Abstract:
The present invention relates to a cushion bed with a flushing device, comprising a containing cushion that, adhered to the upper part of the air cushion, is shaped as a tilted groove and removable, and a sensor. When excrement of a patient falls on the surface of the containing cushion, a sensor then senses and a water pump is activated, so that water can be spurted through both the water-spurting head to flush excrement on the surface of the containing cushion, and the other water-spurting head installed on top of the containing cushion to cleanse the excretory organs of the patient. The present invention provides the disabled and patients in the persistent vegetative state with the convenience of urinating and defecating in bed, and with the functions of keeping the excretory organs of the patient clean and not prone to bacteria-growing or infection, and a constant sanitary condition of the cushion.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a folding air cushion bed with flushing device, whereby the patient in the folding air cushion bed is provided with the function of cleansing the excretory organs after urination and defecation, thus keeping the excretory organs of the patient under constant sanitary condition without being prone to bacteria-growing or infectious state. In addition, the function of flushing excrement is provided to flush excrement down to the water outlet through tilted base plate of the water tank, thus keeping the air cushion dry and clean, preventing the body of the patient from damping, bacteria-growing and infectious conditions, and fulfilling the effect of wastewater processing of excrement of the patient.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    For prior arts in sickbed design, aside from the consideration of the comfortability of the patient, certain additional functions, like beds with air cushions, are added to accommodate the need of the disabled or patients in the persistent vegetative state. However, no prior arts in sickbed design take into account the need of flushing and draining excrement of the patient and cleansing the excretory organs of the patient. The air cushion bed of the prior art comprises multiple air bladders, an air conduit and a control valve, with the air conduit connecting the multiple air bladders and jointing the control valve. Therefore the user, by operating the control valve to control the airflow, can adjust the air pressure of the air bladders, and enable the air cushion bed to be in a state of undulation for comfortable use by the patient.  
           [0005]    Nevertheless, the air cushion bed of the prior art provides only the function of adjusting the air pressure of the air cushion for comfortable use, without considering the need of flushing excrement after urination and defecation by the disabled and patients with persistent vegetative state, and cleansing the excretory organs of the patients. Besides, even though the caregivers can use wet towels to clean the patients, the sanitary effect will not be thorough, for the caregivers cannot provide the patients with body-bathing and hair-washing needs. Even though the caregivers may try to bathe the patients with water, the wastewater will wet the sheets and drip to the ground, thus creating a dangerous working environment for the caregivers as well as inconvenience for the patients.  
           [0006]    The primary object is to provide an air cushion bed with the function of flushing excrement and cleansing the body of the disabled or patients in the persistent vegetative state; in addition, with the design of a containing and draining device, wastewater is not to be spilled, thus improving on the inconvenience caused by those designs disclosed in prior arts regarding the care-giving of patients.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention provides an air cushion bed with flushing device, whereby the functions of sickbeds are upgraded by combining air cushion beds with flushing and water-draining device, thus furnishing a hygienic environment for patients. The present invention includes a cushion with at least one air bladder, a water tank, a removable containing cushion, a sensor, a water valve and a controller. The water tank contains front, rear, left and right walls and a tilted base plate with a water outlet, and is supported by a supporting frame. The containing cushion, shaped as a shallow bowl, is tiltedly adhered in between two air bladders of the air cushion under the buttocks of the patient, so when the patient&#39;s excrement falls on the surface of the containing cushion, the sensor then senses and transmit the signal to the controller, which activates the water valve to spurt water (cool in summer and warm in winter) through both the water-spurting head on top of the air cushion towards the patient&#39;s excretory organs for cleansing purpose, and the other water-spurting head to flush excrement down to the water tank and discharge through a water outlet. Therefore, the present invention provides the disabled and patients in the persistent vegetative state with the convenience of urinating and defecating in bed, as well as a solution of processing excrement and discharging wastewater.  
