Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~04~;i7~3
BEDDING FOR SITTING-OR LYING.
The invention relates to a bedding for sitting-or lying, the sur-
face of which is divided up into surface elements which are connected
to a driving member in such a manner, that part of the elements are
moved downwards from the initial position to a lower level and then
moved upwards to the initial position, whereupon the remaining ele-
ments are moved downwards and then upwards, after which this cycle is
repeated.
Such beddings are used for persons, who must constantly be sitting
or lying e.g. on account of paralysations and who are, therefore,
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exposed to contrac-ting seating-or bedsores, unless the
nursing personnél helps the persons in question to
change position at suitable intervals.
A known bedding of the type mentioned by way of intro-
duction is known from the Danish patent no. 133.232,
which deals with a bedding for sitting or lying with
surface elements which are mounted on rods, which are
moved up and down in a cycle. These elements are
arranged in such a manner, that a lowered element is
surrounded by four elements in their initial position,
which causes that no sufficient sidewards movement takes
place, as a varia-tion lies in a displacement from one
point to the adjacent point. The achieved massage ~
effect is, therefore, insufficient to cause the desir~d
circulation of -the blood, which is a condition of the
healing of seating-or bedsores. Furthermore the sur-
face pressure is proportionally high, as 50~0 of the
support will be removed by the lowering and the weight
of the body is supported by the remaining supports.
It is an object of the invention to remedy these draw-
backs and to improve the known beddings for si-tting or
lying, and this is achieved when the elements are place
in such a manner that each of the lowered elements is
surrounded by s:ix elements :Ln the ini-tial position in
such a manner, that -they have all the same distance
both mutually and to -the lowered central element.
Ilereby is achieved in the firs-t place, that the surface
pressure is reduced as only 25l% of the support is low-
ered, whereby -the remaining 75% will be able to bear
the weight of the body. This means a relief to the
si-tting or lying person, that the surface pressure only
rises a little. Furthermore this placing of the ele-
ments causes a considerably greater variation of the
support pattern between the single lowerings, as the
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as the 25% lowered are varied between -the remaining
75%, so that there are three lowerings between each
initial cycle. This great variation means an essen-
tially improved massage effect, which implies that
persons wi-th sores are expected to be fully cured
of sores when using this support.
In using the mounting of elements on rods dealt with
in claim 2, oné can in an easy and suitable manner
move the elements by means of a driving member.
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Besides -the mounting of elements of mutual displace-
abili-ty on the rods dealt with in claims 3 and 4
contributes to a hithertounknown support, as each
element in the inital posi-tion will now be able to
yield -to the body and will moreover equalize the sur-
face pressure in such R manner tha-t the body is sup-
ported complctely uniformly all over the layer of
surface elements. This equalizes the variations o~
surface pressures an~ will be felt as a grea-t relief
by the person, who does hereby become less stressed
on particularly exposed par-ts of the body, which -
have in the hithertoknown cases of supports had to
take up a disproportionate large weigh-t, resulting
in ulceration.
The invention will be described in details below with
reference to the drawing, in which
~ig. 1 shows a section o~ a seat in top view in two
si-tuations of support,
fig. 2 shows a partial section of a rod with sup-
porting elements.
In fig. 1 is shown an example of a bedding for sitting
or lying in top view. The individual supporting ele-
ments 1,2 are mounted on longitudinal or transverse
rods I,II,III,IV, which can be moved in relation to an
ini-tial position with all -the rods on the same leve`1
by means of a not shown driving member. This driving
member moves the rods in such a manner that every fourth
rod e.g. all rods indicated by I to the left in fig. 1
are moved downwards in rela-tion to the ini-tial posi-
-tion, while the remaining rods remain on a level.
Hereby a pa-ttern appears, which is formed by a circle
of six elements 2, which are cen-tred about -the lowered
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element 1. Such a pattern is accentuated by a dotted
line in fig. 1, in which the lowered element 1 is
hatched. By raising of the rods with the idication
I and lowering of e.g. the rods idicated by II) see
right side fig. 1, the pattern is moved both long-
itudinally and transversely. By a subsequent lowering
of the rods indicated by III and a subsequent lowering
of the rods indicated by IV, the support is thus moved
in a very regular and pleasan-t manner, which ensures
the desired massage effect.
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The driving me~ber may be of any know~ type such as a
hydraulic wi-th a cylinder or by means of a bellows
arrangement or a mechanical one by means of e.g. rocker
arms or cam disks or an elec-tromagnetic one.
The distance 3 be-tween the individual elements 1,2 is ,~
the same, as indicated in fig. 1. Hereby is achieved
an even distribution of the points of support.
The individual elements 1,2 consist of a cup-shaped
bottom part 7, which is attached to the piston rod 4
at -top. In the bott~m part is located a yielding to
part 8 which can consist of a closed ball body with a
yielding wall and filled with air. The top part 8 is '~
flat-tened at top 9, in order that the elements 1,2 can
together ~orm a proportionally flat surface of support,
where each element can absorb a pressure all over the
sufrace of support 9.
To ensure the desired equal distribution of the weight
of the body on the elements, the rods are arranged as
shown in fig. 2. The rods I-IV'are hollow,and provided
with a number of cylinders 6, which have each a piston
5 with a piston rod 4, to which the elemen-t 1,2 is
attached, so that all the elements have at start the ',
same distance A ~rom the rods wi-th the piston 5 e.g.
in -the middle of the cylinder 6.
In order to secure that the liquid does not leak out
o:~ the cylinder 6 round the piston 5 there can be
attached a generally known yielding membrane of by
way of example rubber in a liquid proof manner to the
inner side of the cylinder wall, said rubber membrane
being impenetrable to liquid. This membrane fits
tightly to the undersside of the pis-ton and can fol,low
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-the up-~nd downgoing movement of the piston withou-t
hampering this movement. Hereby is ensured -tha-t the
system is comple-tely liquidproof and simul-taneously
-tha-t -the piston can be moved freely up and down, as
it is unnecessary to provide the pis-ton with sealing
rings as e.g. O-rings.
By a pressing down of some elements e.g. by a person
being seated on the support, the oil is pressed over
in-to the other cylinders, the elements of which are
hereby raised for contact with the body. The
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hydraulic system is a closed system. Hereby a uniform
weigh-t of body is absorbed by the elements mounted on
-the same rod and the surface pressure is reduced to a
hi-thertounknown level. It has proved in practice
that while by a weight of the body of 70 kg one is ex-
posed to a surface pressure of approx. 35/g/cm2 in a
sitting position, the surface pressure is by means of
the invention reduced to between 10 and 15 g/cm2 at a
number of elements of between 500 and 600 in one seat.
In ano-ther embodiment each elemen-t consists of a s-ta-
tionary, yielding cyclinder, a so-called roller mem-
brane, which membrane can be filled by air or a liquid.
In order to form a closed system, all membranes on one
row, corresponding to the elements on a rod, are
connected by means of e.g. a hose or a pipe. By le-t-ting
the upper side of the membrane form the very support
and stress the membrane by a pressing in, the upper
side is raised to form an element in the initial posi-
tion, while a removal of the stress will resul-t in a
lowering of the surface and with that o-f the element.
Hereby is created a leakageproof system, which secures
the user against the risk ~f leaking out and bad
function of the system.
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