Patent Description:
Referring to recent statistics data of the National Fire Information Center of the National Fire Agency of the Republic of Korea, the number of fires in medical facilities has gradually increased, from <NUM> fires in <NUM> to <NUM> fires in <NUM> and <NUM> fires in <NUM>.

In addition, in the event of a fire in medical facilities, a lot of casualties may occur, due to the characteristics of hospitals, namely, there are difficulties in how to evacuate vulnerable patients who cannot move their bodies by themselves and how to obtain the lines of movement of such.

In the occurrence of a fire, although each of the medical facilities is provided with an evacuation method, vulnerable patients may not be evacuated unless <NUM> to <NUM> persons are obtained for a single vulnerable patient. When manpower is insufficient and there are a number of vulnerable persons who cannot walk by themselves, such facilities may have a lot of casualties. Accordingly, a method of efficiently evacuating patients in the occurrence of a fire is required.

In addition, when vulnerable facilities have a fire, iron scraps or other fragments of walls may drop from upper structures, such as the ceiling. Thus, protective equipment able to protect patients who cannot move by themselves is required.

Furthermore, when a fire occurs inside a building, life may be threatened due to carbon monoxide poisoning or asphyxiation caused by smoke rather than flames. Smoke is generally characterized by extremely rapidly spreading in a short time and generally spreading to all directions along the ceiling. Thus, when a building has a fire, rapid evacuation within several minutes is required.

In the case of fire evacuation, it is extremely dangerous to use an elevator, since a hoistway through which the elevator moves serves as a chimney for fire and smoke and thus the possibility of asphyxiation in the elevator is high. Thus, it is necessary to evacuate via stairs.

Accordingly, when a building has a fire, there may be problems in evacuating immobile persons, such as wheelchair users, elder persons. Wheelchair users who cannot move via stairs or patients having difficulty in walking due to diseases or the like may fail to evacuate in time and thus be injured.

As an example of the related art, a life-saving stretcher for saving a drowning person is disclosed in <CIT>).

The life-saving stretcher for saving a drowning person disclosed in this related art includes: a body inflating with air externally supplied thereto to be buoyant while being deployed into the shape of a mattress, the body having an air inlet through which the air is supplied and an air outlet through which the air supplied into the mattress is discharged, with a plurality of fiber yarns being provided in a vertical direction to respond to an internal pressure; an air supply supplying the air into the body; a receptacle provided integrally with the body to accommodate the air supply, and including a waterproof zipper able to open and close the inside of the receptacle and a traction cord provided on the front portion of the receptacle such that a lifesaver may hold and pull the traction cord; a connecting pipe having one portion connected to the air inlet of the body and the other portion screw-coupled with an inlet hole of the air supply such that the connecting pipe communicates with the air supply, the connecting pipe including an air shutoff valve disposed in a predetermined position; and fixing bands including Velcro tapes provided at rear ends of the body and allowing the body to remain fixed to the air supply without being untied from the air supply.

However, the background art described above has a problem in that, in the case of evacuation from a fire, the background art may fail to provide a shield against a falling object flying or dropping from above the life-saving stretcher, so that a patient may be subjected to a secondary accident. In addition, a plurality of persons is necessary to transfer a single patient via stairs. In this manner, there are a lot of problems to be solved to safely transfer a patient via stairs or the like. As described above, currently, a method able to safely transfer patients, such as severely injured patients, in the occurrence of a fire on a building is required.

In addition, <CIT> provides a device for transporting an injured or disabled person from a building in an emergency situation including a source of pressurized fluid, such as a compressed air canister or cartridge, and an inflatable stretcher connected to the pressurized fluid source. <CIT> provides a body transport apparatus including an inflatable air mattress with a plurality of air exit holes on the bottom to provide an air cushion when the mattress is inflated and a cover portion connected to the mattress adjacent a perimeter to define an enclosed volume. <CIT> provides a low-pressure chamber is common for specific fields such as sports and sickness treatment. <CIT> provides an inflatable medical patient transfer apparatus has a combination of transverse partition members and a raised perimeter section to reduce deleterious ballooning.

The present disclosure is derived to meet the aforementioned demands of the related art, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress able to prevent a patient having difficulty in movement from being injured by a flame, smoke, or a falling object flying from any place when transferring the patient in the event of a disaster or a fire.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress, the entirety of which may be automatically inflated to have an air capsule structure in response to air or gas being injected thereto in an emergency, such as a fire, thereby transferring a patient while protecting the patient.

Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress able to efficiently block external impact that would be applied to the immobile person when transferring an immobile person, such as a patient, via stairs, on rough terrain, or the like.

Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress that has a light weight, is easily storable, and enables patient transfer to be easily performed by a minimal number of persons.

In order to achieve the above objective, according to the present invention, an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress is provided as defined by independent claim <NUM>. The air mattress includes: a main mattress portion forming a plate shape with a predetermined thickness when charged and inflated with air; a protective cover portion provided on one side surface of the main mattress portion in a longitudinal direction, and configured to cover one surface of the main mattress portion when deployed; a cushion wheel unit disposed on a bottom portion of the main mattress portion to absorb impact from below; and four side pad portions respectively coupled to four edge portions of the top surface of the main mattress portion. The main mattress portion and the side pad portions are coupled via first pad joining portions. Second pad joining portions are located between and elastically coupled to adjacent side surfaces of the four side pad portions. One of the four side pad portions is connected to the main mattress portion via a gas pipe channel in such a manner that fluid is in communication therebetween.

