Beds – Invalid bed or surgical support
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-19
2004-12-21
Grosz, Alexander (Department: 3673)
Beds
Invalid bed or surgical support
C005S618000, C005S713000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06832398
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an operating room or surgical table. More particularly, the present invention relates to a surgical table including a mattress having a plurality of inflatable bladders for supporting a patient and a power pack configured to supply air to the bladders.
Operating room tables are long known in the health care industry for supporting patients during surgical procedures. In recent years, surgical tables have been made even more useful and convenient for doctors and nurses by adding various features and options, such as powered articulation of head, torso, and leg sections of the surgical table, height adjustment, tilt adjustment, trend adjustment, etc. While these features and options give doctors great flexibility for supporting patients in a variety of positions that are best suited for a given surgical procedure, they also may become more difficult and frustrating to use. In addition, surgical tables having numerous control features often require separate power packs for supplying the necessary power for moving the table to different positions. Furthermore, mattress surface systems have likewise become more technically sophisticated which frequently makes them more cumbersome and frustrating to use.
According to one illustrated embodiment of the present invention, a surgical table includes a base, a vertical support member extending vertically upwardly from the base, a frame extending outwardly from the support member, and a mattress supported by the frame and positioned to lie above the frame. The mattress is configured to support a patient and has at least one bladder configured to receive a medium. The surgical table also includes a power pack positioned to lie within the base and configured to supply the medium to the mattress to change the shape of the mattress.
In one illustrated embodiment, the medium supplied by the power pack to the mattress is air. In another illustrated embodiment, the medium supplied by the power pack to the mattress is a liquid. The power pack is further configured to supply heat to the mattress to change the temperature of the mattress. Illustratively, a flexible hose extends from the power pack to the mattress for delivery of the medium from the power pack to the mattress. The hose is concealed within the base and the vertical support member of the frame.
According to another illustrated embodiment of the present invention, a surgical table includes a base, a frame positioned in spaced-apart relation to the base, and a vertical support member interconnecting the frame and the base. The support member is configured to telescope vertically to position the frame at a variety of different heights relative to the base. The surgical table also includes a mattress positioned to lie above the frame and configured to support a patient. The mattress includes a cover having an upwardly-facing patient-support surface and defining an interior region of the mattress and a plurality of bladders received in the interior region of the cover and configured to be inflatable to position the patient in a predefined surgical position on the mattress. The surgical table further includes a blower positioned to lie within the base of the frame and configured to supply air to the bladders to inflate the bladders.
According to yet another illustrated embodiment of the present invention, a surgical table includes a frame having a patient-support platform and a mattress positioned to lie on the patient-support platform. The mattress is configured to support a patient during a surgical procedure. The mattress includes a cover having an upwardly-facing patient-support surface and defining an interior region of the mattress and a plurality of bladder pairs received in the interior region of the cover and extending laterally across the mattress. The bladder pairs are positioned to lie adjacent to one another and each bladder pair has a bottom bladder and a top bladder positioned to lie above the bottom bladder. Each bladder within each bladder pair is individually inflatable to position the patient in a predefined surgical position on the mattress.
According to a further illustrated embodiment of the present invention, a surgical table includes a mattress, a patient-support platform positioned below the mattress and configured to support the mattress, a base positioned in spaced-apart relation to the patient-support platform, and a vertical support member interconnecting the base and the patient-support platform. The support member is configured to support the patient-support platform at a variety of different heights relative to the base. The surgical table also includes a power pack positioned to lie within the base and configured to supply a medium to the mattress to change the shape of the mattress to position a patient in a predefined surgical position, and a hose interconnecting the power pack and the mattress. The hose is configured to transfer the medium from the power pack to the mattress. The surgical table further includes a controller positioned in close proximity to the power pack. The controller is configured to control the distribution of the medium from the power pack to the mattress to control the shape of the mattress.
Also according to the present invention, a patient support apparatus includes a base, a frame coupled to the base, and a mattress supported by the frame and positioned to lie above the frame to support a patient. The mattress has at least one bladder configured to receive a medium. The apparatus also includes a power pack pivotably coupled to one of the base, the frame and the mattress and configured to supply the medium to the at least one bladder of the mattress.
In one illustrated embodiment, the power pack is pivotably coupled to the frame by a pivot connector. The power pack is configured to supply the medium to the at least one bladder of the mattress through the pivot connector. The illustrated pivot connector includes a receptacle configured to receive an air coupling of the air mattress to supply air from the power pack through the air coupling to the at least one bladder. The power pack is pivotable from a first position in which the power pack is located substantially under the frame to a second position in which the power pack is located substantially outside the frame.
In another illustrated embodiment, the power pack is pivotably coupled to the base. The power pack is pivotable from a first position in which the power pack is located above a top surface of the base and substantially within a footprint of the base to the second position in which the power pack is located substantially outside the footprint of the base.
In yet another illustrated embodiment, the power pack is tethered to the mattress. The mattress includes a tether connector coupled to the mattress and the power pack. The tether connector extends between adjacent deck sections so that the power pack is positioned below the deck sections and the frame when the mattress is located on the deck sections. The power pack is movable relative to the frame and the deck sections to first and second spaced apart storage positions.
Additional features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the presently perceived best mode of carrying out the invention.
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Borders Richard L.
Newkirk David C.
Grosz Alexander
Hill-Rom Services Inc.
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