EP1367974B1 - Seating element - Google Patents

Seating element Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1367974B1
EP1367974B1 EP02705614A EP02705614A EP1367974B1 EP 1367974 B1 EP1367974 B1 EP 1367974B1 EP 02705614 A EP02705614 A EP 02705614A EP 02705614 A EP02705614 A EP 02705614A EP 1367974 B1 EP1367974 B1 EP 1367974B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
envelope
seating element
parts
stuffing
cushion
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP02705614A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1367974A1 (en
Inventor
Dennis Marco Patrick Kleijn
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
HANS VOORWINDE BEHEER BV
Original Assignee
HANS VOORWINDE BEHEER BV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by HANS VOORWINDE BEHEER BV filed Critical HANS VOORWINDE BEHEER BV
Publication of EP1367974A1 publication Critical patent/EP1367974A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1367974B1 publication Critical patent/EP1367974B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • 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
    • A61G7/05715—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor with modular blocks, or inserts, with layers of different material
    • 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
    • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
    • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
    • A61G5/1043—Cushions specially adapted for wheelchairs
    • 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
    • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
    • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
    • A61G5/1043—Cushions specially adapted for wheelchairs
    • A61G5/1045—Cushions specially adapted for wheelchairs for the seat portion
    • 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
    • A61G7/05738—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor with fluid-like particles, e.g. sand, mud, seeds, gel, beads

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a seating element, being formed by a number of side-by-side arranged and joined parts, each part comprising an envelope of a membranelike material, which is at least partly filled with a stuffing of a granular material, said seating element having an upper surface, on which the user can be seated, an under surface, as well as an circumference surface interconnecting the upper and under surfaces, said envelopes having a wall portion of an elastic stretchable material.
  • a seating element of this kind is known from EP-A- 927 534.
  • Such elements are known in a wide range of embodiments and an important object of said elements is to support the user as equally as possible and over a surface as large as possible, in order to avoid pressure zones.
  • a seating element in which the entire upper surface of the envelope consists of an elastic material.
  • a disadvantage of this seating element is that because said upper surface is used for supporting the user only those areas of said upper surface, which are not occupied by the user will be effective for the displacement of the granular material. So when the user is occupying a large area of said upper surface the seating element will not be very effective.
  • the envelope of one or more parts in its side wall, which forms a part of the circumference surface of the seating element comprises the wall portion of the elastic stretchable material.
  • the stuffing of granular material will be allowed to deflect locally at the elastic expansion areas as the cushion is loaded by the weight of the user.
  • the stuffing is able to adapt itself to the contours of the user, so that the user is supported over a larger surface and therefore is more uniformly supported. In other words the user sinks deeper into the seating element.
  • the expansion areas will return elastically to their original shape and push back the stuffing.
  • said stuffing is able to adapt itself again to the contours of the user.
  • the separate parts also allow an individual adaptation to the demands or needs of the patient by varying its degree of filling.
  • German Patent Specification DE 22 00 823 discloses a mattress, comprising one or more separate compartments, which are connected to one another and each compartment has been partly filled with a stuffing of granular material.
  • the upper surface of the mattress will distort under the weight of the patient until the entire space of the compartment is filled and the granular stuffing is put under pressure. Due to said pressure the configuration of said stuffing will be maintained and the same pressure will be exerted on all members of the body of the patient, independent on how far these members are penetrated into the mattress.
  • the compartments of this known mattress have no elastic stretchable wall portions, which means that if the patient assumes a different position, the pressurised stuffing will not or hardly adapt itself to the changing circumstances, so that local pressure zones may arise, which may affect the comfort of the patient and may lead to decubitus ulcers.
  • the element comprises an oblong front part, which extends over the total width of the element and two back parts extending perpendicularly to the front part, both end walls of the envelope of the front part consist of a elastic stretchable material, and the rear end wall of the envelope of each of said back parts also exist of an elastic stretchable material.
  • Figures 1-3 show a seating element in the embodiment of an anti-decubitus cushion for a wheel chair, said cushion comprises three interconnected cushion parts 1a, 1b, lc.
  • Said parts each consists of an envelope of a membranelike material, said envelope being filled with granular material, preferably polystyrene grain having a diameter of ca. 0,5-1 mm.
  • the parts 1a, 1b, 1c are each formed as a rectangular box and are arranged side by side, so that said parts form together the substantially rectangular cushion, having an upper surface for supporting the user and an under surface which rests on the seating of the wheel chair and a circumference surface interconnecting both surfaces
  • the parts 1a, 1b and 1c are interconnected by a mutual under wall 2 and substantially abut one another, although in the drawing they are for the sake of clarity shown with some space between them.
  • Each part is furthermore provided with a fill opening 3, which for example can be closed by a zipper, provided in the under wall 2 (figure 2).
  • the cushion is formed by an oblong front cushion part 1a, extending over the total width of the cushion and is intended for supporting the upper part of the thighs of the patient.
  • Two parallel extending oblong back parts 1b and 1c abut perpendicular the front portion and are intended for supporting the bottom of the patient.
  • the envelope of the front cushion part is at both end walls 4, 5 provided with a material that is elastic in all directions, like a knitted stretch material.
  • the rear end walls 6, 7 of the envelope of both other cushion parts 1b and 1c are also made of this material, which is elastic in all directions.
  • the above-described arrangement of the anti-decubitus cushion according to the present invention has at one hand the advantage that said cushion can be adapted individually to the needs of the patient by varying the degree of filling of the different cushion parts.
  • the resilient wall portions of the envelope of each cushion part allow that the stuffing can deflect sidewards in case a load is applied by the weight of the patient.
  • figure 3 a view is shown from above of the cushion in the loaded situation, in which the elastic wall portions bulge outwards, as indicated by dash lines 5', 6'and 7'.
  • the stuffing is allowed to adapt itself to the contours of the patient, so that no pressure zones are developed, which might give rise to decubitus ulcers.
  • the bulging out of the wall portions, which are made of elastic material can be performed without difficulty, because said bulges are directed backwards (6' and 7') into the free space between the backrest and the seating of the wheelchair, while the deflection sidewards (4', 5') is made possible by the free space under the armrests of the wheel chair.
  • the number and mutual arrangement of the cushion parts may be varied.
  • the cushion part does not need to be box shaped, but dependent on the application also other shapes may be used.
  • the cushion parts also may be separately manufactured and bonded to one another in a suitable way.
  • the expansion areas may be shaped as desired and have a resilient capacity that is dependent on the desired use of the concerning element.

