| abstract |
Air chamber-type air pallets incorporate side-to-side linked air pressurized tubes or chambers in two integrated rows, having common members for adjacent chambers under air pressurization rendered rigid over a certain extent to rigidify the air chambers thereof which form load backing chambers in place of rigid backing members conventionally employed in air pallets maintaining the load footprint borne by the air pressurized backing chambers matched by that of the developed air bearing or air film by passage of compressed air through the pattern of perforations. Preferably, linked tubes of one row are laterally offset but integrated physically to those of a second row to both limit lateral shrinkage of linked tubes extending completely across the pin hole perforations within the thin, flexible bottom sheet partially forming such air pallets. The use of upper and lower rows of tubes subject to air pressurization provides adequate separation between the load and the fixed support surface to prevent contact of the load and the fixed support surface irrespective of loss of pressurization of a given one of the tubes of either row. The air pallets are formed totally of thin, flexible sheet material, permitting deflation and transfer from one locale to another. The air pallets function as stable supports for the patient during transport over the developed air film between the patient mover and an underlying fixed support surface. A single row of linked tubes formed of two thin, flexible sheets, acting as plenum chambers and having perforations within the thin, flexible bottom sheet functions adequately to support the patient directly on the top thin, flexible sheet with the bottom tangential surfaces of the individual tubes flattening. Preferably the area of perforations for each tube is limited transversely to the flattened portions of those tubes facing the underlying fixed support surface, with the developed air film having a surface area matching that of the patient. |