Patent ID: 7975331
Filing Date: 2011-07-12
Classification: A47C,A61G

Abstract:
1. A device for use with a cushion of a mattress, the device comprising an envelope formed by at least two parts having side and end peripheral edges that are connected together such that an inner chamber is provided between the at least two parts, said side and end peripheral edges forming a quadrilateral, the first and second parts being sized to cover substantially all of an upper surface of the cushion of the mattress, said first part comprising a material forming a barrier that is impervious to air and liquid water and that is pervious to water vapor, said second part comprising a material that is pervious to water vapor, said second part comprising an air injection port adjacent one of the side and end peripheral edges of the quadrilateral and a plurality of discrete air discharge ports adjacent each of the other three side and end peripheral edges of the quadrilateral so as to form a U-shaped pattern of discrete air discharge ports made up of three single-row groups of air discharge ports with a central region defined within the U-shaped pattern lacking any air discharge ports, an air supply device forcing air into the air injection port so that the air travels through the inner chamber over the central region and exits downwardly from the inner chamber away from a patient supported atop the first and second parts and toward the cushion, the air exiting only through the plurality of discrete air discharge ports that form the U-shaped pattern, the air injection port and the plurality of air discharge ports the form the U-shaped pattern being the only openings in the second part, wherein the envelope is integrally formed as part of a protective cover that encloses the cushion of the mattress.