U.S. patent application number 09/893365 was filed with the patent office on 2003-01-02 for mattress border construction and method.
Invention is credited to Bixby, Allen, O'Connell, Robert J..
Application Number | 20030000021 09/893365 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25401438 |
Filed Date | 2003-01-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030000021 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
O'Connell, Robert J. ; et
al. |
January 2, 2003 |
Mattress border construction and method
Abstract
A mattress border assembly and method for preparing foam rails
for shipment prior to assembly to form a mattress border assembly
are disclosed. Strips of double-faced, high strength acrylic
adhesive tape are applied to at least portions of the end walls of
two foam rails. The second adhesive surface of the tape is covered
with a protective liner until the border is to be assembled. When
assembled, the end walls of the two foam rails are adhered with the
tape to side walls of two other foam rails to form a generally
rectangular frame structure that comprises the mattress border
assembly. Optionally, additional strips of double-faced, high
strength acrylic adhesive tape are applied to portions of the top
walls and portions of the bottom walls of the foam rails so that
additional mattress components may be adhered thereto.
Inventors: |
O'Connell, Robert J.;
(Downingtown, PA) ; Bixby, Allen; (Avila,
IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CONNOLLY BOVE LODGE & HUTZ, LLP
1220 N MARKET STREET
P O BOX 2207
WILMINGTON
DE
19899
|
Family ID: |
25401438 |
Appl. No.: |
09/893365 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/739 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 27/002
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/739 |
International
Class: |
A47C 017/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A border assembly for a mattress or bedding material,
comprising: a first foam rail having a top wall, a bottom wall, a
side wall and an end wall; a second foam rail having a top wall, a
bottom wall, a side wall and an end wall; and a piece of adhesive
tape applied to at least a portion of the end wall of the first
foam rail so that said end wall may be fixedly adhered with said
adhesive tape to at least a portion of the side wall of the second
foam rail sleeve.
2. The border assembly of claim 1, wherein the adhesive tape
comprises a double-faced adhesive tape having a first face and a
second face.
3. The border assembly of claim 2, wherein the first face and the
second face of the adhesive tape are each coated with adhesive to a
coating weight of at least 30 grains per 24 square inches.
4. The border assembly of claim 2, wherein the adhesive tape
achieves a bonding strength of at least 5 psi when adhered to
foam.
5. The border assembly of claim 2, wherein the first face is
adhered to the end wall and the second face is adhered to the side
wall.
6. The border assembly of claim 1, further comprising a second
piece of adhesive tape applied to the portion of the side wall of
the second foam rail sleeve so that the piece of adhesive tape
applied to the portion of the end wall of the first foam rail
fixedly adheres to the second piece of adhesive tape applied to the
portion of the side wall of the second foam rail sleeve.
7. The border assembly of claim 1, wherein the first foam rail has
a second end wall and a second piece of adhesive tape is applied to
at least a portion of the second end wall.
8. The border assembly of claim 1, wherein a second piece of
adhesive tape is applied to at least a portion of the top wall of
the first foam rail.
9. The border assembly of claim 1, wherein a second piece of
adhesive tape is applied to at least a portion of the top wall of
the second foam rail.
10. The border assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a third
foam rail having a top wall, a bottom wall, a side wall and an end
wall; and a fourth foam rail having a top wall, a bottom wall, a
side wall and an end wall, wherein a second piece of adhesive tape
is applied to at least a portion of the end wall of the third foam
rail so that said end wall may be fixedly adhered with said
adhesive tape to at least a portion of the side wall of the fourth
foam rail sleeve.
11. The border assembly of claim 10, wherein the first foam rail
has a second end wall and a third piece of adhesive tape is applied
to at least a portion of the second end wall of the first foam rail
so that said end wall may be fixedly adhered with said adhesive
tape to at least a portion of the side wall of the fourth foam rail
sleeve.
12. The border assembly of claim 11, wherein the third foam rail
has a second end wall and a third piece of adhesive tape is applied
to at least a portion of the second end wall of the third foam rail
so that said end wall may be fixedly adhered with said adhesive
tape to at least a portion of the side wall of the second foam rail
sleeve.
13. The border assembly of claim 1, wherein a second piece of
adhesive tape is applied along at least a portion of the top wall
of the first foam rail so that the top wall may be fixedly adhered
to a foam sheet or another component of a mattress with said
adhesive tape.
14. The border assembly of claim 13, wherein the second piece of
adhesive tape is applied along the entire length of the top wall of
the first foam rail.
15. The border assembly of claim 13, wherein adhesive tape is
applied to at least a portion of the top walls of each of the
second, third and fourth foam rails.
16. The border assembly of claim 13, wherein adhesive tape is
applied to at least a portion of the bottom walls of each of the
first, second, third and fourth foam rails so that the bottom walls
may be fixedly adhered to a foam sheet or another component of a
mattress with said adhesive tapes.
