GB1568536A

GB1568536A - Multipurpose device usable as a sleeping bag or as a grounnd sheet

Info

Publication number: GB1568536A
Application number: GB50850/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-12-07
Filing date: 1977-12-07
Publication date: 1980-05-29

Description

(54) A MULTI-PURPOSE DEVICE USABLE AS A SLEEPING BAG OR AS A GROUND SHEET (71) 1, PAULI ASSAR ANTERO MERIKALLIO, of Laukkaniementie 1 A 5, 00200 Helsinki 20, Finland, of Finnish nationality, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: - This invention relates to a mublti-purpose device Of the kind (herein called "the kind defined") usable as a sleeping bag or a ground sheet and comprising a main body of at least one web of water-proof flexible material which can be spread out in the form of a sheet and is provided with releasable fastening means such that it can be secured in the fonn of a bag.

It has been proposed to provide a protective device of the kind defined for transporting sict and injured persons and having numerous strings, owing to which the work involved in the wrapping of a patient in such a protective cover is slow. Also known is a sleeping and heat conservation bag which is pulled over a person to be protected, starting at his feet.

Hawser, the application Of a bag of this type is cxnbersome, especially if the person has sustained injury of the spine, leg or legs, and it may even occasionally cause additional damage to the injured person as he is lifted to pass through the narrow mouth of the bag.

The invention is therefore intended to prb vide a device of the kind defined which avoids the need for numerous strings or straps.

According to the invention a device of the kind defined is characterised in that when spread out said sheet is approximately square or trapezoidal with four edges, said fastening means include a draw string and at least one slidingc- fastener, the draw string runs through a tunnel seam which extends the full length of one of said edges, the stringers of the sliding clasp fastener or fasteners extend along the other three of said edges, secured to the body are a main reinforcing band and secondary reinforcing bands such that when the device is in the form of a bag the main band extends longitudinally and centrally along one side of the bag and the secondary bands extend transversely from and on both sides of the main band and are spaced apart from each other along the main band, there is a handle loop secured to one end of said main band adjacent to said tunnel seam, and there are handle loops secured to the ends of the secondary bands.

Preferably the materials inside the tunnel seam and of the draw string are such that friction between them is low, and the openings of the tunnel seam are small enough to prevent the entry of knots or toggle buttons or other stop elements provided at the ends of the draw string.

In one advantageous construction the device may be suitable for use as a sleeping bag and also for camping and military uses and for use in transporting a sick or injured person, and which bag is appropriate for use as protection against moisture and heat, as a transport stretcher, as a protective bag for war or other casualties, as a goods-transporting bag that can be dragged or carried, and as a distress signal for reflecting light and radar beams both on land and on the sea, said bag being capable of protecting a patient against inclement weather and thermally insulating him from the effect of ambient air, said main body being made of a thin flexible and high tensile strength web which is impermeable to water and consists of polyamide laminated with polyurethane or other synthetic plastics material, and one side at least of the web being coated with aluminium or other metal to have a metallic gloss.

It is possible to ensure that the device forms a bag in which an injured person can be placed quickly and without causing him any additional injury, for further transporting, and other advantages may be obtained. The device of the invention may be intended to form a bag dimensioned to have such length that a particular intended user can be totally accommodated therein. The loops secured to the body can serve as handles and/or dragging members, and through the loops it is also possible to pass poles or rods as carrying members.

How the invention may be put into practice appears from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a device embodying the invention is shown by way of example, Figure 1 is a view of the device spread out for use as a ground sheet, and Figure 2 is a view of the device in the form of a sleeping bag.

The illustrated device comprises a main body 1 which can be spread out as an approximately square or trapezoidal sheet as shown in Figure 1, or can form a bag of such length that its intended user finds room for his entire body therein. Around a mouth aperture of the bag (Figure 2) is a tunnel seam 5 within which runs a draw string 6 by the aid of which the bag can be swiftly closed by pulling the ends of the string 6.

The inner surface of the tunnel seam 5 con sists of slippery siliconized fabric, the same fabric as the water-tight outer surface of the bag. The openings of the tunnel seam 5 are sewn to have such small width that the ends of the string 6 cannot easily slip and get lost in the tunnel seam 5, and knots 7 are made at or near the ends of the string 6 to prevent such mishaps.

In the advantageous illustrated embodiment of the invention stringers 9 of a sliding-clasp fastener extend along the edges of the foot end and one longitudinal margin of the bag.

