WO2004050002A1

WO2004050002A1 - Support structure

Info

Publication number: WO2004050002A1
Application number: PCT/DK2003/000830
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vidar Geitrheim
Original assignee: Vidar Geitrheim
Priority date: 2002-12-03
Filing date: 2003-12-03
Publication date: 2004-06-17
Also published as: AU2003281992A1

Abstract

A system for providing high-/low-friction zones and manipulating straps on a support structure such that it will become possible to ease the handling of persons in beds or disabled persons wanting to be transferred from for example a wheelchair to a seat, for example a seat in a car, bus, train, plane, or the like, is disclosed.

Description

SUPPORT STRUCTURE

Background of the invention

The present invention relates to a support structure, in particular for supporting a body during a sliding movement of said body, as well as a system for manipulating and supporting a person comprising a support structure as well as a turning sheet arranged on top of said support structure.

In the health care sector, especially where elderly persons are concerned, persons spend an increasingly amount of time in bed. This is also true for bedridden people who spend most of their time in bed. For these people as well as helpers taking care of these people, a number of difficulties arise.

For the people in bed, their long stay lying down can cause muscle aches, uncomfortable itches and sores due to increasing heat between the mattress and the body. This situation can be further aggravated in cases where the bedridden person suffers from incontinence.

For the helpers having to handle people confined to a bed it can be hard work turning these people over or moving them about in the bed when it is necessary to change bed linen, clothing, bandages, etc., or bring the person into a correct position in the bed.

A number of devices are known in the art where different sheets are provided whereby it is possible to slide a person on the sheet such that the person can be moved to one or the other side of the bed, for example tilted onto a side section, or the like.

Furthermore it is known to use mattresses which will have an increased load distribution such that the comfort of the person lying on such a mattress will be improved due to the distribution of forces to a larger area of the body. An example of such a mattress is a water mattress or a mattress with a gel in the top layer.

A general problem with all these installations is that they do not together form a concept such that the features of one part cooperate, support, and enhance the features of another part. Furthermore they do not provide sufficient ventilation for the person lying in the bed in combination with a means to absorb liquids with incontinence, and/or fail to provide suitable or adequate assistance to the helpers who need to manipulate the person confined to the bed.

In order to alleviate this, the invention provides a support structure of the kind mentioned above which is particular in that the structure comprises multiple flexible fabric layers and at leas two adjacent flexible layers can slide at least in one direction in relation to an adjacent layer, and that at least one other layer is constructed from material allowing for ventilation through the support structure.

With this structure it is foreseen that the heat being generated by a body lying on the support structure will be ventilated away such that the comfort of the person being placed on such a structure will be increased. Furthermore, when manipulating the person, the two adjacent flexible layers can easily slide in relation to each other whereby the personnel handling, for example turning, the person placed in the structure or adjusting the person's position in relation to the steering wheel in a car seat will be significantly eased.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the ventilating layer is a woven net structure having a cell structure. By using a woven net structure with a cell structure it is achieved that the layer retains a high degree of flexibility and at the same time has a comparatively large channel structure whereby an effective ventilation can be achieved. This is important in that the heat built up from a body placed on the structure during a longer time will have an increasingly uncomfortable feeling if there is a heat built up in the zone of contact with the support structure.

In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the structure from the top- down at least comprises the following layers: a woven top cover, a woven net structure having a cell structure, two layers having facing sides with low friction characteristics, and a bottom cover. In this configuration it is assured that the top cover by using a woven structure can be given a feel for the user which is comfortable and pleasing. The woven net structure gives the ventilating characteristics as described above, and the two layers having facing sides with low friction characteristics assure that it is still possible when manoeuvring a person on such structure to do this easily and without injuring or otherwise adversely affecting the helping personnel or the person being manipulated. The bottom cover can serve as an incontinence layer or as a protective layer for the two friction layers.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the two low-friction surfaces only exhibit low friction characteristics in a first direction and high friction characteristics in a second direction substantially perpendicular to said first direction. For a number of applications of this structure, a few of which will be discussed below, it is advantageous that a person placed on such a support structure can only slide in one direction while being manipulated by helpers in that an extra element of control during the movement of the person is added. The friction characteristics can for example be achieved by the two layers, which in one direction have channels, and in the perpendicular direction the walls of the channels will hamper relative sliding of the two materials. Other configurations can be envisioned within the scope of the present invention.

