WO2006108540A1

WO2006108540A1 - Bedding device for a person, and bed comprising a bedding device

Info

Publication number: WO2006108540A1
Application number: PCT/EP2006/003088
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dankmar Olbertz
Original assignee: Dankmar Olbertz
Priority date: 2005-04-12
Filing date: 2006-04-05
Publication date: 2006-10-19
Also published as: EP1868553A1; WO2006108540A9; DE202005005816U1

Abstract

Bedding device (12) for a person, in particular for bedding a person in a lying position, characterized in that said bedding device (12) comprises a stretching frame (14) which is covered by a sheet (15) which is permeable to air and moisture and a device (42) for creating an air flow (L) through said sheet (16).

Description

DESCRIPTION

The present invention is related to a bedding device for a person, in particular for bedding a person in a lying position, as well as to a bed comprising such a bedding device.

Beds, couches and so forth for bedding lying persons are known in different embodiments. To create a comfortable lying position, such bedding devices typically comprise elastic cushionings which adapt to the body form of the user to some extend. For example, mattresses consisting of foamed plastic, latex or horsehair or a combination of these materials are known which may be reinforced by inner springs. The outer covering of these mattresses typically consists of a textile material which air-conditions the skin of the user as far as possible.

Such mattresses do not only absorb sweat but also dandruff particles and other contaminations which are hard to remove from the cushioning. Thus the mattress collects mites and pathogens which represent medical risks for the user. This leads, for example, to problems for allergic persons and particularly in the field of nursing and residential geriatric care because of the more intensive contamination on one hand and the higher hygienic requirements on the other hand. To avoid infections it is necessary to sanitize the bedding device periodically. However, cleaning mattresses of the above kind without leaving any residual contamination is almost impossible, and for this reason it is unavoidable to remove and to dispose the mattresses after use or parts of the same after reaching a certain degree of utilization and to replace them by new ones. This procedure is quite elaborate and expensive.

These hygienic problems arise especially with bedridden patients who suffer under incontinence. In this case an immediate removal of strong contamination by excrements or urine is desired but in many cases impossible due to the heavy workload of the nursing staff.

Similar problems arise in all cases where bedding devices must be provided for frequently changing persons under problematic hygienic conditions, for example in asylums for addicts or homeless persons. In the field of nursing the bedding of care intensive patients over a long period represents a problem because eczema and skin irritations as well as bedsores (so-called decubitus ulcers) occur after lying for a long time. To avoid decubitus ulcers so-called pressure change mattresses have been used which are provided with a drive which varies the pressure on different body parts of the patient. Such pressure change mattresses are not only expensive but also cause disturbing noise.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to avoid the above mentioned hygienic problems which arise in connection with the bedding of high-maintenance and care intensive persons as well as allergies in a comparably easy and inexpensive way. Another object is to create a comparably simple possibility for bedding highly care intensive persons in a way to prevent decubitus ulcers, eczema and so on.

According to the present invention, this objective is achieved by a bedding device of the above mentioned kind which comprises a stretching frame which is covered by a sheet being permeable to air and moisture, said bedding device further comprising a device for creating an air flow through the sheet.

In this context, the term "sheet" does not refer in a restrictive manner to particular sheets of beds which a suited for covering mattresses but more generally to a tensible web, made for example from a textile material, which is suitable for the present kind of use and which is suitably provided with a certain elasticity. The sheet of the present bedding device can simply be separated from the. stretching frame and be cleaned and disinfected separately. Contrary to the known mattress cushionings an almost complete and sterile cleaning of the sheet is possible, so that the hygienic requirements can be preserved more easily. If it is necessary to dispose the sheet after a certain period of use and to replace it by a new one, this procedure is much less expensive than replacing a mattress complete or in parts. The air and moisture permeability of the sheet enables a good climatisation of the skin of the bedded person. This climatisation is supported by the air flow through the sheet which also contributes to prevent the collection of germs, mites and so on in the sheet. Due to the permeability of the sheet, excrements can permeate the sheet and enter a space or container being located under the bedded person so that the excrements can be disposed more easily. Finally, bedridden patients can lie on the stretching sheet for a longer period without the occurrence of eczema or decubitus ulcers because the skin is well climatised and the pressure on the body tissue is reduced because of the elasticity of the covering. Therefore the present bedding device is also suitable for decubitus prophylaxis.

