JPH1075853A - Shape memory cushion - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a cushion to store a shape capable of supporting the whole body under fixed pressure by attaching a sheet around the outside of a soft foamed plastic body to tightly close the same and form a cushion body so that an air flowing pipe provided in the tip with an air valve capable of being freely opened and closed is disposed in a proper position of the body. SOLUTION: A desired shape of a soft foamed plastic body 2 is formed by the use of a cushion material in advance. The outside of the body 2 is wrapped by a vinyl film or proper plastic sheet 3 or the like capable of sufficiently ensuring the air tightness and impermeability as adherently as possible to form a cushion body 1. An air flowing pipe 6 communicating to the inside of the sheet and provided on the tip with an air valve 5 capable of being freely opened and closed is engaged with the proper position in the peripheral edge of the sheet 3, so that a shape capable of supporting the whole body under fixed pressure can be stored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cushion for a bed or a seat. More specifically, the cushion body is prepared by using a porous soft foamed plastic, and the outside thereof is tightly sealed with an airtight sheet. Shape memory is easily done without any processing such as heating and cooling, and for beds or seats, it is extremely easy to add, store and release the shape via a valve for discharging and introducing the internal air. Regarding cushions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many conventional cushions use urethane foam inside. Urethane foams are hard or soft, but all have resilience, but they cannot retain their shape unless subjected to processing such as application of heat. For example, according to the “wheelchair mat that fits the shape of an individual's buttocks and reduces fatigue” disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 7-31024, shape memory urethane, shape memory polyester fiber, and the like are heated to about 60 ° C. There is a need to provide a wheelchair mat in which a buttocks are placed on a resin layer to fit the shape of the buttocks and a shock absorbing urethane layer is superimposed on the lower layer. When the shape memory is changed to another shape, it must be heated to about 60 ° C. each time.

[0003] A "mat" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-305908 is a mat made of a material containing shape memory fibers, which has an irregular shape at a relatively high temperature of about 33 ° C or higher. Is formed in advance so that the unevenness disappears at a relatively low temperature of less than about 33 ° C. Therefore, when the temperature of the bed where the human body starts to feel hot becomes 33 ° C. or more, the mat has unevenness to improve air permeability and give a cool feeling. When the temperature drops and it starts to feel cold, the irregularities disappear, the air permeability decreases, and it can be kept warm. This mat could be adopted as a bed for healthy people,
Since body pressure is partially collected, it cannot be expected to prevent floor rubbing, soreness, etc., and it is technically difficult to perform molding for shape memory.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-157572 discloses a proposal using a coil spring formed of a shape memory alloy and having a cushioning mechanism for supporting the body in order to avoid continuous compression on a specific part of the body by shape deformation in response to a temperature change. 62-18376
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No.
No. 59953 discloses a "body supporting cushion mechanism". However, the devices having these mechanisms are large-scale, and it is not easy to develop technology related to temperature and other adjustment control.

[0005] Other methods using an air sac, an ice sac, or the like to minimize pressure on the body and prevent floor rubbing and pain,
Various methods have been devised, such as using a bag-like mat enclosing beads or gel-like materials, but none of them is capable of storing shape, and requires facilities such as a pump and piping for pressurization. In addition to being unable to be used, patients suffered from seasickness, and there was no hope of preventing pressure ulcers in dissipating body heat, collecting warmth, or taking measures against sweat.

[0006]

Although the conventional shape memory cushion is as described above, a shape memory cushion using a shape memory foam resin can be selected as a material which can be provided at low cost and is relatively satisfactory. However, there has not yet been proposed any means for easily forming a shape conforming to the body shape, performing shape memory or easily canceling the memory, and then immediately fitting a new shape and obtaining a configuration capable of shape memory at low cost. .

[0007] Conventional cushions referred to as improved types often support the body with dots or lines, and in most cases, the body pressure applied to a part of the skin increases. The human body can provide comfortable comfort by supporting the whole body with constant pressure and by eliminating unnatural sinking of the body. The present invention is provided with a configuration for storing a shape capable of supporting the entire body with a constant pressure as described above, and when it is desired to change the shape, it is erased within a short time to return to the original shape, and then another shape It is an object of the present invention to provide a cushion that can be updated one after another at the lowest cost.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a shape memory polymer has recently been developed in Japan and abroad as a synthetic resin having both a shape memory phenomenon and an easy recovery phenomenon. However, any of these synthetic resins requires the same treatment as the above-mentioned shape memory alloy, such as heating and cooling, for deformation and shape recovery. The present invention provides a means for maintaining shape memory only by simple air pressure adjustment without performing processing such as heating and cooling using ordinary porous soft foamed plastic, and for returning to the original shape in a short time. developed.

