Patient support structure

Abstract

Abstract An improved patient support structure comprising an articulatable frame, a plurality of elongated inflatable sacks, some of the sacks having one or two comfort slots therein, a low pressure compressed air blower and a plurality of pipes and manifolds for carrying gas from the blower to the sacks. The sacks are connected to the gas supply pipes and manifolds so as to be easily detachable thereform. Each manifold has a variable muffler to control gas exhaust. An automatic switching circuit determines whether to power the brushless DC electric motor from a rectified AC power source or DC power supplied by batteries carried unobtrusively by the support structure. A multi-outlet, variable flow, gas valve connects the blower to the pipes and comprises a housing defining at least two cylinder chambers and a discrete outlet for each cylinder chamber. A primary silencer is connected to each discrete outlet. The sacks rest atop a neoprene membrane which covers a planar upper surface of the frame. A zone valve control circuit has a motor driven integrated circuit and a further integrated circuit which chooses between a pluralilty of preset step-wise thumbwheel switches based upon a signal from a step-wise linear switch which is mechanically connected to one of the articulatable sections of the frame.

Inventors

• 👤 Vernon L. Goodwin

Bibliographic Details