U.S. patent application number 15/519134 was filed with the patent office on 2017-08-31 for support device for supporting a body, in particular a human body.
This patent application is currently assigned to SYSTEM ASSISTANCE MEDICAL. The applicant listed for this patent is SYSTEM ASSISTANCE MEDICAL. Invention is credited to Sebastien Cinquin.
Application Number | 20170245652 15/519134 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52130434 |
Filed Date | 2017-08-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170245652 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cinquin; Sebastien |
August 31, 2017 |
SUPPORT DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING A BODY, IN PARTICULAR A HUMAN
BODY
Abstract
The invention relates to a device for supporting a body or part
of a body, in particular a human body, said device comprising a
support element (2) including a seat (3) and a peripheral sidewall
(4), such as to define a housing (5) having a bottom (6) and a
peripheral side face (7), and a pneumatic element (9) comprising a
base (10) and inflatable cells (11) fitted inside the housing (5)
and extending between the bottom (6) of the housing and the base
(10) of the pneumatic element (9). According to the invention, the
peripheral sidewall (4) comprises at least one inner retaining bead
(8) at a distance from the bottom (6) of the housing (5), and, when
inflated, at least some of the inflatable cells (11a) adjacent to
the retaining bead (8a) can be engaged laterally between the
retaining bead (8) and the bottom (6) of the housing (5).
Inventors: |
Cinquin; Sebastien; (La
Sauvetat-sur-Lede, FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SYSTEM ASSISTANCE MEDICAL |
Ledat |
|
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
SYSTEM ASSISTANCE MEDICAL
Ledat
FR
|
Family ID: |
52130434 |
Appl. No.: |
15/519134 |
Filed: |
October 14, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
October 14, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2015/073786 |
371 Date: |
April 13, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 27/081 20130101;
A47C 27/18 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47C 27/08 20060101
A47C027/08; A47C 27/18 20060101 A47C027/18 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 17, 2014 |
FR |
1459979 |
Claims
1. A support device for supporting a body or part of a body, in
particular a human body, comprising a support element (2) made of a
deformable material and comprising a seat (3) and a peripheral side
wall (4) projecting from one side of this seat top surface so as to
delimit a recess (5) having a roof (6) and a peripheral side face
(7), and a pneumatic element (9) comprising a base (10) and a
plurality of inflatable cells (11) projecting from one side of the
base and located next to one another in a grid pattern of lines and
columns, the inflatable cells (11) engaging in the recess (5) and
extending between the roof (6) of said recess and the base (10) of
the pneumatic element (9); in which the peripheral side wall (4) of
the support element (2) comprises at least one inward-projecting
retaining bead (8) located at a distance from the roof (6) of the
recess (5) such that the peripheral side face (7) of the recess (5)
has at least one setback portion (7a), at least some of the
inflatable cells (11a) that are adjacent to said retaining bead (8)
being able, when inflated, to engage laterally between this
retaining bead (8) and the roof (6) of the recess (5) and to hold
the pneumatic element (9) along the periphery or the perimeter of
this recess.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which said retaining bead
(8) comprises local portions respectively extending over part of
the length of the peripheral side face (7) of said recess (5).
3. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which said retaining bead
(8) extends over the entire length of the peripheral side face (7)
of said recess (5).
4. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which the base (10) of the
pneumatic element (9) has an edge (10a) extending over an end face
(4a) of the peripheral side wall (4) of the support element
(2).
5. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which the pneumatic element
(9) comprises at least one conduit (13) connected to at least one
inflatable cell and passing through the peripheral side wall (4) of
the support element (2).
6. The device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a lower support
plate (17) made of a deformable material, which covers the base
(10) of the pneumatic element (9) and the end face (4a) of the
peripheral wall (4) of the support element (2).
7. The device as claimed in claim 1, comprising an outer cover
(18).
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of support
devices for supporting a body or part of a body, in particular of a
human body, which are designed to form, at least in part, cushions
or mattresses, and to be used in particular in the field of
medicine for the comfort of patients in the lying-down or seated
positions, in particular in order to prevent pressure ulcers.
[0002] Patent EP 0 925 008 describes a cushion element delimiting a
parallelepipedal recess for receiving a pneumatic element
comprising adjacent inflatable cells.