Abstract

Seating or lying element, said element comprising an envelope of a membranelike material, which at least partly is filled with a stuffing of a granular material and having an upper surface, an under surface as well as a circumference surface, interconnecting the upper and under surfaces. The element is provided with one or more expansion areas (4, 5, 6, 7; 10), said areas resiliently yielding as a pressure is exerted thereon by the stuffing of granular material, said pressure being achieved by the weight of the user and the expansion areas elastically return to their initial shape as said pressure diminishes or is removed. The expansion areas may be formed as elastically stretchable wall portions (4, 5, 6, 7) of the envelope or as a fill piece (10) of a easy compressible material arranged within the envelope.

Description

The present invention relates to a seating element, being formed by a number of side-by-side arranged and joined parts, each part comprising an envelope of a membranelike material, which is at least partly filled with a stuffing of a granular material, said seating element having an upper surface, on which the user can be seated, an under surface, as well as an circumference surface interconnecting the upper and under surfaces, said envelopes having a wall portion of an elastic stretchable material. A seating element of this kind is known from EP-A- 927 534.
Such elements are known in a wide range of embodiments and an important object of said elements is to support the user as equally as possible and over a surface as large as possible, in order to avoid pressure zones.
An important field for the application of such elements is the use as therapeutic seating or lying elements for patients, which are confined to their beds or wheel chair, in order to avoid the development of decubitus ulcers.
From EP-A-927 534 a seating element is known, in which the entire upper surface of the envelope consists of an elastic material. A disadvantage of this seating element is that because said upper surface is used for supporting the user only those areas of said upper surface, which are not occupied by the user will be effective for the displacement of the granular material. So when the user is occupying a large area of said upper surface the seating element will not be very effective.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a seating element, which provides a better comfort for the user, which is suitable to avoid decubitus ulcers and which is also cheap and simple to manufacture.
According to the invention this object is achieved in that the envelope of one or more parts in its side wall, which forms a part of the circumference surface of the seating element, comprises the wall portion of the elastic stretchable material. In this way the stuffing of granular material will be allowed to deflect locally at the elastic expansion areas as the cushion is loaded by the weight of the user. The stuffing is able to adapt itself to the contours of the user, so that the user is supported over a larger surface and therefore is more uniformly supported. In other words the user sinks deeper into the seating element. As the pressure on the stuffing totally or partly is removed the expansion areas will return elastically to their original shape and push back the stuffing. When the element is used again or when the user moves to another position, said stuffing is able to adapt itself again to the contours of the user. The separate parts also allow an individual adaptation to the demands or needs of the patient by varying its degree of filling.
It is to be noted that the German Patent Specification DE 22 00 823 discloses a mattress, comprising one or more separate compartments, which are connected to one another and each compartment has been partly filled with a stuffing of granular material. The upper surface of the mattress will distort under the weight of the patient until the entire space of the compartment is filled and the granular stuffing is put under pressure. Due to said pressure the configuration of said stuffing will be maintained and the same pressure will be exerted on all members of the body of the patient, independent on how far these members are penetrated into the mattress.
The compartments of this known mattress have no elastic stretchable wall portions, which means that if the patient assumes a different position, the pressurised stuffing will not or hardly adapt itself to the changing circumstances, so that local pressure zones may arise, which may affect the comfort of the patient and may lead to decubitus ulcers.
