Claims
- 1. A mattress structure comprising:a plurality of side-by-side lower support elements, a layer of material underlying the lower support elements, a plurality of side-by-side upper support elements overlying and being supported by the lower support elements, and a plurality of tethers, each tether connecting a respective one of the upper support elements to the layer of material, each tether extending between a respective pair of the lower support elements.
- 2. The mattress structure of claim 1, wherein the lower support elements are elongated, the upper support elements are elongated, and the upper support elements are arranged in substantially parallel relation with the lower support elements.
- 3. The mattress structure of claim 2, wherein each of the upper support elements is an inflatable air bladder.
- 4. The mattress structure of claim 3, wherein each air bladder has an elongated central axis and each tether includes a portion extending vertically beneath the elongated central axis.
- 5. The mattress structure of claim 3, wherein each air bladder is supported by a respective pair of the lower support elements so that approximately half of each air bladder is supported by a respective one of the lower support elements.
- 6. The mattress structure of claim 3, wherein each of the lower support elements is a foam block.
- 7. The mattress structure of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sleeves, each lower support element being received in an interior region of the respective sleeve, and each tether extending between a respective pair of the sleeves.
- 8. The mattress structure of claim 7, wherein each sleeve is anchored to the layer of material.
- 9. The mattress structure of claim 8, wherein each sleeve is made of an anti-friction shear material.
- 10. The mattress structure of claim 7, wherein each sleeve is made of an anti-friction shear material.
- 11. The mattress structure of claim 10, wherein each tether is made of an anti-friction shear material.
- 12. The mattress structure of claim 1, further comprising a cover enclosing the plurality of side-by-side lower support elements and the plurality of side-by-side upper support elements, the cover having a bottom surface and a strap having two spaced apart free ends and a middle portion between the free ends connected to the bottom surface, the lower and upper support elements being configured to allow the mattress structure to be folded so that the free ends of the strap may be coupled together.
- 13. The mattress structure of claim 12, further comprising a buckle having a first buckle half and a second buckle half, the first and second buckle halves being attached to the strap, the first buckle half being coupled to the strap for movement relative to the second buckle half to adjust an effective length of the strap.
- 14. The mattress structure of claim 1, further comprising a cover enclosing the plurality of side-by-side lower support elements and the plurality of side-by-side upper support elements, the cover having a bottom surface and an anti-skid pad coupled to the bottom surface.
- 15. A mattress structure having longitudinally spaced-apart ends and transversely spaced-apart sides, the mattress structure comprising:a plurality of foam blocks arranged in side-by-side relation between the ends of the mattress structure, each foam block extending transversely between the sides of the mattress structure, a layer of material underlying the foam blocks, the layer of material extending between the sides of the mattress structure and between the ends of the mattress structure, a plurality of inflatable air bladders overlying and being supported by the foam blocks, the air bladders being arranged in side-by-side relation between the ends of the mattress structure, each air bladder extending transversely between the sides of the mattress structure, and a plurality of tethers, each tether connecting a respective one of the air bladders to the layer of material, and each tether including a portion positioned to lie between a respective pair of adjacent foam blocks.
- 16. The mattress structure of claim 15, further comprising a plurality of sleeves, each sleeve including an interior region configured to receive a respective one of the foam blocks, each sleeve being fastened to the layer of material, and the portion of each tether positioned to lie between a respective pair of adjacent foam blocks also being positioned to lie between a respective pair of adjacent sleeves.
- 17. The mattress structure of claim 16, wherein each tether is a sheet of material and each of the adjacent sleeves contacts the sheet of material.
- 18. The mattress structure of claim 17, wherein each tether is made of a shear material having a low coefficient of friction and each sleeve is made of a shear material having a low coefficient of friction.
- 19. The mattress structure of claim 17, wherein each sleeve is RF welded to the layer of material and each tether is RF welded to the layer of material.
- 20. The mattress structure of claim 17, wherein each adjacent pair of foam blocks defines a vertical reference plane therebetween and the portion of each tether positioned to lie between a respective pair of adjacent foam blocks and adjacent sleeves is positioned to lie in the vertical reference plane.
