EP0961566A1

EP0961566A1 - Method and apparatus for quick inflating of an inflatable bag, particularly a supporting device bag, such as a mattress

Info

Publication number: EP0961566A1
Application number: EP98902054A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jean-Louis Viard
Original assignee: Hill Rom Industries SAS
Current assignee: Hill Rom Industries SAS
Priority date: 1997-01-13
Filing date: 1998-01-09
Publication date: 1999-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 2018-01-09
Also published as: ATE251409T1; US5944066A; CA2274949C; FR2758259A1; FR2758259B1; JP2001507967A; BR9806748A; CA2274949A1; WO1998030132A1; DE69818802D1; AU5870098A; DE69818802T2; EP0961566B1

Abstract

A method and apparatus for rapidly inflating an inflatable chamber. The apparatus comprises inflation means 50 for inflating an inflatable chamber 14 defined by a support device 12 for supporting a patient P. The apparatus 10 comprises at least one first inflation means 52 for performing inflation at a high flow rate and at a low pressure so as to fill the volume of said chamber 14 substantially fully at a low pressure, and a second inflation means 54 for inflating at a low flow rate but at a high pressure to obtain said predetermined inflation pressure in said chamber 14. The invention makes it possible to inflate the chamber 14 rapidly, which is particularly important in medical applications.

Description

Method and apparatus for rapidly inflating an inflatable chamber, in particular a chamber of a support device, such as a mattress.

The invention essentially relates to a method and an apparatus for rapidly inflating an inflatable chamber, in particular a chamber of a support device, such as a mattress. The invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the prevention and treatment of complications related to bed rest and prolonged immobilization, in particular pressure sores.

It is known in the prior art, in particular from the prior document of the applicant FR-A-2 718 347 = EP-A-676 158, a method and a device for supporting an element to be supported, in particular the body of a patient, allowing support at a controlled, essentially constant, depth of penetration.

However, for the inflation of the chamber which is initially deflated, an inflation means has hitherto been used such as a compressor capable of inflating at a high pressure, greater than 30 mbar, generally of the order of 50 mbar, which however has the drawback of being of a low flow rate, that is to say a flow rate of less than approximately 10 1 / min, which generates a considerable waiting time before putting in in operational work, which is 20 to 60 min or more.

Thus, the main object of the present invention is to solve the new technical problem consisting in providing a solution which allows rapid inflation of an inflatable chamber, in particular a chamber of a support device such as a mattress. The main object of the present invention is also to solve the aforementioned new technical problem according to a solution which makes it possible preferably to rapidly inflate such a chamber in less than 10 min, preferably less than 5 min, and even better less than about 2 min.

The main object of the present invention is also to solve the new technical problem consisting in providing a solution which allows rapid inflation of an inflation chamber of a device for supporting an element to be supported, in particular the body of a patient, advantageously in the case of the prevention or treatment of patients subjected to prolonged bed rest, or of patients having undergone a skin graft or of patients subject to acute pain resulting from certain diseases. All of these technical problems are solved for the first time by the present invention, in a simple, inexpensive, easy to implement and usable on an industrial and medical scale.

Thus, according to a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of rapidly inflating an inflatable chamber with an inflation fluid, said chamber having a given inflation volume, comprising a step of inflating said chamber to a predetermined inflation pressure. , characterized in that the inflation itself is carried out in two stages, a first stage known as rapid inflation at high flow rate and at low pressure to fill the volume of said chamber essentially completely, and a second stage of inflation at low flow rate but at high pressure to obtain said predetermined inflation pressure in said chamber.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is characterized in that the aforementioned chamber is part of a support device, in particular for supporting the body of a patient, this support device comprising preferably a mattress.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is characterized in that the large flow rate used for rapid inflation of the first step is carried out at a flow rate equal to or greater than 50 l / min, better equal or greater at 100 l / min, more preferably still more than 200 l / min and more preferably still more than 300 l / min.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the low pressure used in the context of rapid inflation is a pressure less than about 20 mbar. According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the low inflation rate used in the second step is a rate equal to or less than 30 l / min.

According to yet another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the high pressure used during inflation in the second step is a pressure equal to or greater than 20 mbar and even better equal or greater than 30 mbar, in particular when the predetermined inflation pressure in the room is around 20 mbar. It is advantageous in the context of the invention that the high inflation pressure in the second step is at least of the order of twice the predetermined inflation pressure sought in said chamber. According to yet another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the total duration of the inflation, that is to say of the first and of the second inflation step mentioned above, is equal to or less than about 10 min, preferably equal or less than about 5 min. The present invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the context of a method of supporting an element to be supported, in particular the body of a patient, comprising the provision of at least one support device comprising at least one flexible chamber. , inflatable, closed or with controlled exhaust, means for filling or evacuating a filling fluid from said chamber being provided as well as means for controlling a filling or an evacuation of said filling fluid as a function of various parameters retained, in particular the insertion distance of an element to be supported such as the body of a patient in the support element comprising said chamber, and / or the inflation pressure in said chamber. These parameters are well known to those skilled in the art and allow in particular in the context of patient support to achieve the expected performance in terms of prevention or treatment of the patient, in particular complications related to bed rest or prolonged immobilization, especially pressure sores, as well as avoiding relatively high pressures on the different parts of the element to be supported, in particular the body of a patient, which are detrimental to the treatment and comfort of certain types of patients , in particular patients who have undergone a skin transplant or patients subject to acute pain following certain diseases.