[0003] Patent WO 03/024380 describes a cushion element delimiting a
recess into which are inserted a number of cylindrical inflatable
elements which are arranged in parallel next to one another, and
are free and independent with respect to one another. The ends of
the cylindrical inflatable elements are beveled and press against
opposite inclined flanks of the recess, whereas the two other
opposite flanks of the recess are straight.
[0004] The present invention has, in particular, the object of
proposing a support device in which the risk of the constituent
elements deforming and coming apart are reduced.
[0005] One embodiment proposes a support device for supporting a
body or part of a body, in particular a human body, which comprises
a support element made of a deformable material and comprising a
seat and a peripheral side wall projecting from one side of this
seat top surface so as to delimit a recess having a roof and a
peripheral side face, and a pneumatic element comprising a base and
a plurality of inflatable cells projecting from one side of the
base and located next to one another in a grid pattern of lines and
columns, the inflatable cells engaging in the recess and extending
between the roof of said recess and the base of the pneumatic
element.
[0006] The peripheral side wall of the support element comprises at
least one inward-projecting retaining bead located at a distance
from the roof of the recess such that the peripheral side face of
the recess has at least one setback portion, at least some of the
inflatable cells that are adjacent to said retaining bead being
able, when inflated, to engage laterally between this retaining
bead and the roof of the recess and to hold the pneumatic element
along the periphery or the perimeter of this recess.
[0007] Said retaining bead may comprise local portions respectively
extending over part of the length of the peripheral side face of
said recess.
[0008] Said retaining bead may extend over the entire length of the
peripheral side face of said recess.
[0009] The base of the pneumatic element may have an edge extending
over an end face of the peripheral side wall of the support
element.
[0010] The pneumatic element may comprise at least one conduit
connected to at least one inflatable cell and passing through the
peripheral side wall of the support element.
[0011] A lower support plate made of a deformable material, may be
provided in order to cover the base of the pneumatic element and
the end face of the peripheral wall of the support element.
[0012] The device may also comprise an outer cover.
[0013] There follows a non-limiting exemplary description of a
support device, illustrated by means of the appended drawing, in
which:
[0014] FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a support device comprising
a pneumatic element in a deflated state;
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the support device from FIG.
1, the pneumatic element being in an inflated state; and
[0016] FIG. 3 shows a local, enlarged cross section of the
pneumatic element.
[0017] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a generally parallelepipedal
support device 1, which may for example constitute a cushion for
sitting on, comprises a support element 2 made of a deformable
material, for example a molded synthetic foam such as a
polyurethane foam, which comprises a horizontal seat 3 in the form
of a top surface, and a peripheral wall 4 projecting downward from
the periphery of the seat 3, such that this support element 2
delimits a hollow recess 5 that is open below. This recess 5 has a
roof 6 consisting of a lower face of the seat 3 and a peripheral or
side face 7 consisting of the internal flank of the peripheral wall
4.
[0018] The upper face of the seat 3 of the support element 2 may be
flat or not and have a desired topography. The roof 6 of the recess
5 may be flat. The peripheral outer face of the peripheral wall 4
may extend perpendicular to the upper face of the seat 3.
[0019] The peripheral wall 4 comprises a peripheral retaining bead
8 projecting inward into the recess 5 and located at a distance
from the roof 6, such that the peripheral or side face 7 of the
recess 5 has a setback peripheral portion 7a which extends between
the peripheral retaining bead 8 and the roof 6 of the recess 5 and
has a larger section than the internal section of the peripheral
bead 8.
[0020] The support device 1 further comprises a pneumatic element 9
that comprises an essentially flat and relatively rigid base 10
which is placed parallel to the roof of the recess 5 and whose
peripheral edge 10a presses against a lower end face 4a of the
peripheral wall 4, parallel to the roof 6 of the recess 5, and a
plurality of inflatable cells 11 that project upward from one side
of the base 10 and are located next to one another such that these
inflatable cells 11 are engaged in the recess 5 and extend between
the base 10 and the roof 6 of the recess 5.
