Abstract:
A support pad includes a low density layer of an air and water permeable three-dimensional matrix composed of a mat of polymeric material. The layer preferably has a smooth and planar contour on the top face, and a “peak and valley” contour on the bottom face. A pad may be maintained over the top face of the low density layer. Sheeting may be placed over at least the top face of the low density layer and the pad to provide a more comfortable surface for an individual to rest upon.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a mattress-type support pad, and more particularly, to a support pad including a layer of an air and liquid permeable three dimensional matrix of polymeric material. 
     Recently, health concerns have led hospitals to cover bed mattresses with liquid impermeable vinyl covers which can be easily washed and disinfected. Conventional sheets are typically used over the vinyl-covered mattresses. Bed-ridden individuals, including individuals suffering from skin ulcers and/or open sores, are often forced to spend extended periods of time on sheets which have become soaked with wetness. Since the damp sheets are positioned over liquid impermeable vinyl, the dampness remains trapped inside the sheeting, between an individual&#39;s body and the vinyl cover. Simple incontinence pads, usually paper bonded to impermeable plastic, hold perspiration and body fluids in an uncomfortable and possibly harmful proximity to the individual&#39;s body. 
     The known mattress pads suffer from the inability to allow for efficient drainage and/or evaporation of patients&#39; perspiration from the sheeting, often leading to severe patient discomfort in the form of bed sores or, possibly, decubitus ulcers. 
     Thus, there exists a need for an improved mattress pad which includes the desirable properties of permitting drainage and/or evaporation of perspiration entering into the pad and also permitting air to permeate in order to hasten such evaporation. 
     In disparate fields of art, there are known materials composed of low density matted thermoplastic macro-filaments irregularly looped and intermingled in highly porous and/or open peak and valley three-dimensional sheet structures. Such materials are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,212,692; 4,252,590; and Re. 31,599; the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. One application of these materials has been as soil retention matting for use in the building industry. Similar materials have been used as seat cushions in marine environments. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The support pad of the present invention includes a layer of a low density liquid and air permeable three-dimensional matrix of matted polymeric material. The pad is preferably covered with a non-foamed pad and used with conventional or modified bed sheeting. The pad is preferably made in standard bed sizes, e.g. single, double, queen, king, California king size, examination table size, labor and delivery table size, crib size, gurney size, etc. In an alternative embodiment, the pad includes one or more hinged sections for use on mechanically bending beds. The layer of low density material, after removal of the pad and the sheets, may be cleaned, disinfected and reused many times. However, since the materials used in the layer are relatively inexpensive, it is also possible to dispose of the layer after a single use or after repeated uses by a single person, for example. The layer of material for the pad is chosen for its ability to admit moisture into the matting from the sheet above and also to admit air to enter and permeate into and out of the matting in order to hasten evaporation of the moisture contained within the pad and in the sheeting above the pad. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional bed over which is a preferred embodiment of a mattress pad in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a cut-away view of a support pad system in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a cut-away view of an embodiment of a support pad in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a cut-away view of another embodiment of a support pad in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a cut-away view of another embodiment of a support pad in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view showing a conventional folding bed over which is an embodiment of a mattress pad in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a cut-away view of another embodiment of a mattress pad with an air moving device in accordance with the present invention; and 
     FIG. 8 is a side view showing a conventional bed over which are embodiments of mattress pads in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is a support pad which includes a layer of a low density air and liquid water permeable three-dimensional matrix made from a matting of polymeric material. 
     FIG. 1 shows a conventional bed  10 , including mattress  11  and box springs  12 , over which is the mattress pad  20  in accordance with the present invention. Conventional sheeting  14  is preferably utilized over the pad  20 . Waterproof sheeting or the like can preferably be located under the pad  20  to protect mattress  11 . 