According to a second aspect, the present invention also relates to a device for rapidly inflating a chamber inflatable by an inflation fluid, said chamber having a determined inflation volume, comprising means for inflating said inflatable chamber by an inflation fluid to a predetermined inflation pressure, characterized in that it comprises at least two separate inflation means, a first inflation means carrying out inflation at high flow rate and at low pressure to fill the volume of said low pressure chamber substantially completely, and a second inflation means at low flow rate but at high pressure for obtaining said predetermined inflation pressure in said chamber.

Advantageous embodiments of this device in particular relating to high flow, low pressure, low flow and high pressure clearly result from the preceding description concerning the first aspect which applies entirely to the second aspect.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first high-speed inflation means comprises at least one turbine or miniturbine, for example delivering according to a more preferred current embodiment of the order of 350 l / min to a low pressure of about

8 mbar, preferably air.

According to yet another particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned second inflation means at low flow rate at high pressure comprises at least one compressor, for example of the membrane vibrator type delivering a flow rate of the order of 10 l / min at a pressure of the order of 40 mbar to obtain a predetermined pressure in the chamber of the order of 20 mbar, advantageously in air.

In the context of the invention, it is preferred that the inflation fluid of the chamber consists of air, but it is naturally possible to use a liquid such as water or an aqueous solution.

Thanks to the invention, the rapid inflation of the chamber during the first stage is preferably obtained in an extremely short time of the order of 1 min and the pressurization to the predetermined pressure with the second inflation means, such as that a compressor is produced in an equally short time of the order of 1 to 4 min, which results in a total inflation time at the predetermined inflation pressure of less than 5 min.

It is thus understood that the invention makes it possible to solve the technical problems previously stated in a simple, inexpensive, easy to implement and usable on an industrial and medical scale.

The invention also makes it possible to rapidly inflate any type of chamber and in particular chambers for a support device, in particular for supporting the body of a patient.

In the context of the invention, the support device or mattress can comprise a multitude of cushions or tubes communicating with each other, or communicating with each other only by zones, thus making it possible to define zones inflated to different pressures.

On the other hand, according to another embodiment, the cushions or tubes can be deflated alternately individually, sequentially, in particular one in two, one in three, one in four or one in n. It is thus understood that the invention finds application in any type of inflatable chamber.

Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clear in the light of the explanatory description which follows, given with reference to a currently preferred embodiment of the invention given simply by way of illustration and which therefore cannot in any way limit the scope of the invention. It should be noted that any characteristic which appears to be new with respect to any state of the prior art forms part of the invention in its generality. Also, Figures 1 and 2 are an integral part of the present invention.

In the figures:

- Figure 1 is a schematic view of the principle of a rapid inflation device according to the present invention, wherein the inflation chamber is an inflation chamber of an element to be supported such as a patient's body, this element to be supported in this case being of the mattress type;

- Figure 2 shows the inflation curve obtained with the inflation device according to the present invention of Figure 1, implementing the inflation method according to the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, a currently preferred embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention is represented by the general reference number 10.

This device comprises an actual support device 12, for example a mattress, within the framework of the support of a patient's body P. This support device 12 can, for example, comprise at least one closed or exhaust area controlled 14, flexible, inflation, which can, for example, be composed of a multiplicity of inflatable tubes communicating with each other. This chamber 14 is inflatable under a predetermined initial inflation pressure, adjustable. This support device 12 generally rests on a box spring (not shown here) or equivalent means. Naturally, this support device 12 can be subdivided into several inflatable chambers which can thus be inflated to a predetermined initial inflation pressure different from that of the other chambers.

It is advantageous that this apparatus 10 also comprises control means 40 which advantageously comprise a control unit 42 which usually comprises an electronic or electromechanical or even electropneumatic central unit managing the automatic operation of the inflation of chamber 14. These control means 40 are well known to those skilled in the art and are not described in more detail here. They are generally of the type described in the previous document of the applicant FR-A-2,718,347 = EP-A-0 676 158 to which those skilled in the art can refer. In the context of the present invention, the device 10 is a device for rapidly inflating an inflatable chamber, here chamber 14, by an inflation fluid such as water or air, this chamber having a volume of inflation determined in the inflated state, for example 210 liters. This device comprises means 50 for inflating the inflatable chamber 14 with the inflation fluid to a predetermined inflation pressure.