[0009] Rubber and polymer elastomers have the property of returning to their original shape even if they are greatly deformed. Most polymers are so-called viscoelastic materials, which can be returned to their original shapes, and are especially flexible porous foams. For example, a sponge-type polyurethane foam or a polystyrene foam which is a plastic is the same. And, the present invention, under a constant reduced pressure excluding air, in an atmosphere where airtightness is maintained,
The deformation given to the ordinary foamed resin body by external pressure is as follows:
In order to maintain the shape forever, and to return to the original shape, let air flow in and restore the pressure,
The present invention was completed by being able to demonstrate that the deformation was immediately released and returned to its original state.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In a sponge-type soft foamed plastic body formed in an appropriate shape, the outside of the soft foamed plastic body is first sealed with a highly airtight sheet, and the cushion body is sealed. Form. At an appropriate position of the cushion body, an air flow pipe having an openable / closable air valve at the end is disposed. In use, the outside of the cushion main body is covered with an appropriate fiber cloth excellent in air permeability and moisture absorption, for example, a wrapping cloth formed of a cotton cloth, and the cushion main body is protruded in a state where the air circulation pipe is protruded. By covering the shape memory cushion, the shape memory cushion of the present invention can be provided as a finished product. In addition, you may use as a mattress as needed instead of a wrapping cloth.

In using the shape memory cushion of the present invention, for example, in the case of a bed cushion, when the patient gently lies on the cushion and opens the air valve, the air in the cushion is discharged according to the body pressure and The shape of the cushion changes according to the body shape of the person. During this time, the shape change stops in a few seconds, and when the air valve is closed at that time, the shape of the human body formed on the cushion is stored and fixed as it is.

In order to change the fixed shape, when the air valve is opened and outside air is introduced, in this case, it takes a little longer than when exhausting, but after a few seconds, the shape on the cushion disappears. Then, it returns to its original flat original shape.
Therefore, when the valve is opened again while pressurizing, the air amount corresponding to the external pressure is discharged, and another shape is given and stored.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the bed cushion of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line YY, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of the cushion corresponding to the body pressure of a human body. The drawing is an example of a cushion used in a commonly used patient or home bed. As a cushion material, a sponge-type polyurethane foam or a polystyrene foam is generally produced as a foamed plastic at a relatively low cost, so that it is highly useful. However, a sponge made of rubber as a raw material is preferable as a material having further excellent restoring force.

A flexible foamed plastic body 2 having a desired shape is first formed using a cushion material, and the outside of the flexible foamed plastic body 2 is formed of an impermeable vinyl film or an appropriate plastic sheet 3 or the like, which can ensure sufficient airtightness. The cushion body 1 is formed by wrapping the flexible foamed plastic body 2 as closely as possible. Then, the air flow pipe 6 is engaged with the inside of the sheet at an appropriate position on the peripheral edge of the sheet by being connected to the inside. The air circulation is preferably a thick rubber tube having an inner diameter of about 7 to 10 mm.
Is fixed.

When using the cushion body 1 which symbolizes the shape memory cushion of the present invention, an appropriate fiber fabric having high air permeability and moisture absorption, for example, a wrapping cloth or a mat cloth made of a cotton cloth is used.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the function of the shape memory cushion of the present invention as described above. When the human body 7 is supine on the cushion body 1 and the air valve 5 is opened, external pressure is naturally applied, and the shape of the back surface of the human body changes the cushion body 1 as it is. Therefore, when the air valve 5 is closed, the shape is stored as it is, and the effect of dispersing and absorbing the body pressure is obtained. Therefore, even when sleeping, the body pressure is constantly supported from the head to the feet without excess or shortage, and the user does not feel tired.

Next, when it is desired to store a different shape in the cushion whose shape has been memorized again, when the air valve 5 is opened, the shape which has been memorized immediately disappears within a few seconds when the air valve 5 is opened. Therefore, since the same operation as described above may be repeatedly performed, the same effect can be obtained any number of times thereafter.

[0018]

As described above, the shape memory cushion of the present invention is capable of dispersing and absorbing body pressure and is supported under certain conditions without excessive or insufficient body pressure. In addition to preventing sleep pain and the like, it also has the effect of preventing local poor blood circulation, etc. If used as a car seat cushion, it will not cause fatigue even when driving for a long time.

For swelling patients such as Odeki, if the cushion portion that comes into contact with the local part is caught and stored in shape,
It can relieve pain. In addition, when used for a wheelchair cushion for the handicapped, the shape memory can be changed immediately in accordance with persons of different body shapes, so that the effect is far greater than that of conventional products. The production cost is much lower than that of the conventional product, and the economic effect is great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shape memory cushion for a bed of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line YY.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a function of a cushion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cushion main body 2 Soft foamed plastic body 3 Seat 4 Wrapping cloth 5 Air valve 6 Air circulation pipe 7 Human body

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cushion body 1 is formed by attaching an airtight sheet 3 to the outside of a porous soft foamed plastic body 2 formed in an appropriate shape and sealing the sheet 3 outside. A shape memory cushion characterized in that an air flow pipe 6 having an openable / closable air valve 5 at its tip is formed at an appropriate position on the cushion body by conduction. 2. The cushion body 1 formed as described above.
Characterized by being covered with a wrapper having excellent breathability and hygroscopicity and used for use.