JPH022343Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention is suitable for critically ill patients who cannot move on their own,
This invention relates to an air spring used in an air mattress type bed that allows a physically handicapped person to freely lie down, supine, turn over, get up from the upper body, etc. by operating a computer.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, various beds have been provided for seriously ill bedridden patients and physically disabled patients, but all of these beds have the inconvenience of having to be operated by an attendant, nurse, or the like.

Generally, if a person is left bedridden for a long time, bedsores may develop, and for this reason, attendants or nurses have to make the person lie down or turn them over.

However, at night when no attendant is present, patients are unable to move and are in extreme pain, and in many cases, this pain further worsens their condition.

Therefore, there has been a strong demand for the development of a bed with a mechanism that can relieve such pain.

[The problem that the idea attempts to solve]

Recently, an air mat type bed has been developed, and the air mat uses a plurality of independent air springs, and the deformed shape of the air springs is varied by increasing or decreasing the amount of air in each air spring. , which can automatically change the posture of a lying patient, has the disadvantage that if some kind of failure occurs in the air intake valve or exhaust valve, the air spring will stretch more than necessary. Due to the height of the bed, there was a risk of the patient falling from the bed, creating a safety problem.

The present invention aims to easily eliminate these conventional drawbacks, and provides an air spring with a simple configuration and low cost, whose height can be adjusted to prevent the air spring from elongating more than necessary, and which increases safety. The purpose is to

[Means to solve the problem]

In the present invention, the air spring main body 1 is made of a flexible material and has a bellows-shaped expandable and contractible sealed hollow body structure, and includes an air supply pipe 5 equipped with an air supply valve 6, and an air exhaust pipe 5 equipped with an air supply valve 6. In an air spring for an air mat type bed equipped with an exhaust pipe 7 equipped with a valve 8,
A sensor mounting body 3 equipped with a sensor 3a for detecting the operation of a computer control program is provided in the center of the air spring body 1, and a plurality of reflecting members 4 are provided at intervals in the vertical direction at positions opposite to the sensor 3a. It is characterized in that it is installed in the air spring main body 1 via a telescopic inner cylinder 2, and that telescopic connecting members 11 and 11' are interposed between the upper and lower parts of the air spring main body 1. This is an air spring for air mat type beds.

〔Example〕

An example of the present invention will be explained using examples in Figures 1 to 4.
The air spring main body 1 is made of a flexible material such as soft synthetic resin or rubber, and has a bellows-like sealed hollow structure that can be expanded and contracted, and can be expanded upward by supplying air. When the air is expelled, it shrinks downward and becomes lower, and the height can be adjusted freely depending on the amount of air fed.

Inside the air spring main body 1, an inner tube 2 made of a stretchable material such as rubber is provided at the center thereof, and a plurality of reflective members 4 such as metal pieces are disposed midway on the inner surface of the inner tube 2 at intervals in the vertical direction. They are installed in an array with a distance between them.

In addition, a sensor mounting body 3 provided at the center of the bottom of the air spring body 1 at the center of the inner cylinder 2 has a computer mounted on its upper end side corresponding to the reflective member 4 provided within the inner cylinder 2. A sensor 3a for detecting control program operation is attached. That is, as the sensor 3a, a conventional sensor capable of inputting information to a computer using a light-receiving element is used. , when the amount of air supplied increases by opening the air supply valve 6, the air spring body 1
expands, the reflecting member 4 rises, and when the lowest reflecting member 4 rises to the sensor 3a, the air inlet valve 6 is closed to cut off the air inlet, maintaining the highest level. Furthermore, when the exhaust valve 8 is opened in response to a command from the computer operation unit 10, the air is exhausted and the bellows-shaped portion of the air spring body 1 contracts, causing the reflection member 4 at the upper position to contract.
When the exhaust valve 8 descends to the sensor 3a, it closes the exhaust valve 8 at that position, making it possible to detect the level to maintain the middle level or the lowest level.
This position measurement information may be transmitted to the computer. The sensor 3a and the reflecting member 4 may be connected as an ON-OFF switch in a known control circuit of a computer, and the air intake valve 6 and exhaust valve 8 can also be operated by a computer using known solenoid valves or automatic valves. It can be opened and closed according to instructions from section 10. Further, an air supply pipe 5 is connected to the compressor via an air supply valve 6 to the air spring body 1, and when air is supplied, the air supply pipe 5 is connected to the compressor.
is designed to expand as shown in FIG. 2, and the solenoid valve of the air inlet valve 6
It is open when air is introduced into the chamber, and closed when air is stopped. Further, an exhaust pipe 7 is connected to the air spring body 1 with an exhaust valve 8 interposed therebetween, and the solenoid valve of the exhaust valve 8 is opened to exhaust air, and air is introduced from the air inlet valve 6. The case is closed.

In the figure, 9 is a cord connecting the sensor 3a and the computer, 9' is a cord connecting the exhaust valve 8 and the computer,
Further, 9'' is a code that connects the air inlet valve 6 and the computer. This computer operation unit 10 commands operations, and outputs instructions using a keyboard, and inputs stored data such as quantitative data on air intake and air discharge, or other data as control data. The air spring body 1 is configured to output the check while adding each detection signal of the sensor 3a, and the air spring body 1 is connected to the computer operation section 10.
It expands and contracts exceptionally depending on the weather.

