Patent ID: 7681269

Claim:
A support surface, comprising: a pressurized air supply; a controller operatively connected to, and controlling, the air supply; a first air cell array defining a support surface plane, the first air cell array being inflated or deflated under control of the controller; and left and right turning bladders located under the first air cell array, each turning bladder including an upper body wing and a lower body wing and being inflatable or deflatable under control of the controller, wherein the upper body wing and the lower body wing of each turning bladder are connected to each other and to the pressurized air supply via a respective conduit, and wherein the conduits are oriented lengthwise in a middle of the support surface and between the left and right turning bladders in order to provide rapid inflation and deflation of the turning bladders, thereby facilitating the turning of a patient positioned on the first air cell array for providing various types of patient care and treatment, wherein the left and right turning bladders are independently inflatable and/or deflatable such that when one of the left and right turning bladders is inflated, and the other of the left and right turning bladders is deflated, a patient resting on the support surface is rotated, and wherein each of the upper body wings and the lower body wings of the left and right turning bladders is shell shaped in a bladder plane parallel to the support surface plane including a narrow section adjacent a center of the support surface and extending toward a side of the support surface and a wide section adjacent an outermost side of the support surface in order to minimize the amount of air required to inflate the turning bladders, thereby resulting in high-speed turning of the patient.