The subclaims refer to advantageous embodiments of the present invention. Claim 16 relates to a bed which comprises a bedding device according to the present invention.

In the following a preferred embodiment of the invention is described in detail with reference to the following accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bedding device according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the bedding device of fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a view of the bedding device of fig. 1 and 2 from the bedhead.

Fig. 1 and 2 show a bed 10 comprising a bedding device 12 for bedding a person in a lying position. The bedding device 12 comprises a rectangular stretching frame 14 which is arranged horizontally according to Fig. 1. This stretching frame 14 can, for example, be welded from four square pipes of metal in a way that two longer pipes form the parallel edges in the length direction, being connected by two shorter pipes at the head and foot end extending rectangular to the longer pipes. The stretching frame 14 is covered by a sheet 16 which is permeable to air and moisture. This sheet 16 is a tensible web made of a woven textile material which enables an elastic tensioned covering of the stretching frame 14. The material of the tensible web is to be chosen suitably for the present use, particularly as far as its elastic properties and tension force is concerned. The sheet 16 is detachably fixed at one of the longitudinal sides 18 of the stretching frame 14 (not visible in Fig. 1 and 2) and stretched by a tension device 20 provided at the opposing longitudinal side 22 of the stretching frame 14 over the whole width of the stretching frame 14 as well as over the upper edge 23 of the stretching frame 14 at the longitudinal side 22. The tension device 20 is a tension pulley 24 provided at the longitudinal side 22 of the stretching frame 14 and extending parallel to this longitudinal side 22, the sheet 16 being partially wound onto said tension pulley 24 from one of its longitudinal rims. The tension pulley 24 can be turned by a crank handle 26 to change the tension of the sheet 16 on the stretching frame 14. By complete unwinding of the sheet 16 from the tension pulley 24 and by detaching it from it from the opposing longitudinal edge 18 of the stretching frame 14 the sheet 16 can be detached completely from the stretching frame 14, for example to clean and to sterilize it separately.

Differing from the described embodiment, the tensioning device 20 can be operated in another way mechanically or hydraulically. Moreover, a sheet 16 can be stretched in the length direction parallel to the longitudinal edges 18,23 of the stretching frame 14 by a tension device 20 which is provided at the head or foot end of the bedding device 12.

A liquid tight tub 30 is arranged under the stretching frame 14, said tub 30 comprising a rectangular bottom 32 to which the side walls 34,36 are connected which rise from the bottom 30, said side walls 34,36 being slightly inclined to the outside. The upper opening area of the tub 30 which is delimited by the edges of the walls 34,36 mainly corresponds to the area enclosed by the rectangular stretching frame 14, i.e. the area delimited by the sheet 16. The stretching frame 14 joins the upper edges of the walls 34,36 of the tub 30 in a preferably airtight connection. This can be achieved by a single-piece connection of the metal pipes of the stretching frame 14 with the walls 34,36 or suitable sealing members.