- 21. The mattress structure of claim 16, wherein each foam block includes two ends spaced apart by a block length and four sides extending along the block length between the two ends and each sleeve has a sleeve length that is substantially equivalent to the block length so that each sleeve completely surrounds the four sides of the foam block received in the interior region of the respective sleeve.
- 22. The mattress structure of claim 21, wherein each air bladder includes two ends spaced apart by a bladder length and each tether has a tether length that is substantially equivalent to the bladder length.
- 23. The mattress structure of claim 15, wherein each adjacent pair of foam blocks defines a vertical reference plane therebetween, each air bladder has a transversely extending central axis, and the air bladders are arranged above the foam blocks so that each vertical reference plane extends through the central axis of a respective air bladder.
- 24. The mattress structure of claim 15, wherein each foam blocks is comprised of at least two foam portions having non-equivalent ILD values.
- 25. The mattress structure of claim 24, wherein each foam block includes a central portion and end portions appended to the central portion and the end portions are stiffer than the central portion.
- 26. The mattress structure of claim 25, wherein the central portion of each foam block has an ILD of about seventeen and the end portions of each foam block have an ILD of about forty-one.
- 27. The mattress structure of claim 15, wherein each air bladder includes two transversely spaced-apart ends and each end is formed to include an aperture and further comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending header tubes, each header tube being formed to include a number of apertures, and each header tube being coupled to a set of the plurality of air bladders so that the header tube is fluidly coupled to the set of air bladders through the number of apertures of the header tube and through the apertures of the respective ends of the air bladders.
- 28. The mattress structure of claim 27, wherein each foam block includes a central portion and end portions appended to the central portion, the end portions are stiffer than the central portion, and the header tubes are supported by the end portions of the foam blocks.
- 29. A modular mattress system comprising:a mattress including a first air bladder and a second air bladder, a compressor having an outlet, a manifold including a main passage having an inlet coupled to the outlet of the compressor and a vent coupled to the atmosphere at a vent port, a first passage fluidly coupled to the first air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a first port, and a second passage fluidly coupled to the second air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a second port, a first valve normally closing the first port and movable to open the first port, a second valve normally closing the second port and movable to open the second port, a vent valve normally closing the vent port and movable to open the vent port, a first actuator coupled to the first valve and actuatable to move the first valve, a second actuator coupled to the second valve and actuatable to move the second valve, a vent actuator coupled to the vent valve and actuatable to move the vent valve, a first pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the first air bladder, a second pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the second air bladder, and a microprocessor coupled to the first and second pressure sensors to receive input signals therefrom, coupled to the first, second, and vent actuators to send output signals thereto, and coupled to the compressor to send control signals thereto, the microprocessor being configured to alternately respond to the input signals from the first and second pressure sensors, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open the first port and run the compressor if the input signal from the first pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the first air bladder is below a first predetermined level so that the first air bladder is further pressurized, the second port remaining closed by the second valve while the first port is opened, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open both the first port and the vent port and turn off the compressor if the input signal from the first pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the first air bladder is above the first predetermined level so that air flows from the first air bladder to the atmosphere, the second port remaining closed by the second valve while the first port and the vent port are opened, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open the second port and run the compressor if the input signal from the second pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the second air bladder is below a second predetermined level so that the second air bladder is further pressurized, the first port remaining closed by the first valve while the second port is opened, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open both the second port and the vent port and to turn off the compressor if the input signal from the second pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the second air bladder is above the second predetermined level so that air flows from the second air bladder to the atmosphere, the first port remaining closed by the first valve while the second port and the vent port are opened.
- 30. The modular mattress system of claim 29, wherein each of the first, second, and vent actuators are stepper motors.
- 31. The modular mattress system of claim 30, wherein the first, second, and vent valves each include a tapered tip and movement of the tapered tips of the first, second, and vent valves relative to the respective first, second, and vent ports adjusts the size of an opening defined between the tapered tips of the first, second, and vent valves and the respective first, second, and vent ports.
- 32. The modular mattress system of claim 31, wherein the microprocessor sends output signals to adjust the position of the tips of the first valve and the vent valve based upon the amount that pressure in the first air bladder deviates from the first predetermined pressure and the microprocessor sends output signals to adjust the position of the tips of the second valve and the vent valve based upon the amount that pressure in the second air bladder deviates from the second predetermined pressure.
