Apparatus and method for percussion of fluidized support surface
US5539943A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 8, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jul 30, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 8, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61G7/05746
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A fluidized patient support having a tank with side walls and a bottom holds a mass of fluidizable beads and includes a diffuser board disposed near the tank bottom to define a plenum which receives air flow from a blower. The fluidized patient support is provided with a percussive patient support surface by operative components that superimpose percussive fluidization in at least one preselected portion of the support surface formed when the beads are fluidized. The superimposed percussive fluidization results in large slugs of air reaching the patient support surface. Upon reaching the patient support surface, these slugs of higher pressure air percuss the body of the patient that is supported where such large slugs breach the surface.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.