The bottom 32 of the tub 30 is generally flat but inclined towards one of the corners of the tub 30 so that a liquid inside the tub 30 can flow in the direction of this corner. In the corner there is provided a liquid outlet port 38 for disposing the liquid into a container 40 outside of the tub 30. This liquid outlet port 38 may be a hose being provided with a shut-off or a valve. One front wall 36 of the tub 30 which is provided at the head end of the bedding device 12 (on the right side in Fig. 1 and 2) is provided with an opening wherein a device 42 for creating an air flow L through the sheet 16 is inserted. This air flow creating device may be a fan which draws environmental air from outside and supplies it to the space which is delimited in the downward direction by the bottom 32 and in the lateral direction by the side walls 34,36 of the tub 30 and in the upside direction by the sheet 16. Through this action an overpressure is created in the inner space of the bedding device 12, so that the air can exhaust through the air permeable sheet 16 in the upside direction to the environment of the bedding device 12. For this reason air flows permanently during the operation of the fan 42 from downside the sheet 16 to its upper side, and the air flow L provides a climatisation of the sheet 16 and of the immediate environment of a person lying on the sheet 16. Moreover, the air flow L prevents contaminations like dust, mites and so on from collecting permanently in the sheet 16. Advantageously the fan 42 is provided for tempering the air flow, i.e., for bringing it to a predetermined temperature. Furthermore, an air flow L can be created with a predetermined humidity, and additives like aerosols, an additional proportion of oxygen and so on can be added to the air flow L by the fan 42. Moreover, the air flow creating device 42 can be provided for a stepless control of the intensity of the air flow L.

The air flow creation device 42 is not restricted to a fan but can also be a compressed air supply which is provided in an opening of the front wall 36 of the tub 30 above the bottom 32, which creates the air flow L through the sheet 16.

Moreover, one of the walls 34,36 can be provided with a pressure relief valve which opens when the pressure inside the bedding device 12 exceeds a predetermined level and thus prevents a malfunction of the air flow creating device 42 due to a blocking of the air flow L through the sheet 16.

The mesh aperture of the textile woven fabric of the sheet 16 has to be chosen in a way that the necessary air permeability for the air flow L is accomplished. Moreover, a certain moisture permeability has to be provided so that the sheet 16 is not only permeable for the perspiration of the bedded person but also for liquid excrements like, for example, urine. Thus the liquid can penetrate the sheet 16 downwards to enter the tub 30, collects on the bottom 32 of the tub 30 and is disposed through the liquid outlet port 38 into the container 40. This provides the advantage that, for example, excrements of patients bedded on the bedding device 12 which suffer under incontinence do not remain on top of the sheet 16 but are immediately removed from the supporting area of the patient. Furthermore this provides a simple possibility for cleaning the body of the patient because he can be washed or showered in a lying position on the sheet 16 while the washing water can flow down through the sheet 16.

For disposing more coarse excrements like faeces, for example, the sheet 16 comprises an approximately central area 44 being slightly displaced towards the foot end, in which the mesh aperture of the sheet 16 is bigger than in the environmental area 46 around the central area 44. Through the central area 44 more coarse excrements can enter the tub 30. Apart from choosing different mesh apertures it is also possible to provide the sheet 16 with areas 44,46 comprising perforation holes of different sizes so that bigger perforation holes are located in the central area 44 while the environmental area 46 is perforated by finer holes.

The bed 10 comprises a bed frame 50 being supported by casters 51 resting on the floor, in which the previously described bedding device 12 is supported swiveling around a horizontal axis 52. The horizontal axis 52 can pass the center of gravity of the bedding device 12 so that the swiveling movement, for example by lifting the bed-head which is shown on the right side of Fig. 1 and lowering the opposed foot end, is possible with low effort. Of course the arrangement of the swiveling axis 52 can be adapted to the present situation and the special requirements of the positioning of the person. In particular this is the case with a bed 10 which shall be suitable for bedding high maintenance patients. Additionally a swiveling drive which is not shown in Fig. 1 can be provided for executing the swiveling movement of the bedding device 12.

In a slightly inclined position the bedded person can be held by the frictional force of the sheet 16 in his lying position without slipping towards the foot end. To prevent the lying person from slipping down in a stronger inclined position of the bedding device 12, a foot rest 54 is provided at the foot end of the bedding device 12 which is positioned approximately perpendicular to the plane of the sheet 16 and which is stable enough to carry the body weight of a person. The foot rest 54 can be provided adjustable at the stretching frame 14 to be adapted to the height of the person. By this arrangement the bedded patient can be erected in his lying position by swiveling the bedding device 12 until he can stand on the foot rest 54. This is particularly advantageous because this supports the cardiovascular functions which tend to decrease with bedridden patients over a long period.