In an embodiment, the cushion wheel unit may include: a cushion body fixedly attached to a bottom surface of the main mattress portion, in a shape of an embossment; a wheel-fixing portion disposed on an outer central portion of the cushion body, and a wheel rotatably coupled to the wheel-fixing portion.

In an embodiment, the main mattress portion may include an air inlet through connected to a gas capsule storing compressed air or gas, such as inert gas, to supply air to an internal space of the main mattress portion.

In an embodiment, the protective cover portion or a cover corresponding to the protective cover portion may include: an air prefilter made of a nonwoven component; a charcoal filter provided below the air prefilter and serving as a carbon filtration filter composed by containing activated carbon; and a dustproof filter layer provided below the charcoal filter to block fine dust or particles of hazardous substances.

By using the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress as described above, it is possible to efficiently transfer a patient having difficulty in movement in the event of a disaster or a fire, prevent the patient from being injured by a falling object dropping to a transfer path from above during patient transportation, and protect the patient from a flame and smoke.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, the air mattress serves as a transfer tool having a soft mattress structure, and the entire air mattress is rapidly inflated with air or gas in an emergency to have a predetermined shape. The air mattress may efficiently absorb external impact even when movement via stairs. Thus, the air mattress enables an immobile person to be rapidly and safely evacuated by a small number of persons in a skyscraper, mountainous terrain, a ski resort, an airplane, a vessel, or the like.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, since the air mattress made of a fire retardant urethane material is used instead of a steel frame, the air mattress has light weight. In addition, since the air mattress may be stored in a rolled-up or folded state after use, the air mattress may be easily stored.

The advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods of the realization thereof will be apparent with reference to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions of the embodiments. The present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein and may be embodied in a variety of different forms. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. The scope of the present disclosure shall be construed on the basis of the accompanying claims. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar components.

Hereinafter, an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a plan view illustrating an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, <FIG> is a side view of the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>, and <FIG> is a bottom view of the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>. In addition, <FIG> is an example view illustrating a structure in which the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is charged to have the shape of an air capsule in an emergency.

Hereinafter, the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to <FIG>.

The automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes a main mattress portion <NUM> having the shape of a rectangular mattress able to maintain a predetermined height when charged with air (or gas), protective cover portions <NUM> inflatable to have a dome shape in an emergency in order to protect a patient during transfer from a falling object or a fire, and bottom protective mattresses <NUM> provided on the bottom portions of the main mattress portion <NUM> to absorb impact applied from below during transfer on the ground or stairs.

The main mattress portion <NUM> is a rectangular mattress designed to be inflated to a predetermined height in response to compressed air or compressed gas being rapidly supplied thereto.

The main mattress portion <NUM> includes an air inlet (not shown) through which an amount of air generated by an air supply <NUM> disposed in an internal portion of the main mattress portion <NUM> is supplied into the main mattress portion <NUM> and an air outlet (not shown) through which the supplied air is discharged. An opening and closing hole (not shown) able to open and close the air outlet is provided in the air outlet. The opening and closing hole may be implemented as a sealable zipper or a double Velcro-type opening and closing member. However, the opening and closing hole is not limited thereto, and substantially all types of sealable opening and closing means are applicable.

Thus, the main mattress portion <NUM> may include a handle or an operation switch (not shown) protruding from a predetermined position. The handle or the operation switch is connected to the air supply <NUM> such that the air supply <NUM> may be operated using the handle or the operation switch. Here, the handle may have a pulling structure by which the handle is pulled.

The air supply <NUM> supplying air or gas to the main mattress portion <NUM> may be any means able to store compressed air or gas and supply air or gas by a simple operation (e.g. an explosion or a chemical reaction).

For example, the principle of an inflatable airbag may be applied to the present disclosure. Sodium azide (NaN<NUM>) composed of sodium (Na) and nitrogen (N<NUM>) is an extremely safe material used to rapidly inflate an airbag. In a state in which NaN<NUM> is mixed with a compound known as iron oxide, pulling the connected switch or operation switch causes the mixture to react, thereby generating N<NUM> gas. Consequently, the generated N<NUM> gas may rapidly charge and inflate the main mattress portion <NUM>.

In addition, the air supply <NUM> may be designed to include a sodium azide capsule, a small amount of iron oxide (Fe<NUM>O<NUM>), and a detonator inside the main mattress portion <NUM>.

In another example, the air supply <NUM> may be designed to include a compressed air chamber or a gas capsule containing compressed carbon dioxide (CO<NUM>), the compressed air room or the gas capsule being embedded in the main mattress portion <NUM>. In this case, the gas capsule is unsealed by pulling the handle or the operation switch connected to the air supply <NUM>. At this time, the inside of the main mattress portion <NUM> may be rapidly charged with air to a predetermined pressure.

In addition, in the main mattress portion <NUM>, traction cords <NUM> and a plurality of fixing cords <NUM> may be combined. The traction cords <NUM> have predetermined lengths and are drawable in the case of patient transfer. The plurality of fixing cords <NUM> extends in a transverse direction of the main mattress portion and are spaced apart from each other by predetermined distances, such that the patient may be fixed using the plurality of fixing cords <NUM> in the case of transfer.