This fastener is preferably openable both from within the bag and from without. Hereby the insertion of a patient in the bag 1, for instance of a person with a spinal injury or an injured leg, may be easily and swiftly accomplished.

The injured person is in such a case placed to lie upon the main body 1 which is spread out on the ground, whereupon the foot end and one longitudinal side of the bag can be closed easily with the aid of said sliding clasp fastener. The other longitudinal side of the bag 1 consists of the sewn seam 10.

On one side of the main body 1 there is fixed, by sewing or cementing or in any other appropriate way, a longitudinal main reinforc ing band 4 parallel to the longitudinal direc tion of the device when in the form of a bag, and made of a strong material, and to which there are fixed five transverse secondary re inforcing bands 8 made of another or a similar strong material, and which further more are fixed to the main body 1. The outer ends of these transverse bands 8 form loops 3, which may be used as handles when injured or dead persons are being transported, for instance. It is also possible to pass through these loops 3 poles or shafts extending longitudinally below the bag to constitute a carrying means resembling a stretcher.

On one end of the longitudinal band 4 there is a loop 2, by grasping which it is possible to drag a dead body or an injured person, for instance, over rough terrain. This mode of transportation is particularly well applicable in winter conditions when the ground is snowcovered. The loop 2 is attached at the mouth end of the bag adjacent to the tunnel seam 5, and it is possible in addition to provide the foot end of the bag with a similar loop.

The body 1 may be provided with loops 11 suitably disposed at the comers, as shown in Figure 1. The body 1 may then be used as a tent or as a rain shelter by anchoring the body 1 with the aid of the loops 11 with conventional tent fixing lines or pegs.

The device of the invention may be manufactured of various materials. For instance, various plastics webs are suitable. However, it is advantageous in view of durability to make the body 1 of thin artificial silk fabric treated with synthetic plastics resin to render it water-tight and coated with metal e.g. with a coat of aluminium. The water-excluding properties of such a device may furthermore be improved by treating it with a silicone substance. It is one of the advantages of a device made of such materials that it can easily be sterilized, for instance after injured persons have been transported with its aid.

Also the device may be washed with ease e.g. in a conventional washing machine and using conventional washing powders, and it also dries quickly after being washed. Although the siliconizing of the device may suffer from repeated powerful washing, the silicone treatment may be renewed, as required, for instance specifically after washing. As a result of the choice of suitable material, the device can also protect a user to some extent against radioactive fullout, a circumstance which may be of great significance in wartime conditions.

The device is envisaged as well suited for military uses, but naturally it may also be used in other conditions, such as in camping as a base for a tent or as a ground sheet, or as protection against the weather in winter fishing on the ice, or by spectators and others at winter sports events. In military uses, under wartime conditions, it may be advantageous in that it is not necessary to forward to the front lines, as previously, wooden coffins, which are space < :onsuming, instead of which the bodies may be shipped to be buried in each instance in a soldiers own device belonging to his personal equipment.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A multi-purpose device of the kind defined, characterised in that when spread out said sheet is approximately square or trapezoidal with four edges, said fastening means include a draw string (6) and at least

