap pass. The height of the opening is linked to the thickness of the strap.
On the inside of the cover side, a central bar (16) is provided which preferably runs into a recess (15) in which the protruding part of the closing pin (12) fits. At least one leg (8) is present on each side of the central bar. In preferred embodiments precisely one leg is present on each side of the recess. In an alternative embodiment more than one leg may be present on one or both sides. The top side of the clamp, i.e. the cover side, in some embodiments comprises a corresponding number of openings (9) for the legs. In an embodiment with more than one leg on one and the same side, one opening may be provided in common for all legs. In other embodiments with more than one leg on one and the same side of the central bar, the clamp as a whole may be wide enough to allow a separate opening to be provided for each leg. In yet other embodiments the cover side is fully closed.
When attaching the clamp to the wrist strap closure, the legs slide under tension over the buckle of the wrist strap closure, causing the legs to be pushed up. Once the clamp has been brought fully over the buckle, the legs lose their tension and return to their original position, causing them to hook or click behind the buckle.
In certain embodiments the recess forms the end of a sloping central bar (16) which gradually rises from the end of the recess, and on the opposite edge coincides with the inner edge of the top side. This is shown in Fig.4. In advantageous embodiments the central bar runs to above the inner edge of the top side and thus creates a rib which protrudes above the edge, as is shown in Fig.2B. In one embodiment the rib may protrude between 0.5 and 6 mm above the edge, preferably by 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm or 5 mm. The advantage of such a rib is that via the rib, the clamp falls into a hole in the wrist strap. In certain embodiments the slope does not begin to rise from the end of the recess, but first forms a flat part and the slope only begins to rise further away from said end of the recess.
The legs are oriented towards the inner edge of the clamp, i.e. away from the cover side, and thus form an angle with the top side. This angle is adapted to the shape of the wrist strap closure. The dimensions of the wrist strap buckle partly determine the size of the necessary angle formed by the legs.
In another aspect the invention discloses a tool (20) which is designed to cooperate with the clamp described above. More specifically, the tool serves to remove the clamp according to this invention after it has been arranged on the closure of the wrist strap. Without this tool, as already stated, it is impossible to remove the clamp according to the invention. Thanks to this tool, the clamp can be removed non-destructively. Consequently, re-use is possible.
A depiction of one embodiment of the tool is shown in Fig.5. The tool is intended to release the clamp using the well-known lever arm principle. The tool (20) comprises of a flat plate or shaft (22) which at one end of the plate is provided with a number of legs (21). In this embodiment the tool resembles the shape of a fork. The number of legs and their positioning on the edge is selected in such a way that the legs correspond in number and position to the clamp with which the tool must cooperate. This means that in preferred embodiments one leg is provided on each side of the middle of said edge of the plate. The width of the legs corresponds to the legs in the clamp. However, this does not necessarily mean that the width of the legs and the number of legs is precisely the same in the tool and in the clamp. The tool always contains at least two legs which correspond in position to the legs of the clamp with which the tool cooperates.
In an embodiment with for example four legs in the clamp, two on each side of the central bar, a tool with two legs may suffice. Fig.6 shows such an embodiment in which the number of legs in the cover side is not the same as the number of legs provided on the tool. The clamp shown here has two legs on either side of the central bar. In the embodiment shown one opening is provided for the two legs on each side. To remove the clamp, the tool is pushed under the clamp, the legs of the tool, which are made somewhat wider, being capable of raising the two legs on one side of the central bar.
The legs of the tool are slightly sloping relative to the plate or shaft (22). The angle β between the legs and the plate (shown in Fig.5) has a value of between 140° and 170°. In a preferred embodiment the angle β is equal to 165°.
To open the clamp, the legs of the tool are pushed under the cover side of the clamp, as is shown in the left half of Fig.7. To facilitate this, in some embodiments of the clamp, a small recess (24) is provided on the edge of the clamp in line with the inwardly directed legs of the clamp. This recess (24) can be seen in the right half of Fig.7.
Once the legs of the tool have been brought under the cover side, the clamp can be released by pressing the plate or shaft downward, causing the legs of the tool to move upwards and in doing so to lift the legs of the clamp, causing them to be released.
Fig.8 shows an illustration of yet another embodiment of the tool. The tool (20) has the form of a plate (22) on which, on the inside, at least two angled legs (21) are provided which run up to the edge of the plate. In another embodiment there is a small gap between the edge of the plate and the edge of the angled legs which extends towards the plate. In the embodiment shown in Fig.8, two edges are also provided which can be slid over the lateral sides of the clamp when the tool is applied to the clamp.
As an alternative, an embodiment is now presented in which the wrist strap has not one but two closing pins. This also has repercussions on the design of the clamp. Just as in the embodiments described above, the clamp is provided with a cover side and has at least two lateral sides. In some of these alternative embodiments a sufficiently large recess is provided to receive the two closing pins. With regard to the legs, various options are possible. At least one leg is positioned on each side of the recess. Between the two closing pins, an extra leg or possibly more than one may be provided. The legs are placed in an opening in the cover side of the clamp and are oriented inwardly, thus forming an angle with the cover side. In other embodiments a separate recess is provided for each closing pin. In these cases at least one leg is positioned on each side of a recess. In some cases a leg may be shared between the two closing pins. The legs are placed in an opening in the cover side of the clamp as explained above.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. The foregoing description details certain embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated, however, that no matter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the invention may be practiced in many ways. The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments.
Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

Clamp (1) for preventing removal of a wrist strap (10) attached to a device by means of two ends, one end comprising a strap closure with a buckle (11) and a closing pin (12) and the other end being provided with a longitudinal row of holes (13) for receiving said closing pin, characterized by said clamp being configured to be slid over said buckle while said wrist strap is closed, wherein said clamp is provided with a cover side (2) and comprises at least two lateral sides (3, 4) and at least two legs (8) placed on the inside of said cover side of said clamp and directed inwardly in order to form an angle with said cover side.
Clamp according to claim 1, wherein said at least two lateral sides (3,4) comprise a lower edge (6).
Clamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the third lateral side (5) is positioned to block said wrist strap closure.
Clamp according to any of claims 1 to 3, comprising a second cover side (7) on the underside of the clamp.
Clamp according to any of claims 1 to 4, comprising on the inside of said cover side a recess (15) which is adapted to receive said closing pin.
Clamp according to claim 5, wherein on each side of said recess at least one of said legs (8) is placed.
Clamp according to claim 6, comprising precisely one leg on each side of said recess.
Clamp according to any of the previous claims, comprising a sloping central bar (16) starting from a point of the clamp where said closing pin can be received.
Clamp according to claim 8, wherein a flat part is provided between said point and said sloping central bar.
Clamp according to any of the previous claims, wherein said cover side has one or more openings (9) for said at least two legs (8).
Kit comprising a clamp according to any of the previous claims and a tool (20) for releasing said clamp (1), said tool comprising a plate or shaft (22) which, at or close to one end of said plate or shaft, is provided with at least two angled legs (21) configured to lift up said at least two legs (8) of said clamp.
Kit according to claim 11, wherein the number of angled legs (21) of said tool is equal to the total number of legs (8) of said clamp.
Kit according to claim 11, wherein the number of angled legs (21) of said tool is smaller than the total number of legs (8) of said clamp.
Kit according to any of claims 11 to 13, wherein said angled legs (21) form an angle between 140° and 170° with said plate or shaft.
Kit according to claim 14, wherein said angled legs form an angle of 165° with said plate or shaft.