In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a high-friction layer is arranged between the top cover and the woven net structure, and the top cover can either in its entirety or section-wise be removed such that the high-friction surface becomes exposed. By providing the possibilities to change the friction characteristics and thereby the sliding abilities of a person placed on the support structure, a number of advantages can be achieved. For example if it is desired to turn a person placed on a support structure in a bed around, part of the longitudinal sides of the support structure can in this manner be changed from low-friction a high-friction zone whereby, when manipulating the person, the sliding movement of the person will be stopped by the high-friction section such that the person is not accidentally pushed off the bed but stopped by the high-friction section. Also when using beds where a section of the bed can be elevated, for example so that a person placed on the bed can be elevated from a lying position to a sitting position, the section of the support structure placed under the bottom and/or lower back section of a person placed in the bed can be exposed such that when the person is elevated from the lying position to the sitting position, the person will not slide down in the bed but be maintained in the original position and thereby elevated to a sitting position.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the bottom cover either on its entire exposed surface or on exposed sections has sections with high friction characteristics. As explained above, the bottom cover can also be equipped with section having different friction characteristics such that when manipulating a person or the entire support structure, the support structure will be maintained in a fixed position in relation to the underlying structure, for example an elevating bed, a car seat, wheel chair, or the like.

A majority of the persons using this type of support structure are usually elderly persons who in addition to being fragile also may suffer from incontinence problems. In order to provide extra comfort an incontinence layer having liquid-retaining properties is provided adjacently to the top cover.

In one particular application of the novel structure according to the invention, the structure is in the shape a cushion which furthermore has straps provided for fastening the structure to a seat, in particular a seat in a vehicle such as a car, bus, train, aircraft, or the like. The cushion is an especially advantageous embodiment in that for a number of wheelchair users it can be a problem to be handled from the wheelchair into for example a car seat, and, once in that seat, being able to by own power to move into a comfortable position in order to operate the car. Several considerations are applicable in order to be able to be comfortably seated in a bus seat, train seat, or the like. Especially with aircraft seats being rather small and the space provided between two rows of airplane seats, it can be a difficult task to position a person in such a seat.

In order to provide additional control for the person sliding on a cushion, the low friction characteristics are provided in a direction transverse to a seating orientation and straps are provided on a free edge of said cushion parallel to said transverse direction. In this embodiment it is possible for the person using such a cushion to slide in only one direction. Hereby it is assured that the person does not accidentally slide off the cushion but uses the cushion in order to be properly positioned in the seat. Furthermore, by providing straps on the free edge of the cushion, the cushion can easily be fastened to the seat whether it is a normal chair, car seat, or the like.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the support structure, especially in the shape of a cushion, the cushion is in the shape of a hollow cylinder wherein the interior surface is made from a low-friction material such that it can roll around itself by sliding of the interior surfaces. By this configuration it is possible for a person seated on said cushion to travel a further distance on a cushion. This is for example interesting for a person placed in a wheelchair who wants to transplace himself from the wheelchair to a different seat where it is not possible to place the seat immediately adjacently to the wheelchair. For this purpose a bridge member in the form of a board or the like can be used to bridge the gap between the wheelchair and the seat and on which board the cushion according to a preferred embodiment of the invention thereafter may be placed such that the person can slide on the support structure along said board from the wheelchair to a desired seat, or vice versa.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention the support structure is in the shape of a thin mattress cover for a single or double bed wherein straps are provided in said structure whereby it becomes possible to manipulate the structure or manipulate removable sections and that the entire structure, as well as a person placed on said structure can be lifted off the bed in said straps.