[0021] The inflatable cells 11 are connected to one another by
small cross section connecting channels 12 integrated into the base
10, while one of the peripheral inflatable cells 11a is connected
to a conduit 13 which passes through the peripheral wall 4 of the
support element 2 and is provided, for example, with an outer end
valve 14 to which can be connected an inflating/deflating device
(not shown).
[0022] The inflatable cells 11 are arranged according to a grid of
lines and columns, which are for example perpendicular. The
inflatable cells 11 may be arranged in an offset pattern.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 3, the base 10 of the pneumatic element 9
may comprise a first flat sheet 15 and a sheet 16 having regions
stuck to the sheet 15 and, in these regions, projecting
deformations delimiting the inflatable cells 11 and the connecting
channels 12.
[0024] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, when the pneumatic element 9 is
deflated, the inflatable cells 11 take up less space. In this
deflated state, the inflatable cells 11 may be circular or
polygonal in cross section, for example hexagonal, with their feet
adjacent to the base 10 being distant from one another.
[0025] In the deflated state, the pneumatic element 9 is easy to
install in the recess 5 of the support element 2 by passing the
inflatable cells 11 through the internal section of the bead 8
without difficulty.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, when the pneumatic element 9 is
inflated, the inflatable cells 11 inflate and bear laterally
against one another along generatrices perpendicular to the base
10, and against the roof 6 of the recess 5.
[0027] Furthermore, the peripheral inflatable cells 11a of the
pneumatic element 9, which are adjacent to the retaining bead 8,
engage laterally in the peripheral setback arranged between the
internal retaining bead 8 and the roof 6 of the recess 5, and may
press against the setback portion 7a of the peripheral side wall 7
of the recess 5. Thus, the periphery of the pneumatic element 9 is
retained along the periphery of the recess 5.
[0028] The pneumatic element 9, when inflated, occupies all or a
large portion of the volume of the recess 5 of the support element
2, depending on the pressure of the introduced gas, and forms a
coherent pneumatic support by virtue of the inflated cells pressing
against one another and the peripheral inflated cells pressing
against the setback portion 7a.
[0029] In contrast to straight flanks, the peripheral internal
retaining bead 8 presents, along the periphery of the recess 5, an
obstacle to extraction of the peripheral inflatable cells 11a of
the pneumatic element 9 in the inflated state, and therefore of the
entire pneumatic element 9.
[0030] Thus, the existence of the peripheral internal retaining
bead 8 prevents the inflated pneumatic element 9 being extracted
from the recess 5 of the support element 2.
[0031] Optionally, the support device 1 may comprise a lower
support plate 17 made of a deformable material, for example a
synthetic foam such as a polyurethane foam, which covers the base
10 of the pneumatic element 9 and the lower face 4a of the
peripheral wall 4 of the support element 2, sandwiching the
peripheral edge 10a of the base 10. According to one variant
embodiment, the peripheral edge 10a of the base 10 and/or the lower
plate 17 may be adhesively bonded to the lower face 4a of the
peripheral wall 4 of the support element 2.
[0032] The support device 1 may further comprise an outer cover 18
which is in two parts that are joined by a peripheral rapid closure
19, and through which the conduit 13 also passes. This cover may be
a fabric, which may be waterproof.
[0033] The result of the above is that the support device 1
constitutes a compact and coherent unit whose elements are
conveniently assembled.
[0034] According to one variant embodiment, the inflatable cells 11
of the pneumatic element 9 might be grouped into multiple
independent groups that are respectively connected to different
inflation conduits 13 so as to define regions that can be inflated
to different pressures.
[0035] According to one variant embodiment, the peripheral
retaining bead 8 may extend around the entire perimeter of the
recess 5 of the support element 2.
[0036] According to another variant embodiment, the peripheral
retaining bead 8 might comprise local portions extending over
portions of the four sides forming the perimeter of the recess 5 of
the support element 2.
[0037] According to another variant embodiment, peripheral
retaining beads 8 might be arranged at different distances from the
roof 6 of the recess 5 of the support element 2.
[0038] According to one variant embodiment, the support device 1
might comprise multiple equivalent recesses 5 for receiving
equivalent pneumatic elements 9.
[0039] The structure of the above-described support device might be
adapted in order to constitute for example a mattress, a back
support or a means for positioning or wedging a body.
* * * * *