           [0008]    Another object of the present invention is to rid the need for the disabled or patients in the persistent vegetative state of using adult diapers, thus alleviating the financial burden of the patient&#39;s family by saving the expenses of using adult diapers; in addition, with the need to wear adult diapers gone, the patient&#39;s body can be kept from dampening and germ-growing condition without any skin affection. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a structural schematic view of an air cushion bed of the present invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of an air cushion bed of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a right side view of an air cushion bed of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a flushing device and a water tank piping in an air cushion bed of the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a structural cross-sectional view of the X to X section in FIG. 4. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show respectively a structural schematic view and a top plan view of an air cushion bed  2  of the present invention, which comprises at least one air bladder  20  made of waterproof material, a water tank  21 , a containing cushion  22  made of waterproof material (shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5), water-spurting heads  30 , a sensor (not shown in drawings), a water container  24  and the first controller  25 ; wherein the air cushion is laid on top of the base plate of the water tank, and the containing cushion  22 , tiltedly adhered on top of the air bladder  20 , is shaped as a groove that depresses in the middle and heightens at both the front and rear ends. When the patient urinates or defecates, the sensor then transmits the signal to the controller  25 , which generates a controlling signal to activate the water container  24  for sending water to the water-spurting heads  30 , thus the water-spurting heads  30  spurt water respectively to cleanse the excretory organs of the patient and flush the excrement down to the water tank  21 , and the wastewater is channeled through the base plate of the water tank  21  and discharged through the water outlet.  
         [0016]    In one of the embodiments of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the air cushion bed  2  with flushing device comprises the water tank  21  that is supported by a supporting frame  26  that contains at least four legs, with the end of each leg jointing a wheel  261 , enabling the air cushion bed to be moved with ease. In addition, the water tank  21  contains front, rear, left and right walls and a tilted base plate with a water outlet, thus forming a water-holding space. The base plate  211  tilts from one end (e.g. the left end) to the other end (e.g. the right end), and from the upper end to the lower end, thus forming the tilting structure sloping from the upper left end to the lower right end (as shown in FIG. 3). The water outlet  212 , capable of filtering the wastewater, is installed at the lowest part of the base plate  211 . The air bladder  20 , installed on top of the base plate  211  in the water tank  21 , contains an air bladder  201  that is kept air-full and used to support the head of the patient, with a removable pillow  202  on top. The pillow  202  can also become part of the air bladder  20 . The air bladder  20  is pierced through and connected by the air conduits  27  on both sides, all of which are linked to a pump  28 . An electric circuit is formed between the second controller  29  and the pump  28 , enabling the user to control the air-pumping condition of the air bladder  20 .  
         [0017]    The preferred embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, includes the sensor that is of an infrared sensor, the first controller  25  that includes a timer (not shown in drawings), and a water pump  251  and water valve installed at the bottom of the water container  24  (not shown in figures). The containing cushion  22  in the air cushion bed with flushing device of the present invention is tiltedly adhered (e.g., high at left and low at right) in between the two air bladders  20  that are near the buttocks of the patient, wherein the sensor is installed under the anus of the patient, with the water-spurting head  30 (A) aimed at the urethra, the water-spurting head  30 (B) aimed at the anus, and the water-spurting head  30 (C) aimed at the position where excrement is contained. The infrared sensor is able to sense toward a certain range of area, so when the patient urinates or defecates, the infrared sensor is to sense the interruption of infrared and then transmit a signal through cable lines to the timer of the first controller. The timer, in ten seconds after the infrared interruption stops, is to activate the water pump  251  to pump water, and then the water valve is to be opened by a micro-switch, thus water in water container  24  is to be sent to water-spurting heads  30 . If the patient urinates, the water-spurting head  30 (A) is to spurt water toward urethra of the patient. If the patient defecates, the water-spurting head  30 (B) is to spurt water toward the anus of the patient, with the water-spurting head  30 (C) flushing excrement contained on the containing cushion  22  down to the water tank. During the water-spurting process of the water-spurting heads  30 , the first controller  25  is not to receive the interruption signal of the sensor until one minute after the water-spurting process completes.  
