Beds – Support for users body or part thereof – Inflatable
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-27
2001-11-27
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3628)
Beds
Support for users body or part thereof
Inflatable
C005S710000, C005S654000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321404
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a built-up air cushion, and more particularly to an air cushion formed from a plurality of individual inflatable units that are detachably and selectively connected to a bottom wall depending on actual need of a user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Most of conventional chair cushions and bed mattresses include a cover or case into which a whole piece of sponge, foamed rubber or other similar elastic material stuffed. Such conventional cushions and/or mattresses prevent users from directly contacting with the rigid chairs and/or beds, so that the users may comfortably sit or lie on the chairs or the beds. A disadvantage of such conventional cushions and mattresses stuffed with sponge or foamed rubber is they have poor air permeability. A patient lying on bed with such conventional cushion or mattress for a prolonged time will suffer from skin problems, such as bedsore.
An inflatable cushion
30
shown in
FIG. 10
has been developed in an attempt to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantage of the conventional stuffed cushions. The inflatable cushion
30
mainly includes a bottom wall
32
made of rubber material, and an integrally formed air cushion having a plurality of communicable air cells
34
. Air filled in the air cells
34
provides a suitable air pressure inside the air cushion to allow the same to bear the weight of a user sitting or lying on the cushion. Such inflatable cushion
30
has better air permeability than the conventional stuffed cushions to advantageously avoid undesirable bedsore or other skin problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,855 discloses a zoned cellular cushion that has a series of separately inflatable zones with tubular conduits leading from each zone beneath or on top of the cushion within the periphery of the cushion to a common manifold spaced outwardly from the front edge of the cushion with a fill tube connected to the manifold and individual cut-off valves or a means to buckle the tubes for each conduit, whereby the zones can be filled and bled simultaneously or selectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,828 discloses an inflatable cushion with upstanding pyramidal air cells. The inflatable cushion disclosed in this patent includes a flexible bottom wall and a plurality of upstanding air cells having flexible generally vertical side walls. The air cells is substantially pyramidal in shape and has a substantially rectangular flexible lower section defined by the vertical side walls and sealed to the bottom wall, and a flexible domed tapered top area connected to the vertical side walls. The side walls of adjacent cells are separated and spaced apart to define lateral and longitudinal paths and are independently upstanding when inflated. And there are tubing connected to the air cells through the bottom wall to adjust and monitor the air pressure in the cells from beneath the cushion.
Following are some drawbacks existing in the above-described conventional inflatable cushion
30
:
1. The air cells
34
of the inflatable cushion
30
are integrally formed onto a top of the bottom wall
32
. Separate molds are required to manufacture inflatable cushions
30
having different sizes and different numbers of air cells
34
and therefore largely increase the manufacturing cost of such inflatable cushion
30
.
2. The conventional inflatable cushion
30
is integrally molded. However, molds for forming the inflatable cushion
30
have limitations in their sizes. Therefore, it is not possible to manufacture an inflatable cushion
30
having a considerably large area, such as a cushion for use as a bed mattress. That is, the inflatable cushion
30
has only limited usage, such as a chair cushion having small area.
3. A finished inflatable cushion
30
has fixed dimensions and unchangeable arrangement of the air cells
34
on the bottom wall
32
. Moreover, since the air cells
34
are communicable with one another, the inflatable cushion
30
is not foldable to change its size for use on a smaller chair or wheelchair. In other words, an inflatable cushion
30
can only be used on a chair seat having a size similar to or larger than that of the bottom wall
32
of the inflatable cushion
30
.
4. Although the inflatable cushion
30
may prevent a patient lying thereon from bedsore, it does not help a patient who has already suffered from bedsore and/or other illnesses in connection with, for example, the backbone. In a worse condition, the inflatable cushion
30
might even cause worsened bedsore and/or spine disease. The time and occasion suitable for using the inflatable cushion
30
is therefore limited, too.
5. Since the air cells
34
are communicable with one another, any leak on any of the air cells
34
shall make the whole inflatable cushion
30
useless and undesirably shortens the usable life of the inflatable cushion
30
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a built-up air cushion having separated inflatable units that are detachably connected to a bottom wall to form the air cushion. Air cushion of different sizes and/or shapes may be easily formed from different numbers of inflatable units attached to the bottom wall almost without any limitation. Therefore the built-up air cushion may be made for widely using on chair, bed or wheelchair in any size or shape.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a built-up air cushion having separated and identical inflatable units so that only one type of mold is required to produce the inflatable units for forming air cushions of any desired size and/or shape. The cost for manufacturing the air cushion can therefore be largely reduced.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a built-up air cushion having separated inflatable units that are selectively and detachably attached to a bottom wall of the air cushion at selected areas to meet specific needs.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a built-up air cushion having separated inflatable units that are provided with an air inlet each for inflating or bleeding the inflatable units in order to adjust air pressure inside the inflatable units depending on a user's actual need, or to deflate the inflatable units for convenient storage of the cushion when the same is not in use.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4722105 (1988-02-01), Douglas
patent: 5267364 (1993-12-01), Volk
patent: 5369828 (1994-12-01), Graebe
patent: 5502855 (1996-04-01), Graebe
patent: 5634225 (1997-06-01), Miller et al.
patent: 5745941 (1998-05-01), Miller
patent: 5991949 (1999-11-01), Miller et al.
Browne Lynne H.
Conley Fredrick
Rabin & Berdo P.C.
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