The traction cords <NUM> are cords made of a strong material, and are intended to allow only a single person to transport the patient on the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to the present disclosure. The traction cords <NUM> may be provided to extend and protrude upward and downward in the longitudinal direction of the main mattress portion <NUM>.

The traction cords <NUM> may be provided in the shape of shoulder straps passing over the shoulders such that a person may wear the traction cords <NUM> on the shoulders to move the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress or may be provided in the shape of straps having handles.

The fixing cords <NUM> may be provided in the shape of belts, such as Velcro belts, ring-connected belts, or rope-tied belts in order to reliably fix the patient.

In addition, a headrest (not shown) may be further provided on one portion of the main mattress portion <NUM>. The headrest may be connected to the main mattress portion <NUM> in such a manner that air is in communication therebetween in order to support the head of the patient or absorb impact applied to the head portion of the patient in the case of transfer.

The air supply <NUM> may be provided in the headrest portion. In addition, the headrest may be designed such that an emergency air supply may be additionally accommodated therein. Here, the emergency air supply may be a manual tank or the like in which gas, compressed air, or the like for quick internal charging in an emergency is stored.

The protective cover portions <NUM> may be protective covers located on both sides of the main mattress portion <NUM> in the longitudinal direction and serve as fall prevention rails to prevent the patient from falling off the sides in normal times. In an emergency, the protective cover portions <NUM> may be deployed and inflated to have the shape of an air capsule able to protect the patient during transfer from a falling object or a fire. The protective cover portions <NUM> may be provided together with a communication structure connected to the main mattress portion <NUM> via a connecting pipe.

Particularly, the protective cover portions <NUM> may be provided as a pair of protective cover portions on both sides of the main mattress portion <NUM> in the longitudinal direction so as to correspond to each other. The protective cover portions <NUM> provided on both sides of the main mattress portion <NUM>, respectively, may communicate with the main mattress portion <NUM> and be charged and inflated with air (or gas) supplied thereto to have an arched dome shape, thereby covering the entire body of the patient. Thus, the protective cover portions <NUM> may realize a heat retaining function for maintaining the body temperature of the patient in an injury to the patient caused by a fire or during patient transfer, as well as a patient protection function for preventing the patient from being injured by a falling object.

When air is not supplied into the protective cover portions <NUM>, the protective cover portions <NUM> may only serve as a blanket covering the patient to provide a protective cover function for patient protection and temperature retention.

In this regard, each of the protective cover portions <NUM> further includes an air inlet (not shown) through which air is supplied when the main mattress portion <NUM> is operated using the handle or the operation switch connected to the main mattress portion <NUM>. In addition, each of the protective cover portions <NUM> may further include an air outlet (not shown) through which the air supplied into the protective cover portions <NUM> is discharged.

In addition, in the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress <NUM> according to the present embodiment, the bottom protective mattresses <NUM> may be disposed on the bottom portions of the main mattress portion <NUM> to absorb external impact during transfer via stairs or on rough terrain.

The bottom protective mattresses <NUM> may be a plurality of bottom protective mattresses disposed on the bottom portions of the main mattress portion <NUM> and spaced apart from each other by predetermined distances, thereby forming a shock-absorbing mattress serving as a cushion.

In addition, each of the bottom protective mattresses <NUM> may have an air inlet connected to the air inlet of the main mattress portion <NUM> such that air injected through the air inlet of the main mattress portion <NUM> is in communication therebetween. Each of the bottom protective mattresses <NUM> may be designed to be connected to and supplied with air from the air inlet of the main mattress portion <NUM> via a connecting pipe. In this case, when the main mattress portion <NUM> is operated and then supplied with air, the bottom protective mattresses <NUM> may be simultaneously supplied with the air, thereby being rapidly inflated and expanded.

Each of the bottom protective mattresses <NUM> may further include embossments <NUM> on bottom portions thereof in contact with the ground located therebelow in order to minimize friction with the bottom or the ground. The embossments <NUM> have the shape of convex hemispheres.

The embossments <NUM> may serve to minimize friction with the ground, thereby advantageously reducing impact applied from stairs or rough bottoms and facilitating patient transfer by a minimal number of persons.

<FIG> is a configuration view illustrating a multilayer structure of each of the protective cover portions according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating all of an air prefilter, a charcoal filter, and a dustproof filter designed to have dual structures.

Referring to <FIG>, in each of the protective cover portions <NUM>, an air prefilter layer is provided in an outermost portion and is made of a nonwoven component. A charcoal filter, i.e. a carbon filtration filter composed by containing activated carbon, is provided below the air prefilter layer. A layer including a dustproof filter blocking particles of hazardous substances, such as fine dust, and having a dustproof and dust blocking function is provided below the charcoal filter. The dustproof filter has a dustproof index of, for example, KF94 or a higher index. In this manner, the protective cover portions <NUM> may provide a function of purifying external air, such as toxic gases caused by dust or a fire.

