Modular bed system
A patient support including a deck having a moveable head section and one or more inflatable mattresses. The inflatable mattresses can position a patient in a Trendelenburg position, a reverse Trendelenburg position, or a knee gatch position.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/591,039 titled “Modular Bed System” to Hornbach, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present disclosure relates to a patient support such as a hospital bed. Some hospital beds include movable deck sections that articulate to position a patient in the Trendelenburg, Reverse Trendelenburg, and knee gatch positions. The present disclosure describes an inflatable mattress that can position a patient in the Trendelenburg, Reverse Trendelenburg, and knee gatch positions.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a patient support configured to support a patient. The support includes a frame, a deck supported by the frame, and a mattress supported by the deck, the mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders configured to support the patient in one of a horizontal position and a Trendelenburg position.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a patient support including a frame, a deck supported by the frame, a mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, an inflator configured to selectively inflate at least one of the plurality of inflatable bladders, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the inflator to inflate at least one of the plurality of inflatable bladders to configure the mattress in one of a Trendelenburg position, a Reverse-Trendelenburg position, a flat position, and a knee gatch position.
A further aspect of the present invention includes an inflatable mattress configured to support a patient. The inflatable mattress includes at least one inflatable cell configured to support the patient in one of a horizontal position and a Trendelenburg position, and a controller coupled to an inflator and at least one control valve, the controller configured to receive input from a user and control the inflator and the control valve to inflate or deflate the inflatable cell to position the patient in one of the horizontal position and the Trendelenburg position.
The present invention also includes a modular patient support system configured to support a patient in various acuity environments. The system includes a frame, a deck supported by the frame, the only movable deck section being a head section moveable between a raised position and a lowered position relative to the remainder of the deck, and a plurality of mattresses. One mattress is selected for use on the deck depending on an acuity level of the patient wherein the mattress being selected is selected from a group of mattresses including a first static mattress, a second mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders being configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's thigh, a third mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders being configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's thigh and to selectively position the patient in a Trendelenburg position, and a fourth mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's thigh, and to selectively position the patient in a Trendelenburg position and a reverse Trendelenburg position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to
One embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in
It should be noted that mattress 16′ may be formed of a single inflatable bladder 18′ or of multiple inflatable bladders either collectively controlled or individually controlled. In another embodiment, inflatable mattress 16′ and bladders 18′ could also include features such as sequenced inflation/deflation to prevent decubitus ulcers, heel pressure relief, turn-assist, extendable length, low air loss therapy, rotation therapy, vibration therapy, and/or percussion therapy which are explained in U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,628, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
As shown in
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in
Another embodiment of mattress 16 is shown in cross-section in
Upper section 44 is illustratively constructed of a semi-rigid material such as foam, rubber, or any other suitable material. Inflatable bladders 44 are substantially similar to inflatable bladders 18 which were discussed above. Bladders 46 are selectively inflated and deflated to position the upper section 44 in the Trendelenburg, Reverse Trendelenburg, or horizontal position. Bladders 46 can be arranged in any formation such as staggered, directly above one another, or any other suitable formation to adjust the angle of inclination or declination of upper section 44. It should be noted that mattress 40 could include a single bladder 46 or a plurality of bladders 46. Mattress 40 may include bladders of the same size or may contain bladders having different sizes or capacities. Bladders 46 can either be selectively controlled or collectively controlled by a control system. In addition to positioning the patient in the Trendelenburg, Reverse Trendelenburg, or horizontal positions, the pressure in bladders 40 can also be controlled to provide optimum patient comfort, heel pressure relief, rotation therapy, percussion therapy, and vibration therapy. An optional cover (not shown) can be placed around the components of mattress 40. In an alternative embodiment of mattress 40, a layer of inflatable bladders or foam is positioned on upper section 44 to provide support for the patient. In this embodiment, upper section 44 could be composed of a semi-rigid material or a rigid material such as plastic.
Another alternative embodiment of mattress 16 is shown in cross-section in
Referring to
In an illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the modular bed system uses a relatively simple bed frame that has only two functions. These functions include a head section movable from a flat orientation to an elevated orientation as shown in
By providing a simplified frame with various mattress combinations, the modular bed system is easily upgradeable. This provides a cost effective frame for low acuity levels such as home care or international. The system is upgradeable to be used in different acuity environments. Therefore, the modular bed system can be used for home care, international care, with the simple bed frame and static foam mattress. For a low end long term care bed, the simple frame is used with a mattress having only the thigh function. For a high end long term care bed, the mattress may include the thigh function along with the Trendelenburg function. For a low end Med-Surg bed, the frame is used with a fully functional mattress for Trendelenburg, reverse Trendelenburg, and thigh functions.