         [0018]    In another embodiment of the present invention, the sensor adhered to the containing cushion  22  can be of a weight sensor, whereby the weight of the excrement can be detected and the sensing signal transmitted to the first controller  25 , so the first controller  25  is to compare the signal to a predetermined value to see if the signal corresponds with the predetermined value; if so, the micro-switch is to open the water valve, sending water from the water container  24  to the water-spurting heads  30 .  
         [0019]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air cushion bed with flushing device includes a water container  24 , wherein a water-level monitoring device, an electric heater, and a hot-water temperature controller are installed, so that the electric heater heats up water from 30° C. to 40° C. in the water container  24 , with the hot-water temperature controller keeping the temperature of the water at that of a predetermined value, thus enabling the air cushion bed to provide both warm and cool water for the patient. The water-level monitoring device, by utilizing the floating ball indicator, is able to warn the user through light or buzzer when the water level is too low, and an automatic electricity-cutout device can be installed with the water-level warning device to cutout the electricity when the water level is too low or any unusual matter occurs.  
         [0020]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the containing cushion  22  is adhered on top of the air bladder  20  by an adhesive and/or buckling strip  23 , and the position of adhesion can be adjusted in accordance with the height of the patient and different lying positions. The water-spurting heads  30  can also be fixed by the adhesive and/or buckling strip  23  or a fixing rack, so that the water-spurting heads  30  can be adjusted to reach the best angle. Furthermore, in the present invention, a piece of water-proof sheet can be placed under bed clothes extending from navel to both thighs of the patient, to prevent the bed clothes from being wet by water spurted by the water-spurting heads  30 .  
         [0021]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the air cushion bed  2  with flushing device of the present invention includes the second controller  29  by which controlling signals are to be sent to control the working of the air pump  28 , and further activates the air conduits  27 (A) and  27 (B) to control both in and out of the airflow, which, while both channeling the air in, can inflate the air bladder  20  reach the full air-containing capacity. Moreover, a pressure sensor is installed at the air outlet of the air pump  28 , so that if the air pressure reaches the pre-determined pressure value, the operation of the pump  28  shall be stopped, with the air-channeling by the air conduits  27 (A) and  27 (B) also stopped.  
         [0022]    The tilting angle of the base plate  211  is so slight that the patient resting on the air bladder  20  shall not sense it; in addition, the air bladder  20  can be designed with linear variations (as shown in FIG. 3), so that the horizontality of the air bladder  20  shall be kept after the completion of the inflation. Water is used to flush the excrement or clean the body of the patient resting on top of the air bladder  20 , thereafter the wastewater is flushed through the peripheries of every air bladder  20  down to the water tank  21 , then is channeled by the tilted base plate  211  and discharged through the water outlet  212 .  
         [0023]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an air conduit  27 (C) is installed at both sides of the upper part of the air bladder  20 , the width of which shall at least wider than the shoulder length of the patient so that the patient will not lay on the air conduit  27 (C). At the same time, through operating the second controller  29 , an output signal can be sent to control the operation of another pump  281  (not shown in drawings), which then pumps the air in through the air conduit  27 (C), so the air is spurted from both sides of the air conduit  27 (C) toward the patient resting on the bed, thus keeping the patient&#39;s body dry and comfortable. Moreover, an extra bedding cushion (not shown in drawings) can be added on top of the air conduit  27 (C) for the patient&#39;s comfortable use; also at the outlet of the air pump  281  an instant heating unit can be added to heat up the air instantly, enabling the air conduit  27 (C) to pump out cool air during the summer or hot air during the winter.  