Since the entire structure of each of the protective cover portions <NUM> has a dual structure, the protective cover portions <NUM> may be realized to perform a stronger air purification function. In addition, the lowest layer of each of the protective cover portions <NUM> may be made of a high elastic fiber to reduce external impact applied to the bottom portion of the air mattress during patient transfer.

In addition, although each of the protective cover portions <NUM> is preferably provided in a shape in which the entire inside thereof may be charged with air, each of the protective cover portions <NUM> may be further designed to include a structure comprised of air frames (not shown) and connecting frames connecting the air frames). Here, only a portion of each of the air frames may be charged with air. The each of the protective cover portions <NUM> may include covers provided between the air frames and the connecting frames to block a falling object, in which none of the covers are supplied with air.

The air frames and the connecting frames may be provided as a plurality of pairs of frames extending in a transverse direction of the main mattress portion <NUM> and spaced apart from each other by predetermined distances. The frames may be provided in a rolled-up or folded state. The frames may be inflated and expanded with air supplied thereto to have an arch shape, thereby forming a dome structure protecting the patient using the cover portions.

In addition, the air frames and the connecting frames may be configured to communicate with the main mattress portion such that air may be supplied thereto. Each of the air frames and the connecting frames may include an opening and closing hole able to be opened to discharge the air supplied thereinto.

The air frames are inflated to have a dome shape similar to that of the protective cover portions <NUM>, but the structure thereof may differ from that of the protective cover portions <NUM>, in that air is only supplied into the air frames and the connecting frames to inflate the same, rather than being supplied to the entirety.

<FIG> are example views illustrating a method of using the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to the present disclosure.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to the present disclosure may be provided on a bed of a patient or a person having difficulty in movement in normal times. Here, the protective cover portions according to the present disclosure may be used as means for preventing the patient from falling off the sides.

In addition, as illustrated in <FIG>, when the handle or the operation switch connected to the automatically inflating air supply is operated in the event of a disaster or an accident, such as a fire, the protective cover portions are inflated and deployed to have a dome shape and define an internal space, thereby forming an air capsule structure surrounding the patient. In this state, the patient may be transferred by pushing a stretcher cart on which the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress is placed.

In addition, the patient may be transferred only using an air pad without using a patient bed or a stretcher cart. That is, as illustrated in <FIG>, the patient on the air mattress may be transferred using the traction cords extending and protruding longitudinally from the main mattress portion. The traction cords may be provided in the shape of shoulder straps passing over the shoulders such that a person may wear the traction cords on the shoulders to move the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress or may be provided in the shape of straps having handles. <FIG> illustrates an example in which the patient is transferred using the straps having handles.

In addition, since the patient transfer air mattress according to a configuration of the present disclosure may reduce impact and friction from the bottom using the bottom protective mattresses and the embossments provided on the bottom portions of the bottom protective mattresses, only a single person or a minimal number of persons may easily transfer the patient while protecting the patient using the patient transfer air mattress even when transferring the patient via a place, such as stairs, as illustrated in <FIG>. In particular, in the case of patient transfer, the protective cover portions serving as a capsule having a dome shape may surround the entire body of the patient, thereby preventing the patient from being injured by a falling object, and perform an air purification function to remove hazardous smoke produced by a fire using an protective air gap formed in the protective cover portions in a combined manner, thereby providing maximum protection to the patient.

<FIG> is an example view illustrating a structure in which an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is charged to have the shape of an air capsule in an emergency, <FIG> is an example bottom view of the structure illustrated in <FIG>, and <FIG> is an example plan view of the structure illustrated in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, in the patient transfer air mattress according to the present embodiment, the main mattress portion <NUM> may be designed to be inflated while having bents. The main mattress portion <NUM> according to this design may more efficiently absorb impact occurring during the transfer of a patient and provide an effect of reducing the number of the bottom protective mattresses <NUM> connected thereto to be <NUM> or <NUM>.

As described above, the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to the present disclosure is provided such that the entirety of the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress may be inflated to have the air capsule structure in a short time to absorb external impact when the immobile person is transferred via stairs or on rough terrain in the event of a disaster or a fire, thereby enabling the immobile person to be rapidly evacuated to a safe area. Not only on mountainous terrain but also on a volume of water, such as a river or a sea, the patient may be easily evacuated due to the buoyancy function using air. The patient may be easily transferred by only a single person or a minimal number of persons.

<FIG> is a view illustrating ball springs usable in an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to the present embodiment may include ball springs substituting the embossments in the foregoing embodiment.

In each of the ball springs, a portion thereof may be inserted into the corresponding bottom protective mattress <NUM>, and at least one end of the inserted portion may be fixed to the bottom protective mattress <NUM>. The ball springs may be fabricated by winding linear elastic members to have the shape of a ball or a coil.

Meanwhile, the ball springs described above are not limited to substituting the embossments, but may be combined with the embossments. For example, the ball springs may be disposed inside the embossments <NUM>, respectively, to perform a shock-absorbing function. In this case, the ball springs may be coil-shaped springs <NUM> wrapped on the embossments <NUM> to minimize the friction of the embossments, and may have a structure absorbing impact from the bottom using the ball springs during transfer.

