Electric heating pads and mattresses
Inventors
Augustine, Scott D. • Augustine, Ryan S. • Augustine, Garrett J. • Augustine, Brent M. • Arnold, Randall C. • Beckman, John R.
Assignees
Interested in licensing this patent?
MTEC can help explore whether this patent might be available for licensing for your application.
Publication Number
US-11903870-B2
Publication Date
2024-02-20
Expiration Date
Abstract
An electric heating pad for warming a patient includes a heated underbody support or heated mattress. The heated underbody support or mattress includes a heater assembly having a flexible sheet-like heating element, conductive bus bars attached at or near side edges of the heating element, and fabric side edge extensions attached to heating element side edges. The heated underbody support or mattress also includes a layer of polymeric foam positioned under the heater assembly and a shell, including at least two sheets of flexible material, covering at least a portion of the heater assembly and the layer of polymeric foam. When the heater assembly is wrapped around the top surface of the layer of polymeric foam, side edges of the heating element extend partially down the two side walls of the layer of polymeric foam and the conductive bus bars lie adjacent those two side walls.
Core Innovation
The electric heating pad for warming a patient includes a heated underbody support or heated mattress with a heater assembly, a layer of polymeric foam, and a shell covering at least a portion of the heater assembly and the layer of polymeric foam. The heater assembly includes a flexible sheet-like heating element having a top surface, a bottom surface, an upper edge, a lower edge, and at least two side edges, with conductive bus bars attached at or near the at least two side edges and fabric side edge extensions attached to the at least two side edges. The shell comprises one or more sheets of flexible material.
A width of the flexible sheet-like heating element is wider than a width of the top surface of the layer of polymeric foam. The heater assembly is wrapped around the top surface of the layer of polymeric foam such that the at least two side edges extend partially down the at least two side walls of the layer of polymeric foam, with the conductive bus bars lying adjacent the at least two side walls. The fabric side edge extensions are wrapped under and attached to the bottom surface of the layer of polymeric foam, thereby securing the heater assembly to the layer of polymeric foam.
In further configurations, the electric heating pad includes temperature control sensors and pressure sensors to detect a patient weight and to reduce or turn off electrical power to the flexible sheet-like heating element when the weight has not been detected for a preset period of time. Additional structures include a polymeric oxygen barrier film attached to at least one of the top or bottom surfaces of the flexible sheet-like heating element, and reinforcement features for patient-securement and surgical table repositioning, including a perineal cutout and reinforcement adjacent the perineal cutout against pressures applied during Trendelenburg securement. The fabric side edge extensions may include vertical slits positioned to correspond to an area configured to bend when a surgical table is moved into a sitting position.
Claims Coverage
The partial set provides four independent claims. Across these claims, the core inventive structure is the wrapped flexible sheet-like conductive heater assembly secured to a polymeric foam layer inside a flexible shell, with dimensional wrapping and adjacency relationships; additional claim scope adds patient-contact sensing and preset-time power reduction or turn-off, and structural reinforcement for Trendelenburg securement and surgical-table bending scenarios.
Wrapped heater assembly secured by fabric side edge extensions
An electric heating pad in which a flexible sheet-like heating element with conductive bus bars and fabric side edge extensions is wrapped around a polymeric foam layer so side edges extend partially down foam side walls with bus bars adjacent the foam side walls, and fabric side edge extensions are wrapped under and attached to the bottom surface thereby securing the heater assembly to the polymeric foam.
Heater width wider than foam top surface
The electric heating pad wherein a width of the flexible sheet-like heating element is wider than a width of the top surface of the layer of polymeric foam, with the heater assembly wrapped around the foam top surface and side edges extending partially down the foam side walls.
Patient-contact temperature and pressure sensing with preset period power reduction or turn-off
An electric heating pad including a temperature control sensor attached to the flexible sheet-like heating element at a location configured to be in contact with a patient, a pressure sensor adjacent the temperature control sensor to detect a weight of a patient laying on the electric heating pad, and the pressure sensor configured to reduce or turn off electrical power to the flexible sheet-like heating element when the weight of the patient has not been detected for a preset period of time.
Perineal cutout reinforcement for Trendelenburg securement
An electric heating pad with a layer of polymeric foam including a perineal cutout in the lower wall, and a fabric lower edge extension attached to the lower edge of the flexible sheet-like heating element that is attached to the top surface, the lower wall and the bottom surface of the layer of polymeric foam at the perineal cutout and adjacent the perineal cutout to reinforce the perineal cutout against pressures applied during Trendelenburg securement.
The independent claim set centers on an electric heating pad architecture combining a wrapped flexible sheet-like conductive heater assembly with bus bars and fabric extensions and a compressible polymeric foam layer inside a flexible shell. Claim scope further includes patient-contact temperature and pressure sensing with preset-time power reduction or turn-off, and structural reinforcement for perineal cutouts under Trendelenburg securement and for bending areas during surgical table repositioning.
Stated Advantages
Improved cleanability via a welded hermetic waterproof shell without punctures.
Reduced hammocking by providing conformability for patient contact while securing the heater assembly to the polymeric foam layer.
Patient safety and pressure relief via conformability to reduce pressure points and bed sores.
Documented Applications
Surgical patient hypothermia prevention using a heated underbody support or heated mattress.
Use during Trendelenburg securement with reinforcement of a perineal cutout against pressures applied during Trendelenburg securement.
Use in surgical patient positioning in a sitting position, where fabric side edge extensions include vertical slits positioned to correspond to an area configured to bend when a surgical table is moved into a sitting position.
Interested in licensing this patent?