Claims
- 1. A patient support system comprising:
- a mattress for supporting a patient lying thereon, said mattress comprising a plurality of sets of inflatable bladders, a first set comprising at least one bladder and being associated with a first body part supportable substantially by said first set when the bladders in said first set are maintained at a first pressure and supportable substantially by adjacent sets when the bladders in the set are maintained at a second pressure substantially less than the pressure in the bladders of the adjacent sets;
- means for supporting said mattress above a floor;
- means for applying fluid to said bladders at said first and second pressures; and
- control means for controlling the application of said pressures selectively at said first and second pressures for first and second periods of time, respectively, such that said first body part is alternately supported substantially directly on said first set of bladders and supported substantially indirectly by adjacent body parts supported on other sets of bladders, said control means further comprising means for sensing the pressure in each bladder set and said fluid-applying means includes a source for providing fluid at both a minimum pressure less than said second pressure and a maximum pressure and valve means in fluid communication with said fluid source and with associated bladder sets and controllable for selectively applying the maximum and minimum pressures to said associated bladder sets, said control means being responsive to pressures sensed by said sensing means for controlling operation of said valve means appropriate for maintaining said associated bladder sets at the selected first and second pressures.
- 2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said fluid-applying means further comprises conduit means providing fluid communication between said valve means and said associated bladder sets; and said valve means further comprises aperture means movable selectively for communication between said pressure fluid source and different ones of said sets of bladders.
- 3. A system according to claim 2 wherein said aperture means is positionable for communication between at least one of said bladder sets and, alternatively, said minimum and maximum pressure sources.
- 4. A system according to claim 3 wherein said aperture means includes an initial core disposed for rotation about an axis of rotation and at least two apertures extending through said core for rotation about said axis of rotation, one of said apertures being for communicating between a first of said bladder sets and said maximum pressure source and the second of said apertures being for communicating between said first bladder set and said minimum pressure source.
- 5. A system according to claim 4 wherein said initial core is replaceable with a substitute core for providing simultaneous communication between said minimum and maximum pressure sources and a different number of said bladder sets than that of said initial core.
- 6. A system according to claim 4 wherein said core further comprises a third aperture for communicating between a second of said bladder sets and said maximum pressure source, and a fourth aperture for communicating between said second bladder set and said minimum pressure source.
- 7. A system according to claim 6 wherein said aperture means further comprises a sleeve surrounding said core and having openings providing communication between said apertures and said bladder sets and pressure sources, respectively.
- 8. A system according to claim 7 wherein said initial core and sleeve are replaceable with a substitute core and sleeve for providing simultaneous communication between said minimum and maximum pressure sources and a different number of said bladder sets than that of said initial core.
- 9. A system according to claim 7 wherein said core and sleeve are disposed so that only one of said apertures provides communication between one of said bladder sets and one of said pressure sources at a time.
- 10. A system according to claim 1 further comprising a bed platform for supporting said mattress, and wherein said fluid-applying means further comprises conduit means providing fluid communication between said valve means and said associated bladder sets and comprises at least one closed channel extending through said platform and having an inlet communicating with said valve means and an outlet communicating with said bladder set.
- 11. A system according to claim 10 wherein said platform further comprises a plurality of panels coupled together serially, said panels including at least two panels being interchangeable and each of said interchangeable panels has one of said closed channels extending through it.
- 12. A system according to claim 10 wherein said channel inlet provides communication with both said minimum and maximum sources.
- 13. A system according to claim 10 wherein said conduit means includes a plurality of said channels associated with said valve means, and said valve means further comprises aperture means movable for providing communication with different ones of said channels.
- 14. A system according to claim 13 wherein said aperture means is positionable for providing communication with a plurality of said channels.
- 15. A system according to claim 14 wherein said plurality of channels further comprises a plurality of outlets associated with each channel, at least one of said outlets providing communication between a plurality of said channels.
- 16. A patient support system comprising:
- a mattress for supporting a patient lying thereon, said mattress comprising a plurality of sets of inflatable bladders, a first set comprising at least one bladder and being associated with a first body part supportable substantially by said first set when the bladders in said first set are maintained at a first pressure and supportable substantially by adjacent sets when the bladders in the set are maintained at a second pressure substantially less than the pressure in the bladders of the adjacent sets;
- means for supporting said mattress above a floor;
- means for applying fluid to said bladders at said first and second pressures, said fluid-applying means comprising a plurality of valve means disposed serially along said mattress and manifold means for conveying said pressurized fluid to each of said valve means serially; and
- control means for controlling the application of said pressures selectively at said first and second pressures for first and second periods of time, respectively, such that said first body part is alternately supported substantially directed on said first set of bladders and supported substantially indirectly by adjacent body parts supported on other sets of bladders.
- 17. A system according to claim 16 wherein said fluid-applying means further comprises a plurality of valve means disposed laterally of said series-connected valve means, and wherein said manifold means comprises junction means for providing fluid passage therethrough between serially adjacent valve means and therefrom to said laterally disposed valve means.
- 18. A system according to claim 17 wherein said manifold means includes a plurality of said junction means disposed along said series of valve means.
- 19. A system according to claim 18 wherein said platform further comprises a plurality of panels coupled serially, said panels including at least two panels being interchangeable and each of said interchangeable panels has one of said junction means disposed on it, a plurality of said valve means disposed on it in operative associated with said junction means, and at least one of said closed channels extending through it for each of said valve means disposed on it.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/511,842 filed Apr. 20, 1990, and issued on Jun. 18, 1991 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,967, which, in turn, is a continuation of Application Ser. No. 07/172,264 filed Mar. 23, 1988, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
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511842 |
Apr 1990 |
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Continuations (1)
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172264 |
Mar 1988 |
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