JP3313644B2 - Body pressure dispersion mat - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a body pressure dispersing mat suitable for preventing bedsores (pressure sores) which are particularly likely to occur in bedridden patients or wheelchair users.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Bedsore refers to localized necrosis of cells in a compression area of a patient's body, mainly a bone ridge, and is caused by inhibition of blood flow to capillaries due to local compression of the body for a long time. Often do. Bedsore often occurs in a bedridden patient in the sacrum, scapula, lumbar, and the like, and in a wheelchair user, often occurs in the lumbar. Bedridden patients and wheelchair users often experience a feeling of oppression and pain even if they do not cause bedsores at these sites, and various mats for dispersing body pressure have been proposed to alleviate this. For example, an oily gel-like substance is used as a mat material, and the viscoelasticity is used to disperse body pressure (JP-A-58-147334, JP-A-58-183117).
Using a mixture of a water-absorbing gel-like substance and foamed beads such as polystyrene (JP-A-7-289593, JP-A-8-289593)
No. 405).

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
No. 47334, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-183117) The use of a single gel substance makes the mat extremely heavy when constructed, making it difficult for one person to carry alone. And the aforementioned publication (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-289593).
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-405), even if foam beads are added, the weight is considerably heavy, and there is still a problem in handling. Further, a gel-like substance containing a large amount of oil and water has a inherently large specific gravity, and as long as this material is used, the weight reduction is limited. Also, since there is a possibility that oil and water may ooze out, the material of the container must be impermeable to oil and water, etc. In this case, the container has a hermetic structure and soft cushioning There is a problem that can not be obtained.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides a body pressure dispersion mat which uses a lightweight material to facilitate its handling and has excellent body pressure dispersibility. Things.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems A body pressure dispersion mat according to the present invention (Claim 1) is a body formed by arranging a plurality of cells formed in an elongated bag shape with a breathable flexible sheet. A pressure-dispersing mat, wherein an open-cell structure is formed in the cell.
The first consisting of a polygonal body with irregularities formed on its surface
A foam piece, smaller than the first foam piece and independent
It has a bubble structure and its surface is smooth and spherical.
The mixture of the second foam spheres given fluidity and fluidity
The first foam piece is accommodated in the upper layer,
Is separated into lower layers.

With this structure, the first foam piece has an open-cell structure, and its air bubbles communicate with the outside, so that its surface has large irregularities, while the second foam ball has a closed-cell structure. In addition, since the surface is smooth and spherical, it is easier to move in the cell than the first foam piece. Therefore, the second foam ball tends to stay downward, so that the first foam piece and the second foam ball separate into two layers, the first foam piece forming the upper layer, and the second foam ball forming the lower layer. It will be. In such a configuration, the first foam piece has a soft touch on the surface in contact with the human body, and the second foam sphere has a function of dispersing body pressure by its fluidity. Further, the first foam piece is formed in a polygonal body.
So that the first foam pieces are mutually
Caught and difficult to move, hindering downward descent
Can be

[0007]

[0008] In the body pressure dispersion mat according to the present invention (claim 2 ), the ratio of the first foam piece to the second foam sphere in the mixture is 1 to 4 to 4 as a volume ratio. It is set within the range of one to one. With such a configuration, the two effects of softness of touch by the first foam piece and dispersion of body pressure due to fluidity of the second foam sphere can be obtained in a well-balanced manner.

In the present invention (claim 3 ), the first foam piece is formed of polyurethane foam, and the second foam sphere is formed of polyethylene foam or polystyrene foam. With such a configuration, since the polyurethane foam is soft, the feel when touching the human body is good, and the polyethylene foam or polystyrene foam has high elasticity and small distortion, and is easily released by being released even if the foam is crushed by weight. To the original shape.

[0010] In the present invention (claim 4 ), the storage amount of the mixture in the cell is desirably 50 to 95% with respect to the volume of the cell. Within this range, appropriate softness and body pressure dispersibility can be obtained.

In the present invention (claim 5 ), the cells are housed in the space of the outer cover formed into a flat flexible rectangular parallelepiped and divided into a plurality of spaces by a partition cloth. Things. With such a configuration,
The position of the cell is fixed in the exterior cover, and there is little room for this to move in the exterior cover, and the occupant is evenly supported. Further, the surface of the exterior cover becomes a substantially flat surface due to the presence of the partition cloth. Further, the cells can be removed from the outer cover.