     A preferred embodiment of a mattress pad in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG.  2  and is generally designated by reference numeral  21 . The pad  21  includes a layer  22  of a low density air and liquid water permeable three-dimensional matrix made from a matted polymeric material. The layer  22  preferably has a substantially planar contour  23  on one face or surface  35  and a peak and valley or rolling contour  24  on the opposite face or surface  36 . While the contours are represented by dashed lines, the matted polymeric material features numerous air passages between and around fibers for admitting air and moisture into the material throughout the contours  23  and  24  of both faces  35  and  36 . 
     The matted polymeric material provides a cushioning effect to an individual resting on the mat. However, additional cushioning may be provided by an optional cushion pad  30 , which is preferably composed of a material so as not to retain substantial amounts of fluids entering from above, but to allow most or all of such fluids to pass through into the layer  22  below. The material may be, for example, polyester or polypropylene material, cotton, or a blended material. The cushion pad  30  may be adhered to the top surface of the layer  22  or may be removable. 
     The layer  22  and optional cushion pad  30  may be covered with an optional and preferably removable outer cover  32 . The outer cover  32  preferably includes a fastener  33  to maintain it in position around the layer  22  and pad  30 . The fastener  33  may be, for example, a zipper, an elastic strip, or mating pieces of hook and loop material. The outer cover may be, for example, a fabric or non-fabric material encapsulating the layer  22  and optional cushion pad  30 . Alternatively, the outer cover  32  could be conventional bed sheeting. 
     FIG. 3 shows an alternative pad  25  of the invention. The alternative pad  25  includes a substantially planar profile or contour  23  on the top face  35  in the same fashion as the first embodiment, but also includes a substantially planar profile or contour  26  on the bottom face  36 . The pad  25  may be used alone as shown or included with a pad  30  and outer cover  32  as shown for the first embodiment. 
     FIG. 4 shows an alternative pad  27  of the invention. The alternative pad  27  includes a peak and valley profile or contour  29  on the top face  35 , and a peak and valley profile or contour  24  on the bottom face  36 . The pad  27  may be used alone as shown or included with a pad  30  and outer cover  32  as shown for the first embodiment. 
     FIG. 5 shows another alternative pad  28  of the invention. The alternative pad  28  includes a substantially planar profile or contour  23  on the top surface in the same fashion as the first embodiment, and a peak and valley contour  24  on the bottom surface, but also includes hinged areas  31  to enable bending of sections of the pad  28 . The hinged areas  31  enable use of the pad  28 , for example, on a hospital-type bed  15  of the type which is mechanically able to bend to various positions for the comfort of the patient, as illustrated in FIG.  6 . The hinges may be slots or creases running through the material as illustrated in FIG. 5, although numerous other types of hinges may be used. For example, two sections of material can be simply attached together with a strip of material adhesively attached to both sections. Again, the pad  25  may be used alone, as shown, or included with a pad  30  and removable outer cover  32  as shown for the first embodiment. 
     An optional drip collector  34 , as illustrated in FIG. 1, may be included to collect any liquids passing through the pads  20 ,  21 ,  25 ,  27 , or  28 . Such a drip collector  34 , which may be an absorbent material or a pan type structure, is particularly suitable for use in a situation where the underlying bed is not covered by a liquid impermeable, e.g., plastic, cover. 
     Examples of three-dimensional matrix materials that may be utilized for the layer of air and liquid water permeable three-dimensional matrix of the present invention include, but are not limited to, ENKAMAT® and ENKADRAIN®, which are manufactured by Akzo Nobel Geosynthetics Company of Enka, N.C. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,212,692; 4,252,590; and Re. 31,599; the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference, disclose three-dimensional matrices that may be used for the layer of air and liquid water permeable three-dimensional matrix of the present invention. These patents generally disclose thermoplastic microfilaments irregularly looped and intermingled in a highly porous or open, preferably peak and valley, three-dimensional sheet structure. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,212,692; 4,252,590; and Re. 31,599, the matting may be formed of continuous polymer filaments self-bonded at interstices of the filaments. The interstices are randomly arranged throughout the matrix. Especially preferred materials are ENKAMAT® 7210, which has a thickness of about 7 mm and a weight of about 7.7 ounces/square yard and ENKAMAT® 7220, which has a thickness of about 16 mm and a weight of about 11.8 ounces /square yard. These materials are three-dimensional geomatrices of heavy nylon monofilaments fused at their intersections. About 95% of the geomatrix is open. The polymeric material is nylon  6  containing about two percent carbon black. 