17. A method of preparing a mattress border assembly for
pre-assembly into a mattress construction, comprising: applying a
piece of double-faced adhesive tape to at least a portion of an end
wall of a foam rail, wherein a first face of said adhesive tape
adheres to the end wall and a second face of the adhesive tape is
covered with a removable liner.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising applying a second
piece of double-faced adhesive tape to at least a portion of a top
wall of a foam rail, wherein a first face of said second adhesive
tape adheres to the top wall and the second face of the second
adhesive tape is covered with a removable liner.
19. A method for making a mattress border assembly, comprising:
fixedly adhering together at least a portion of an end wall of a
first foam rail to at least a portion of a side wall of a second
foam rail with an adhesive tape.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: fixedly adhering
together at least a portion of a an end wall of a third foam rail
to at least a portion of a side wall of a fourth foam rail with an
adhesive tape.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: fixedly adhering
together at least a portion of a second end wall of the first foam
rail to at least a portion of the side wall of the fourth foam rail
with an adhesive tape.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: fixedly adhering
together at least a portion of a second end wall of the third foam
rail to at least a portion of the side wall of the second foam rail
with an adhesive tape.
23. The method of claim 19, wherein the adhesive tape comprises a
double-faced adhesive tape having a first face and a second face,
the first face and the second face each having adhesive thereon to
a coating weight of at least 30 grains per 24 square inches.
24. The method of claim 19, further comprising joining the mattress
border assembly to a body-supporting section of a mattress.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to a mattress border construction
formed from pre-assembled components held together with adhesive
tape.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Generally, mattresses are formed with a mattress central
portion surrounded by a mattress border construction. The mattress
central portion may comprise a series of coil springs connected
together and encased in a quilted fabric. Alternatively, the
mattress central portion may comprise polyurethane or latex foam
layers or synthetic or natural fibers, optionally in combination
with springs, and encased in quilted fabric. The central portion
might also constitute an air mattress or water mattress or other
body-supporting mattress structure.
[0003] Mattress border constructions stabilize the edge or border
portion of the mattress. It is desirable to have a more firm or
more rigid border portion surrounding a less firm, body-supporting
mattress central portion. Mattress border constructions of various
types have been disclosed in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,699
discloses a mattress border construction formed with a foam rail
sleeve surrounding a plurality of springs arranged in a row. The
foam rail sleeve defines a core into which the row of springs is
inserted. The foam is slit along its length so that it may be
opened to permit insertion of the row of springs. The slit is then
sealed with a liquid adhesive or a hot melt adhesive. The mattress
border construction forms a periphery around the mattress center
section, and is joined to the mattress center section also with a
liquid adhesive or a hot melt adhesive. The adhesive coats the foam
strands and penetrates into the foam pores to securely bond the
mattress border construction to the mattress center section. It has
been found, however, that the liquid adhesive can be difficult to
apply, and can create more need for substantially clean up of
applicators and surrounding surfaces on which excess adhesive
collects. In addition, liquid adhesive and hot melt adhesive cannot
be pre-applied before the mattress border construction is delivered
to a mattress fabricator.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,623 shows a composite mattress topper,
as opposed to a complete mattress construction. The topper has a
latex foam rubber core section surround by border sections of
urethane foam. The border sections are attached to the core section
with adhesive to create the finished topper. The adhesive is not
shown as able to be pre-applied before the component parts are
shipped for later assembly.
[0005] A mattress assembly shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,779 has a
stack of foam mattress elements positioned one atop the other and
joined together at their peripheral edges with hook and loop
fasteners (VELCRO.RTM.). The fasteners keep the foam mattress
elements aligned in stacked relation, but are intended to be
removably separated and reassembled. The mattress so formed does
not have a mattress border construction, and a retainer rope is
secured around the outer edge of the mattress to hold the elements
together. Additional holding support is provided by containment
blocks optionally attached with VELCRO.RTM. to the head and foot of
the mattress assembly.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 2,326,441 shows a mattress covering in which
strips of fabric are secured to the sidewall of a foam sponge
rubber mattress core with an adhesive. The fabric strips form an
anchor onto which the mattress covering material may be stitched.
No mattress border construction is provided around the sponge
rubber mattress core.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A border assembly for a mattress or bedding material
according to the invention has at least a first foam rail having a
top wall, a bottom wall, a side wall and an end wall, and a second
foam rail having a top wall, a bottom wall, a side wall and an end
wall. A strip or piece of double-faced, high strength adhesive tape
is applied to at least a portion of the end wall of the first foam
rail so that said end wall may be fixedly adhered with said
adhesive tape to at least a portion of the side wall of the second
foam rail sleeve.
[0008] Preferably, the adhesive tape is an acrylic adhesive tape
with a thickness of 0.002 inch to 0.010 inch. A suitable width and
length of the tape may be selected depending upon the specific to
application. To ensure secure bonding to foam, the adhesive tape
preferably has from 30 to 34 grains of adhesive per 24 square
inches, most preferably 32 grains of adhesive per 24 square inches.
