Patent Grant
11090212
The present disclosure generally relates to neonatal care systems, and more specifically to neonatal care systems having an improved enclosure with a biasing device on a movable side panel.
Some neonates are not physiologically well enough developed to be able to survive without special medical attention. A frequently used medical aid for such infants is the incubator. The primary objective of the incubator is to provide an environment which will maintain the neonate at a minimum metabolic state thereby permitting as rapid physiological development as possible. Neonatal incubators create a microenvironment that is thermally neutral where a neonate can develop. These incubators typically include a humidifier and a heater and associated control system that controls the humidity and temperature in the neonatal microenvironment. The humidifier comprises a device that evaporates an evaporant, such as distilled water, to increase relative humidity of air within the neonatal microenvironment. The humidifier is typically controllable such that the amount of water, or water vapor, added to the microenvironment is adjustable in order to control the humidity to a desired value. The heater may be, for example, an air heater controllable to maintain the microenvironment area to a certain temperature. Radiant warmers may be used instead of incubators for some neonates where less environmental control is required. In still other embodiments, hybrid incubator/radiant warming systems may be utilized, various embodiments of which are well known in the art.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A neonatal incubator system includes a platform configured to support a neonate and an enclosure supported above the platform and configured to create a chamber around the neonate. The enclosure includes a movable side panel on a side of the enclosure openable to place the neonate on the platform enclosable to secure the neonate within the chamber. The enclosure also includes a latch engageable when the movable side panel is in a closed position and configured to maintain the movable side panel in the closed position, and also includes a biasing device configured to force the movable side panel away from the closed position when the latch is not engaged.
Another embodiment of a neonatal incubator system includes a platform configured to support a neonate and an enclosure supported above the platform and configured to create a chamber around the neonate. The enclosure includes a movable side panel openable to place the neonate on the platform enclosable to secure the neonate within the chamber 14. The enclosure further includes a latch that engages when the movable side panel is in a fully closed position and is configured to maintain the movable side panel in the fully closed position. The enclosure further includes a biasing device configured to force the movable side panel from a near-closed position to a fully closed position such that the latch engages.
Various other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.
The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the disclosure. In the drawings:
The inventors have recognized a problem with current incubator systems for neonatal care, which is that many incubator systems have side doors that can be propped up in such a way that it seems that the doors are latched when they are not. Having a door to an incubator in an upright, but unlatched position presents a risk that the door will be inadvertently opened and put a neonate at risk. For example, the neonate could fall out of the incubator if the door is accidentally opened, or the neonate may be insufficiently protected from impacts or from outside environmental conditions. While some incubator systems include indicators on latches to indicate when the latch is in a locked position, such indicators are often missed by caregivers who may inadvertently allow a door to remain unlatched while thinking and behaving as if the door is latched and thus securely closed.
Accordingly, the inventors have developed the current system that prevents a side panel, or door, of an incubator enclosure from remaining in a closed or near-closed position without the door being properly latched. The disclosed neonatal incubator system includes a biasing device on a movable side panel of the enclosure. The biasing device is configured to force the movable side panel into one of a fully closed position or into an open position where it will be clear to a caregiver that the door is not latched. In various embodiments, the biasing device may prevent the movable panel from staying in a near-closed, or intermediate position between fully open and fully closed, by making the door heavy at the top, by including a pair of magnets on the door and on the enclosure that attract or repel each other, by having a torsion spring on a hinge or joint of the panel that pushes the door open or closed, or by having a spring-loaded plunger that pushes on the panel. Various examples of biasing devices are disclosed herein. The disclosed system may incorporate one or more biasing devices simultaneously.
The depicted incubator system 1 includes a base 2 that supports a platform 16 configured for receiving and supporting a neonate. In the depicted embodiment, the base 2 includes a horizontal section comprising a pair of u-shaped horizontal members joined together and providing support for a vertical base member extending upward toward the platform 16. The base 2 may include wheels to provide for ready movement of the incubator system 1. A bassinet platform 16 is supported on the vertical base member, which may be a standard platform for supporting a neonate, such as configured to receive a removable mattress or other sleep surface.
The incubator system 1 includes an enclosure 10 defining a chamber 14 creating a microenvironment for housing a neonate. The enclosure 10 may be, for example, a transparent housing extending above the platform 16. The enclosure 10 creates and defines a chamber 14 providing a microenvironment, which is an area around the neonate where temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors can be controlled.
