Patent Application
20140208519
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to non-powered and powered air mattresses primarily intended for hospitals, long-term care facilities and in-home use. Such air mattresses are designed to prevent or limit the creation of ulcers on the body of the patient during long periods of lying on the mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,224 to Gates describes a cushioning device comprising an envelope containing a fluid in which the envelope has a pressure relief valve and an intake valve to regulate the deformation of the envelope under the load and reformation of the envelope when the load is removed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,369 to Maier describes patient support surfaces that use different arrangements of air cylinders and static or dynamic performance thereof, either non-powered or powered. An external valve arrangement for a static non-powered embodiment permits practice of a “recharging” technique using an air pump and self-calibrated valve, to return the air pressure in static air cylinders to their original manufactured specifications. U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,386 to Balonick describes an air mattress comprising multiple foam layers and an air sector having multiple resilient foam filled air cylinders. The air cylinders, within a of a flexible fabric sleeve, may be filled with foam having different densities and multiple layers. Each air cylinder has an air inlet connected to the atmosphere by an inlet valve and an air outlet that may be restricted by an internal check valve or connected to a pump.
However, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,634,224 and 6,223,369, the patient on the mattress remains upon a deforming material such as foam, water or some other resilient support material at all times. To prevent or limit the creation of ulcers on the patient's body during long periods of lying on a mattress, the patient must be occasionally removed from the bed or deforming material. By alternating support of the patient on the mattress between deforming material and air, ulcers on the body of the patient can be prevented or limited. U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,386 allows for a pump to be used to pressurize the mattress and alternate support of the patient between deforming material and air, but the transition between pressurized and non-pressurized mattress may be abrupt. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a mattress that can subtly alternate support of a patient between a deforming material and air pressure.
The present invention improves upon U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,386 by comprising flexible air cylinders with an arched top and foam members within the air cylinders. Unlike the air cylinders in U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,386, which have a square cross section, the air cylinders with an arched top in the present invention can enclose a volume of air between the foam member and patient.
The present invention, an improvement to U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,386, is directed to the air cylinders of an air mattress that satisfies the need to alternate support of a patient between a deforming material such as foam and air in a subtle manner. The apparatus alternates support of a patient between a foam member and air in a subtle manner by incorporating an arched top into each air cylinder. When an air cylinder with an arched top is inflated with air, the arched top will slowly expand and enclose a volume of air above the foam member within the air cylinder. Because the arched top allows for a volume of air to be enclosed above the foam member, the portion of the patient above the particular cylinder being filled with air will be gently elevated above the foam member. This improved air cylinder allows for the alternating of patient support on the mattress between deforming material and air.
The present invention, an improvement to U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,386, is directed to the air cylinders of air mattresses primarily intended for hospitals, long-term care facilities and in-home use.
When the air mattress 10 is not connected to a pump, the output valve 36 releases air when a pre-determined pressure level is exceeded, allowing a patient to slowly settle into the mattress 10. When the air mattress 10 is connected to a pump and pressure to the flexible air cylinders 18a is increased, the area above the foam member 19 enclosed by the arched top inflates with air. The arched top of each flexible air cylinder 18a can retain a volume of air with enough pressure to lift the portion of the patient's body above that flexible air cylinder away from the resilient foam member 19. The mattress 10 is capable of being operated in an alternating pressure cycle with the present invention. With an alternating pressure cycle, one set of flexible air cylinders 18a may be pressurized while other flexible air cylinders 18a are allowed to evacuate air and become depressurized.
All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claim, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.
This patent application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 61/757,702 filed on Jan. 28, 2013.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61757702 | Jan 2013 | US |