On the other hand, although the foregoing embodiment has been described that the air inflated capsule structure is used, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration. The capsule structure may be realized using a different type of compressed gas or a gas generated by a chemical reaction of a chemical and air disposed therein.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, and <FIG> is a bottom perspective view of the automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the air mattress <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes a bottom pad <NUM>, shock-absorbing members <NUM>, an inflation regulator <NUM>, first side pads <NUM>, and second side pads <NUM>.

The bottom pad <NUM> may have a certain level of strength of its own, and may be charged with a type of gas in response to the operation of the inflation regulator <NUM> so that the strength of the bottom pad <NUM> as a flat mattress is increased.

The shock-absorbing members <NUM> may be disposed on the bottom portion of the bottom pad <NUM> and be charged and inflated with gas. When the air mattress <NUM> is in contact with the ground or a bottom surface, the shock-absorbing members <NUM> serve to reduce the contact area and resistance between the air mattress <NUM> and the ground or the bottom surface, whereby the air mattress <NUM> or a person, such as a patient, laid on the air mattress <NUM> may be pulled and transferred with a small amount of force.

The inflation regulator <NUM> may include a tank in which compressed gas is stored and an opening and closing means, such as a valve, for regulating the open ratio of a pipe through which the gas is introduced to and discharged from the tank.

The first side pads <NUM> and the second side pads <NUM> remain attached to side surfaces of the bottom pad <NUM> while having flattened shapes or minimum volumes. When the gas is supplied in response to the operation of the valve or the like of the inflation regulator <NUM>, the insides of the first side pads <NUM> and the second side pads <NUM> may be charged with the gas and the volumes of the first side pads <NUM> and the second side pads <NUM> may be increased so that the first side pads <NUM> and the second side pads <NUM> may be erected to predetermined heights on side surfaces of the bottom pad <NUM>. Here, the vertical surfaces forming the boundaries between the first side pads <NUM> and the second side pads <NUM> may be integrally formed to maintain the joined state before and after gas charging.

In this regard, each of the second side pads <NUM> may have the shape of a plate having a predetermined thickness, in which, in the inflated position, the cross-sectional area of the top end portion thereof spaced apart from the bottom pad <NUM> by a predetermined height is smaller than the cross-sectional area of a portion thereof integrally connected to the bottom pad <NUM>.

Meanwhile, each of the first side pads <NUM> may have the shape of a rectangular plate having a predetermined thickness, in which the cross-sectional area of the top end portion thereof spaced apart from the bottom pad <NUM> by a predetermined height is substantially the same as the cross-sectional area of a portion thereof integrally connected to the bottom pad <NUM>.

In the above-described case, the first side pads <NUM> may be disposed such that, when the first side pads <NUM> and the second side pads <NUM> are charged and inflated with the gas, the first side pads <NUM> are slightly inclined from the side surfaces of the bottom pad <NUM> toward a position above the bottom pad <NUM> depending on the shape of the second side pads <NUM>.

In addition, a cover may be integrally connected to the first side pads <NUM>. The cover may be disposed to connect the pair of first side pads <NUM> facing each other and cover an open area defined by the upper portions of the first side pads <NUM> and second side pads <NUM>, in response to the operation of a zipper.

The cover may correspond to the protective cover portions <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. The cover also may serve as a fire blanket. In addition, the shock-absorbing members <NUM>, the bottom mattress <NUM>, and the inflation regulator <NUM> may correspond to the bottom protective mattresses <NUM> or the embossments <NUM>, the main mattress portion <NUM>, and the air supply <NUM> according to the foregoing embodiments described with reference to <FIG>, respectively.

The air mattress <NUM> according to the present embodiment may be fabricated to have a length of <NUM> to <NUM>, a width of <NUM> to <NUM>, and a height of <NUM> to <NUM> when inflated. Each of the bottom pad <NUM> and the first and second side pads <NUM> and <NUM> may be fabricated to have a thickness of <NUM> to <NUM> when inflated.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating an automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "patient transfer air mattress") according to still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is a bottom perspective view of the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>. <FIG> is a schematic view illustrating embossment wheel units disposed on the bottom surface of the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG> is a partial plan view illustrating a structure usable in the embossment wheel units in <FIG>. In addition, <FIG> is an example view illustrating a state in which inflation gas is discharged from the inside of the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the patient transfer air mattress <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes a main mattress portion <NUM>, a cover <NUM>, and cushion wheel units <NUM>. The main mattress portion <NUM> may include a head-fixing unit <NUM>, a body-fixing unit <NUM>, a pelvis-fixing unit <NUM>, a first joining means <NUM>, a fastening means <NUM>, handle straps <NUM>, an air inlet <NUM>, and an air outlet <NUM>. A second joining means (see reference numeral <NUM> in <FIG>) may be provided on one edge of the cover <NUM>.

The main mattress portion <NUM> may be made of a flexible material, and may be formed to have the shape of a thin plate with a predetermined length and a predetermined width when the inside thereof is charged with gas or air. The main mattress portion <NUM> includes a first main surface or a top surface 210a and a second main surface or a bottom surface 210b.

The head-fixing unit <NUM> fixing the head of an immobile person, such as a patient, when the immobile person is laid, the body-fixing unit <NUM> fixing the body of the immobile person, and the pelvis-fixing unit <NUM> fixing the pelvis of the immobile person are disposed on the top surface 210a.