- 33. The modular mattress system of claim 31, wherein the stepper motors are each operable to adjust the position of the respective tapered tips through more than one hundred steps between a fully opened position and a fully closed position.
- 34. The modular mattress system of claim 29, further comprising a support level selector coupled to the microprocessor, the support level selector being configured to provide a level signal to the microprocessor based upon a support level selected by a user, and the first and second predetermined pressure levels being established based upon the level signal.
- 35. The modular mattress system of claim 34, further comprising indicia for indicating to the user the support level selected.
- 36. The modular mattress system of claim 35, wherein the indicia includes a label containing a plurality of weight ranges printed thereon, the indicia includes a plurality of indicators, each indicator is adjacent to a respective weight range, and the indicators indicate which support level is selected.
- 37. The modular mattress system of claim 34, wherein each of the support levels corresponds to a weight range and the first and second predetermined pressure levels increase as the weight range increases.
- 38. A modular mattress system comprising:a mattress including a plurality of inflatable air bladders sets, and an air bladder inflation system including a compressor, a plurality of pressure sensors, each pressure sensor being responsive to the pressure in an associated air bladder set, and a bladder set selector that receives a pressure signal from each of the pressure sensors, the bladder set selector being responsive to only one pressure signal at a time, the bladder set selector fluidly coupling a selected one of the air bladder sets to the compressor and operating the compressor to increase the pressure in the selected air bladder set if the respective pressure sensor indicates that the pressure in the selected air bladder set is below a predetermined level, and the bladder set selector coupling the selected air bladder set to the atmosphere to allow fluid to bleed from the selected air bladder set to the atmosphere if the respective pressure sensor indicates that the pressure in the selected air bladder set is above a predetermined level, each of the unselected air bladder sets remaining fluidly decoupled from the compressor and fluidly decoupled from the atmosphere, the bladder set selector selecting each of the air bladder sets in a cyclical manner.
- 39. The mattress structure of claim 38, wherein the bladder set selector includes a manifold having a main passage coupled to the compressor and coupled to the atmosphere at a vent port, the manifold includes a plurality of bladder passages coupled to the main passage at respective bladder ports and coupled to respective air bladder sets, a vent valve movable to open and close the vent port, a plurality of bladder valves movable to open and close respective bladder ports, a plurality of actuators coupled to respective bladder valves and the vent valve, and a microprocessor that receives signals from the pressure sensors and sends signals to the actuators.
- 40. The mattress structure of claim 39, wherein the manifold is a block having a flat outer surface, the main passage and the bladder passages are formed in the block, the vent valve and the plurality of bladder valves are positioned to lie inside the block, and the actuators are mounted on the flat outer surface of the block.
- 41. A mattress structure having longitudinally spaced-apart ends and transversely spaced-apart sides, the mattress structure comprising:a foot zone configured to support the feet of a patient, the foot zone including a pair of header bladders along the sides of the mattress structure and a plurality of air bladders extending between the header bladders, the header bladders and air bladders each having an interior region that receives pressurized air, an air pressure system coupled to the header bladders and air bladders and configured to control pressure within the header bladders and air bladders, and a first connector tube fluidly coupling at least two of the air bladders together so that pressure in the interior region of at least two air bladders is maintainable at a pressure different than a pressure in the interior region of at least one of the header bladders, at least a portion of the connector tube being positioned to lie in the interior region of one of the header bladders.
- 42. The mattress structure of claim 41, wherein the at least two air bladders fluidly coupled together by the first connector tube provide the foot zone with a first heel-relief zone and further comprising a second connector tube fluidly coupling at least two of the air bladders together so that pressure in the interior region of the air bladders fluidly coupled together by the second connector tube is maintainable at a pressure different than a pressure in the interior region of at least one of the header bladders and different than a pressure in the air bladders of the first heel-relief zone.
