US 5,490,299 AGranted

Seating system with pressure relieving fluid pad

AssigneeJay Medical, Ltd.

InventorsJohn C. Dinsmoor, III, Barry VanEveren

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Abstract

A seating system primarily intended for use in wheelchairs and similar applications for reducing the development of decubitus ulcers. The seating system includes a relatively rigid, shaped tray and a pressure relieving fluid pad. The tray has a thigh supporting shelf and a depressed seating well. The fluid pad preferably has a plurality of fluid pouches positionable over the thigh supporting shelf of the tray and an array of rearward pouches positionable over the depressed seating well. The rearward pouches in the seating well are wedge shaped and taper downwardly in vertical thickness from one end portion to the other. Each rearward pouch has its thicker end portion overlying a central part of the seating well and its thinner end portion positioned over the upwardly inclined, outer rim section of the seating well. In this manner, the resulting arrangement of the rearward pouches concentrates the bulk of the fluid toward the center or middle of the seating well to substantially prevent any undesirable bottoming out of the user's ischial tuberosities and coccyx on the rigid tray.

Claims43

Dependent claims

A seating system primarily intended for use to relieve pressure and to reduce development of decubitus ulcers, said seating system including:

a relatively rigid, shaped tray extending along a central axis and having a depressed seating well with an upper surface intended to support the user's buttocks including the user's ischial tuberosities, said seating well having a bottom section and a rim section, each of said bottom and rim sections having an upper surface together forming at least part of the upper surface of said seating well wherein the upper surface of said bottom section extends substantially horizontally and outwardly on each side of a central vertical plane containing said central axis of said tray and wherein the upper surface of said rim section extends upwardly from the upper surface of said bottom section substantially at an inclined angle thereto, said upper surface of said bottom section being dimensioned to support at least the ischial tuberosities of the user's buttocks, and
a fluid pad having at least a first pouch substantially filled with fluid having a viscosity of at least one, said pouch being substantially wedge-shaped in cross section with said wedge shape tapering down in vertical thickness from a thicker first end portion to a thinner second end portion, said wedge-shaped pouch being positioned in said seating well with the thicker first end portion of said wedge-shaped pouch substantially adjacent said central vertical plane containing the central axis of said substantially rigid tray and overlying at least a part of the upper surface of the bottom section of the seating well and with the thinner second end portion of said wedge-shaped pouch overlying at least a part of the inclined upper surface of the rim section of said seating well.

A seating system primarily intended for use to relieve pressure and to reduce the development of decubitus ulcers, said seating system including:

a tray member having an upper surface and a fluid pad member,
said fluid pad member having at least a first pouch partially filled with a fluid having a viscosity of at least one, said pouch being substantially wedge-shaped in cross section with said wedge shape tapering down in vertical thickness from a thicker first end portion to a thinner second end portion, said wedge-shaped pouch having a cover with a bottom portion, a top portion, a base portion, and two side portions, said bottom portion overlying a part of the upper surface of said tray member, said base portion extending upwardly from said bottom portion substantially adjacent said thicker first end portion of said wedge-shaped pouch, said top portion extending from said base portion at said thicker first end portion to the thinner second end portion, said bottom and top portions substantially meeting at said thinner second end portion to form an apex for the wedge shape, and said two side portions being spaced from each other and respectively extending substantially between said bottom and top portions and between said base portion at said thicker first end portion and the apex at said thinner second end portion, said top portion of said cover being oversized and convoluted from the base portion at said thicker first end portion to the apex at said thinner second end portion wherein the linear distance between the base portion and apex is substantially less than the distance therebetween as measured along the convolutions of said top portion of the cover thereby creating slack in said top portion, said base portion also being oversized and convoluted from the bottom portion upwardly to said top portion wherein the linear distance between the bottom and top portions at the thicker first end portion is substantially less than the distance therebetween as measured along the convolutions of said base portion of the cover thereby creating slack in said base portion.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/316,732Filed 3 Oct 1994 · continuation in part
Priority: 16 Sep 1992
Granted: 13 Feb 1996
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification18 codes

A47C 7/021
Seat parts: detachable or loose seat cushions
A47C 7/029
Seat parts: of non-adjustable shape adapted to a user contour or ergonomic seating positions
A47C 7/46
For the back: with special, e.g. adjustable , lumbar region support profile; "Ackerblom" profile chairs
A61G 5/1043
Parts, details or accessories: cushions specially adapted for wheelchairs