In the present invention (claim 6 ), the upper surface and side surfaces of the outer cover and the cells are made of a knitted fabric having air permeability and elasticity. With such a configuration, when the weight of the occupant is added to the exterior cover and the cell, the air in the exterior cover and the cell escapes,
Since the softness of the first foam piece is transmitted directly to the occupant, that is, without passing through the air layer, the weight of the occupant is added to the second foam ball without passing through the air layer,
Fluid with good responsiveness. Further, since the cloth extends so as to wrap around the body, the softness of the first foam piece is not hindered by the cloth.

In the present invention (claim 7 ), the lower portion of the outer cover is formed of a plain woven cloth, and the lower surface thereof is subjected to a non-slip treatment. With such a configuration, the lower surface of the non-slip outer cover is in contact with a bed, a floor surface, or the like, making it difficult to move the mat, and suppressing deformation of the mat due to movement of a human body or the like.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a body pressure dispersing mat used as a futon, and cells 2, 2,... It is configured by arranging a plurality of them in the exterior cover 3. The cells 2, 2,... And the outer cover 3 are formed by sewing a cloth having air permeability. 4,4, ...
Is a partition cloth formed in the outer cover 3, and the cells 2 and
Are used to partition the space inside the outer cover 3 in which are stored. The size of the outer cover 3 can be about 190 cm in length, about 85 cm in width, and about 10 cm in height.
The size is about 27 cm long, about 85 cm wide, and about 10 cm high.
cm. Reference numeral 5 denotes a fastener for opening and closing the outer cover 3, and is used when cells 2, 2,... Are stored in or taken out of the outer cover 3. When the outer cover 3 is washed, the cells 2, 2, ... are taken out of the outer cover 3.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the cell 2 is filled with a mixture 8 of first foam pieces 6, 6,... And second foam balls 7, 7,. ing. The first foam piece 6 has an open-cell structure, and the cells communicate with the outside. Therefore, the surface has irregularities in which a bubble portion appears on the surface. This first foam piece 6 is a polygon,
For example, it can be formed in a cube having a side of 2 cm.
As a material of the first foam piece 6, an apparent specific gravity of 20 to
A polyurethane foam of 50 kg / m ³ is suitable because of its excellent softness. First foam piece 6
To make a polygonal shape and make the surface uneven,
This is because adjacent first foam pieces 6 are caught by each other and are difficult to move.

The second foam ball 7 has a closed cell structure, the cells are in a sealed state, and the surface is a smooth spherical surface. Therefore, the second foam ball 7 has two characteristics of elasticity and fluidity. As the material of the second foam ball 7, a polyethylene foam having an apparent specific gravity of 20 to 50 kg / m ³ can be used, and its size is 2 to 10 m in diameter.
m sphere. Polyethylene foam has high elasticity and small distortion, so even if it is crushed by adding weight, it returns to its original shape when the force is released, so it can withstand repeated use and is suitable as a material for this kind of mat ing. In addition, a polystyrene foam can also be used as a material of the second foam ball 7.

The mixing ratio of the first foam piece 6 and the second foam ball 7 accommodated in the cell 2 is such that the volume ratio of the first foam piece 6 to the second foam ball 7 is 1: 4 to 4: 1. 1
Used within the range. If the number of the first foam pieces 6 is less than 1: 4, the feeling of contact with the human body becomes hard, causing a problem that a feeling of oppression is caused. Since the number of the balls 7 decreases, the body pressure dispersing action decreases, and a feeling of oppression is generated as described above.
When the first foam piece 6 and the second foam ball 7 are within the range of the mixing ratio, both the softness by the first foam piece 6 and the dispersion of body pressure by the second foam ball 7 are obtained.

The amount of the mixture 8 filled in the cell 2 is preferably in the range of 50 to 95% of the volume of the cell 2. If the filling amount does not reach 50%, a bottoming phenomenon (a phenomenon in which the human body feels as if directly touching the floor) occurs, and the softness of the first foam piece 6 and the body pressure due to the flow of the second foam ball 7 occur. Dispersibility is also insufficient. If the filling amount exceeds 95%, the second foam ball 7
Is disturbed, and sufficient body pressure dispersibility cannot be obtained.

