IPC分类号：
A47C7/14 | A47C7/18 | A47C7/42 | A61G5/10 | A47C7/44 | A61G7/057
国民经济行业分类号：
C2190 | C2110 | C2120 | C2042 | C2130 | C2140
当前申请(专利权)人：
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION | THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AS REPRESENTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
原始申请(专利权)人：
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION | THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AS REPRESENTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
当前申请(专利权)人地址：
1st Floor Gardner Steel Conference Center,130 Thackeray Avenue,Pittsburgh, PA 15260 US | Office of General Counsel,810 Vermont Avenue, N.W.,Washington, DC 20420 US
发明人：
COOPER, RORY ALAN | DICIANNO, BRAD E. | GRINDLE, GARRETT G. | FISHER, JAMES D. | COOPER, ROSEMARIE | STOFMAN, GUY M.
代理人：
BARTONY JR., HENRY E.
摘要：
A pressure relief system for use with a wheelchair includes a backrest support including a plurality of backrest cells. The backrest cells include a base which includes a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and resilient elements within an interior of the backrest cells. The pressure relief system -further includes a seat support including a plurality of seat cells. The seat cells includes a base which includes a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and resilient elements within an interior of the seat cells. The pressure relief system also includes a source of pressurize air in fluid connection with the air ports of each of the backrest cells and with the air ports of the seat cells via which the resilient elements within the backrest cells and the resilient elements within the seat cells are fluidizable.
权利要求：
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1 . A pressure relief system for use with a wheelchair, comprising: a backrest support comprising a plurality of backrest cells, each of the plurality of backrest cells comprising a base which comprises a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and resilient el ements within an interior of each of the plurality of backrest cells, a scat support comprising a plurality of seat cells, each of the plurality of seat cells comprising a base which comprises a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and resilient elements within an interior of each of the plurality of seat cells, and a source of pressurized air in fluid connection with the plurality of air ports of each of the plurality of backrest cells and with the plurality of air ports of each of the plurality of seat cells via which the resilient elements within each of the plurality of backrest cells and the resilient elements within each of the plurality of sea t cells are fluidizable.
2. The pressure relief system of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of each cover of the plurality of backrest cells is permeable to air and at least a portion of each cover of the plurality of seat cells is permeable to air.
3. The pressure relief system of claim 2 wherein each of the plurality of backrest cells comprises between 30% and 90% by volume of the resilient elements and wherein each of the plurality of seat cells comprises between 30% and 90% by volume of the resilient elements.
4. The pressure relief system of claim 3 wherein the resilient elements have an average diameter greater than 1 mm.
5. The pressure relief system of claim 3 wherein the resilient element have an average diameter greater than 2mm.
6. The pressure relief system of claim 2 wherein the resilient elements within each of the plurality of backrest cells are generally spherical and the resilient elements within each of the plurality of seat cells are generally spherical.
7. The pressure relief system of claim 2 wherein the base of each of the plurality of backrest cells comprises one or more channels in fluid connection with the plurali ty of air
ports thereof and an air inlet in fluid connection with the one or more channels thereof which is configured to be placed in fluid connection with the source of pressurized ai r, and the base of each of the plurality of seat cells comprises one or more channels in fluid connection with the plurality of air ports thereof and au air inlet in fluid connection with the one or more channels thereof which is configured to be placed in fluid connection with the source of pressurized air.
8, 'rhe pressure relief system of any one of claims t through 7 further comprising a control system configured to con trol air flow from the sourc e of pressurized air to each of the plurality of backrest cells and to each of the plurality of seat sells.
9. The pressure relief system of claim 8 wherein the control system is configured to independently control air flow from the source of pressurized air to each of the plurality of backrest cells and to independently control air flow from the sour ce of pressurized air to each of the plurality of seat sells.
10. 'f he pressure relief system of claim 8 wherein the control system is configured to control air flow to the plurality of air ports of each of the plurality of backrest cells as a function of orientation of the plurality of backrest cells with respect to the gravity vector and control air flow to the plurality of air ports of each of the plurality of seat cells as a function of orientation of the plurality of seat cells with respect to the gravity vector.
1 L A method of pro viding pressure support in a wheelchair, comprising: providing a backrest support comprising a plurality of backrest cells, each of the plurality of backrest cells comprising a base which comprises a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and resilient elements within an interior of each the plurality of backrest cells, a seat support comprising a plurality of seat cells, each of the plurality of seat cell comprising a base which comprises a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and resilient elements within an interior of each of the plurality of seat cells, and a source of pressurized air in fluid connection with the plurality-' of air ports of each of the plurality of backrest cells and in fluid connection with each of the plurality of ports of each of the plurality of seat cells, and passing pressurized air through the plurality of air ports of the base of each plural ity of backrest cells and through the plurality of air ports of the base of each the plurality of seat support cells
via the source of pressurized air to fluidize the resilient elements within each of the plurality of backrest cells and within each of the plurality of seat cells.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein at least a portion of each cover of the plurality of backrest cells is permeable to air and at least a portion of each cover of the plurality of seat cells is permeable to air.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein each of the plurality of backrest cells comprises between 30% and 90% by volume of the resilient elements and wherein each of the plurality of seat cells comprises between 30% and 90% by volume of the resilient elements.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the resilient elements have an average diameter greater than 1 mm.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein the resilient element have an average diameter greater than 2mm.
