Vacuum/heat formed cushion with pyramidal, inflatable cells
First Claim
1. An inflatable cushion comprising:
- a flexible, gas impervious bottom wall;
a preformed, flexible, gas impervious top sheet formed with a plurality of air cells;
each air cell having a lower portion and an upper portion extending above the lower portion, the lower portion having a generally cubical shape defined by four generally vertical interconnected side walls each having a bottom edge and a top edge, the upper portion of each air cell being defined by four substantially triangular panels which incline upwardly from the lower portion of the air cell and meet in an apex, giving the upper portion a generally pyramidal shape extending upwardly from the top edges of the side walls to an apex of the air cell;
air-tight seals attaching the top sheet to the bottom wall along the bottom edges of the air cell side walls, the air cells being inflatable to support an exterior load thereon;
the side walls of each air cell being spaced laterally from the side walls of adjacent air cells when the air cells are not inflated, but being positioned sufficiently close to the side walls of adjacent air cells to distend and contact the side walls of adjacent air cells when the air cells are inflated and not subjected to an exterior load.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vacuum or heat formed cushion having upstanding cells of thin (15-40 mil) wall thickness and having rectangular body sections with upwardly inclined (10°-40°) triangular top panels. The cushions can be attached together to form a mattress or used individually as a wheelchair or other chair or back cushion. The cells of the cushion can all be interconnected or the cushion can be divided in two or more independently inflated compartments. A special wheelchair cushion has cells of different shapes, sizes and heights to promote positioning of a user on a wheelchair.
The cushion has openings through the base to allow it to be placed on a manifold so that body fluids can drain away from the patient and conditioned air can be supplied to the patient.
The top surfaces of the cells are textured to prevent sealing off the pores of the user'"'"'s skin.
241 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An inflatable cushion comprising:
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a flexible, gas impervious bottom wall; a preformed, flexible, gas impervious top sheet formed with a plurality of air cells; each air cell having a lower portion and an upper portion extending above the lower portion, the lower portion having a generally cubical shape defined by four generally vertical interconnected side walls each having a bottom edge and a top edge, the upper portion of each air cell being defined by four substantially triangular panels which incline upwardly from the lower portion of the air cell and meet in an apex, giving the upper portion a generally pyramidal shape extending upwardly from the top edges of the side walls to an apex of the air cell; air-tight seals attaching the top sheet to the bottom wall along the bottom edges of the air cell side walls, the air cells being inflatable to support an exterior load thereon; the side walls of each air cell being spaced laterally from the side walls of adjacent air cells when the air cells are not inflated, but being positioned sufficiently close to the side walls of adjacent air cells to distend and contact the side walls of adjacent air cells when the air cells are inflated and not subjected to an exterior load. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. An inflatable cushion comprising a flexible gas impervious bottom wall, a preformed flexible gas impervious top sheet defining a plurality of air cells, and air-tight seals attaching the top sheet to the bottom wall at edges of the air cells except for limited sections between selected adjacent air cells defining passages for allowing fluid communication between the selected adjacent air cells;
wherein each air cell includes an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion having a parallelepiped shape defined by four generally vertical side walls, the upper portion extending above the side walls of the lower portion, the upper portion of each air cell being defined by four substantially triangular panels which incline upwardly from the lower portion of the air cell and meet in an apex, giving the upper portion a substantially pyramidal shape at a first inflation pressure of the air cells, the side walls of the lower portion and the pyramidal upper portion being flexible and distensible so that the pyramidal upper portion becomes rounded and the side walls of the lower portion distend outwardly at a second inflation pressure of the air cells, the second inflation pressure being higher than the first inflation pressure, the plurality of air cells being in close proximity to one another so that the side walls of adjacent air cells engage one another when the side walls distend outwardly thereby defining a substantially level and continuous load supporting surface of the cushion at the second inflation pressure of the air cells. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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4. The cushion of 3 wherein the triangular panels are inclined at an angle of about 10°
- to about 40°
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- to about 40°
Specification