Beds – Mattress – Having confined gas
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-31
2001-04-10
Trettel, Michael F. (Department: 3628)
Beds
Mattress
Having confined gas
C005S709000, C005S711000, C005S723000, C005S738000, C005S727000, C285S914000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212718
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a mattress and particularly, to a mattress for use on a hospital bed. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hospital mattress having air bladders for supporting a bedridden patient requiring long term care.
Mattresses that include air bladders to support bedridden patients in hospitals are known in the art. Such mattresses typically include apparatus for inflating the air bladders to predetermined pressure levels and for maintaining and adjusting the pressure in the air bladders after inflation. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,594,963 to Berkowitz; 5,542,136 to Tappel; 5,325,551 to Tappel et al.; and 4,638,519 to Hess. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,586,346 to Stacy et al.; 5,182,826 to Thomas et al.; and 5,051,673 to Goodwin, the assignee of each of these patents being the assignee of the present invention.
It is desirable for the interface pressure between a patient and the mattress supporting the patient to be evenly distributed over the mattress so as to minimize the formation of pressure ulcers. Some hospital mattresses include a plurality of side-by-side elements, such as foam blocks or air bladders, that vary in firmness depending upon the portion of the patient to be supported by the respective element. It is desirable for the friction between the side-by-side elements to be minimized so that each element compresses and expands individually without interference from adjacent elements.
According to the present invention, a mattress structure includes a plurality of side-by-side lower support elements and a layer of material underlying the lower support elements. The mattress structure further includes a plurality of side-by-side upper support elements overlying and supported by the lower support elements. In addition, the mattress structure includes a plurality of tethers. Each tether connects a respective one of the upper support elements to the layer of material and each tether extends between a respective pair of the lower support elements.
In illustrated embodiments, the upper support elements are air bladders and the lower support elements are foam blocks. The mattress structure further includes a plurality of sleeves made of a shear material with a low coefficient of friction. Each lower support element is received in an interior region of the respective sleeve. Each tether is also made of a shear material with a low coefficient of friction. In addition, each tether extends between a respective pair of the sleeves. Each sleeve is anchored to the layer of material so that longitudinal shifting of the lower support elements relative to the layer of underlying material is prevented. Receipt of the tethers between respective sleeves and the associated lower support elements prevents longitudinal shifting of the upper support elements.
Also according to the present invention, a modular mattress system includes a mattress having a plurality of inflatable air bladder sets. The modular mattress system further includes an air bladder inflation system having a compressor and a plurality of pressure sensors. Each pressure sensor is responsive to the pressure in an associated air bladder set. The air bladder inflation system further includes a bladder set selector that receives a pressure signal from each of the pressure sensors. The bladder set selector is responsive to only one pressure signal at a time.
The bladder set selector fluidly couples a selected one of the air bladder sets to the compressor and operates 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. The bladder set selector couples 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 remain fluidly decoupled from the compressor and fluidly decoupled from the atmosphere. The bladder set selector selects each of the air bladder sets in a cyclical manner.
In illustrated embodiments, 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 is movable to open and close the vent port. A plurality of bladder valves are movable to open and close respective bladder ports. A plurality of actuators are coupled to respective bladder valves and the vent valve. The bladder set selector includes a microprocessor that receives signals from the pressure sensors and sends signals to the actuators. In illustrated embodiments, the actuators are stepper motors and the microprocessor sends signals to each stepper motor to open the associated valve one step at a time until the desired pressure is achieved in the respective air bladder set. When the desired pressure is achieved, the microprocessor sends signals to quickly close the opened valve.
Further according to the present invention, the mattress structure includes a cover enclosing the plurality support elements. The cover includes a bottom surface and a strap having two spaced apart free ends and a middle portion between the free ends connected to the lower outer surface. The support elements are configured to allow the mattress structure to be folded so that the free ends of the strap may be coupled together.
In the illustrated embodiment, the apparatus includes a buckle having a first buckle half and a second buckle half. The first and second buckle halves are attached to the strap. The first buckle half is coupled to the strap for movement relative to the second buckle half to adjust an effective length of the strap. Also in the illustrated embodiment, an anti-skid pad is coupled to the bottom surface of the mattress.
Still further according to the present invention, a connector apparatus is 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 includes a first set of connectors coupled to the air supply. The first set of connectors is coupled to a first body portion. The apparatus also includes 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 are coupled to a second body portion. The first and second sets of connectors are in alignment with each other to permit substantially simultaneous coupling of the first and second sets of connectors.
In the illustrated embodiment, the air bladder inflation system also includes a plurality of pressure sensors. Each pressure sensor is responsive to the pressure in an associated air bladder. The connector apparatus includes a third set of connectors coupled to the pressure sensors. The third set of connectors is coupled to the first body portion. The apparatus also includes 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 fourth set of connectors is coupled to the second body portion. The third and fourth sets of connectors are also 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.
Also in the illustrated embodiment, 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 includes a plurality of bladder passages coupled to the main passage at respective bladder ports and coupled to the first set of connec
Dalton Roger D.
Ferdon Gary W.
Mueller Jonathan H.
Smith Kenneth R.
Stolpmann James R.
Bose McKinney & Evans LLP
Hill-Rom, Inc
Trettel Michael F.
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