16. The method of claim 12 wherein the resilient elements within each of the plurality of backrest cells are generally spherical and the resilient elements within each of the plurality of seat cells are generally spherical.
17. The method of claim 12 wherein the base of each of the plurality of backrest cells comprises one or more channels in fluid connection with the plurality of air ports thereof and an air inlet in fluid connection wi th the one or more channels thereof which is configured to be placed in fluid connection with the source of pressurized air, and the base of each of the plurality' of seat cells comprises one or more channels in fluid connection with the plurality of air ports thereof and an air inlet in .fluid connection with the one or more channels thereof which is configured to be pl aced in fluid connection with the source of pressuri zed air.
18. The method of any one of claims 1 1 through 17 further comprising providing a control system in operative connection with the seat support and with the backrest support which is configured to control air flow from the source of pressurized air to each of the plurality o f backrest cells and to each of the plurality of seat sells.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein the control system is configured to independently control air flow from the source of pressurized air to each of the plurality of
backrest cells and to independently control air flow from the source of pressurized air to each of the plurality of seat sells,
20 T he method of claim 18 wherein the control system is configured to control air flow to the plurality of air ports of each of the plurality' of backrest cells as a function of orientation of the plurality of backrest cells with respect to the gravity vector and control air flow to the plurali ty of air ports of each of the plurality of seat cells as a functi on of orientation of the plurality of seat cells with respect to the gravity vector.
21. The method of any one of claims 11 through 19 further comprising selecting the number, size and configuration of each of the plurality of backrest cells and each of the plurality of seat cells on the basis of at least one predetermined criterion.
22. A pressure relief system for use with a seating system in which a user can sit upright, comprising: a seat support comprising a plurality of seat cells, each seat cell comprising a base which comprises a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and a plurality of resilient elements within an interior of each seat cell, and a source of pressurized air in fluid connection with the plurality of air ports of the plurality of seat cells via which the resilient elements within each of the plurality of seat cells are fluidizable.
23. The pressure relief system of claim 22 further comprising a backrest support comprising a plural ity of backrest cells, each backrest cell comprising a base which comprises a plurality of air ports, a cover in connection with the base, and a plurality of resilient elements within an interior of each of the plurality of backrest cells, the source of pressurized air being in fluid connection with the plurality of ports of each of the plurality of backrest cells via which the res ilient elements withi n each of the plurality of backrest cells are fluidizable.
24. The pressure relief system of claim 23 wherein at least a portion of each cover of the plurality of backrest cells is permeable to air and at least a portion of each cover of the plurality of seat cells is permeable to air.
25. The pressure relief system of claim 24wherein each of the plurality of backrest cells comprises between 30% and 90% by volume of the resilient elements and wherein each
of the plurality of seat cells comprises between 30% and 90% by volume of the resilient elements.
26. The pressure relief system of claim 25 wherein the resilient elements have an average diameter greater than 1 mm.
27. The pressure relief system of claim 25 wherein the resilient element have an average diameter greater than 2mm.
28. The pressure relief system of claim 24 wherein the resilient elements within each of the plurality of backrest cells are generally spherical and the resilient elements within each of the plurality of seat cells are generally spherical .
29. The pressure relief system of claim 24 wherein the base of each of the plurali ty of backrest. cells comprises one or more channels in fluid connection with the plurality of air ports thereof and an air inlet in fluid connection with the one or more channels thereof which is configured to be placed in fluid connection with the source of pressurized air. and the base of each of the plurality of seat cells comprises one or more channels in fluid connection with the plurality of air ports thereof and an air inlet in fluid connection with the one or more channels thereof which is configured, to be placed in fluid connection with the source of pressurized air.
30. The pressure relief system of any one of claims 24 through 29 further comprising a control system configured to control air flow from the source of pressurized air to each of the plurality of backrest cells and to each of the plurality of seat sells.
31. The pressure relief system of c laim 30 wherein the control system is configured to independently control air flow from the source of pressurized air to each of the plurality of backrest cells and to each of the plurality of seat sells.
32. The pressure relief system of claim 30 wherein the control system is configured to control air flow to the plurality of air ports of each of the plurality of backrest cells as a function of orientation of the plurali ty of backrest cells with respect to the gravity vector and control air flow to the plurality of air ports of each of the plurality of seat cells as a function of orientation of the plurality of seat cells with respect to the gravity vector.