In a preferable embodiment of the invention, which is extremely suitable for use as an anti-decubitus cushion for a wheel chair, the element comprises an oblong front part, which extends over the total width of the element and two back parts extending perpendicularly to the front part, both end walls of the envelope of the front part consist of a elastic stretchable material, and the rear end wall of the envelope of each of said back parts also exist of an elastic stretchable material. This arrangement allows that the stuffing is allowed to bulge out sidewards and backwards, that is under the armrests and the backrest of the wheelchair, in such a way that said bulging out does not hinder the user.
The invention will be explained more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show as an example two embodiments of the invention.
In the drawing is:
Figure 1
diagrammatically a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention as an anti-decubitus cushion for a wheel chair;
Figure 2
a view from the rear of the cushion of figure 1; and
Figure 3
a view from above of the cushion of figure 1, in which the bulges of the cushion are shown with dot-lines, in case the cushion is loaded with the weight of a patient, and
Figures 1-3 show a seating element in the embodiment of an anti-decubitus cushion for a wheel chair, said cushion comprises three interconnected cushion parts 1a, 1b, lc. Said parts each consists of an envelope of a membranelike material, said envelope being filled with granular material, preferably polystyrene grain having a diameter of ca. 0,5-1 mm. In the shown embodiment the parts 1a, 1b, 1c are each formed as a rectangular box and are arranged side by side, so that said parts form together the substantially rectangular cushion, having an upper surface for supporting the user and an under surface which rests on the seating of the wheel chair and a circumference surface interconnecting both surfaces
The parts 1a, 1b and 1c are interconnected by a mutual under wall 2 and substantially abut one another, although in the drawing they are for the sake of clarity shown with some space between them. Each part is furthermore provided with a fill opening 3, which for example can be closed by a zipper, provided in the under wall 2 (figure 2).
In the shown embodiment the cushion is formed by an oblong front cushion part 1a, extending over the total width of the cushion and is intended for supporting the upper part of the thighs of the patient. Two parallel extending oblong back parts 1b and 1c abut perpendicular the front portion and are intended for supporting the bottom of the patient.
The envelope of the front cushion part is at both end walls 4, 5 provided with a material that is elastic in all directions, like a knitted stretch material. In the same way the rear end walls 6, 7 of the envelope of both other cushion parts 1b and 1c are also made of this material, which is elastic in all directions.
The above-described arrangement of the anti-decubitus cushion according to the present invention has at one hand the advantage that said cushion can be adapted individually to the needs of the patient by varying the degree of filling of the different cushion parts. Besides the resilient wall portions of the envelope of each cushion part allow that the stuffing can deflect sidewards in case a load is applied by the weight of the patient. In figure 3 a view is shown from above of the cushion in the loaded situation, in which the elastic wall portions bulge outwards, as indicated by dash lines 5', 6'and 7'. The stuffing is allowed to adapt itself to the contours of the patient, so that no pressure zones are developed, which might give rise to decubitus ulcers. The bulging out of the wall portions, which are made of elastic material can be performed without difficulty, because said bulges are directed backwards (6' and 7') into the free space between the backrest and the seating of the wheelchair, while the deflection sidewards (4', 5') is made possible by the free space under the armrests of the wheel chair.
It will be apparent that the invention is not limited to the shown and disclosed embodiment, but that without departing the scope of the accompanying claims various modifications and variants will become possible for those skilled in the art. It is of importance that the stuffing of granular material may resiliently deflect under pressure of the user and is able to adapt itself to the contours of the user.
The number and mutual arrangement of the cushion parts may be varied. The cushion part does not need to be box shaped, but dependent on the application also other shapes may be used. The cushion parts also may be separately manufactured and bonded to one another in a suitable way. The expansion areas may be shaped as desired and have a resilient capacity that is dependent on the desired use of the concerning element.

