US 5,325,551 · Granted 1994-07-05
The Smart Mattress That Prevents Pressure Sores
This mattress automatically pumps air in and out to shift pressure around your body, preventing painful bedsores that develop when people lie still too long. It uses a sensor to monitor air pressure and a remote control to adjust it, so hospitals and care facilities can keep patients more comfortable.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a mattress system with an inflatable air bladder inside foam material, paired with an electronic control unit that automatically adjusts air pressure using a pump, valve, and pressure sensor. What's protected here is the specific combination of the foam-covered bladder design, the closed-loop pressure-sensing control circuit, the AC/DC power converter, and the hand-held remote pendant that lets someone adjust the system from outside the mattress.
Why it matters
Decubitus ulcers (bedsores) are a serious medical problem for patients who are bedridden or immobile, causing pain, infection, and prolonged hospital stays. By automating pressure redistribution, this patent addresses a real clinical need in hospitals and care facilities. The technology shows how adding sensors and smart controls to a simple foam mattress can turn it into an active medical device that continuously works to prevent harm.
Real-world use
In a hospital or nursing home, a patient lying on this mattress would feel subtle shifting of pressure as the air bladder inflates and deflates automatically, keeping blood flowing to vulnerable skin areas that would otherwise develop sores.
Original USPTO abstract
A mattress unit for retarding the development of decubitus ulcers includes a fabric cover having therein a foam material, and includes an inflatable bladder and a control unit disposed within openings in the foam material. The inflatable bladder contains a foam material having spaced holes in it. The control unit includes a pump which can selectively supply pressurized air to the bladder, a valve which can selectively bleed air from the bladder, and a pressure sensor which can determine the current pressure in the bladder. The pressure sensor is coupled to an input of a control circuit which controls the pump and valve. The control circuit receives power from an AC/DC converter and is remotely controlled by a hand-held pendant, the converter and pendant each being physically separate from the mattress unit and being connected to the control circuit by respective cables.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,325,551
- Filing date
- 1992-06-16
- Grant date
- 1994-07-05
- Assignee
- Stryker Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- TAPPEL; JAMES G., HOPPER; CHRISTOPHER J., TRAVIS; STEPHEN C.
- CPC class
- A47C27/148
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