The enclosure 10 includes multiple side walls 11a-11d and a top portion 12. For example, the side walls 11a-11d and/or the top portion 12 of the enclosure 10 may be made of a transparent plastic material, as is standard in the relevant art. In various embodiments, the top portion 12 may be integrated with the side walls 11a-11d. In other embodiments, the top portion 12 may be separable from the side walls 11a-11d of the enclosure 10, as shown in
The enclosure 10 includes one or more movable side panels 18 on a side wall 11a-11d of the enclosure 10. The movable side panel 18 is openable to place a neonate on the platform 16 enclosable to secure the neonate within the chamber 14. The movable side panel may be only part of a side wall 11a-11d of the enclosure 10, or may comprise the entirety of the side wall 11a, 11c as shown in the depicted embodiments.
In
One or more latches are also provided to engage the movable side panel and maintain it in a closed position to secure the neonate within the chamber 14 of the incubator system 1. The latch 20 may be any device or set of devices capable of securing the movable side panel 18 in a close position, including withstanding at least a predefined amount of force that may push against the movable side panel 18, such as by the neonate and/or by elements within the chamber 14 provided as part of the neonatal care (monitors, medical devices, blankets, etc.). Various exemplary latches 20 are disclosed herein, some of which involve two portions, including a panel portion of the latch on the movable side panel and an enclosure portion of the latch connected to the enclosure, where the panel portion 20a of the latch and the enclosure portion 20b of the latch 20 are reciprocally designed to mate together in order to provide latching.
In various examples, the latch 20 may automatically engage when the movable side panel is in the fully closed position, or may require manual engagement by an operator. The latch 20 may have one or more movable portions that move into engagement, or may mate together via a friction fit. Non-limiting examples of the latch 20 may include a spring-loaded detent, a spring-loaded hook, or other spring-loaded element on one portion of the latch 20a, 20b that is received by and/or engages the opposing portion of the latch 20a, 20b. Other embodiments include a hook and eyelet, a clevis fastener, a lever, or other element that engages a recess, hole, protrusion, or other element on the opposing latch portion 20a, 20b. Various latching devices are known in the relevant art, such as latches 20 on existing incubator/warmer systems. Various latching devices and mechanisms may be appropriate for the embodiments shown herein, and the figures are merely provide examples of latches 20.
As discussed above, the inventors have recognized a problem with existing incubator systems, including incubator/warmer systems, where the door to the incubator can be in a closed but unsecured position where the door appears to be latched but is not. Accordingly, the inventors have developed the disclosed solution that includes a biasing device 40 on the movable side panel 18 configured to force the movable side panel 18 out of a position where it appears latched but is not. Namely, the biasing device 40 prevents the movable side panel 18 from being in a near-closed position or a fully closed position when one or more latches are not engaged. In various examples, the biasing device 40 may be incorporated in the latch 20 or in the hinge 24 associated with a movable side panel 18. In other embodiments, the biasing device 40 may be incorporated elsewhere on the movable side panel 18 and/or on the enclosure 10.
In various examples disclosed herein, the biasing device 40 is configured to force the movable side panel open, away from the closed position when the latch is not engaged. Thereby, the movable side panel 18 automatically opens unless the latch 20 is engaged. In other examples, the biasing device 40 is configured to force the movable side panel 18 into a fully closed position. In certain embodiments, the latch 20 may be configured to automatically engaged when the side panel 18 reaches the fully closed position, and thus the system is designed to force the movable side panel 18 to automatically close and latch, thus avoiding an unsafe situation where the door appears closed but is not latched.
In the depicted example, the latch 20 includes a panel portion 20a that is a rotatable lever 31 that engages a hole 32 in the enclosure portion 20b of the latch. In various embodiments, the lever 31 may automatically rotate or move to engage the hole 32, such as by a torsion spring. In other embodiments, the lever 31 may be manually rotatable or movable to engage the hole. In the other embodiments, the lever 31 may be provided on the enclosure portion 20b of the latch and may rotate to engage the movable side panel 18 or some portion thereon. In the example, the weight 41a is positioned on a top side 21 of the movable side panel 18 and is cantilevered outward away from the chamber 14. Thus, the weight 41a pulls the movable side panel 18 away from the closed position when the latch 20 is not engaged.
In the embodiment of
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In other embodiments where the biasing device 40 is configured to force to the movable side panel from a near-closed position into a fully closed position, the latch may not automatically engage. Instead, the biasing device 40, may provide enough force to maintain the door the in a fully closed position against at least a predetermined amount of force. This will help maintain the neonate in the chamber and avoid dangerous circumstances, even if the latch 20 is not engaged.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Certain terms have been used for brevity, clarity and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadly construed. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have features or structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent features or structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200345570 A1 | Nov 2020 | US |
