US 4,542,547 · Granted 1985-09-24
The Inflatable Bed That Turns Hospital Patients With Air
Imagine a bed made of separate air-filled cushions that can inflate and deflate independently. By controlling which cushions are filled with air, nurses and caregivers can gently change a bedridden patient's position or even roll them over — all without manually lifting them.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a bed mat system made up of multiple separate pneumatic (air-filled) chambers that can be individually inflated or deflated to reposition a person lying on the bed. What's protected is the combination of these controllable air units working together as a mattress surface, allowing selective pressure changes across different zones to shift body posture in a coordinated way.
Why it matters
For hospitals and care facilities, repositioning bedridden or severely handicapped patients is physically demanding and painful for both patient and caregiver. This pneumatic mat system automates that process using air pressure instead of manual handling, reducing injury risk and improving dignity and comfort for people with limited mobility.
Real-world use
A nursing home resident who cannot move independently can be gently repositioned throughout the day by inflating and deflating different zones of their bed, preventing pressure sores and muscle stiffness without physical strain.
Original USPTO abstract
A mat unit for a bed may be selectively inflated or deflated, to change the posture of an individual lying on the bed, in a natural and gentle manner. A plurality of such mat units may make up a bed. Selective inflation and/or deflation of any number of these mat units may be controlled to change the posture of, and even turn over, an individual who is seriously handicapped or extremely bedridden.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,542,547
- Filing date
- 1983-12-14
- Grant date
- 1985-09-24
- Assignee
- Hiroshi Muroi
- Inventor(s)
- SATO; HISASHI
- CPC class
- A47C27/083
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