In the cell 2 having the above structure, when the mixture 8 is filled therein, the second foam spheres 7, 7,... Are spherical, the surface of which is slippery and easy to move, and the first foam piece , The first foam pieces 6, 6,... Are light, are caught by each other, and are difficult to move in the left, right, up and down directions. ... Constitute the upper layer, and the second foam balls 7, 7,.

As a material of the outer cover 3, it is desirable to use a knitted (knit) structure cloth in order to impart elasticity to the cloth. This is because the weight is applied to the first foam piece 6 and the second foam ball 7 without being hindered by the tension of the cloth. Also, with such a structure,
When the mat is placed on a bed that can raise the patient's upper body, the mat can be naturally bent in response to bending of the bed. When the exterior cover 3 is made of such an elastic cloth, the exterior cover 3 may be unnecessarily deformed in response to movement of a human body or the like. In order to prevent this, only the lower surface of the exterior cover 3
It is composed of a plain woven cloth 9 such as nylon and a sheet 11 which has a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) sheet 10 adhered to its lower surface and which is subjected to a non-slip treatment, so that it is hard to move with respect to a bed or a floor on which the mat 1 is placed. It is desirable. As the anti-slip material, besides the above PVC, PU (polyurethane)
Can be used.

When the patient 12 lies on the mat, FIG.
As shown in (1), when weight is applied to the mat 1, the outer cover 3 bends downward and extends, and the air in the cell 2 is exhausted.
The first foam piece 6 is compressed with little movement. In a bone bulge or the like that cannot be supported only by the first foam piece 6, a load is applied to the second foam ball 7, the second foam ball 7 is crushed, and moves in the direction of arrow a in the figure due to its fluidity, The layer of the second foam ball 7 becomes thinner,
The layer of the second foam ball 7 around the portion where the load is small becomes thicker. That is, the large irregularities of the patient 12 are supported by the movement and deformation of the second foam ball 7, and the small irregularities are supported by the deformation of the first foam piece 6, and the soft cushioning property is obtained by the first foam piece 6. It is. This reduces compression on the bone ridge.

Next, when the patient 12 rises from the mat 1, the second foam ball 7 also moves so as to be a flat layer due to the resilience when the first foam piece 6 returns to its original shape. become. Therefore, even if the mat 1 is used repeatedly, its softness and body pressure dispersing performance are not impaired.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a case where polyurethane foam is used as the first foam piece 6 and polyethylene foam is used as the second foam sphere 7, and the volume ratio of the two is set to 3 to 2, and into the cell 2. Mat (weight about 7 kg) having a structure in which the filling amount of
The body pressure when g) was supine was measured, and this was indicated by a contour line. FIG. A shows an example, and FIG. B shows a comparative example (commercially available gel mat). In addition, both measured using the thing of the same shape.

In FIG. 6, contour lines, for example, 0.000
(Unit kg / cm ² ) indicates the pressure value outside this line. As can be seen from FIGS. 6 and 7, in the example mat, the dispersion area is several times that of the comparative example, and it is understood that the body is supported by a wide area. The maximum value of the pressure is 0.1.
035, which is lower than the comparative example (0.04). In addition, this value is lower than the human intracapillary pressure 0.0435,
This means that the blood flow is not hindered even at the pressure maximum site, the floor rubbing is suppressed, and even if it occurs, the symptoms can be reduced. On the other hand, in the comparative example, since the body pressure dispersion region is concentrated on the narrow part of the waist and the shoulder, a local feeling of pressure is given to the patient, and the maximum value is 0.04, which is close to the intracapillary pressure. Indicates the value.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the mat is suitable for a mat used by a chronic bed patient. However, such a mat is laid on a seat of a wheelchair or on a seat of an automobile, and is further extended for a long time. This is suitable when a person or the like who works while sitting on the floor lays on the seat to use. In addition, it can also be used as a cushion or cushion to be laid on the floor, and is suitable for nursing the disabled, but can be used by healthy people without any problem.

