EP0562104B1 - Fluidized medical bed equipped with a device for eliminating soiled granular constituents - Google Patents

Abstract

The receptacle (3) of a fluidized medical bed comprises: a lower wall (4); a porous bottom (5) next to the lower wall, covered by a layer of granular constituents (22) and formed in several parts, the upper surfaces of said parts sloping towards a waste collector (6, 7) which comprises a reservoir below the porous bottom, connected to the lower part of one of the parts (5) of the porous bottom, and comprising a first part (6) secured to the porous bottom and having, at its end, a shut-off valve (10) with a first leakproof coupling (8), and a second part (7) removably secured to the said coupling (8). Application of the invention will provide a medical bed with low operating cost.

Description

In a fluidized medical bed, containing granular constituents of very small dimensions (of the order of 80 to 150 microns, for example), medical treatment waste and soils accumulate and must be removed. FR-A-1 516 528 relates to a medical bed comprising a tank whose bottom is located near a horizontal porous wall contained in the tank, which porous wall supports granular material and delimits the upper part of a chamber in which a gas is blown, said gas passing through the porous wall to thin the granular material. The granular material is cleaned either by sieving it through a filter lifted by handles or by removing and sterilizing this material. Instead of emptying all of said partially soiled granular constituents to replace them with a volume of new granular constituents, which is expensive, the invention proposes to replace only those of these constituents which contain waste or which are soiled.

To this end, according to the invention, the receptacle that comprises the fluidized medical bed itself comprises: a bottom wall; a porous bottom, disposed near the bottom wall, delimiting between itself and said wall a pressure gas inlet enclosure, covered by a layer of granular constituents and constituted by several parts, the upper faces of which are inclined by with respect to the horizontal, each of them having its lower part leading to a waste collector; at least one waste collector comprising a reservoir, which is placed below the porous bottom, which is connected, at its upper part, to the lower part of at least one of said constituent parts of said porous bottom, and which comprises two parts, a first part, integral with the porous bottom, ending with a shut-off valve, provided with a first tight connection, and, the second part, capable of being detachably fixed to said tight connection of the first part.

• la deuxième partie du réservoir est munie, à sa partie inférieure, d'un deuxième raccord de branchement d'une alimentation de gaz sous pression;
• un conduit d'alimentation en gaz sous pression relie ledit deuxième raccord à ladite enceinte et comprend deux tronçons reliés entre eux par un raccord amovible;
• la deuxième partie du réservoir est munie, à sa partie inférieure, d'un orifice susceptible d'être obturé, utilisable notamment pour l'extraction des déchets.

The following advantageous arrangements are also preferably adopted:

• the second part of the tank is provided, at its lower part, with a second connection connection for a pressurized gas supply;
• a pressurized gas supply pipe connects said second connector to said enclosure and comprises two sections connected to each other by a removable connector;
• the second part of the tank is provided, at its lower part, with an orifice capable of being closed, usable in particular for the extraction of waste.

The main advantage of a fluidized medical bed in accordance with the invention lies in the possibility of periodically removing waste and soiling, easily and at low cost.

The invention will be better understood, and secondary characteristics and their advantages will appear during the description of an embodiment given below by way of example.

It is understood that the description and the drawings are given for information only and are not limiting.

