Patient support appliances
First Claim
1. A patient support appliance comprising:
- (a) a base providing a substantially flat, obstruction free surface;
(b) a plurality of inflatable air sacs mounted on the base and extending transversely thereof so as to provide when inflated, a surface for supporting a person thereon;
(c) said base being divided into sections lengthwise of the appliance, some of said sections being mutually articulated, and said air sacs being arranged in groups corresponding to said sections;
(d) an air blower for supplying air to said sacs which blower is mounted beneath said base;
(e) a main air supply conduit for feeding air from the blower to a distribution chamber and individual air supply tubes, each leading from the distribution chamber to one of said groups of sacs;
(f) individual pressure regulating valves to regulate individually the pressure of air in said air supply tubes so that the pressure in each group of sacs can be regulated independently of the others;
(g) means for switching said valves between a first configuration in which they are simultaneously in their substantially fully open position and a second configuration in which they are independently controllable to different openings; and
,(h) means for exhausting air rapidly from the distribution chamber whereby the sacs may be quickly deflated.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A patient support appliance is provided of the kind formed from a plurality of inflatable air sacs, mounted on an articulating base and extending transversely of the base so as to provide, when inflated, a surface for supporting a person thereon. The base is divided into sections lengthwise of the appliance and the air sacs arranged in groups corresponding to said sections. An airblower for supplying air to the sacs is suspended from said base or mounted on a supporting frame. Air from the blower is fed to the appliance by a main air supplying conduit via a distribution chamber and individual air supply tubes lead from the distribution chamber to the groups of sacs. Pressure regulating valves are provided to regulate individually the pressure of air in the air supply tubes so that the pressure of air in each group can be regulated independently of the others. Means are provided for exhausting air rapidly from the distribution chamber, e.g. by opening a plate covering a hole in the chamber, whereby the sacs may be quickly deflated, e.g. for an emergency or other nursing procedures.
122 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A patient support appliance comprising:
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(a) a base providing a substantially flat, obstruction free surface; (b) a plurality of inflatable air sacs mounted on the base and extending transversely thereof so as to provide when inflated, a surface for supporting a person thereon; (c) said base being divided into sections lengthwise of the appliance, some of said sections being mutually articulated, and said air sacs being arranged in groups corresponding to said sections; (d) an air blower for supplying air to said sacs which blower is mounted beneath said base; (e) a main air supply conduit for feeding air from the blower to a distribution chamber and individual air supply tubes, each leading from the distribution chamber to one of said groups of sacs; (f) individual pressure regulating valves to regulate individually the pressure of air in said air supply tubes so that the pressure in each group of sacs can be regulated independently of the others; (g) means for switching said valves between a first configuration in which they are simultaneously in their substantially fully open position and a second configuration in which they are independently controllable to different openings; and
,(h) means for exhausting air rapidly from the distribution chamber whereby the sacs may be quickly deflated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A patient support appliance comprising:
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(a) a base providing a substantially flat, obstruction free surface; (b) a plurality of inflatable air sacs mounted on the base and extending transversely of thereof so as to provide when inflated, a surface for supporting a person thereon; (c) said base being divided into sections lengthwise of the appliance, some of said sections being mutually articulated and said air sacs being arranged in groups corresponding to said sections; (d) an air blower for supplying air to said sacs which blower is mounted beneath said base; (e) a main air supply conduit for distributiong air from said blower to said sections and individual air supply tubes leading from the main air supply conduit to one of said groups of sacs; (f) pressure regulating valves located in each section to regulate individually the pressure supplied to the sacs in each section; (g) means for switching said valves between a first configuration in which they are simultaneously in their substantially fully open position and a second configuration in which they are independently controllable to different openings; and
,(h) means for exhausting air rapidly from the main air supply conduit whereby the sacs may be quickly deflated. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A patient support appliance comprising:
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(a) a base providing a substantially flat, obstruction free surface; (b) a plurality of inflatable air sacs mounted on the base and extending transversely thereof so as to provide, when inflated, a surface for supporting a person thereon; (c) said base being divided into sections lengthwise of the appliance, some of said sections being mutually articulated, and said air sacs being arranged in groups corresponding to said sections; (d) an air blower for supplying air to said sacs which blower is mounted beneath said base; (e) a main air supply conduit for feeding air from the blower to a distribution chamber and individual air supply tubes, each leading from the distribution chamber to one of said groups of sacs; (f) individual pressure regulating valves to regulate individually the pressure of air in said air supply tubes so that the pressure in each group of sacs can be regulated independently of the others; (g) means for switching said valves between a first configuration in which they are simultaneously in their substantially fully open position and a second configuration in which they are independently controlable to different openings; and
,(h) air dumping means for exhausting air rapidly from the sacs in an emergency, said air dumping means comprising an opening in said chamber which is normally covered by a plate, said plate being movable to expose the opening and dump air from the chamber.
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Specification