By providing straps which the helpers can use to manipulate the support structure and thereby the person placed on the bed, it becomes possible to handle the person more carefully. By not having to hold onto, push, or grab the person, the forces transmitted to that person are lessened in that for example in a turning movement, the pressure arising from the manipulation will be spread through the entire support structure by the handles. Also for the helpers it is increasingly easy to manipulate in that the straps provide good and determined fix points of engagement such that the helper will need to apply less force in that less force is needed to grab the straps in comparison to grabbing a person. In a still further advantageous embodiment of the support structure in the shape of a mattress, the top layer of the mattress cover is in the shape of two or more removable sections which exhibit low friction characteristics in any direction, and that the layer immediately below the top layer becomes exposed when one or more top layer sections are removed, and that the exposed layer at least in one direction exhibits high friction properties. As described above, with reference to the elevating bed, by removing a section the person placed on the support structure will not slide inadvertently due to manipulating the underlying construction.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the top layer of the mattress cover is in the shape of two or more removable sections which exhibit low friction characteristics in any direction, and that the layer immediately below the top layer becomes exposed when one or more top layer sections are removed, and that the exposed layer at least in one direction exhibits high friction properties. The advantages achieved by this configuration are that it becomes possible to determine sections of the support structure whereon the person placed on the support structure cannot slide, and sections where the person can slide. This can for example be advantageous when turning or helping a person placed on a support structure into a sitting position or the like.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the mattress covers are equipped with manipulating straps along edges and each removable section has two straps or more arranged along a side edge, and furthermore, the removable sections are removably fixed to the cover structure, for example by buttons, velcro, zippers, or the like.

The manipulating straps arranged along edges of the mattress cover serve for the handlers or care personnel to get a firm grip on the cover when it is necessary to manipulate the person placed on the mattress cover. For example when wanting to expose a high-friction zone on the support structure, one person can pull the straps such that the person placed on the support structure will be slidingly turned to one side of the support structure whereby it becomes possible for a second helper to remove one or more of the removable sections on the support structure. By attaching the removable sections, for example by buttons, velcro, zippers, or the like, it becomes very easy to either release or fasten the sections as desired.

In a still further preferred embodiment, the support structure has, along the longitudinal edges of the cover, longitudinal high-friction secondary sections arranged on top of the removable sections where the said secondary sections only have a width in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of between 50 and 300 mm, more preferred 100 mm and 200 mm, and most preferred 150 mm, and where secondary handling means are arranged attached to each of the secondary sections. As was the case described above, by providing high-friction sections along the longitudinal edges, the person being handled on the cover will experience a high friction and thereby a stop in a sliding movement caused by the handling personnel whereby the likelihood is lessened that a person placed on the cover slides off the support structure and cover altogether and might accidentally end up on the floor. By only providing these high-friction sections along the longitudinal edges, there is still a central zone exhibiting sliding properties, such that the handling personnel rather easily can manipulate the person on the cover.

In a further preferred embodiment, the side of the removable sections facing the interior of the cover, a high-friction area is provided proximately to the longitudinal edge of the cover. These high-friction sections are provided for the same reasons as mentioned above, and these sections will become exposed once the removable sections have been folded away such that the back-side of the removable section becomes exposed. By exposing this underside, a high-friction section will likewise become exposed, arranged on the backside of said removable section such that the high friction properties will hamper the sliding movement of a person being placed on said cover or mattress and the likelihood of sliding off the structure altogether is lessened.

The invention furthermore comprises a system for manipulating and supporting a person as explained above wherein a support structure as discussed above is used, and the system further comprises a turning sheet arranged on top of the support structure, said turning sheet comprising a woven top surface, a fibre filling, or woven net structure facilitating ventilation of the turning sheet, and a unidirectional low-friction woven bottom surface allowing the sheet to slide in a transverse direction in relation to the longitudinal direction of the support structure.

By additionally having a turning sheet arranged on top of the support structure and the turning sheet also exhibiting a unidirectional low-friction surface, it becomes possible to slide a person placed on said turning sheet in relation to the support structure, and furthermore it becomes possible to manipulate this person, for example by turning the person to one side and thereby gaining access to the removable sections underneath the person.

This can be important, for example as explained above when using this system in combination with an elevating bed where a person placed in the bed is to be brought from a lying position into a sitting position. Before elevating the bed, the person in the bed can be turned on his side by carefully pulling the turning sheet to that same side.