- 43. The mattress structure of claim 42, wherein the at least two air bladders fluidly coupled together by the second connector tube provide the foot zone with a second heel-relief zone and further comprising a third connector tube fluidly coupling at least two of the air bladders together so that pressure in the interior region of the air bladders fluidly coupled together by the third connector tube is maintainable at a pressure different than a pressure in the interior region of at least one of the header bladders and different than a pressure in each of the air bladders of the first and second heel-relief zones.
- 44. The mattress structure of claim 43, wherein the at least two air bladders fluidly coupled together by the third connector tube provide the foot zone with a third heel-relief zone, the air bladders of each of the first, second, and third heel-relief zones extend transversely between the header bladders, and the first, second, and third heel-relief zones are adjacent to one another so as to provide heel relief for patients having different heights.
- 45. The mattress structure of claim 43, wherein the at least two air bladders fluidly coupled together by the third connector tube provide the foot zone with a third heel-relief zone, the air pressure system is coupled to each of the first, second, and third heel relief zones so as to adjust and maintain pressure within each of the first, second, and third heel-relief zones separately.
- 46. The mattress structure of claim 43, wherein the second connector tube and the third connector tube each include at least a portion positioned to lie in the interior region of at least one header bladder.
- 47. The mattress structure of claim 42, wherein the at least two air bladders fluidly coupled together by the second connector tube provide the foot zone with a second heel-relief zone, the air bladders of each of the first and second heel-relief zones extend transversely between the header bladders, and the first and second heel-relief zones are adjacent to one another so as to provide heel relief for patients having different heights.
- 48. The mattress structure of claim 42, wherein the at least two air bladders fluidly coupled together by the second connector tube provide the foot zone with a second heel-relief zone, the air pressure system is coupled to the first and second heel-relief zones so as to adjust and maintain pressure within the first heel-relief zone separately from the second heel-relief zone.
- 49. The mattress structure of claim 41, wherein each header bladder includes a side wall and a pair of end walls appended to the side wall, each air bladder includes a side wall and a pair of end walls appended to the side wall, and a vertical height of the side wall of each header bladder is substantially equivalent to a vertical height of the side wall of each air bladder when the header bladders and air bladders are pressurized to substantially equivalent pressures.
- 50. The mattress structure of claim 41, wherein the interior region of at least one air bladder is fluidly coupled to the interior regions of both header bladders.
- 51. A mattress structure having longitudinally spaced-apart ends and transversely spaced-apart sides, the mattress structure comprising:a first zone including a plurality of air bladders and a plurality of foam elements, the air bladders overlying the foam elements and being supported thereby, and a second zone including a plurality of upper air bladders and a plurality of lower air bladders, the upper air bladders overlying the lower air bladders and being supported thereby, each of the upper and lower air bladders including an interior region, the interior regions of the upper air bladders being fluidly coupled to the interior regions of the lower air bladders, and an air pressure system coupled to the air bladders of the first zone and coupled to the upper and lower air bladders of the second zone, the air pressure system being operable to maintain pressure in the air bladders of the first zone at a first pressure level and to maintain pressure in the upper and lower air bladders of the second zone at a second pressure level.
- 52. The mattress structure of claim 51, wherein the majority of the foam elements each have a substantially equivalent vertical height and each lower air bladder has a vertical height that is substantially equivalent to the vertical height of the foam elements.
- 53. The mattress structure of claim 52, wherein the air bladders of the first zone each have a substantially equivalent vertical height and each upper air bladder has a vertical height that is substantially equivalent to the vertical height of the air bladders of the first zone.
- 54. A modular mattress system comprising:a mattress including a first air bladder and a second air bladder, a compressor having an outlet, a manifold including a main passage having an inlet coupled to the outlet of the compressor and a vent coupled to the atmosphere at a vent port, a first passage fluidly coupled to the first air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a first port, and a second passage fluidly coupled to the second air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a second port, the first passage includes a first tube and the second passage includes a second tube and said first and second tube are contiguously connected over a substantial length of the first and second tubes to form a tube ribbon, a first valve normally closing the first port and movable to open the first port, a second valve normally closing the second port and movable to open the second port, a vent valve normally closing the vent port and movable to open the vent port, a first actuator coupled to the first valve and actuatable to move the first valve, a second actuator coupled to the second valve and actuatable to move the second valve, a vent actuator coupled to the vent valve and actuatable to move the vent valve, a first pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the first air bladder, and a second pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the second air bladder.
