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US 4,542,547 AGranted
Pnuematic mat with sensing means
AssigneeHiroshi Muroi
InventorHisashi Sato
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mat unit for a bed may be selectively inflated or deflated, to change the posture of an individual lying on the bed, in a natural and gentle manner. A plurality of such mat units may make up a bed. Selective inflation and/or deflation of any number of these mat units may be controlled to change the posture of, and even turn over, an individual who is seriously handicapped or extremely bedridden.
Claims10
A mat unit comprising
- a hollow, fluid-tight bellows;
- a fluid feeding pipe connected at one end to said bellows;
- a valve disposed in said fluid feeding pipe to control fluid quantity fed into said bellows;
- an exhaust pipe connected at one end to said bellows and opened to the atomosphere at the other end thereof;
- a second valve disposed in said exhaust pipe to control fluid quantity discharged from said bellows;
- a supply source of pressurized fluid connected to the other end of said fluid feeding pipe;
- and
- sensing means for detecting fluid quantity in said bellows, comprising
- a member suspended from an upper part of said bellows;
- a photoelectric sensor disposed on said suspended member;
- and
- a plurality of reflective members disposed on an outer side of said bellows, said reflective members disposed to lie opposite said photoelectric sensor at predetermined intervals.
9 more elements
A mat unit comprising
- a hollow, fluid-tight bellows;
- a fluid feeding pipe connected at one end to said bellows;
- a valve disposed in said fluid feeding pipe to control fluid quantity fed into said bellows;
- an exhaust pipe connected at one end to said bellows and opened to the atmosphere at the other end thereof;
- a second valve disposed in said exhaust pipe to control fluid quantity discharged from said bellows;
- a supply source of pressurized fluid connected to the other end of said fluid feeding pipe;
- and
- sensing means for detecting fluid quantity in said bellows, comprising
- a receiving table disposed on an inner bottom of said bellows;
- a photoelectric sensor disposed on a side of said receiving table;
- and
- a plurality of reflective members disposed on an inner side of said bellows, said reflective members disposed to lie opposite said photoelectric sensor at predetermined intervals.
9 more elements
A method for adjusting position of a bedridden individual in bed, which comprises the steps of:
- disposing a plurality of discrete mat units on a base of said bed, each discrete mat unit disposed to be inflatable/deflatable with pressurized fluid to expand/contract to a certain desired level,
- adjusting the desired level of each discrete mat unit by inflating/deflating said individual mat unit to the desired level to adjust position of the individual disposed on said bed, and
- sensing position of each individual mat unit by disposing a photoelectric sensor to sense the position,
- disposing a plurality of reflective members on each of said mat units, and
- causing each of said reflective members to lie opposite said photoelectric sensor depending on the level to which said individual mat unit is inflated/deflated.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.