In the context of the present invention, the device 10 is characterized in that it comprises at least two separate inflation means, a first inflation means 52 carrying out inflation at high flow rate and at low pressure to fill the volume substantially completely of the low pressure chamber, and a second inflation means 52 at low flow rate but at high pressure to obtain the predetermined inflation pressure in chamber 14.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the first high-speed inflation means 52 comprises at least one turbine or miniturbine, as shown, for example delivering according to a more preferred present embodiment of the order of 350 l / min to a low pressure of around 8 mbar.

According to yet another particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the second inflation means 54 at low flow rate at high pressure comprises at least one compressor, as shown, for example of the membrane vibrator type delivering a flow rate of the order of 10 l / min at a pressure of the order of 40 mbar when the predetermined pressure in the chamber is of the order of 20 mbar. These inflation means 50 are naturally linked to the chamber 14 by a suitable pipe 30 provided with non-return valves 35 and 36 and on which are mounted in diversion by a pipe 32 of the discharge means 34 such as a valve allowing evacuate the inflation fluid when a pressure drop is sought in the chamber 14. The inflation means 50, in particular the first means 52 and the second means 54, as well as the evacuation means 34 are electronically connected or electromechanical or even electropneumatic to the control center 42 of the control means 40. Specific variants result from the preceding description concerning the process and the apparatus of the present invention and will not be so not repeated here. However, in the context of the invention, it is preferred to use air as the inflation fluid, which facilitates implementation and it is possible to discharge the inflation fluid directly into the atmosphere.

It is understood that thanks to the invention, it is possible to carry out rapid, total inflation of the chamber 14 at a predetermined inflation pressure in a very short time, which can be less than 5 min, unlike the solutions of the art anterior where inflation generally required 20 to 60 min or more.

Referring to Figure 2, there is shown an inflation curve of a chamber 14 of a support device 12 adapted to support a patient P with the apparatus of the invention described in Figure 1, using as first inflation means 52 a miniturbine delivering a large air flow of approximately 350 l / min at a low pressure of approximately 8 mbar and a second inflation 54 constituted by a supercharger of the annular turbine type delivering a low flow of approximately 10 l / min at a high pressure of approximately 40 mbar, it is possible to fill the volume of 210 liters of chamber 14 at a pressure of the order of 18 mbar in 4 min, which constitutes a decisive technical advantage compared to the state of the prior art.

Naturally, the invention covers all the means constituting technical equivalents and the means described as well as their various combinations.

Claims

1. A method of rapidly inflating an inflatable chamber with an inflation fluid, said chamber having a given inflation volume, comprising a step of inflating said chamber to a predetermined inflation pressure, characterized in that the inflation itself in two stages, a first stage known as rapid inflation at high flow rate and at low pressure to fill the volume of said chamber essentially completely, and a second stage of inflation at low flow rate but at high pressure to obtain said pressure predetermined inflation in said chamber.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the aforementioned chamber is part of a support device, in particular for supporting the body of a patient, this support device preferably comprising a mattress.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the large flow rate used for rapid inflation of the first step is carried out at a flow rate equal to or greater than 50 l / min, better equal or greater than 100 l / min, preferably still greater than 200 l / min and still more preferably greater than 300 l / min.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the low pressure used in the context of rapid inflation is a pressure less than about 20 mbar.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the low inflation rate used in the second step is a rate equal to or less than 30 l / min.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the high pressure used during inflation in the second step is a pressure equal to or greater than 20 mbar and even better equal or greater than 30 mbar, in particular when the pressure of predetermined inflation in the chamber is of the order of 20 mbar.

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the total duration of inflation, that is to say of the first and second inflation steps mentioned above, is equal to or less than about 10 min, preferably equal to or less than about 5 min.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is a method of supporting an element to be supported, in particular the body of a patient, comprising the provision of at least one support device comprising at least one flexible, inflatable, closed or exhaust chamber controlled, means for filling or evacuating a filling fluid from said chamber being provided as well as means for controlling a filling or an evacuation of said filling fluid as a function of various parameters retained, in particular the distance driving an element to be supported such as the body of a patient into the support element comprising said chamber, and / or the inflation pressure in said chamber.

9. Apparatus for rapidly inflating an inflatable chamber (14) with an inflation fluid, said chamber (14) having a determined inflation volume, comprising means for inflating (50) said inflatable chamber with an inflation fluid at a predetermined inflation pressure, characterized in that it comprises at least two separate inflation means, a first inflation means (52) carrying out inflation at high flow rate and at low pressure to fill the volume of said low-pressure chamber substantially completely pressure, and a second inflation means (54) at low flow rate but at high pressure to obtain said predetermined inflation pressure in said chamber.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the aforementioned first inflation means (52) at high speed comprises at least one turbine or miniturbine, advantageously air.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the second inflation means (54) at low flow at high pressure comprises at least one compressor, preferably air.