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. members, and through the loops it is also possible to pass poles or rods as carrying members. How the invention may be put into practice appears from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a device embodying the invention is shown by way of example, Figure 1 is a view of the device spread out for use as a ground sheet, and Figure 2 is a view of the device in the form of a sleeping bag. The illustrated device comprises a main body 1 which can be spread out as an approximately square or trapezoidal sheet as shown in Figure 1, or can form a bag of such length that its intended user finds room for his entire body therein. Around a mouth aperture of the bag (Figure 2) is a tunnel seam 5 within which runs a draw string 6 by the aid of which the bag can be swiftly closed by pulling the ends of the string 6. The inner surface of the tunnel seam 5 con sists of slippery siliconized fabric, the same fabric as the water-tight outer surface of the bag. The openings of the tunnel seam 5 are sewn to have such small width that the ends of the string 6 cannot easily slip and get lost in the tunnel seam 5, and knots 7 are made at or near the ends of the string 6 to prevent such mishaps. In the advantageous illustrated embodiment of the invention stringers 9 of a sliding-clasp fastener extend along the edges of the foot end and one longitudinal margin of the bag. This fastener is preferably openable both from within the bag and from without. Hereby the insertion of a patient in the bag 1, for instance of a person with a spinal injury or an injured leg, may be easily and swiftly accomplished. The injured person is in such a case placed to lie upon the main body 1 which is spread out on the ground, whereupon the foot end and one longitudinal side of the bag can be closed easily with the aid of said sliding clasp fastener. The other longitudinal side of the bag 1 consists of the sewn seam 10. On one side of the main body 1 there is fixed, by sewing or cementing or in any other appropriate way, a longitudinal main reinforc ing band 4 parallel to the longitudinal direc tion of the device when in the form of a bag, and made of a strong material, and to which there are fixed five transverse secondary re inforcing bands 8 made of another or a similar strong material, and which further more are fixed to the main body 1. The outer ends of these transverse bands 8 form loops 3, which may be used as handles when injured or dead persons are being transported, for instance. It is also possible to pass through these loops 3 poles or shafts extending longitudinally below the bag to constitute a carrying means resembling a stretcher. On one end of the longitudinal band 4 there is a loop 2, by grasping which it is possible to drag a dead body or an injured person, for instance, over rough terrain. This mode of transportation is particularly well applicable in winter conditions when the ground is snowcovered. The loop 2 is attached at the mouth end of the bag adjacent to the tunnel seam 5, and it is possible in addition to provide the foot end of the bag with a similar loop. The body 1 may be provided with loops 11 suitably disposed at the comers, as shown in Figure 1. The body 1 may then be used as a tent or as a rain shelter by anchoring the body 1 with the aid of the loops 11 with conventional tent fixing lines or pegs. The device of the invention may be manufactured of various materials. For instance, various plastics webs are suitable. However, it is advantageous in view of durability to make the body 1 of thin artificial silk fabric treated with synthetic plastics resin to render it water-tight and coated with metal e.g. with a coat of aluminium. The water-excluding properties of such a device may furthermore be improved by treating it with a silicone substance. It is one of the advantages of a device made of such materials that it can easily be sterilized, for instance after injured persons have been transported with its aid. Also the device may be washed with ease e.g. in a conventional washing machine and using conventional washing powders, and it also dries quickly after being washed. Although the siliconizing of the device may suffer from repeated powerful washing, the silicone treatment may be renewed, as required, for instance specifically after washing. As a result of the choice of suitable material, the device can also protect a user to some extent against radioactive fullout, a circumstance which may be of great significance in wartime conditions. The device is envisaged as well suited for military uses, but naturally it may also be used in other conditions, such as in camping as a base for a tent or as a ground sheet, or as protection against the weather in winter fishing on the ice, or by spectators and others at winter sports events. In military uses, under wartime conditions, it may be advantageous in that it is not necessary to forward to the front lines, as previously, wooden coffins, which are space < :onsuming, instead of which the bodies may be shipped to be buried in each instance in a soldiers own device belonging to his personal equipment. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A multi-purpose device of the kind defined, characterised in that when spread out said sheet is approximately square or trapezoidal with four edges, said fastening means include a draw string (6) and at least

one sliding-clasp fastener, the draw string (6) runs through a tunnel seam (5) which extends the full length of one of said edges, the stringers (9) of the sliding clasp fastener or fasteners extend along the other three of said edges, secured to the body (1) are a main reinforcing band (4) and secondary reinforcing bands (8) such that when the device is in the form of a bag the main band (4) extends longitudinally and centrally along one side of the bag and the secondary bands (8) extend transversely from and on both sides of the main band (4) and are spaced apart from each other along the main band, there is a handle loop (2) secured to one end of said main band (4) adjacent to said tunnel seam (5), and there are handle loops (3) secured to the ends of the secondary bands (8).

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the materials inside the tunnel seam (5) and of the draw string (6) are such that friction between them is low, and the openings of the tunnel seam (5) are small enough to prevent the entry of knots (7) or toggle buttons or other stop elements provided at the ends Of the draw string (6).

3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein handle loops (11) are secured to the main body (1) and are at the junctions of the said four edges.

4. A device according to claim 1, 2, or 3, suitable for use as a sleeping bag and also for camping and military uses and for use in transporting a sick or injured person, and which bag is appropriate for use as protection against moisture and heat, as a transport stretcher, as a protective bag for war or other casualties, as a goods-transporting bag that can be dragged or carried, and as a distress signal for reflecting light and radar beaus both on land and on the sea, said bag being capable of protecting a patient against inclement weather and thermally insulating him from the effect of ambient air, said main body being made of a thin flexible and high tensile strength web which is impermeable to water and consists of polyamide laminated with polyurethane or other synthetic plastics material, and one side at least of the web being coated with aluminium or other metal to have a metallic gloss.

5. A device according to Claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, the sliding clasp fastener or fasteners being openable from the outside as well as the inside of the bag.

6. A multi-purpose device constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.