- 55. The modular mattress of claim 54, wherein the first passage includes a first tube decouplable from the remainder of the first passage and the second passage includes a second tube decouplable from the remainder of the second passage.
- 56. The modular mattress of claim 55, further comprising a housing enclosing the manifold, a first internal passage, a second internal passage, a first connector extending between the interior and exterior of the housing and being internally connected to the first internal passage and externally connected to the first tube and a second connector.
- 57. A mattress structure comprising:a plurality of side-by-side lower support elements, a plurality of side-by-side upper support elements overlying and being supported by the lower support elements, and a cover enclosing the plurality of side-by-side lower support elements and the plurality of side-by-side upper support elements, the cover having a bottom surface and a strap having two spaced apart free ends and a middle portion between the free ends connected to the bottom surface, the lower and upper support elements being configured to allow the mattress structure to be folded so that the free ends of the strap may be coupled together.
- 58. The mattress structure of claim 57, wherein the lower support elements are elongated, the upper support elements are elongated, and the upper support elements are arranged in substantially parallel relation with the lower support elements.
- 59. The mattress structure of claim 57, further comprising a buckle having a first buckle half and a second buckle half, the first and second buckle halves being attached to the strap, the first buckle half being coupled to the strap for movement relative to the second buckle half to adjust an effective length of the strap.
- 60. The mattress structure of claim 57, further comprising an anti-skid pad coupled to the bottom surface of the cover.
- 61. A connector apparatus configured to couple a mattress including a plurality of inflatable air bladders to an air bladder inflation system including an air supply, the connector apparatus comprising:a first set of connectors coupled to the air supply, the first set of connectors being coupled to a first body portion; a plurality of air supply tubes, at least one air supply tube being coupled to each of the plurality of air bladders; and a second set of connectors coupled to the air supply tubes, the second set of connectors being coupled to a second body portion, the first and second sets of connectors being in alignment with each other to permit substantially simultaneous coupling of the first and second sets of connectors, a plurality of pressure sensors, each pressure sensor being responsive to the pressure in an associated air bladder, and wherein the connector apparatus includes a third set of connectors coupled to the pressure sensors, the first and third sets of connectors being coupled to the first body portion, a plurality of pressure tubes, at least one pressure tube being coupled to each of the plurality of air bladders, and a fourth set of connectors coupled to the pressure tubes, the second and fourth sets of connectors being coupled to the second body portion, the third and fourth sets of connectors also being in alignment with each other to permit substantially simultaneous coupling of both the first set of connectors with the second set of connectors and the third set of connectors with the forth set of connectors.
- 62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the air bladder inflation system further includes a manifold having a main passage coupled to the air supply and coupled to the atmosphere at a vent port, the manifold including a plurality of bladder passages coupled to the main passage at respective bladder ports and coupled to the first set of connectors.
- 63. The apparatus of claim 62, further comprising a vent valve movable to open and close the vent port, a plurality of bladder valves movable to open and close respective bladder ports, and a plurality of actuators coupled to respective bladder valves and the vent valve.
- 64. The apparatus of claim 61, further comprising a latch configured to secure, the first and second bodies together.
- 65. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein the latch is coupled to one of the sets of connectors.
- 66. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the air bladder inflation system includes a housing surrounding the air supply and the plurality of pressure sensors, the first body portion being coupled to the housing.
- 67. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the first and second sets of connectors are unequally spaced on the first body portion and the third and fourth sets of connectors are unequally spaced on the second body portion so that the connectors can only being coupled together in a single orientation.
- 68. The connector apparatus of claim 61, wherein the first set of connectors are coupled to the first body portion and the second set of connectors are coupled to the second body portion so that the first and second set of connectors can only be coupled together in a single orientation.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/080,087 filed Mar. 31, 1998, now expired and U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/105,374 filed Oct. 23, 1998, now expired.
US Referenced Citations (38)
Provisional Applications (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/080087 |
Mar 1998 |
US |
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60/105374 |
Oct 1998 |
US |