[0026]

According to the present invention (Claim 1), the first foam piece softly supports the patient's body, and a portion to which a large pressure is applied, such as a bone ridge, is moved by the movement of the second foam ball. Since the body pressure is dispersed and supported, the pressure difference between the supporting portions is reduced, and the patient can be given a sense of stability and comfort. Further, since the pressure of the bone ridge can be reduced, occurrence of floor rubbing can be suppressed or reduced.
Furthermore, since the mixture is composed of a foam, an extremely light mat can be manufactured, and the mat can be easily handled in carrying or the like. Also, the first four
Since the pieces are polygonal, they move
Because it is difficult to maintain
The softness of the contact surface can be maintained.

[0027]

Further, according to the present invention (claims 2, 3, and 4 ), a soft touch and a wrapping stability can be obtained, and a comfortable feeling can be given to the patient.

Further, according to the present invention (claim 5 ), the movement of the cells in the outer cover can be prevented, and the body of the patient can be supported in a well-balanced manner.

Further, according to the present invention (claim 6 ), since the cloth constituting the exterior cover and the cell has air permeability and elasticity, the cloth is deformed in response to pressure, and the cloth part is formed of the first foam piece and the cloth. The softness and the body pressure dispersibility of the second foam sphere are not impaired, and these effects can be exerted to the maximum.

Further, according to the present invention (claim 7 ), the mat can be stabilized on the bed or the floor on which the mat is laid, and when the patient turns over or moves on the mat. However, there is no inconvenience that the mat is deformed accordingly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a body pressure distribution mat according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first foam piece.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second foam ball.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where weight is added to the mat.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a body pressure distribution by contour lines, where FIG. A shows an embodiment and FIG. B shows a comparative example.

FIG. 7 shows the body pressure between the cross section a1 and the cross section b1 in the embodiment (A) and the comparative example (B) in FIG. 6, and the cross section a2.
It is the comparison figure which showed and compared each body pressure of cross section b2.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body pressure dispersion mat 2 Cell 3 Exterior cover 4 Partition cloth 5 Fastener 6 First foam piece 7 Second foam ball 8 Mixture 9 Plain woven fabric 10 PVC sheet 11 Sheet 12 Patient

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-322680 (JP, A) JP-A-10-313979 (JP, A) JP-A 63-85152 (JP, U) JP-A 4-322 40843 (JP, U) JP-A 63-66951 (JP, U) JP-A 5-62325 (JP, U) JP-B 47-31978 (JP, B1) JP-B 52-734 (JP, Y2) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47C 27/00 A47C 27/15

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A body pressure dispersing mat comprising a plurality of cells formed in an elongated bag-like shape with a flexible sheet having air permeability arranged side by side, said cell having an open- cell structure in said cells. table
First foam piece consisting of a polygon with irregularities formed on the surface
And a closed cell structure smaller than the first foam piece
Has a smooth spherical surface and has elasticity and fluidity.
The mixture of the applied second foam spheres is accommodated,
The first foam piece is in the upper layer and the second foam ball is in the lower layer
Body pressure dispersion mat separated into layers . Ratio of 2. The mixture said first foam pieces versus the second foam spheres in body, in the volume ratio, according to claim 1 comprising set to 1: 4 not within the range of 4: 1 Body pressure dispersion mat. 3. A foam according to claim 1, wherein said first foam piece is made of polyurethane foam, and said second foam sphere is made of polyethylene foam or polystyrene foam.
Or the body pressure dispersion mat according to 2. 4. A storage amount of the mixture in the cell,
The amount is 50 to 95% of the volume of the cell.
4. The body pressure dispersion mat according to 2 or 3 . 5. The cell is housed in the space of an exterior cover formed of a flat flexible rectangular parallelepiped and divided into a plurality of spaces by a partition cloth.
The body pressure dispersion mat according to 3 or 4 . 6. The body pressure dispersing mat according to claim 5 , wherein the upper and side surfaces of the outer cover and the cell are made of a knitted fabric having air permeability and elasticity. 7. The lower surface of the outer cover is formed by a flat woven fabric, and claim 5 or formed by a lower surface slip treatment
Or a body pressure dispersion mat according to 6 .