Thereby the removable sections on the support structure become at least partly exposed, and a central section corresponding to the position of the person's bottom and lower back can be removed, for example by folding it halfway into the middle of the support structure. After this, the person is turned to the opposite side such that it becomes possible to grab the folded central removable section and remove it altogether, thereby exposing a high-friction section on the support structure.

This high-friction section will now lock any sliding movement in the longitudinal direction of the bed whereby, when the bed is elevated, the person placed in the bed will not slide down in the bed, and will therefore be brought into a sitting position. If these high-friction and low-friction sections are not provided, it will be very difficult for the handling personnel to move the person back and forth in the bed, just as the person placed in the bed will experience a sliding movement down the bed once the bed elevated.

The system therefore provides an improved feeling of comfort for the person placed in a bed in that no undesired sliding movements due to the elevation of the bed will be experienced by the user, but the user will experience an elevation as a firm movement. Furthermore, the ventilating features of the support structure are repeated in the turning sheet, so that when a person is lying on the turning sheet, he will experience the same degree of comfort as when lying on the support structure.

In order to be able to manipulate the person placed on the turning sheet, straps are provided in said turning sheet whereby it becomes possible to manipulate the sheet or manipulate removable sections, and the entire sheet as well as a person placed on said sheet can be lifted off the bed in said straps. This feature is advantageous in that the turning sheet can be inserted between the person and the support structure, and by lifting means, for example a lift arranged in the ceiling, or a mobile lift can be used to elevate the person from the support structure whereby the support structure can be removed, for example when replacing the support structure for hygienic reasons, or the like.

Also in situations when only one helper is available for the manipulation of the person placed in the bed, a lift can act as the second "helper" such that the turning movement can be carried out by the lift, while the helper places/removes the removable sections in order to either expose or not expose low-/high-friction sections in the system.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the underlying layer, i.e. the layer that is uncovered when the removable sections are removed, is made from an elastic watertight, but breathable material such a for example Heavytex® available from the Belgian company Plastibert, Wilsbeke, Belgium. By utilising such a material it is accomplished that the sheet on which the person placed in the bed is laying will deform according to the load from the body. Furthermore, due to the breathability of the fabric, a high degree of comfort is achieved, especially in combination with some of the underlying structures as discussed above. By furthermore having the watertightness probabilities, it is assured that liquid, for example from persons suffering from incontinence problems seeps into the underlying structures which under normal conditions would need to be dry-cleaned or otherwise sanitised before they can be used again. In order to further improve the underlying layer, a high friction zone comprising polyurethane and nylon or silicone covered nylon may be arranged integral with the sheet in position corresponding to the thighs of a person placed in the bed. As the bed is elevated, the high friction layer will engage the underside of a person's thighs and thereby avoid that the person placed in the bed will slip or slide in the bed.

Advantageously the high friction section can have an extent of approximately 30 centimetres in the longitudinal direction of the bed.

The invention has been explained with regard to the principles of providing high-/low- friction zones and manipulating straps such that it will become possible to ease the handling of persons in beds or disabled persons wanting to be transferred from for example a wheelchair to a seat, for example a seat in a car, bus, train, plane, or the like. The choice of materials is not important, as long as the requirements to sliding properties high-friction/low-friction, ventilating, and incontinence layers are fulfilled.

In general however, the preferred material choice for the top layer, i.e. the layer which will be in contact with the person in the bed, should be comfortable, as for example cotton. A preferred material is terrycloth which in addition to being soft also has improved moisture absorption and ventilating properties, as compared to standard cotton sheets.

Where a quilt pattern is used, it is preferable to use a stitch pattern whereby areas of the object, for example the turning sheet, are divided into a number of relatively small areas containing the filling. This can be achieved by using straight lines of stitches which intersect at an appropriate angle. By using these types of patterns, it can be achieved that the filling of the object remains substantially flat, whereby pressure points can be avoided. Pressure points are for example points on the surface where there is a concentration of material which for the user will be felt as a hard and uncomfortable point.

