Valve assembly
AssigneeHill-Rom, Inc.
InventorsCraig D. Ellis, Kenith W. Chambers, Scott McCormick, Steven D. DeRidder, W. Layne Carruth, Stephen R. Schulte
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A valve assembly for an air mattress having a common actuator on a manifold between opposed supply and exhaust valves moving the valves along their actuating axis. The system includes a plurality of actuator/valve combinations for different portions of the air mattress. A pulsating valve is provided which includes a housing having therein supply and exhaust valves each directly controlled by supply and exhaust solenoids. The solenoids are of an improved design.
Claims32
A control of an air mattress comprising:
- a housing having a supply chamber, an exhaust chamber, and a plenum;
- at least one supply port, one exhaust port and one outlet port on the housing and connected to the respective supply and exhaust chambers and the plenum;
- a supply valve and an exhaust valve in the housing and connecting respectively the supply and exhaust chambers to the plenum;
- and
- a supply and an exhaust solenoid connected to the supply and exhaust valves respectively;
- the solenoids including a core in a casing and the valves being connected to a first end of the core through a first aperture in the casing;
- and further comprising a resilient stop and spring between the casing and a second end of the core, the resilient stop and spring abutting the core.
A control of an air mattress comprising:
- a housing having a supply chamber, an exhaust chamber, and a plenum;
- and at least one supply port, one exhaust port and one outlet port on the housing and connected to the respective supply and exhaust chambers and the plenum;
- a supply valve and an exhaust valve in the housing and connecting respectively the supply and exhaust chambers to the plenum;
- a supply and an exhaust solenoid connected to the supply and exhaust valves respectively;
- and
- a vibration dampening mount connected to the housing.
A valve for an air mattress, the valve comprising:
- an inlet,
- a first valve in communication with the inlet,
- a second valve,
- a chamber in communication with the first and second valves, the chamber including an outlet,
- a controller coupled to the first and second valves, the controller being configured to control movement of the first and second valves to produce one of percussion and vibration air pressure pulses, and
- a vibration dampening mount.
A valve for an air mattress, the valve comprising:
- an inlet,
- a first valve in communication with the inlet,
- a second valve,
- a chamber in communication with the first and second valves, the chamber including an outlet,
- a controller coupled to the first and second valves, the controller being configured to control movement of the first and second valves to produce one of percussion and vibration air pressure pulses, and
- a solenoid coupled to one of the first and second valves, the solenoid including a casing and a core, the core being coupled to the one of the first and second valves coupled to the solenoid, and the solenoid further comprising a resilient stop and spring abutting the core.
A patient support having a longitudinal axis, the patient support comprising:
- a plurality of bladders,
- a first valve having a first valve inlet and a first valve outlet,
- a second valve having a second valve inlet and a second valve outlet,
- a chamber including a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports being coupled to one of the plurality of bladders, the chamber defining the first valve outlet and the second valve inlet, and
- a vibration dampening mount.
A patient support having a longitudinal axis, the patient support comprising:
- a plurality of bladders,
- a first valve having a first valve inlet and a first valve outlet,
- a second valve having a second valve inlet and a second valve outlet,
- a chamber including a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports being coupled to one of the plurality of bladders, the chamber defining the first valve outlet and the second valve inlet, and
- a solenoid coupled to one of the first and second valves, the solenoid including a casing and a core, the core being coupled to the one of the first and second valves coupled to the solenoid, and the solenoid further comprising a resilient stop and spring abutting the core.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.