         [0024]    It is easy for those skilled in the art to employ the micro-computing device for controlling the inflation and deflation of the air bladder  20 , and the micro-computing device can also be included in the present invention to achieve the inflation and deflation of respective air bladders, and switch the patient&#39;s pressure points, thus the pressure points will not concentrate on a fixed place while the patient rests in bed. The automatic micro-computing control device of the present invention is further described as follows. The air cushion bed  2  with flushing device of the present invention includes the second controller  29 , which is an automatic micro-computing control device, comprising a pressure sensor, an automatic pressure controller and an electromagnetic tee valve, wherein the electromagnetic tee valve connects three tubes (one in and two outs), with one end linking the air pump  28  to pump in air, and the other two ends linking the air conduits  27 (A) and  27 (B), while only either one of the two air conduits  27 (A) and  27 (B) receiving the air pumped in from the air pump  28 , with another one being shut. When the second controller  29  being activated, a signal is outputted to the air pump  28  to pump air into the air conduit  27 (A) through the electromagnetic tee valve, thus inflating the air bladders  20 (A). In addition, a pressure sensor, installed at the inlet tube near the electromagnetic tee valve, includes a signal wire that connects with the automatic pressure controller, wherein a pre-determined value is installed, so when the pressure level of the air conduit  27 (A) and the air bladder  20 (A) reaches the predetermined pressure value, the automatic pressure controller will be activated to cause the electromagnetic tee valve to close the passage to the air conduit  27 (A) and the air bladders  20 (A); then the passage to the air conduit  27 (B) is opened, thus the air bladders  20 (B) is inflated, while the deflation of the air bladders  20 (A) begins. And then when the pressure level of the air conduit  27 (B) and the air bladder  20 (B) reaches the predetermined pressure value, the automatic pressure controller will again be activated to cause the electromagnetic tee valve to open the passage to the air conduit  27 (A), thus inflating the air bladders  20 (A) instead. Therefore the process repeats itself until the second controller  29  is turned off. With the process of alternately inflating and deflating the air bladders  20 (A) and  20 (B), the pressure points of the patient resting in bed are switched, thus the patient&#39;s muscles are relaxed, the blood flow enlivened and the damage or necrosis of the patient&#39;s back muscles prevented.  
         [0025]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air cushion bed  2  with flushing device includes the water tank  24  that is made of a waterproof material, thus forming a water-holding air container to function as the water tank  24 , with the air bladder  20  placed on the base plate  211  at the bottom of the water-holding air container, wherewith an air conduit is connected, with another end connected to the air pump  28  to form a single circuit, thus different from those of the air conduits  27 (A),  27 (B) and  27 (C). When the controller  29  is activated, a controlling signal is outputted to control the operation of the air pump  28  to inflate and deflate the water-holding air container through the air conduit. When the inflation of the water-holding air container is completed, the bottom surface of the concave shall tilt from one end (e.g. the left end) to the other end (e.g. the right end), and from the upper end to the lower end, thus forming a tilted structure sloping from the upper left end to the lower right end, with a water outlet installed at the lowest part of the bottom surface. The tilting angle of the bottom surface is so slight that the patient resting on the air bladder  20  shall not sense it; in addition, the air bladder  20  can be designed with linear variations, so that the horizontality of the air bladder  20  shall be kept after the completion of the inflation. Water is used to flush the excrement or clean the body of the patient resting on top of the air bladder  20 , thereafter the wastewater is flushed through the peripheries of every air bladder  20  down to the water-holding air container, then is channeled by the bottom surface  211  and discharged through the water outlet. The embodiment of the present invention provides the user with the foldable function, for the air bladders  20  and the water-holding air container can both be folded for safekeeping after complete deflation. Certainly the embodiment of the present invention, as the previous one, also provides cool or warm air, keeping the user, with the function of heat preserving and coolness-keeping, from dampening, germ-growing condition and skin affection. In addition, the air cushion bed in the embodiment of the present invention can be placed on top of other common sickbeds.  
         [0026]    One important issue worth mentioning is that, the wires, circuits and other electric components are all made of insulated material, therefore the patient shall never encounter the danger of electricity-leaking during use.  
         [0027]    Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art can easily understand that all kinds of alterations and changes can be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, the air cushion bed with flushing device of the present invention can further be installed with either fixed or removable water containers on the supporting frame to contain the wastewater or store the cold and hot water for bathing and cleaning. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.