The elasticity of the stretched sheet 16 provides a good distribution of the pressure on the tissue of the bedded patient, so that an excessive tissue pressure is avoided and decubitus ulcers are prevented. The good air conditioning and climatization of the skin also contributes to the decubitus prophylaxis and to the prevention of eczema and skin irritations. Moreover, the pressure load can be changed by swiveling the bedding device 12 around the swiveling axis 52.

Fig. 3 shows a view of the bed 10 with a body shown schematically which is lying on the bedding device 12. The elastic deformation of the sheet 15 by the load of the body is indicated by a dashed line. For the sake of understanding, the figure shows this deformation in an extensive way. In reality the tension of the sheet 16 can reach an extend to which the deformation by the body weight of the person is only small and the user sinks into the sheet 16 to an insignificant extend.

The bed 50 shown in the Fig. 1 to 3 is a comparatively simple embodiment which can be provided with further devices if required which are common in the field of nursing, like side bars, infusion racks, an erection assisting device above the lying area and so on.

Claims

1. Bedding device (12) for a person, in particular for bedding a person in a lying position, characterized in that said bedding device (12) comprises a stretching frame (14) which is covered by a sheet (15) which is permeable to air and moisture and a device (42) for creating an air flow (L) through said sheet (16).

2. Bedding device according to claim 1, characterized by a liquid-tight tub (30) being positioned under the stretching frame (14).

3. Bedding device according to claim 2, characterized in that the bottom (32) of the tub (30) is provided with a liquid outlet port (38).

4. Bedding device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said air flow creating device (42) is positioned in an opening in the wall portion (36) being located above the bottom (32) of the tub (30).

5. Bedding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air flow (L) is directed in a way that it emerges at the top of the sheet (16) which is provided for carrying a person.

6. Bedding device according to claim 5, characterized in that the air flow creating device (42) is a fan.

7. Bedding device according to claim 5, characterized in that the air flow creating device (42) is a compressed air supply.

8. Bedding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air flow creating device (42) is provided for tempering the air flow (L).

9. Bedding device according to one of the proceeding claims, characterized in that said air flow creating device (42) is provided for creating an air flow (L) with a predetermined air humidity.

10. Bedding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sheet (16) is formed by a woven textile fabric.

11. Bedding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sheet (16) is provided with perforation holes.

L2. Bedding device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that said sheet (16) comprises different areas (44,46) with different mesh apertures or hole apertures.

13. Bedding device according to claim 12, characterized in that said sheet (16) comprises a central area (44) whose meshes or holes are bigger than in the remaining areas (46) of the sheet (16).

14. Bedding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said stretching frame (14) comprises a tension device for applying a tension to the sheet (16).

15. Bedding device according to claim 14, characterized in that said tension device (20) comprises a tension pulley (24) to which the sheet (16) is wound up from one of its rims and a crank (26) which is provided at one end of the tension pulley (24) .

16. Bed (10), comprising a bedding device (12) according to one of the preceding claims.

17. Bed according to claim 16, characterized by a bed frame (50) in which said bedding device (12) is supported swiveling around a horizontal axis (52).

18. Bed according to claim 17, characterized by a swivel drive for swiveling the bedding device (12).

19. Bed according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that said horizontal axis (52) passes the center of gravity of the bedding device (12).

20. Bed according to one of the claims 17 to 19, characterized in that said bedding device (12) is provided with a footrest at its foot end, said footrest (54) extending approximately perpendicular to the plane of the sheet (16).

21. Bed according to claim. 20, characterized in that the position of the footrest (54) is adjustable.