Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C27/00—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas
  • A47C27/14—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays
  • A47C27/142—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays with projections, depressions or cavities
  • A47C27/144—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays with projections, depressions or cavities inside the mattress or cushion
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C27/00—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas
  • A47C27/14—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays
  • A47C27/142—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays with projections, depressions or cavities
  • A47C27/146—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays with projections, depressions or cavities on the outside surface of the mattress or cushion
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C27/00—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas
  • A47C27/14—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays
  • A47C27/18—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays in combination with inflatable bodies
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
  • A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
  • A61G7/057—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor
  • A61G7/05769—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor with inflatable chambers
  • A61G7/05776—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor with inflatable chambers with at least two groups of alternately inflated chambers

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a mattress or a support cushion of the particular kind which is designed so as to be operable, by suitable control means, to have mutually different surface portions actuated in an alternating manner, such that a lying or sitting person or patient is exposed to a support, which ill a Iternat i ng ly engage different surface portions of the person or patient.
• Mattresses or cushions of this type are used particularly for patients liable to develop so-called bedsores, which may easily occur if the patient is long-term supported on unchanged surface portions of this or her body, i.e. if the patient cannot readi ly change his position on the bed or couch.
• the known mattresses or cushions of this type are very expensive and complicated, and it is the purpose of the invention to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive, yet effective mattress or cushion for the relevant purpose.
• the invention even has an ulterior o ject based on the finding that such an alternating body support is highly pleasant also to "non-patients", whereby the discussed type of mattresses and cushions will be extensively usable just when they can be manufactured at low costs as far as both the units and their associated actuation equipment is concerned.
• the invention is based on the principle that by effecting a change of the pressure in certain area portions of the mattress it is possible to raise and lower the surface of these portions relative other portions, whereby the two groups of surface portions may alternate as operative support areas.
• the mattress is made of a foam material having a suitable carrier capacity and consisting of open cells, this mattress being prepared with suitably located partial areas containing mattress sub elements, which are shielded from the air space associated with the open cells of the foam mattress and which, in a starting position, project upwardly to a level above or underneath the top side of the foam mattress; the surfaces of the foam mattress are covered by an air tight coating forming a casing, which has a connector opening for connect on with a device for changing the air pressure in the foam mattress inside the said casing.
• the basic element is a foam mattress of full carrying capacity and that the operative pressure change is effected by subjecting the interior of the said surface casing of the mattress to a vacuum, such that the thickness of the ' ' :rmal" mattress wi ll hereby be considerably reduced, whereby the originally counter ⁇ sunk partial areas will take over the support function.
• the foam mattress will return into its original carrying shape or thickness by its own natural resiliency, i.e. by this resiliency it will cause the lying or sitting person to be lifted above the top side of the said partial areas as having formerly carried the person.
• a mattress casing which should resist only a subpressure in the mattress, but not any overpressure therein, will condition a very simple design, inasfar as the casing may be a simple sheet cover, which is sucked against the surface portions of the mattress unit by the action of the vacuum.
• these surface portions should not be prepared to be able to resist any internal overpressure in the mattress material, whereby this material in its entity may be a cheap, homogenous ateriaL having open cells.
• an ordinary mattress materiaL of a sufficient carrier capacity and having open cells, e.g. consisting of Nylon, may be "sucked together" into less than half the natural thickness thereof already by the suction from an ordinary household vacuum cleaner when the mattress is enclosed in a tight sheet casing.
• the change of the shape of the mattress unit is observed as a reduction of the thickness thereof and only to a small degree as a reduction of the area of the mattress.
• the said non-changing partial areas of the mattress ma:y, by way of example, consist of blocks of a foam ma ⁇ terial mounted in holes in or through the foam mattress, and they may be made of" a foam material having closed cells or be otherwise vacuum insulated from the remainder of the foam mattress; alternatively the air tight casing of the foam mattress may cover even the wall surfaces of the holes or recesses in which the foam blocks or corresponding mattress elements are mounted.
• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mattress accord ⁇ ing to the invention
• Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views thereof, shown in two different conditions.
• Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a modified mattress according to the invention.
• Figs. 5-7 are plan and top views of another modified embodi ment .
• the mattress as shown in Fig. 1-3 is made of a coherent mattress body 2 consisting of a soft or resi ⁇ lient foam material having open cells, e.g. a Nylon foam, and having an intermediate Layer 4 of a strong sheet materiaL or preferably a layer of a relatively resilient foam material having closed cells, e.g. a material known under the trade name "Alveolit".
• the mattress body 2 is provided with holes 6, in w ch blocks 8 of a suitably carrying materiaL are inserted, Likewise pre- ferabLy made of a foam materiaL.
• the blocks 8 are present in the holes 6 such that their top surfaces are Located a certain distance, e.g.
• a sheet casing 10 Fig. 2, having a connector mouth portion 12 adapted for connection with a vacuum pipe 14.