The head-fixing unit <NUM> is disposed on one end portion of the top surface 210a in the longitudinal direction, and the body-fixing unit <NUM> and the pelvis-fixing unit <NUM> are disposed in the described order toward the other end portion. One end of the pelvis-fixing unit <NUM> may be fixed to a substantially middle end portion of the top surface 210a.

The head-fixing unit <NUM> may include a sheet-shaped first body made of a flexible material and first fastening portions <NUM> fixedly coupling both ends of the first body to the top surface 210a of the main mattress portion <NUM>. The body-fixing unit <NUM> may include a sheet-shaped second body made of a flexible material and second fastening portions <NUM> fixedly coupling both ends of the second body to the top surface 210a of the main mattress portion <NUM>. In addition, the pelvis-fixing unit <NUM> may include a sheet-shaped third body made of a flexible material and third fastening portions <NUM> fixedly coupling three portions of the third body to the top surface 210a of the main mattress portion <NUM>. Among three connecting members between the third body and the third fastening portions <NUM>, two connecting members may be connected to each other via attachments. Each of the attachments may include a pair of female and male plastic buckles 216a and 216b.

The first joining means <NUM> is provided on one side surface of the main mattress portion <NUM>. The first joining means <NUM> may be detachably coupled to the second joining means provided on one side of the cover <NUM>. The first joining means <NUM> and the second joining means may be implemented as Velcro fasteners or the like.

The fastening means <NUM>, the handle straps <NUM>, the air inlet <NUM>, and the air outlet <NUM> are provided on bottom surface 210b. The cushion wheel units <NUM> are also provided on the bottom surface 210b.

The fastening means <NUM> is fixedly disposed on the bottom surface 210b such that two portions thereof are provided on each end portion of the bottom surface 210b in the longitudinal direction. The fastening means <NUM> may include plastic buckles, one end of each of which is fixed to the bottom surface 210b. The plastic buckles of the fastening means <NUM> may be coupled to other plastic buckles, respectively, each of which forms a pairs together with the corresponding plastic buckle of the fastening means <NUM>. In this manner, the fastening means <NUM> may be connected to the traction cords (see reference numeral <NUM> in <FIG>).

The handle straps <NUM> may be disposed on four sides of the bottom surface 210b, respectively. The edge of each of the sides of the bottom surface 210b extending in the longitudinal direction may be provided with two handle straps <NUM>. Each of the handle straps <NUM> may have the shape of a half ring, with both ends thereof being fixed to the bottom surface 210b, and be disposed pivotable in the range from above the bottom surface 210b to outside of the bottom surface 210b.

The air inlet <NUM> may be disposed on any position of the bottom surface 210b, for example, a corner portion. The air inlet <NUM> may include an insertion-fixing inlet or a screw-coupling inlet and be connected to a gas tank or a gas capsule via a connector to which a check valve is coupled. The gas tank or the gas capsule may be accommodated in the main mattress portion <NUM>, and may be independently provided outside the main mattress portion <NUM> according to embodiments. The gas tank may also be referred to as an air tank, an inert gas tank, or the like.

Meanwhile, in addition to or in place of the gas tank described above, an oxygen tank may be provided. In this case, the immobile person who needs an oxygen respirator may be transferred using the air mattress.

The air outlet <NUM> has an openable structure to discharge gas or air charged in the internal space of the main mattress portion <NUM>. The air outlet <NUM> has an opening and closing structure having durability and reliability able to withstand the internal pressure of the main mattress portion <NUM> charged with gas. The air outlet <NUM> may be disposed adjacent to the air inlet <NUM>, but is not limited thereto.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the cushion wheel units <NUM> are disposed on the bottom surface 210b of the main mattress portion <NUM>. The plurality of cushion wheel units <NUM> may be disposed substantially evenly in predetermined positions 260a of the bottom surface 210b.

As illustrated in <FIG>, each of the cushion wheel units <NUM> may include a cushion body <NUM> fixedly attached to the bottom surface 210b, a wheel-fixing portion <NUM> coupled to the central portion of the cushion body <NUM>, and a wheel <NUM> rotatably coupled to the wheel-fixing portion <NUM>.

The cushion body <NUM> is disposed on the bottom surface 210b, in the shape of a convex or an embossment made of an elastic material. The cushion body <NUM> may be made of a rubber material or the like. In addition, a spring or another elastic member may be additionally inserted into the cushion body <NUM>.

The wheel-fixing portion <NUM> may freely rotate on the cushion body <NUM> and support the wheel <NUM>, with one end thereof being coupled to the most protruding portion, i.e. the central portion of the embossment, of the cushion body <NUM>, and the other end thereof being coupled to the wheel <NUM>.

In the patient transfer air mattress <NUM> according to the present embodiment described above, flexible components may freely overlap each other in a state in which the gas is discharged from the inside of the patient transfer air mattress <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. In a state in which the components are placed on the top surface 210a of the main mattress portion <NUM>, the main mattress portion <NUM> may be rolled up or folded from one longitudinal end portion thereof to the other longitudinal end portion thereof to reduce the volume so that the main mattress portion <NUM> may be stored or carried.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating a patient transfer air mattress according to a further another embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>. <FIG> is a partial perspective view of the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>. <FIG> is an example view illustrating embossment wheel units and handle straps usable in the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, the patient transfer air mattress 200A according to the present embodiment includes a main mattress portion <NUM>, a cover <NUM>, cushion wheel units <NUM>, side pad portions <NUM>, and pad-joining portions <NUM> and <NUM>. The main mattress portion <NUM> includes a head-fixing unit, a body-fixing unit, a pelvis-fixing unit, a fastening means, handle straps <NUM>, an air inlet, an air outlet, and a third joining means <NUM>. A second joining means <NUM> may be provided on one edge of the cover <NUM>.

