Support net for persons with fluid element, in particular water

Abstract

People-supporting base assembly with fluid element, in particular water, comprising at least a fluid-filled mattress capable of being filled with liquid medium through a filler fitting and being adapted onto support frameworks of beds and/or settees, or onto the floor, and an enhanced-flexibility mattress possibly laid upon said fluid-filled mattress, and also comprising at least another possible support structure ( 8, 22, 36 ) that is adapted to be placed upon said fluid-filled mattress ( 6, 48, 53 ), and to be covered by the possibly provided enhanced-flexibility mattress, said further support structure ( 8, 22, 36 ) being provided with elastic means ( 9, 19, 40 ) adapted to sustain people in a springy and anatomically correct manner by adapting the surface conformation of said structure in accordance with the actual weight of and the posture taken from time to time by the person(s) lying thereupon. Various embodiments of both the mattress ( 6, 48, 53 ) and the support structure ( 8, 22, 36 ) are described.

1 . People-supporting base assembly with fluid element, in particular water, comprising at least a fluid-filled mattress capable of being filled with liquid medium through a filler fitting and being adapted onto support frameworks of beds and/or settees, or onto the floor, and an enhanced-flexibility mattress possibly laid upon said fluid-filled mattress, characterized in that it also comprises at least another possible support structure ( 8 ,  22 ,  36 ) that is adapted to be placed upon said fluid-filled mattress ( 6 ,  48 ,  53 ), and to be covered by the possibly provided enhanced-flexibility mattress, said further support structure ( 8 ,  22 ,  36 ) being provided with elastic means ( 9 ,  19 ,  40 ) adapted to sustain people in a springy and anatomically correct manner by adapting the surface conformation of said structure in accordance with the actual weight of and the posture taken from time to time by the person(s) lying thereupon.  
   
   
       2 . Support base assembly according to  claim 1 , characterized in that said further support structure ( 8 ,  22 ,  36 ) has the same shape and the same size as said fluid-filled mattress ( 6 ,  48 ,  53 ) so as to be capable of removably adapting on to the same mattress.  
   
   
       3 . Support base assembly according to  claim 3 , characterized in that said further support structure ( 8 ) is comprised of an outer covering ( 12 ) made of an appropriate material and stuffed internally with a flexible and transpiring semi-rigid material, such as preferably polyurethane foam, enclosing said elastic means ( 9 ).  
   
   
       4 . Support base assembly according to  claim 2 , characterized in that said further support structure ( 8 ) is comprised of an outer covering ( 12 ) stuffed internally with a highly flexible material ( 19 ), such as for instance latex or the like, in which there can also be embedded possible suspension springs of a traditional kind in a mutually independent arrangement, said flexible material ( 19 ) incorporating in the lower portion thereof a further material of the transpiring kind ( 20 ), such as for instance preferably pierced plastic granules or spherules, for improved transpiration, such material being distributed on one or more superposed layers for a relatively reduced overall thickness and over the entire length of the support structure.  
   
   
       5 . Support base assembly according to  claim 2 , characterized in that said support structure ( 22 ,  36 ) is comprised of at least a panel ( 22 ,  36 ) of a limited thickness and made of a rigid or semi-rigid material, such as for instance wood, stratified plastics, honeycomb pressboard, or the like, said support structure ( 22 ,  36 ) being provided with said plurality of elastic means ( 9 ).  
   
   
       6 . Support base assembly according to  claim 3 , characterized in elastic means ( 9 ) comprise a short rectilinear and equally long vertical stem ( 13 ), whose length is shorter than the height of said support structure ( 8 ), and whose ends join both to a respective fungiform or differently shaped head ( 14 ,  15 ) with a large contact surface against said outer covering ( 12 ), said stem ( 13 ) being received in a corresponding through-bore provided in the material stuffing said support structure ( 8 ), and being further capable of displacing vertically, along with said heads ( 14 ,  15 ) into different positions by following the vertical displacement of the top and bottom outer surfaces of the same support structure, and said heads ( 14 ,  15 ) being arranged symmetrically relative to each other facing said outer covering ( 12 ) in contact therewith.  
   
   
       7 . Support base assembly according to  claim 6 , characterized in that said vertical stem ( 13 ) is capable of sliding, along with said heads ( 14 ,  15 ), within a corresponding through-bore in said panel ( 22 ), which is provided in a thickness that is smaller than the length of said stem, and during the vertical displacement of said stem ( 13 ) said heads ( 14 ,  15 ) are adapted to move into abutting with the related planar bottoms ( 25 ,  23 ) thereof against the opposite supper and lower sides ( 26 ,  24 ), respectively, of said panel ( 22 ).  
   
   
       8 . Support base assembly according to  claim 7 , characterized in that said heads ( 29 ,  30 ) are joined, through a respective articulated joint ( 31 ,  32 ), with corresponding elongated rigid stem portions ( 33 ,  34 ) that are rigidly connected to each other and both of them hinged by means of a pin ( 35 ) on the support structure ( 36 ).  
   
   
       9 . Support base assembly according to  claim 7 , characterized in that said panel ( 22 ) is comprised of a middle piece ( 37 ) and a second and third side pieces ( 38 ,  39 ) of the support structure, which are joined with each other in an articulated manner in the longitudinal direction and are foldable into different positions, of which said second and third side pieces ( 38 ,  39 ) form the foot-resting portion and the head-resting portion of the bed, respectively, said side pieces being adjustable to higher and lower positions by means of electric or other actuating mechanisms of a traditional kind.  
   
   
       10 . Support base assembly according to  claim 1 , characterized in that said fluid-filled mattress is comprised of a plurality of heads ( 43 ) joined to related vertical stems  44  provided slidably in corresponding cylinders ( 45 ), enclosed jointly with said heads ( 43 ) by an outer covering ( 42 ), said cylinders ( 45 ) communicating with each other via ducts ( 46 ) and being fillable with the desired fluid medium to differing extents so as to obtain different springing effects.  
   
   
       11 . Support base assembly according to  claim 7 , characterized in that said fluid-filled mattress ( 48 ) is comprised of a serpentine-like coiling structure ( 49 ) formed of a continuous tubular duct ( 50 ) extending over the full length of said fluid-filled mattress ( 48 ) and bent in a manner so as to form a sequence of loops ( 51 ) arranged parallel to and slightly spaced from each other across said fluid-filled mattress ( 48 ), these loops being further formed so as to feature curved surfaces ( 52 ) in the bent zones thereof, said serpentine-like structure ( 48 ) being covered by said further support structure ( 22 ) provided with said heads ( 14 ,  15 ) joined to the respective vertical stem ( 13 ).  
   
   
       12 . Support base assembly according to  claim 1 , characterized in that said fluid-filled mattress ( 53 ) is delimited and stiffened along the peripheral edges thereof by corresponding rigid longitudinal panels ( 54 ,  55 ) and rigid transverse panels ( 56 ,  57 ), thereby forming a self-bearing structure, and is externally and internally wound both lengthwise and crosswise with binding means ( 58 ,  59 ;  60 ,  61 ,  62 ) secured with the ends thereof to the corresponding transverse and longitudinal panels ( 56 ,  57 ,  54 ,  55 ).  
   
   
       13 . Support base assembly according to  claim 12 , characterized in that said binding means ( 58 ,  59 ;  60 ,  61 ,  62 ) are preferably comprised of high 25 strength synthetic straps.