Mattress Expander Structure for Seamless Bariatric Bed Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard hospital bed mattresses often fail to provide a wide enough surface for bariatric patients, leading to the risk of decubitus sores due to seams and irregular surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A mattress expander with a wider top pad and side members that extend laterally, creating a seamless surface, secured by flaps that attach beneath the mattress, providing a larger supporting surface without seams.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a standard hospital bed mattress is used, then the device complexity is low, but the supporting surface area is insufficient for bariatric patients
Solution Approach 1:
The mattress expander is nested within the standard mattress structure, with side members positioned between the mattress and sheet, and flaps tucked beneath the mattress. This nesting approach allows the expander to integrate with existing bedding without requiring a completely new bed system, thereby increasing supporting surface area while minimizing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mattress expander is divided into separate functional segments: a top pad for patient contact, side members for structural support and width expansion, and flaps for securing. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while keeping the overall device relatively simple to manufacture and install.
2Reliability
If seams are present on the mattress surface, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the patient comfort and reliability deteriorate due to decubitus sores
Solution Approach 1:
The top pad is designed as a homogeneous, seamless cushioning layer that provides uniform support across the entire supporting surface. By eliminating seams and irregularities in the patient contact surface, the design ensures consistent pressure distribution and reduces the risk of decubitus sores, thereby improving reliability without requiring complex manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The mattress expander replicates the seamless, comfortable surface characteristics of ideal medical mattresses by using a continuous top pad material that mimics the desired patient interface, achieving high reliability through a relatively simple manufacturing approach.
3Area of moving object
If the mattress width is increased for bariatric patients, then the supporting surface area is improved, but the stability of the mattress structure deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mattress expander uses asymmetric positioning of side members and flaps to achieve stable width expansion. The side members extend laterally at different positions, and the flaps are tucked beneath the mattress in an asymmetric manner, creating a stable configuration that prevents shifting while providing increased supporting surface area for bariatric patients.
Solution Approach 2:
The flaps are designed to be tucked beneath the mattress in advance, securing the side members in their expanded position before patient use. This preliminary securing action ensures that the expanded mattress structure remains stable during patient transfer and use, preventing structural instability despite the increased width.
4Ease of operation
If flaps are used to secure the side members, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flaps are designed to be simple self-securing elements that can be tucked beneath the mattress without requiring additional fasteners, tools, or complex assembly procedures. This self-service approach allows caregivers or patients to easily install and adjust the mattress expander while adding minimal structural complexity to the overall device.
Data Source
AI summary
A mattress expander used to increase a width of a mattress, the mattress expander including a top pad having a width greater than the mattress to define overhanging portions on either side of the mattress, a pair of side members, under the overhanging portions; and, a mattress extending from one side portion and attachable to the other side portion to hold the side members under respective overhanging portions defining a mattress receiving channel there between.