• the sheet casing 10 may be constituted by an integral, tight surface Layer shaped by the foaming-up of the mattress materiaL in a mould, in wh ch the intermediate Layer is mounted beforehand. By its foaming up the foam material will be strongly laminated to the intermediate layer when the Latter consists of the said particular foam material.
• Fig. 3 it is shown by a curved dotted line that the Lying person may suppress the blocks 8 to different heights all according to the Local load on the blocks.
• the blocks are preferably made of a foam materiaL which is somewhat harder than a con ⁇ ventional mattress material, e.g. double as hard.
• Figs. 1-3 are intended to primarily i llustrate the principle of the invention, though by a preferred e bo- diment, inasfar as the mattress may be designed in many other ways.
• the casing 10 as a loose sheet may be arranged so as to cover both the top ends and the bottom ends of the holes 6, but not the walls of the holes 6, whereby the blocks 8 should just consist of a foam material having closed cells, such that the blocks are not substantially affected by the vacuum.
• the holes should preferably be through-going as the mattress can then "breathe" through the blocks 8.
• circular cylindrical blocks 8 even square blocks or conical blocks could be used, or in ⁇ stead of separate blocks it will be possible to use coherent structures in or of any suitable pattern.
• the mattress member may be shaped with a top side which, in a free condition thereof, shows ra sed area portions 18 and countersunk area portions 20; these portions may be shaped and di ⁇ stributed in any suitable manner, though here provided in one coherent or unitary mattress member.
• the mattress material is made "tight- cellular" in some suitable manner, e.g. by a differen ⁇ tiated manufacturing process of the mattress member or by injection of a cell sealing or cell infilling sub ⁇ stance. It wi ll not be very important, of course, whether the areas 22 are entirely similar or regular.
• the mattress may be operationally sectionally subdi ided such that if desired only one or more subsections there ⁇ of can be operated.
• a special possibility will be to design the mattress with an integral head end portion sho ing an outwardly increasing thickness for the for ⁇ mation of an elevated head pillow suppor; , whereby it will be possible to lower this support as desired by sucking out a portion of the air inside this section of the mattress.
• a mattress body having open cells may be thin-sucked in a reasonably uniform and fast manner already by suction solely from one end of the mattress, and it is even desirable that the changes are not effected particularly fast.
• the mattress member may well be shaped with internal air channels e.g. along the underside thereof, such that the sucking mouth portion 12 communicates with these channels. Figs.
• FIG. 5-7 illustrate an embodiment comprising a mattress body 24, which is not particularly surface treated, but is provided with a deep zig-zag-groove 26, in which is laid down a continuous foam material sausage 28 consisting of a surface sealed foam mate ⁇ rial having otherwise open cells and having a central core 30 of a substantially non-st retchab le material, e.g. a foam material core having closed cells.
• the foam sausage 28 is closed at one end and is provided with a vacuum connector stub 30 at the other end. It will be readily understood that this mattress will function as a differential pressure mattress when the air is sucked out from the sausage 28 (Fig. 7) and let into the sausage (Fig. 6), respectively.
• top sides _ of the mattress body and/or the sausage 28 may extend in a welled fashion up and down in the transverse direction of the mattress for avoidance of entirely planar support surface portions.
• the mattress member may be provided with perforations for providing ventilation channels between the top and bottom sides thereof.
• the mattress is easily designable in such a manner that a complete shift or change between the carr ing portions thereof will be effected by the applied pressure variations, this being desirable for the support of patients liable to develop bedsores.
• the mattress may be designed with a considerably reduced thickness, e.g. for mounting topwise on another mattress of a conventional type or on any other suitable support.
• the mattress may well be designed as a cover element for sitting chairs, commonly but not least in connection with means of transportation such as air planes, trains, busses and motor cars, in which a central control unit wi ll be able to control the shifting between the different pressure areas of all the seats of the relevant means of transportation.
• the mattresses or the corresponding seat or backrest cushions may be sub- divided in differential pressure areas of or in a pattern which is finer than in patient mattresses, in which a rather coarse pattern (see Figs. 1 and 5) has been found preferable.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Nursing (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Mattresses And Other Support Structures For Chairs And Beds (AREA)
• Invalid Beds And Related Equipment (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=8137873

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (17)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1984
  • 1984-10-15 DK DK492184A patent/DK492184D0/da not_active Application Discontinuation
• 1985
  • 1985-10-15 JP JP50458685A patent/JPS62500496A/ja active Pending
  • 1985-10-15 AU AU49697/85A patent/AU4969785A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1985-10-15 BR BR8506981A patent/BR8506981A/pt unknown
  • 1985-10-15 WO PCT/DK1985/000093 patent/WO1986002244A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1985-10-15 EP EP19850905059 patent/EP0197999A1/en not_active Withdrawn
• 1986
  • 1986-06-11 NO NO862338A patent/NO862338L/no unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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