Patient care device with retractable heater element
AssigneeInternational Biomedical, Ltd.
InventorsMichael H. Mackin, Christopher A. Dykes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An infant care device and, more particularly, an apparatus for providing the combined functions of an infant incubator and a radiant infant warmer and which includes a radiant heater assembly contained within a housing and mechanisms and methods to quickly reduce the heating from the radiant heater assembly when the infant care device is quickly converted from an open infant radiant warming device to an enclosed incubator.
Claims15
An infant care apparatus that can convert from an open radiant warmer configuration to an enclosed incubator configuration, the infant care apparatus comprising:
- a mattress on a base support surface;
- clear sidewalls with an open top surrounding said mattress;
- a vertical member extending upwardly from said surface;
- and
- a canopy containing a radiant heater assembly mounted to said vertical member, the canopy being movable along said vertical member between (i) an upper open radiant warmer position above said surface and (ii) a lower incubator position in which the canopy is positioned on the top of the clear sidewalls forming a closed incubator;
- wherein said radiant heater assembly comprises (i) a radiant heater element extending through an opening in a radiant heater reflector that directs heat downward toward the mattress and (ii) a radiant heater deflector surrounding a lower end of the radiant heater element for deflecting heat from the radiant heater element onto the radiant heater reflector and down toward the mattress;
- wherein, when the canopy is in the upper open radiant warmer position, an enclosed sheath is stowed behind said radiant heater element to allow the radiant heater assembly to provide a radiant heat effect;
- and
- wherein, when the canopy is moved to the lower incubator position, said enclosed sheath is mechanically moved through the opening in the radiant heater reflector to cover the radiant heater element to remove the radiant heat effect from the closed incubator.
An infant care apparatus that can convert from an open radiant warmer configuration to an enclosed incubator configuration, the infant care apparatus comprising:
- a mattress on a base support surface;
- clear sidewalls with an open top surrounding said mattress;
- a vertical member extending upwardly from said surface;
- and
- a canopy containing a radiant heater assembly mounted to said vertical member, the canopy being movable along said vertical member between (i) an upper open radiant warmer position above said surface and (ii) a lower incubator position in which the canopy is positioned on the top of the clear sidewalls forming a closed incubator;
- wherein said radiant heater assembly comprises (i) a radiant heater element extending through an opening in a radiant heater reflector and (ii) a radiant heater deflector surrounding a lower end of the radiant heater element for deflecting heat from the radiant heater element onto the radiant heater reflector and down toward the mattress, when the canopy is in the upper open radiant warmer position, in order to provide a radiant heat effect;
- and
- wherein, when the canopy is moved to the lower incubator position, said radiant heater reflector is mechanically moved downward relative to the radiant heater element to remove the radiant heat effect from the closed incubator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.