thus , fig1 shows roughly one alternative cross - sectional construction for the appliance according to the invention . thus , when being used , the lower layer 1 is of a material that slides easily in one direction , but sliding in the other direction is difficult . the transfer cover is placed on a base , such as a mattress , in such a way that the direction of easy sliding is lateral , whereas sliding in the longitudinal direction of the bed , on the other hand , does not take place . thus the patient will remain in place on the bed , even if the end of the bed is raised above the rest of it , for example for meals . the following layer 2 is of a sturdy fabric , which is strong enough to permit the patient to be lifted safely . layer 2 thus takes most of the forces caused by lifting . this aspect will be described later in greater detail . a moisture - barrier layer 3 and a moisture - absorbing structure 4 , which can consists of one or more layers , are situated on top of the aforementioned layers 1 and 2 . the layers 3 and 4 actually form a single moisture - protected layer structure . though the moisture - barrier layer 3 can be a separate membrane , it is mainly a plastic - based membrane suitably laminated onto the surface of the layer structure 4 . polyurethane is a material particularly suitable for this purpose . one problem in nearly all the known structures , which are used under patients , has been that fluids leak through the base into the mattress or similar . this causes considerable costs annually , because it is certainly not cheap to wash mattresses . these problems are avoided in the structure according to the invention . fig2 shows a view of the transfer cover according to the invention , seen from underneath . the lowest layer is of a sliding fabric 1 , which thus permits easy sliding in one direction ( for example , the direction of the arrows ), but quite difficult sliding in the other direction . when in use , there is a support - fabric layer 2 on top of the sliding fabric , which is not visible in fig2 , but which extends essentially over the entire area of the transfer cover . on the other hand , fig2 shows a somewhat narrow strip 5 , which can be of the same material as the support fabric and which is located under the sliding fabric and forms handles 7 , 7 as follows . by means of lines of stitches 6 , which bind to each other the strip 5 , the sliding fabric 1 , and the support fabric 2 , the said fabrics are sewn together at certain intervals . thus , the areas between the stitches 6 of the strip 5 form suitable handles to take hold of . the shape of the lines of stitches , as seen in fig2 , widens towards the edge , by means of which shape it has been shown that a very durable construction can be achieved . a sufficient number of lines of stitching are made to form the desired number of handles . by way of example , it is shown that there are six handles on the long sides of the transfer cover and four on the short sides . the numbers are of course adapted to suit the dimensions of the transfer cover . the moisture - absorbing and moisture - isolating surface layer or layers are attached at their very edges to the combination of a support fabric 2 and sliding fabric 1 described above . the attachment can be made in any suitable manner whatever , for example , by sewing . in fig2 , the broken - line visible at the extreme edges symbolizes this sewn joint , by way of example . stitching in the extreme edge areas is not important in terms of fluid leakage , as the patient &# 39 ; s weight causes the area of the structure on which they lie to be depressed slightly below the edges , so that there is no danger of leakage . it is obvious that , if desired , the joint between the support fabric 2 and the absorbent layer can be made in some other way . the desired joint can be implemented , for instance , using the velcro principle , in which case it will be possible to separate the layers from each other if desired . the construction of the transfer cover according to the invention can be varied from that described above . thus , one alternative is that properties , which are the same as , or nearly the same as those in the sliding fabric 1 can be created in the support fabric 2 . in this situation , the layers 1 and 2 can be combined in such a way that the sliding fabric is eliminated and the properties of the support fabric 2 are used for the oriented sliding properties . in this way , the construction is made very simple , but nevertheless very suitable for its intended purpose . as can be seen from the above , the transfer cover according to the invention is multi - purpose and reliable for various reasons . for example , fluids cannot penetrate the structure , because there is no path in its area over which fluid can escape from the base . for the first time , the structure is also such that it is entirely safe not only for transfer but also for lifting . whereas the structures known up until now have only been able to be used to transfer a patient on the base , it is now possible to use the same transfer cover for clearly lifting , from which it follows that the work is clarified and rationalized , because intermediate moves are not needed during transfer , instead a patient can be transferred from start to finish using the same means . the transfer cover according to the invention is also easy to use , as it has handles on all sides and these are sufficiently many that the assisting personnel can get a good and balanced grip by selecting only a suitable handle for the task , which will lead to improved patient safety . if the appliance according to the invention dirties for any reason , it is simply washed . due to the size and materials , special arrangements are not needed for washing , an ordinary industrial washing machine , or even a domestic washing machine being quite sufficient for this purpose . the materials are selected in such a way that their shrinkage properties correspond to each other , so that the transfer cover will remain in shape from one washing to the next . adapting the details of the transfer cover according to the invention is each and belongs to the basic idea of the invention and the scope of protection of the accompanying claims .
an appliance for working with patients , includes an essentially sheet - like basic structure and includes as a combination a layer lying against the base , which slides well in one direction and poorly in another , a support layer permitting lifting , and a moisture - absorbent layer , which is equipped with a protective layer impermeable to moisture . it also includes handle parts permitting gripping , on at least two sides .