Description of the drawing

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 illustrates a turning sheet,

Fig. 2 illustrates a support structure,

Fig. 3 illustrates a support structure,

Fig. 4 illustrates the principle of low friction in one direction and high friction in a perpendicular direction,

Fig. 5 illustrates a transfer arrangement,

Fig. 6 illustrates a cushion,

Fig. 7 illustrates use of the system,

Fig. 8 illustrates use of the system, Fig. 9 illustrates use of the system by utilising the different friction zones,

Fig. 10 illustrates use of lifting apparatus with the system,

Fig. 11 illustrates use of lifting apparatus with the system,

Figs. 12 & 13 illustrate an integral pocket, and

Fig. 14 illustrates an alternative support structure.

As described above the invention comprises a support structure as well as a turning sheet which together constitute a system for manipulating and supporting a person.

The turning sheet 1 as illustrated in fig. 1 is mainly for use in connection with beds, and the turning sheet accordingly has a size corresponding to a standard bed, i.e. approx. 1 m x 2 m. Along the free edges of the turning sheet 1 straps 2,3 are arranged for manipulating the sheet when a person is lying on the turning sheet 1.

The straps 2 will principally be used for turning a person around or lifting a person on said sheet. The straps 3 are for adjusting the position of the person in the bed in the longitudinal direction in order to bring the person on the sheet into a more optimal or comfortable position. In the embodiment of the turning sheet 1 illustrated in fig. 1 , the surface of the sheet 4 is illustrated as having a quilted pattern. This is however just one example, any surface structure or no surface structure at all is usable in connection with the turning sheet according to the invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates a support structure 5. In the illustrated example the support structure has a size corresponding to covering a normal mattress, i.e. approx. 1 m x 2 m. On the support structure 5, a number of removable sections 6, 7, 8 are arranged as well as various zones 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 whereby removing or replacing these zones will change the friction characteristics of the surface of the support structure 5. The texture of the section 9 for example can have low friction characteristics and by removing, i.e. folding the section 9 away, a section of the underlying layer will be exposed, which section could have high friction characteristics. This is illustrated by the removable section 14 which exposes a high-friction area 15. The texture of the sections 9, 11, 13 could also have high friction characteristics whereby a person arranged on the support structure would not so easily slide off the support structure, but would be braked by the high-friction sections 9, 11, 13. Then, in order to be able to slide the person from one bed to another bed, the flaps 9, 11, 13 could be folded down and thereby exposing low-friction areas which would ease the sliding movement of a person across this zone. For similar reasons the removable sections 6, 7, and 8 can either exhibit high- friction or low friction characteristics depending on the underlying layer. If for example the removable sections 6, 7, 8 exhibit low friction characteristics, removal of one of the sections, for example section 7 will expose the underlying layer 16 as well as the section 12 on the underside of the removable section 7.

The removable section 7 can advantageously be removed as the only section if the support structure 5 is arranged on a bed structure having an elevating mechanism such that a person lying in the bed can be brought into a sitting position. By removing the section 7 and thereby exposing a section with high friction, the person placed on the structure will, during the elevation, not slide down or altogether off, the support structure since the bottom and lower back of the person will be held by the high friction properties of the exposed section under the removable section 7.

In order to facilitate the removal of the sections, handles 17 are provided on the removable sections. In the illustrated example the removable sections 6, 7, 8 as well as the flaps 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 are kept in position by patches 18 of velcro. It is therefore very easy for personnel helping the person in the bed to change the surface characteristics of the support structure 5 by detaching and removing the appropriate sections according to which desired surface characteristics are wanted. In order to fasten the support structure around a mattress, a strap 19 is provided for keeping the support structure in firm engagement with the mattress. This is achieved by encircling the support structure and the strap around the entire mattress and keeping it tense by fastening the strap 19 to for example a velcro patch 20 arranged at an extremity of the support structure 5. More straps 19 can be arranged at appropriate intervals for maintaining the support structure in a smooth and secure engagement with the mattress in question.

