Systems, methods, and devices for the treatment of sleep disorders

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10660807-B2
Application number	US-201414454961-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 8, 2014
Priority date	May 22, 2012
Publication date	May 26, 2020
Grant date	May 26, 2020

Abstract

A sleep apparatus, such as a mattress for example, is provided in one embodiment. The apparatus comprises a head support surface sized to support a person's head, and a torso support surface sized to support a person's torso. The head support surface is generally laterally sloped moving from the first side toward the second side, and the torso support surface is generally laterally sloped moving from the first side toward the second side. In some embodiments, the lateral slope of the head support surface is at least about 15°, the lateral slope of the head support surface is greater than the lateral slope of the torso support surface, and/or, the sleep apparatus slopes in the longitudinal direction as well.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mattress having a longitudinal central axis when the mattress is in its most horizontal position and a lateral central axis when the mattress is in its most horizontal position, comprising:
a head section having a head support surface to support at least a portion of a person's head and a head support bladder that is inflatable to support the head support surface for sloped arrangement, wherein at least a portion of the head support surface is generally sloped in a first lateral direction at a first angle relative to the lateral axis, wherein the first angle is from about 10 to about 30 degrees; and
a torso section having a torso support surface to support at least a portion of a person's torso and a torso support bladder that is inflatable to support the torso support surface for sloped arrangement, wherein at least a portion of the torso support surface is generally sloped in the first lateral direction at a second angle relative to the lateral axis, wherein the second angle is from about 1 to about 25 degrees less than the first angle,
wherein the portion of the head support surface becomes sloped at the first angle and the portion of the torso support surface becomes sloped at the second angle as a result of inflating the head support bladder of the head section and inflating the torso support bladder of the torso section automatically with an air system in response to detection of the person's upper respiratory tract (URT) being below a threshold URT angle as detected by a sensor attached to the person's head, wherein the head support bladder defines a first space that is distinct and separate from a second space defined by the torso support bladder so that the head support bladder and the torso support bladder are individually inflatable to separately control the first and second angles independently, wherein the head support bladder and the torso support bladder are generally aligned along a longitudinal dimension of the mattress,
wherein the head support bladder and the torso support bladder are situated closely adjacent to each other defining a transition with no intervening bladder being situated therebetween, wherein the head support bladder has a first dimension that is parallel with the longitudinal central axis, and the torso support bladder has a second dimension that is parallel with the longitudinal central axis and that is greater than the first dimension such that the head support bladder and the torso support bladder have different sizes along the longitudinal central axis.

2. The mattress as recited in claim 1 , wherein the second angle is from about 5 to about 15 degrees less than the first angle.

3. The mattress as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first angle is from about 15 to about 30 degrees, and the second angle is from about 1 to about 20 degrees.

4. The mattress as recited in claim 3 , wherein the first angle is from about 20 to about 30 degrees and the second angle is from about 5 to about 15 degrees less than the first angle.

5. The mattress as recited in claim 1 , further comprising: a leg section having a leg support surface to support at least a portion of a person's legs, wherein the leg support surface is generally sloped in the first lateral direction at a third angle relative to the lateral axis.

6. The mattress as recited in claim 5 , wherein the third angle is from about 1 degree to about 15 degrees.

7. The mattress as recited in claim 5 , wherein the head section is from about 5 inches to about 30 inches in length, the torso section is from about 15 inches to about 50 inches in length, and the leg section is from about 25 inches to about 50 inches in length.

8. The mattress as recited in claim 1 , further comprising: a bolster positioned adjacent a bottom side of the sloped torso support surface and rising above at least a portion of the torso support surface.

9. The mattress of claim 8 , wherein the bolster extends longitudinally along the mattress and forms an upper surface for at least a portion of its longitudinal extension.

10. The mattress of claim 9 , wherein the upper surface includes at least one portion having a first height and at least one portion having reduced height along its longitudinal extension.

11. The mattress as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a lower leg support surface and thigh support surface which are pivotable in the longitudinal direction relative one another, so as to form an angle between the two surfaces of from about 185 to about 270 degrees.

12. The mattress as recited in claim 11 , wherein the mattress is made at least partially of a flexible material to allow for the pivoting of the lower leg support surface and the thigh surface.

13. The mattress of claim 1 , wherein the head support bladder is inflatable to support at least one portion of the head support surface in the first lateral direction.

14. The mattress of claim 13 , wherein the head support surface includes at least one portion having near zero slope in the first lateral direction.

15. A person support apparatus having a longitudinal length from its head end to its foot end, and having a lateral width from side to side, the person support apparatus comprising:
a head section having a head support surface and a head support bladder operable to support at least a portion of the head support surface for supporting at least a portion of a person's head at a first slope, wherein at least a portion of the head support surface is generally sloped downward in a first lateral direction;
a torso section having a torso support surface and a torso support bladder operable to support at least a portion of the torso support surface for supporting a least a portion of the person's torso at a second slope, wherein at least a portion of the torso support surface is generally sloped downward in the first lateral direction, wherein the second slope of the torso support surface is different from the first slope of the head support surface; and
a bolster extending along a side of person support apparatus and extending above at least one of a side and an end of the person support apparatus, wherein the portion of the head support surface becomes sloped downward in the lateral direction and the portion of the torso support surface becomes sloped downward in the lateral direction as a result of inflating the head support bladder of the head section and inflating the torso support bladder of the torso section automatically with an air system in response to detection of the person's upper respiratory tract (URT) being below a threshold URT angle as detected by a sensor attached to the person's head,
wherein the head support bladder defines a first space that is distinct and separate from a second space defined by the torso support bladder so that the head support bladder and the torso support bladder are individually inflatable to separately control the first and second slopes independently, wherein the head support bladder and the torso support bladder are generally aligned along a longitudinal dimension of the mattress, wherein the head support bladder and torso support bladder are situated closely adjacent to each other defining a transition with no intervening bladder being situated therebetween, wherein the head support bladder has a first dimension that is parallel with the longitudinal length, and the torso support bladder has a second dimension that is parallel with the longitudinal length and that is greater than the first dimension such that the head support bladder and the torso support bladder have different sizes along the longitudinal length.

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Assignees

• Hill Rom Services Inc

Inventors

• Ribble David
• Howell Charles A
• Wiggermann Neal
• Hood Michael Scott
• Pelo Travis
• Emmons Kirsten M
• Agdeppa Eric D

Classifications

• A61G7/0525

  Side-bolsters (rests specially adapted for beds A61G7/065; non-medical devices for prevention against falling-out A47C21/08) · CPC title

• A61G7/001

  with means for turning-over the patient · CPC title

• A61B5/4812

  Detecting sleep stages or cycles · CPC title

• A61G7/05723

  with cut-outs or depressions in order to relieve the pressure on a part of the body (mattresses with cavities A47C27/142) · CPC title

• A61B2562/0247

  Pressure sensors · CPC title