The main mattress portion <NUM> may be made of a flexible material, and may be formed to have the shape of a thin plate with a predetermined length and a predetermined width when the inside thereof is charged with gas or air. The edge portions of the top surface 210a of the main mattress portion <NUM> may be integrally connected to the side pad portions <NUM> via the pad-joining portions <NUM> and <NUM>.

In the main mattress portion <NUM> and the four side pad portions <NUM> coupled to the edge portions of the four sides of the main mattress portion <NUM>, an internal space 210c of the main mattress portion <NUM> and an internal space 270a of each of the side pad portions <NUM> may be connected via at least one gas channel pipe <NUM> made of a flexible material in such a manner that fluid is in communication therebetween. Each of the four side pad portions <NUM> may be connected to the main mattress portion <NUM> in such a manner that fluid is in communication therebetween, but is not limited thereto. According to embodiments, one of the four side pad portions <NUM> may be connected to the main mattress portion <NUM> in such a manner that fluid is in communication therebetween, and the remaining side pad portions may be connected to each other in such a manner that fluid is in communication within the second pad-joining portions <NUM>. In addition, at least one of the side pad portions <NUM> may independently include at least one of an air inlet 251a and an air outlet 253a.

The top surface 210a of the main mattress portion <NUM> may include a first portion 212x, a second portion 214x, and a third portion 216x. The head-fixing unit fixing the head of an immobile person, such as a patient, laid on the main mattress portion <NUM> is disposed on the first portion 212x. The body-fixing unit fixing the body of the immobile person is disposed on the second portion 214x. The pelvis-fixing unit fixing the pelvis of the immobile person is disposed on the third portion 216x.

The fastening means, the handle straps <NUM>, the air inlet, and the air outlet are provided on the bottom surface 210b of the main mattress portion <NUM>. In addition, the cushion wheel units <NUM> are provided on the bottom surface 210b.

The side pad portions <NUM> are disposed on edge portions of the four sides of the main mattress portion <NUM> to have a predetermined height (e.g. from <NUM> to <NUM>) from the top surface 210a of the main mattress portion <NUM>. The side pad portions <NUM> may be integrally coupled to the main mattress portion <NUM> via the pad-joining portions <NUM> and <NUM>. When gas, such as air, is injected to the main mattress portion <NUM>, the side pad portions may be inflated together or simultaneously, thereby forming a predetermined wall shape. In addition, when the gas is discharged from the main mattress portion <NUM>, the side pad portions may be deflated together, thereby forming a flexible shape.

The third joining means <NUM> may be provided on the top surfaces of three side pad portions <NUM> among the four side pad portions <NUM>. The third joining means <NUM> may be detachably joined to the second joining means <NUM> provided on one side of the cover <NUM>. The second joining means <NUM> and the third joining means <NUM> may be implemented as Velcro fasteners or the like.

The pad-joining portions <NUM> and <NUM> may include the first pad-joining portions <NUM> and the second pad-joining portions <NUM>. The first pad-joining portions <NUM> may be disposed to fix the four side pad portions <NUM> to the edge portions of the four sides of the main mattress portion <NUM>, respectively. The second pad-joining portions <NUM> may be disposed to form elastic corner portions between the adjacent surfaces of the four side pad portions.

As described above, the patient transfer air mattress 200A according to the present embodiment may include components substantially the same as those of the patient transfer air mattress described above with reference to <FIG>, except for modifications or additions of the side pad portions <NUM>, the pad-joining portions <NUM> and <NUM>, and related components (e.g.. 251a, 253a, and <NUM>). Accordingly, descriptions of the repetitive components will be omitted.

<FIG> is an example view illustrating the state of the air mattress in a process of removing gas from the inside of the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>. <FIG> is an example view illustrating the state of the air mattress, a portion of which is folded in a state in which most of the gas inside the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG> is removed. In addition, <FIG> are views illustrating the folded state and the size of the patient transfer air mattress illustrated in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, the volume of the patient transfer air mattress 200A according to the present embodiment may be reduced by removing gas, such as air or inert gas, from the internal spaces of a main mattress portion <NUM> and the side pad portions <NUM>.

For example, when removing the gas from the inside of the patient transfer air mattress 200A is started, the shape of the main mattress portion <NUM> and the shape of the side pad portions <NUM> are deflated as illustrated in <FIG>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the flattened side pad portions <NUM> and the flattened cover <NUM>, from which the gas is removed, may be stacked on the deflated main mattress portion <NUM>, from which the gas is removed.