A plurality of the air spring bodies 1 are arranged next to each other on the bed to form one mat and placed on the bed,
It is used by placing a futon on top of it.

The amount of air fed into each air spring body 1 varies depending on the user's posture and body shape, but the amount of air fed into each air spring body 1 is stored in the computer according to multiple postures and body shapes. By keeping it in place, it can be adapted to any posture or body shape of the person, and to any desired posture. for example,
If you specify the height of the air spring body 1, it will change according to the program to the head, toes, knees, etc.
When raising the waist, knees, and toes or turning over in bed, all that is required is to open and close the solenoid valve of the air supply/exhaust valve of the air spring body 1 according to the specifications, and these operations can be memorized in the program. Bye.

In this case, for example, when raising the head, after specifying the height (information from the sensor 3a determines whether to open or close the solenoid valve), pressing the button on the head will activate the solenoid valve 6 of the air mat at the head. The valve opens and the compressor sends air, and when the designated reflecting member 4 comes to the position of the sensor 3a, the solenoid valve closes and the compressor also stops. To return to the original position, press the button after specifying the height, and the solenoid valve of the exhaust valve 8 will open, causing the air spring body 1 to contract due to the exhaust air, and when the specified reflective member 4 reaches the sensor position, the solenoid valve will close. nothing.

In addition, information is given to the computer from a push button switch or a voice switch on the computer operation unit 10, so that the computer operates according to a pre-programmed program for each motion such as head raising and other motions. It is better to leave it there.

As the connecting members 11 and 11', an elastic string for stopping the extension of the air spring body 1 is used, which is interposed between the top plate 13 and the bottom plate 14 of the air spring body 1.
2 and 12' to prevent the air spring main body 1 from elongating more than necessary, and was provided assuming that the air intake valve 6 and the exhaust valve 8 break down. As shown in the figure, by shortening either one of the two connecting members 11, 11', when air is introduced into the air spring body 1, it expands in an inclined shape. As shown in Fig. 5, this eliminates the discomfort caused to the patient due to the extreme gap caused by the amount of air introduced, and forms a natural undulation.

Therefore, by changing the lengths of the connecting members 11, 11' of the air spring body 1 in each mat, an undulation that matches the body shape of the patient can be formed. 1 is installed in multiple locations within the mat, and by using a computer to inject and exhaust air into each air spring, the shape of the mat is changed according to the patient's desired body shape. be able to.

Connecting member 1 for preventing expansion of the air spring body 1
1 and 11', the elastic strength between the top plate 13 and the bottom plate 14 of the air spring body 1 can be adjusted, and the expansion time of the air spring body 1 can be adjusted. There is.

Note that the computer can be placed in the left and right lying posture, supine posture, etc. caused by the expansion and contraction of the air spring body 1.
You can memorize necessary posture patterns, such as half-standing up, turning over, etc., and change your posture with a simple switch operation.

In addition, a large number of beds can be centrally controlled at once, allowing centralized management in hospitals and the like.

[Effect of idea]

The present invention provides a sensor mounting body equipped with a sensor for detecting the operation of a computer control program in the center of the air spring body, and a plurality of reflecting members provided at intervals in the vertical direction at positions opposite to the sensor are extendable and retractable. By installing the air spring inside the air spring body through a freely movable inner cylinder and interposing a telescopic connecting member between the upper and lower parts of the air spring body, it can be used for bedridden elderly people, physically disabled people, sick people, etc. , the bed can be changed freely while lying down, does not feel mechanically unnatural, is easy to handle, and can meet the patient's needs, and has a sensor inside the air spring body. Therefore, there is no malfunction due to insects, etc., and even if there is an abnormal operation or operational malfunction, the air spring body is protected by the connecting member and there is no risk of excessive expansion, so it can be used safely and is fixed by the connecting member. Therefore, the spring does not become stretched, and the air spring main body is inflated and contracted in a stable state to enable lifting and lowering of the patient, which has practical effects such as extremely high safety.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention by making the two connecting members of the present invention different lengths. Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the pine in the exhaust state, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the conventional air spring in the expanded state, and Figure 6 is a diagram showing the mat with the present invention in its expanded state. It is a figure showing the expanded and contracted state of the installed pine. 1...Air spring body, 2...Inner cylinder, 3...Sensor mounting body, 3a...Sensor, 4...Reflection member, 5
...Air supply pipe, 6...Air supply valve, 7...
Exhaust pipe, 8...Exhaust valve, 10...Computer operation unit, 11, 11'...Connecting member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The air spring main body 1 is made of a flexible material and has a bellows-shaped expandable and contractible sealed hollow body structure, and an air supply pipe 5 equipped with an air supply valve 6;
In an air mat bed air spring equipped with an exhaust pipe 7 equipped with an exhaust valve 8, a sensor mounting body 3 equipped with a sensor 3a for detecting the operation of a computer control program is provided in the center of the air spring body 1. A plurality of reflecting members 4 provided at intervals in the vertical direction at positions facing the sensor 3a are installed inside the air spring body 1 via a telescopic inner cylinder 2, and the upper and lower parts of the air spring body 1 are connected to each other. An air spring for an air mat type bed, characterized in that telescopic connecting members 11, 11' are interposed between the springs.