     The pads  20 ,  21 ,  25 ,  27  and/or  28  are preferably made of a size sufficient to substantially cover a standard size bed mattress  11 , e.g. single, twin (about thirty-nine inches by about seventy-five inches), full (about fifty-four inches by about seventy-five inches), double, queen (about sixty inches by about eighty inches), king (about seventy-two inches by about eighty inches), California king, examination table, labor and delivery table, gurney, etc. One preferred size of pad is about 6.5 feet in length by about thirty-nine inches in side-to-side width. The thickness of the layer  22  is preferably greater than about 5 mm and preferably about 5 mm to about 50 mm, more preferably between about 5 mm to about 20 mm, and still more preferably between about 7 mm to about 16 mm. The matted polymeric material is preferably composed of nylon material, although other polymeric materials, including but not limited to polyesters, may also be effectively used. 
     The mattress pad of the invention is particularly suitable for use in hospital, other medical environments, and the home, or wherever it is necessary for patients to spend extended periods of time in bed. When a patient rests atop the mattress pad of the present invention, perspiration and other fluids are absorbed into the bed sheeting material. The layer of polymeric mat used in the present invention provides a path for moisture to drain from the sheeting, a path for air to enter to enable evaporation of moisture contained within the mattress pad, and also a path to enable the evaporation of moisture that remains absorbed in the sheeting. 
     The mattress pad of the invention may be used in combination with basic nursing, which dictates that a patient have clean and dry skin with a clean and dry bed. For optimal health, a patient&#39;s skin is preferably inspected four times per day, for example, at seven a.m., noon, three p.m., and prior to sleeping. Use of the mattress pad of the invention may increase the amount of time before it is necessary to clean the patient&#39;s bed. Temperature control of the forced air may permit the bed to be rapidly warmed or cooled. 
     FIG. 7 shows an alternative pad  120  featuring an air moving device  140 . The air moving device  140  may be, for example, a pump for pumping air through the pad  120  or a vacuum system for pulling air through the pad  120 . Tubules  130  may be attached to the air moving device  140  with openings  131  for directing air flow to or from specific areas under a patient&#39;s body, such as for example, under the buttocks, femoral, occipital and back regions. The forced air flow may increase the evaporation of perspiration and other dampness, and also may provide a pleasant cooling effect to the patient&#39;s body. 
     Another aspect of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 8, which shows a conventional bed  210 , over which is a first pad  220  which has been partially rolled up at each of the ends  221  and  222 . At one end  221  or  222  of the mat  220 , a patient (not shown) can elevate, for example, their calves just above their ankles to help prevent their heels and ankles from touching the bed  210 . This may help to prevent the occurrence of decubitous ulcers on the heels and ankles. At the opposite end  222  or  221  of the mat  220 , the patient can elevate their head. It is also possible to only roll up one end  221  or  222  of the mat. Rolling an end of the mat up provides for increased air space underneath a patient which allows for additional air flow within the mat for regulation of moisture, comfort, temperature and odor regulation. 
     Additional mats, such as for example mat  230 , may optionally be rolled up and positioned under a patient&#39;s back, particularly in situations where the patient is resting on their side. 
     While it is preferred to include a single layer of matted polymeric material, it is within the scope of the present invention to include additional layers of polymeric material and other materials as may be desired to increase the comfort of the pad, or for any other reason. Similarly, other changes and embodiments of the invention and combinations of the above embodiments are possible and the scope of the invention should be considered to encompass all possible embodiments of the invention as broadly disclosed, and any and all equivalents thereof.