Turning to fig. 3, a support structure according to the invention is illustrated where the central removable section 7 has been removed. The top layer of the removable sections

6 and 8 exhibit low friction characteristics whereas the exposed middle section 16 exhibits high friction characteristics. The section 12 on the underside of the removable section 7 also exhibits high friction characteristics. In this manner it is possible to elevate the support structure without having the person placed on said structure sliding in relation the support structure.

Fig. 4 illustrates in a schematic fashion how low friction characteristics in one direction 21 and high friction characteristics in a second direction 22 can be achieved. In the illustration the surface characteristics of the bottom layer 23 can for example be a traditionally woven material. This layer 23 will then exhibit very shallow ridges in two directions. The underside of the top layer 24 however, is woven in such manner, or has otherwise been provided with relatively deep ridges in one direction corresponding to the sliding direction 21. When sliding the layer 24 in relation to the layer 23 in the direction of the arrow 21 the two layers will only exhibit very low friction characteristics. Sliding in the other direction 22 however will create engagement between the relatively shallow ridges on the layer 23 and the relatively high ridges on the layer 24 and thereby create a high friction connection.

Fig. 5 illustrates how the invention can be applied to the transferral of a person from a bed 25 to a wheelchair 26. By placing a bridge member 27 between the bed 25 and the wheelchair 26, a firm support is provided. On top of the board 27 a cushion 29 is arranged and fastened by straps 28. The cushion 29 is in the shape of a hollow cylinder wherein the interior surface 30 is made from a low-friction material. When a person is placed on the cushion 29, it will be possible for him to slide on the cushion in that the low-friction surfaces 30 will slide against itself during the movement of the entire cushion from the position illustrated in fig. 5 into a position by rolling on itself adjacently to the wheelchair 26. In this manner it is possible to ease the movement for the person enduring the sliding movement from the bed 25 to the wheelchair 26.

Fig. 6 illustrates another embodiment of a cushion. This cushion 31 is especially suitable for attaching to a seat by means of straps 32 provided. The straps 32 are provided with buckles 33, 34 similar to those used in normal car safety belts. It is therefore very easy for a user to attach and detach the cushion around the back of the seat by engaging the two buckles in a manner known from regular safety belts and thereafter adjust the straps 32 by pulling on the strap end 35 in the same manner as adjusting safety belts. The cushion has a bottom layer 36 and a top layer 37. The mutually facing sides of the bottom layer 36 and top layer 37 respectively exhibit low friction characteristics in a direction illustrated by arrows 38 perpendicular to the normal seating position. In the direction of the normal seating position, i.e. perpendicular to the arrow 38, the two mutually facing layers 36, 37 exhibit high friction characteristics for example provided as explained above with reference to fig. 4. The handles 39 are provided such that a user can hold on to the top layer during the sliding movement.

With the cushion as illustrated in fig. 6, it is possible for a person to transfer for example from a wheelchair according to the principles explained with reference to fig. 5 onto a seat, for example a seat in an airplane, bus, train, or the like, and then, by using the characteristics of the cushion 31, with only a limited effort to position himself in the most appropriate way, for example in relation to the steering wheel, or in the most comfortable way with respect to an aeroplane seat.

Fig. 7 illustrates how a helper 40 by manipulating two straps 2 provided on the turning sheet 1 can move a person 41 lying in the bed in the direction of the arrow 42 by sliding the turning sheet 1 in relation to the support structure 5. Fig. 8 illustrates how the helper 40 by manipulating the two handles 3 of the turning sheet 1 is able to slide the person 41 lying on the turning sheet 1 in the direction of the arrow 43 in relation to the support structure 5.

It should then be evident from the illustrations in fig. 7 and fig. 8 that it is easy and possible for a single helper 40 to manoeuvre a person 41 in a bed into any desired position.

Fig. 9 illustrates how two helpers 44, 45 by using the system according to the invention can use the turning sheet 1 to turn the patient 41 while the other helper 45 folds away a removable section 7, for example to change the surface characteristics from low friction to high friction, as explained above, in order to be able to elevate the entire structure, such that the person 41 will be brought into a sitting position.

