Surgery – Isolation treatment chambers – Incubators
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-12
2001-04-10
Nasser, Robert L. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Isolation treatment chambers
Incubators
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213935
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to an infant warming apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for providing the combined functions of an infant incubator and an infant warmer and which includes a radiant heater contained within a housing.
There are, of course, many devices or apparatus for the warming of an infant and to supply the necessary heat to maintain the infant at a predetermined temperature. Of the various apparatus, there are infant warmers that are basically planar surfaces on which the infant is positioned and which planar surfaces generally include side guards to keep the infant safely within the confines of the apparatus. Infant warmers normally have an overhead radiant heater that is located above the infant and which thus radiates energy in the infrared spectrum to impinge upon the infant to maintain the infant at a warm, predetermined temperature. Since the infant is otherwise totally exposed to the surroundings, there is almost unlimited access to the infant by the attending personnel to perform various procedures on that infant. At typical infant warmer is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,517 of Falk et al as prior art to that patent.
There are also infant incubators and which are more confined enclosures that contain the infant within an enclosed controlled atmosphere in an infant compartment and which have a convective heating system that heats air and introduces that heated air into an infant compartment to warm the infant. Such convective systems also may include some controlled humidity to introduce moisture to the heated air. Such incubators maintain the infant for long periods of time and include handholes to access the infant. Generally, there is, in addition, a larger access door that can be opened to access the infant or to insert or remove the infant to and from the incubator. Such devices provide a good atmosphere to the infant and control that local environment within which the infant is located, however, it is sometime difficult to perform a wide variety of procedures on the infant due to the somewhat limited access to that infant. A typical infant incubator is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,824 of Koch et al.
At the present, there are also certain infant care apparatus that combine the functions of an infant warmer and an incubator and thus include a overhead radiant heater for radiant warming as well as the functions of an incubator that has a convective heating system that provides heated air to provide warmth to the infant. One such apparatus is shown and described in Donnelly et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,077, where there is an upper canopy that can be raised and lowered. When the canopy is in its upper position a radiant heater is energized, however, even then, there is still a convective system that is usable that can form various heated air curtains that travel over the infant to provide heat to that infant. In Donnelly et al, the systems can be used simultaneously.
It would be advantageous to have a single system that combines a radiant heater function with an incubator function having a convective heating system but with a control system where only one of the two functions is operable at a time, that is, when the apparatus is being operated in its radiant heater mode, the convective heating system is disabled and, conversely, when the apparatus is being operated in its incubator mode utilizing the convective heating system, the radiant heater is disabled. In effect, it would be a system that would prevent the simultaneous operation of a convective system and a radiant heating system.
In addition, it would be further advantageous, at those times that the apparatus is being operated as a radiant warmer, to have some means to maintain the various air ducts and related structure warmed to improve the response time of the apparatus when that apparatus is again converted to the incubator mode, that is, the time needed to bring the infant compartment up to the desired temperature is decreased. Obviously, the response time to heat up the infant compartment using heated air is faster if the various air passages and ducting used to convey the heated air are already at an elevated temperature and the heated air from the convective heating system does not have to bring those surfaces up to some elevated temperature from ambient temperatures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to an infant care apparatus that has an overhead canopy that can be raised and lowered by the user in converting the mode of the apparatus between a radiant heater mode where a radiant heater provides heat to the infant in an open environment and an incubator mode where a convective heating system utilizes heated air to heat the infant in an enclosed infant compartment.
In carrying out the present invention, there is a base with a vertical frame member extending upwardly from the base and a infant platform mounted to the vertical frame member above the base. The upper surface of the infant platform is a flat, planar surface that is adapted to underlie and support an infant being cared for in the use of the apparatus. Extending upwardly from the infant platform are walls of a transparent material and the vertically movable canopy is movable between a lower position where it mates with the upper edges of the walls to form therein an enclosed infant compartment and an upper position where the flat planar surface is generally open to the ambient atmosphere.
The canopy includes a radiant heater that is adapted to direct energy in the infrared range toward an infant resting upon the flat, planar surface when the canopy is in its upper position. A convective heating system is also provided to supply heated air to the infant compartment for warming the infant contained therein when the canopy is in its lower position. In the preferred embodiment, the convective heating system is contained within a heater and air moving compartment located within the infant platform underneath the flat, planar surface supporting the infant. The convective heating system includes a heater, a fan and the various ducting and passageways used to convey the air to and from the infant compartment.
A lifting system is used to raise and lower the canopy between the upper and lower positions. In addition, the infant care apparatus of the present invention includes a control system that controls the convective heating system and the radiant heater. The control system is operative to activate the radiant heater and disable the convective heating system when the canopy is in its upper position and, conversely, to activate the convective heating system and disable the radiant heater when the canopy is in its lower position.
With the canopy in the upper position, the convective heater system is disabled, however, the heater of that system may remain activated at a low level to maintain the various ducting and air passageways at an elevated temperature. Thus, although the convective heating system is disabled and the fan is off so that there is no convective heated air moving in the system, the heater itself can be maintained at a low level, not to provide heat to the infant compartment or to the infant, but simply to keep the ducting and air passageways warm.
The purpose of maintaining an elevated temperature of the ducting and air passageways is to improve the response time when the infant care apparatus is again switched to the convective heating or incubator mode. In such case, the various ducting and air passageways are already at an elevated temperature by the minimal use of the heater and do not have to be brought up to operating temperature from ambient temperature. Thus, the convective heating system can respond faster when activated since such surfaces are already heated and the system can rapidly use its heating capacity to provide the heated air to the infant compartment.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction wi
Belsinger Jr. Harry E.
Falk Steven M.
Mackin Michael H.
Datex-Ohmeda Inc.
Nasser Robert L.
Rathbun Roger M.
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