• la figure 1 est une coupe longitudinale d'un lit médical fluidisé conforme à l'invention; et,
• la figure 2 est une coupe transversale suivant II-II de la figure 1. Le lit représenté sur les figures comporte:
• un bâti 1, reposant sur le sol par l'intermédiaire de roulettes 2;
• un réceptacle 3, qui constitue la partie supérieure du bâti 1, est délimité par une ouverture supérieure et comporte une paroi inférieure 4, réalisée en tôle ondulée par exemple, sur laquelle reposent des plaques poreuses au gaz 5, qui sont toutes inclinées par rapport à l'horizontale H en s'abaissant vers la partie centrale du réceptacle pour aboutir à la partie supérieure 6 d'un collecteur cylindrique vertical, raccordée à la paroi inférieure 4 et aux plaques 5;
• une partie inférieure 7 de collecteur, disposée en-dessous et à la suite de la partie supérieure 6 de collecteur, en y étant raccordée par un raccord rapide 8, et muni d'un fond 9;
• une vanne 10, interposée sur la partie supérieure 6 de collecteur, entre son raccordement étanche aux plaques 5 et à la paroi inférieure 4, et, le raccord rapide démontable 8, et, susceptible d'obturer ladite partie supérieure 6 de collecteur;
• une paroi poreuse au gaz 11, disposée transversalement dans la partie inférieure 7 de collecteur, au-dessus du fond 9;
• un raccord d'aspiration 12, raccordé à la partie inférieure de collecteur, au-dessus de la paroi poreuse 11, muni d'une vanne 25;
• un dispositif 13, comprenant notamment un compresseur et un, ensemble de traitement de l'air apte à le désinfecter et à le réchauffer, si cela est nécessaire, contenu dans l'espace 14 intérieur au bâti 1, situé en-dessous du réceptacle 3;
• un conduit de refoulement 15 du dispositif 13 auquel sont raccordés un premier conduit 16, d'injection de gaz traité dans l'enceinte 17 comprise entre la paroi inférieure 4 et les plaques poreuses 5, raccordé à la paroi inférieure 4, et, un deuxième conduit 18 d'injection de gaz traité dans le collecteur 6-7;
• une vanne 19, placée sur le deuxième conduit 18;
• un conduit 20 raccordé, d'une part, au fond 9 de la partie inférieure 7 du collecteur, d'autre part, au moyen d'un raccord rapide démontable 21, à l'extrémité du deuxième conduit 18;
• un volume de constituants granulaires 22, tels que des microbilles de 80 à 150 microns de diamètre, qui emplit une partie du réceptacle 3; et,
• un drap 23, qui recouvre la face supérieure du volume de constituants granulaires 22, prend appui sur la périphérie 24 de l'ouverture du réceptacle 3, et permet le repos d'un patient dans le lit.

Reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a fluidized medical bed according to the invention; and,
• FIG. 2 is a cross section along II-II of FIG. 1. The bed shown in the figures comprises:
• a frame 1, resting on the ground by means of rollers 2;
• a receptacle 3, which constitutes the upper part of the frame 1, is delimited by an upper opening and comprises a lower wall 4, made of corrugated sheet for example, on which rest porous gas plates 5, which are all inclined relative to the horizontal H by lowering towards the central part of the receptacle to reach the upper part 6 of a vertical cylindrical collector, connected to the lower wall 4 and to the plates 5;
• a lower part 7 of the collector, arranged below and following the upper part 6 of the collector, being connected thereto by a quick connector 8, and provided with a bottom 9;
• a valve 10, interposed on the upper part 6 of the collector, between its tight connection to the plates 5 and to the lower wall 4, and, the removable quick coupling 8, and capable of closing said upper part 6 of the collector;
• a porous gas wall 11, arranged transversely in the lower part 7 of the manifold, above the bottom 9;
• a suction fitting 12, connected to the lower part of the manifold, above the porous wall 11, provided with a valve 25;
• a device 13, comprising in particular a compressor and an air treatment unit capable of disinfecting and heating it, if necessary, contained in the space 14 inside the frame 1, located below the receptacle 3 ;
• a discharge conduit 15 of the device 13 to which are connected a first conduit 16, for injecting treated gas into the enclosure 17 between the bottom wall 4 and the porous plates 5, connected to the bottom wall 4, and, a second conduit 18 for injecting treated gas into the manifold 6-7;
• a valve 19, placed on the second conduit 18;
• a conduit 20 connected, on the one hand, to the bottom 9 of the lower part 7 of the manifold, on the other hand, by means of a removable quick coupling 21, at the end of the second conduit 18;
• a volume of granular constituents 22, such as microbeads of 80 to 150 microns in diameter, which fills part of the receptacle 3; and,
• a sheet 23, which covers the upper face of the volume of granular constituents 22, bears on the periphery 24 of the opening of the receptacle 3, and allows a patient to rest in the bed.