In most cases the persons requiring this kind of help will be confined to a bed for longer periods of times. Therefore the mattress 46 can advantageously be a pressure- reducing and -distributing mattress which is known per se. In this manner, the person lying in the bed will not experience the same degree of soreness arising due to a hard or excessively soft mattress, heat build-up will be alleviated by the ventilating properties of the support structure 5 as well as the turning sheet 1. With the built-in features to absorb and direct liquid away from the surface of both the turning sheet 1 and the support structure 5, incontinence problems will be lessened.

Instead of an extra helper, mechanised lifting means 47 can be used in order to engage the straps 2 when wanting to turn the person. This is illustrated in fig. 10. Apart from the mobile mechanical lifting means 47, the system, i.e. the entire construction of the underlying layers in the bed, the turning sheet, the support structure etc. is the same as described above. Also for elevating the person 41 in the bed, a lift, for example mounted in a ceiling (see fig. 11), or a lift comparable to the lift illustrated in fig. 10, can be used in order to engage the straps 3 of the turning sheet 1. In this manner, the single helper can gain access to the removable sections 6, 7, 8 of the support structure, and thereby change the surface characteristics as explained above. Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate a special feature provided in the support structure where a zipper or the like inside of the support structure gives access to a space in between the layers constituting the support structure.

As illustrated in fig. 12, this can be used to check the humidity and the temperature in the support structure in order to determine whether or not the person placed on the support structure has incontinence problems or if the temperature adjacent to the person's body is too high or too low.

In a special case, the space 48 is used in order to place an x-ray tray 49 such that a patient 41 needing to have x-ray done will not have to be taken out of the bed or in any other way manipulated once the person is placed on the support structure in a bed.

Fig. 14 illustrates a support structure corresponding to the support structure 5 described above with reference to fig. 2. The embodiment of the invention as illustrated in fig. 14 differs from the embodiment of the invention as explained with reference to fig. 2 in that a high friction zone 50 is arranged across the underlying layer. The underlying layer 51 will be exposed by removing the removable sections 6,7,8. The high friction section 50 is integral part of the underlying layer 51, but with the special characteristics that due to the friction characteristics of the layer 50, a person will not slide in relation to the support structure if the support structure is raised such that a person placed on the support structure is for example transferred from a lying position into a sitting position. Furthermore, the underlying layer 51 is made from a special fabric material which is elastic, watertight and breathable. Such a material may be bought from the Plastibert corporation of Belgium under trade name

Heavytex®. The high friction zone 50 may be provided in the form of a fabric comprising a polyurethane top section, for example of nylon, coated with a polyurethane or silicone layer in order to provide the high friction characteristics. By the construction of a support structure as illustrated in fig. 14 a number of advantages are achieved such as breathability in the support structure whereby the comfort of a user is improved due to the fact that it is possible to ventilate the entire structure. Furthermore, the watertight characteristics protect the underlying mattress such that should accidents happen, only the support structure needs to be removed and sanitised. The high friction zone furthermore provides the added conform that should the person placed on the support structure wish to be elevated into a sitting position, the movement of the bed structure will not cause the patient to slide in relation to the bed which under normal circumstances requires handling from helpers in order to replace the patient in the sitting position. Also the high friction zone 50 is provided in a position corresponding to the upper thighs such that for the more solid parts of the body i.e. the back and the lower of the back, ventilation will be available and thereby the added comfort corresponding to a ventilated support layer.

Above the principles, advantages, and features of the invention have been illustrated with reference to the specific examples relating to a cushion, transfer arrangement from bed to wheelchair, and the system used in a bed. There are however a number of other applications where the advantages of the present invention also may be utilised.

The different layers can be made from different materials and the skilled person will select the appropriate materials which fulfil the requirements and are available within his normal development process. The top layer can for example be a woven cotton material, and the upholstery placed underneath the top layer can for example be a fibre fill or, for ventilating purposes, be a cell structure with a woven net made from any suitable man-made fibre material. Also natural fibres which possess sufficient resiliency and internal strengthening integrity can be used for this purpose. The underside, i.e. the low-friction surfaces can be made from woven nylon or polypropylene, materials having a very smooth surface. This can for example be achieved with a polyurethene woven material having a nylon surfacing, for example as sold by Sagatex Industrier, Mossøen, Norway. The underside, i.e. the layer placed on the underside of the ventilation layer must have a very smooth underside and be made from an air-tight material such that the ventilation will be maintained within the ventilation layer and in this way create the optimum air ventilation through the net- shaped layer. The high-friction sections can be created by applying a silicone layer in these sections or any other suitable material.