In certain instances, other mattresses such as those disclosed in, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,667,075; 6,012,186; 3,879,772; 4,527,298; 4,839,932; 3,781,928; 3,606,623; and 4,142,263 may be used to perform certain features or for movement of portions of the mattresses. All these listed patents are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Although specific illustrated embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it is understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present invention is not limited to the specific details disclosed herein, but is to be defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A patient support configured to support a patient comprising:
- a frame;
- a deck supported by the frame; and
- a mattress supported by the deck, the mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders configured to support the patient in one of a horizontal position and a Trendelenburg position.
2. The patient support of claim 1, wherein the deck includes a head section moveable between a raised position and a lowered position relative to the frame.
3. The patient support of claim 1, wherein the plurality of bladders are further configured to support the patient in one of a Reverse-Trendelenburg position, the Trendelenburg position, and the horizontal position.
4. The patient support of claim 1, wherein the mattress is a modular design.
5. The patient support of claim 1, wherein the plurality of bladders are further configured to raise a leg section of the patient.
6. The patient support of claim 1, wherein the frame is moveable between a raised position and a lowered position relative to the floor.
7. A patient support comprising:
- a frame;
- a deck supported by the frame;
- a mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders;
- an inflator configured to selectively inflate at least one of the plurality of inflatable bladders; and
- a controller configured to control the inflator to inflate at least one of the plurality of inflatable bladders to configure the mattress in one of a Trendelenburg position, a Reverse-Trendelenburg position, a flat position, and a knee gatch position.
8. An inflatable mattress configured to support a patient comprising:
- at least one inflatable cell configured to support the patient in one of a horizontal position and a Trendelenburg position; and
- a controller coupled to an inflator and at least one control valve, the controller configured to receive input from a user and control the inflator and the control valve to inflate or deflate the inflatable cell to position the patient in one of the horizontal position and the Trendelenburg position.
9. The mattress of claim 8, wherein the inflatable cell is further configured to support the patient in the Reverse Trendelenburg position.
10. The mattress of claim 8, wherein the inflatable cell is further configured to raise a patient's knees upon inflation.
11. The mattress of claim 8, wherein the mattress is further configured to provide at least one of heel pressure relief, rotation therapy, vibration therapy, percussion therapy, and turn assist.
12. A modular patient support system configured to support a patient in various acuity environments, the system comprising:
- a frame;
- a deck supported by the frame, the only movable deck section being a head section moveable between a raised position and a lowered position relative to the remainder of the deck; and
- a plurality of mattresses, one mattress being selected for use on the deck depending on an acuity level of the patient, the mattress being selected from a group of mattresses including a first static mattress and a second mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders being configured to provide selective elevation of part of the patient.
13. The modular patient support of claim 12, further comprising a hi/lo mechanism coupled to the frame to move the frame between a raised position and a lowered position relative to the floor.
14. The modular patient support of claim 12, wherein the bladders are configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's thigh.
15. The modular patient support of claim 12, wherein the bladders are configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's knee.
16. The modular patient support system of claim 12, further comprising a third mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders being configured to provide selective elevation of part of the patient and to selectively position the patient in a Trendelenburg position.
17. The modular patient support system of claim 16, wherein the bladders are configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's thigh.
18. The modular patient support system of claim 16, wherein the bladders are configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's knee.
19. The modular patient support system of claim 16, further comprising a fourth mattress including a plurality of inflatable bladders, the bladders configured to provide selective elevation of part of the patient and to selectively position the patient in a Trendelenburg position and a reverse Trendelenburg position.
20. The modular patient support system of claim 19, wherein the bladders are configured to provide selective elevation of the patient's thigh.
21. The modular patient support of claim 19, further comprising an inflator configured to selectively inflate at least one of the plurality of inflatable bladders, and a controller configured to control the inflator to inflate at least one of the plurality of inflatable bladders to configure the mattress in one of a Trendelenburg position, a reverse Trendelenburg position, a flat position, and an elevated thigh position.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 26, 2005
Publication Date: Jan 26, 2006
Inventor: David Hornbach (Brookville, IN)
Application Number: 11/189,314
International Classification: A47C 27/10 (20060101);