After the gas in the inside of the patient transfer air mattress 200A is removed, a user may fold or roll up the air mattress 200A by him/herself or using a set of equipment, thereby further reducing the volume of the patient transfer air mattress 200A, as illustrated in <FIG>. The patient transfer air mattress 200A, the volume of which is reduced, may be packed, for example, to a volume having the shape of a rectangular cuboid, with the cushion wheel units being exposed from one surface thereof, as illustrated in <FIG>. The patient transfer air mattress 200A packed to have the shape of a rectangular cuboid may have a reduced volume having a length L1 of <NUM> to <NUM>, a width W1 of <NUM> to <NUM>, a thickness T1 of <NUM> to <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

When the patient transfer air mattress 200A, which is automatically inflatable and packable, is used, the patient transfer air mattress 200A may be easily carried and stored. In the event of an accident, such as a fire, the immobile person, such as a patient having difficulty in movement, may be efficiently transferred by a small number of persons. In the foregoing embodiments, the side pads may correspond to the side pad portions.

<FIG> are example views illustrating technical configurations usable in a patient transfer air mattress according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

First, as illustrated in <FIG>, a bumper type air mattress according to the present embodiment may include four gas connecting pipes <NUM> forming a plurality of gas channels or air channels between a main mattress portion <NUM> and a single side pad portion <NUM> in such a manner that fluid is in communication between the main mattress portion <NUM> and the single side pad portion <NUM> via the four gas connecting pipes <NUM>. When four or more gas connecting pipes <NUM> are used, the side pad portions <NUM> may be efficiently and rapidly charged with gas or air through the main mattress portion <NUM>.

In addition, as illustrated as in <FIG>, the main mattress portion or the side mattress portions may include an air inlet 251a and an air outlet 253a. In particular, the air inlet 251a according to the present embodiment serves as a pressure valve. The air inlet 251a serving as the pressure valve may be referred to as a pressure valve. When an excessive pressure having a predetermined or higher level is formed within the main mattress portion or the side pad portions, a predetermined amount of gas or air may be automatically discharged in order to prevent the internal pressure of the main mattress portion or the side pad portions from excessively increasing. Accordingly, when the patient on the air mattress is moved over a bottom having severe concaves and convexes, such as stairs, it is possible to prevent the internal pressure of the main mattress portion or the side pad portions from being instantaneously increased to an excessive level by external impact applied to the air mattress from an edge of a step of the stairs, thereby preventing the main mattress portion or the side pad portions from being damaged or torn.

In addition, as illustrated in <FIG>, a manual pump <NUM> may be connected to the air inlet. That is, the air inlet may have a structure to which the nozzle of the manual pump <NUM> is fixedly inserted. Accordingly, in the air mattress according to the present embodiment, the inside of the main mattress portion or the side pad portions may be manually charged with external gas or air in a specific case.

In addition, as illustrated in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, the bumper type air mattress including the side pad portions <NUM> may include handles <NUM> on front and rear surfaces and side surfaces in the longitudinal direction. When the handles <NUM> are provided, persons may efficiently carry the bumper type air mattress using the handles <NUM>, rather than pulling the bumper type air mattress using traction cords <NUM> provided on the front and rear surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the bumper type air mattress. The configuration of the handles <NUM> may be substantially equally applied to a portable air mattress. For example, the handles <NUM> provided on the rear surface of the portable air mattress are as illustrated in <FIG>.

In addition, as illustrated in <FIG>, the position of the main air inlet or the second air inlet <NUM> serving as a gas supply means without serving as a pressure valve may be changed to any position. In the air mattress according to the foregoing embodiment, the second air inlet <NUM> is disposed in the bottom end portion of the main mattress portion in which the handles <NUM> and the cushion wheel units <NUM> are disposed, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The second air inlet <NUM> may be disposed in a portion of the main mattress portion adjacent to a foot of a person when the person is laid on the air mattress or may be disposed outside of the side pad portions.

In addition, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, an external gas container <NUM> may be attached to and detached from the air mattress using a check valve <NUM> including a pipe having a predetermined length. When the check valve <NUM> is used, a gas tank mounted inside the air mattress may be connected to or disconnected from the external gas container <NUM> of high-pressure gas via the check valve <NUM>. In a case in which the external gas container <NUM> is connected to the gas tank, the gas tank or an air capsule may be charged with air. In this case, it is of course possible to charge the inside of the main mattress portion or the side pad portions with air by operating the gas tank or the air capsule mounted inside the main mattress portion.

Claim 1:
An automatically inflatable patient transfer air mattress (<NUM>) comprising:
a main mattress portion (<NUM>) forming a plate shape with a predetermined thickness when charged and inflated with air;
a protective cover portion (<NUM>) provided on one side surface of the main mattress portion (<NUM>) in a longitudinal direction, and configured to cover one surface of the main mattress portion (<NUM>) when deployed; and
a cushion wheel unit (<NUM>) disposed on a bottom portion of the main mattress portion (<NUM>) to absorb impact from below; and
four side pad portions (<NUM>) respectively coupled to four edge portions of the top surface of the main mattress portion (<NUM>),
wherein the main mattress portion (<NUM>) and the side pad portions (<NUM>) are coupled via first pad joining portions (<NUM>),
wherein second pad joining portions (<NUM>) are located between and elastically coupled to adjacent side surfaces of the four side pad portions (<NUM>), and
wherein one of the four side pad portions (<NUM>) is connected to the main mattress portion (<NUM>) via a gas pipe channel in such a manner that fluid is in communication therebetween.