It is also indicated that, taking into account the difference in height of the connections of the first conduit 16 to the lower wall 4 of the receptacle and of the conduit 20 to the bottom 9 of the lower part 7 of the manifold, it is advisable to inject the compressed gas at a higher pressure in the conduit 20 than in the first conduit 16. This is easily achieved, for example by choosing the diameter of the first conduit 16 smaller than that of the conduit 20, or alternatively, by placing on the conduit 16 a calibrated restriction, each of these solutions producing a pressure drop on the first pipe 16 enabling the desired difference in pressures in the pipes 16 and 20 to be obtained.

The method of using the bed is set out below.

During the stay of a patient in this bed, waste or stains resulting from the treatment and the stay of the patient pass through the sheet 23 and accumulate towards the bottom of the receptacle 3.

The obliquity of the plates 5 with respect to the horizontal H and the convergence of these plates towards the upper mouth of the upper part 6 of the collector, causes this waste and soiling to collect in the collector 6-7. During this first period of use of the bed, the valve 10 is open, the valve 25 is closed, and, the valve 19 is open, so that the treated gas, which already fluidizes the granular constituents 22 contained in the receptacle 3, also fluidizes the content of the collector 6-7, which allows the descent of waste and dirt in the lower part 7 of the collector.

At regular intervals, the valves 10 and 19 are closed, which isolates the lower part 7 of the collector from the rest of the bed. The (rapid) disassembly of the fittings 8 and 21 makes it possible to separate this lower part 7 of the manifold from the rest of the installation and to empty it of waste, soil and used granular constituents which it contains. Its reassembly, and the reopening of the valves 10 and 19 replace the bed in its first configuration of use. It can be observed that this cleaning operation can be carried out while the patient is in bed, without having to disturb the patient.

It is also possible to connect a vacuum cleaner to the connector 12, and, after opening the valve 25, to suck the waste and dirt out of the collector 6-7.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown, but on the contrary covers all the variants which could be made to them without departing from its scope, as defined by the claims.

Claims (4)

1. Fluidized medical bed comprising a receptacle (3) itself comprising:

   a lower wall (4); and

   a porous bottom (5), disposed in the vicinity of the lower wall, defining between itself and said wall an enclosure (17) for admission of pressurized gas, covered with a layer of granular constituents (22) and constituted by several parts (5);

      characterized in that the upper faces of said parts of the porous bottom are inclined with respect to the horizontal (H), each of them having its lower part terminating at a waste collector (6-7), whilst at least one waste collector (6-7) comprising a reservoir is placed below the porous bottom (5), is connected, in its upper part, to the lower part of at least one of said parts (5) constituting said porous bottom, and comprises two parts, a first part (6), fast with the porous bottom (5), terminating in a shut-off valve (10) provided with a first leakproof coupling (8), and the second part (7), capable of being detachably fixed to said leakproof coupling (8) of the first part (6).
2. Medical bed according to Claim 1,
      characterized in that the second part (7) of the reservoir is provided, in its lower part (9), with a second coupling (20) for connection of a pressurized gas supply (13).
3. Medical bed according to Claim 2,
      characterized in that a pressurized gas supply conduit (15-16-18-20) connects said second coupling to said enclosure (17) and comprises two sections (16-18, 20) connected together by a removable coupling (21).
4. Medical bed according to any one of Claims 1 to 3,
      characterized in that the second part (7) of the reservoir is provided, in its lower part, with an orifice (12) capable of being obturated (25), usable in particular for extracting the waste.

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