Claims (4)

  1. Seating element, being formed by a number of side-by-side arranged and joined parts (1a, 1b, 1c), each part comprising an envelope of a membranelike material, which is at least partly filled with a stuffing of a granular material, said envelopes having a wall portion of an elastic stretchable material, said seating element having an upper surface, on which the user can be seated, an under surface, as well as a circumference surface, interconnecting the upper and under surfaces,
    characterised in that
    the envelope of one or more parts in its side wall, which forms a part of the circumference surface of the seating element, comprises the wall portion (4, 5, 6, 7) of the elastic stretchable material.
  2. Seating element according to claim 1,
    characterised in that, that the parts of the seating element are connected to one another near the under surface of said seating element.
  3. Seating element according to claim 1,
    characterised in that, the parts of the element are arranged on a common under wall (2).
  4. Seating element according to claim 1,
    characterised in that, the seating element consists of an oblong front part (1a), extending over the entire width of the element, and of two oblong back parts (1b, 1c) extending perpendicularly to said front part, both end walls (4, 5) of the envelope of the oblong front part consist of an elastic stretchable material that is elastic in all directions, and the rear end wall (6, 7) of the envelope of each of the both oblong back parts also consists of an elastic stretchable material.
EP02705614A 2001-03-12 2002-03-12 Seating element Expired - Lifetime EP1367974B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL1017562A NL1017562C2 (en) 2001-03-12 2001-03-12 Anti-decubitus cushion, in particular for a wheelchair.
NL1017562 2001-03-12
PCT/NL2002/000169 WO2002071997A1 (en) 2001-03-12 2002-03-12 Seating or lying element

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1367974A1 EP1367974A1 (en) 2003-12-10
EP1367974B1 true EP1367974B1 (en) 2005-06-01

Family

ID=19773040

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02705614A Expired - Lifetime EP1367974B1 (en) 2001-03-12 2002-03-12 Seating element

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1367974B1 (en)
AT (1) ATE296602T1 (en)
DE (1) DE60204434D1 (en)
NL (1) NL1017562C2 (en)
WO (1) WO2002071997A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2005067858A1 (en) * 2004-01-20 2005-07-28 Patrick Noel Daly Pressure reducing patient support structures
US11819138B2 (en) 2018-02-27 2023-11-21 Roger Thomas Mascull And Elizabeth Jocelyn Mascull As Trustees Of The Rt And Ej Mascull Family Trust Seating support

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1488290A (en) * 1966-04-06 1967-07-13 Nordisk Droge & Kemikalieforre Cushion, bolster or other support object comprising a flexible envelope with a filling of divided material
DE2200823C3 (en) * 1972-01-08 1976-01-08 Kunststoffwerk Philippine Gmbh & Co Kg, 5420 Lahnstein Mattress for the sick bed
US5490299A (en) 1992-09-16 1996-02-13 Jay Medical Ltd. Seating system with pressure relieving fluid pad
US5282286A (en) * 1992-11-16 1994-02-01 Cascade Designs, Inc. Sealed composite cushion having multiple indentation force deflection zones
FR2773052B1 (en) * 1997-12-30 2000-02-25 Roset Sa SEAT

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NL1017562C2 (en) 2002-09-13
EP1367974A1 (en) 2003-12-10
DE60204434D1 (en) 2005-07-07
ATE296602T1 (en) 2005-06-15
WO2002071997A1 (en) 2002-09-19

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