Claims

1. Support structure, in particular for supporting a body during a sliding movement of said body, characterised in that the structure comprises multiple flexible fabric layers, and that at least two adjacent flexible layers can slide at least in one direction in relation to an adjacent layer, and that at least one other layer is constructed from a material allowing for ventilation through the support structure.

2. Support structure according to claim 1, characterised in that the ventilating layer is a woven net structure having a cell structure.

3. Support structure according to claim l or2characterised in that the structure from the top down at least comprises the following layers : a woven top cover; - a woven net structure having a cell structure; two layers having facing sides with low friction characteristics; a bottom cover.

4. Support structure according to claim 3characterised in that the two low friction surfaces only exhibits low friction characteristics in a first direction and high friction in a second direction substantially perpendicular to said first direction.

5. Support structure according to claim 3or4characterised in that between the top cover and the woven net structure a high friction layer is arranged, and that the top cover either in its entirety or section wise can be removed such that the high friction surface becomes exposed.

6. Support structure according to claim 3, 4or5characterised in that the bottom cover either on its entire exposed surface or on exposed sections has sections with high friction characteristics.

7. Support structure according to any preceding claim characterised in that an incontinence layer having liquid retaining properties is provided adjacent a top cover.

8. Support structure according to any preceding claim characterised in that the structure is in the shape of a cushion, and that straps are provided for fastening the structure to a seat, in particular a seat in a vehicle, such as a car, bus, train, aircraft or the like.

9. Support structure according to claim 8characterised in that the low friction characteristics are provided in a direction transverse to a seating orientation, and that the straps are provided on a free edge of said cushion parallel to said transverse direction.

10. Support structure according to claim δcharacterised in that the cushion is in the shape of a hollow cylinder, such that it can roll around itself.

11. Support structure according to any of claims l to7characterised in that the structure is in the shape of a thin mattress cover for a single or double bed, and that straps are provided in said structure, whereby it becomes possible to manipulate the structure, or manipulate removable sections, and that the entire structure as well as a person placed on said structure can be lifted off the bed in said straps.

12. Support structure according to claim llcharacterised in that the top layer of the mattress cover is in the shape of two or more removable sections, which exhibits low friction characteristics in any direction, and that the layer immediately below the top layer becomes exposed when one or more top layer sections are removed, and that the exposed layer at least in one direction exhibits high friction properties.

13. Support structure according to claims ll orl2characterised in that the cover is equipped with manipulating straps along edges, and that each removable section has two straps or more arranged along a side edge, and that further the removable sections are removably fixed to the cover structure, for example by buttons, Velcro or the like.

14. Support structure according to any of claims 11,12 or 13 c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that along the longitudinal edges of the cover longitudinal high friction secondary sections are arranged on top of the removable sections, and that said secondary sections only has a width in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of between 50 mm and 300 mm more preferred 100 mm and 200 mm and most preferred 150 mm, and that secondary handling means are arranged attached to each of the secondary sections.

15. Support structure according to claim l l or l2 c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that on the side of the removable sections facing the interior of the cover a high friction area is provided proximate the longitudinal edge of the cover.

16. System for manipulating and supporting a person comprising a support structure as set out in any of claims 1 to 15 and further comprising a turning sheet arranged on top of the support structure, said turning sheet comprising a woven top surface, a fibre filling or woven net structure facilitating ventilation of the turning sheet, and an unidirectional low friction woven bottom surface, allowing the sheet to slide in a transverse direction in relation to the longitudinal direction of the support structure.

17. System for manipulating and supporting a person according to claim lό c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that straps are provided in said turning sheet, whereby it becomes possible to manipulate the sheet, or manipulate removable sections, and that the entire sheet as well as a person placed on said sheet can be lifted off the bed in said straps.