The target bonding strength is from about 5 to 15 psi, preferably
about 10 psi. The adhesive tape should set and bond relatively
quickly, such that it reaches about 90% of full bonding capability
within about 10 minutes.
[0009] Preferably, the first foam rail has a second end wall and a
second piece of adhesive tape is applied to at least a portion of
the second end wall so that the first foam rail may be fixedly
attached to at least a portion of the side walls of each of the
second foam rail and another foam rail.
[0010] In the most preferred embodiment, the mattress border
assembly comprises a series of four foam rails, with the first and
third foam rails having double-sided adhesive tape applied to each
end wall so that the first and third foam rails may be fixedly
attached to at least a portion of the side walls of the second and
fourth foam rails to form a generally rectangular frame. The
double-sided tape preferably is applied to the end walls of the
first and third foam rails by the foam fabricator prior to shipment
to the mattress assembler. The side of the adhesive tape not
adhered to the end walls is covered with a protective liner that
may be removed when the border assembly is assembled by the
mattress assembler.
[0011] In a most preferred embodiment, strips of double-faced
adhesive tape are applied to at least a portion of each of the top
and bottom walls of each of the first, second, third and fourth
foam rails. The tape may be applied to the foam rails by the foam
fabricator prior to shipment to the mattress assembler. When so
applied, the adhesive surface not applied to the walls of the foam
rails is covered with a protective liner that may be removed when
the border is assembled by the mattress assembler. The adhesive
tape on the top and bottom walls of the foam rails fixedly adheres
the rails to other components of the mattress construction. In one
such construction, sheets of foam are applied to cover the top and
bottom walls and encase the mattress construction (such as springs)
within the enclosed space defined by the foam rails (forming the
mattress border assembly) and the sheets of foam.
[0012] In an alternate embodiment, double-sided adhesive tape
strips may be applied to the end walls of the first and third foam
rails, and to the portions of the side walls of the second and
fourth foam rails to which the end walls of the first and third
foam rails are to be adhered. The additional tape provides
additional bonding strength.
[0013] A further aspect of the invention is a method of preparing a
mattress border assembly for pre-assembly and shipment prior to
assembly into a mattress construction. With such method, a strip or
piece of double-faced adhesive tape is applied to at least a
portion of an end wall of a first foam rail, wherein one face of
said adhesive tape adheres to the end wall and the other face of
the adhesive tape is covered with a removable liner. The first foam
rail and a second foam rail may be shipped unassembled to a
mattress fabricator. When the mattress border assembly is ready to
be assembled together, the removable liner may be removed and the
end wall of the foam rail may be attached to a portion of the side
wall of a second foam rail with the exposed adhesive face of the
adhesive tape. Similarly, a piece of double-faced adhesive tape may
be applied to at least a portion of a top wall or a bottom wall of
a foam rail, wherein one face of said adhesive tape adheres to the
top wall (or bottom wall) and the other face of the adhesive tape
is covered with a removable liner. In this manner, the mattress
border assembly may be shipped in unassembled condition, as a
series of separate foam rails, or other components or parts, with
adhesive tape applied thereto. The frame-like mattress border
assembly then may be assembled together by the mattress assembler
as the mattress itself is being constructed. The pre-assembly with
the adhesive tape avoids the problems inherent with liquid and hot
melt adhesives. In addition, shipping costs are reduced because the
foam rails can be more efficiently packed. Moreover, the foam rails
are less likely to be damaged when shipped prior to assembly into a
mattress border construction.
[0014] The invention comprises in yet another aspect a method for
making a mattress border assembly by fixedly adhering together at
least a portion of an end wall of a first foam rail to at least a
portion of a side wall of a second foam rail with an adhesive tape.
In the preferred embodiment, the end walls of the first and third
foam rails are fixedly adhered to at least a portion of the side
walls of the second and fourth foam rails to form a generally
rectangular frame structure or mattress border assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0015] FIG. 1 is perspective view of a first side rail for a
mattress border assembly showing adhesive tape applied to the end
walls of the first side rail;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in elevation taken along
line 2-2 of FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an end cross sectional view showing multiple side
rails packed in a shipping carton wherein each side rail has a
strip of double-sided adhesive tape applied to its end walls, with
one surface of said strip covered by a removable protective
liner;
[0018] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a mattress
construction having a mattress border assembly according to the
invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a mattress border assembly
according to the invention;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a right side elevational view of the mattress
border assembly of FIG. 5;
[0021] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a mattress border
assembly according to the invention including upper and lower cover
sheets;
[0022] FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the mattress border assembly of
FIG. 7, partially broken away to show strips of adhesive tape
applied on the side wall surfaces of the side rails and end rails;
and
[0023] FIG. 9 is a right side elevational view of the mattress
border assembly of FIG. 8.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a side rail 10 formed of a
resilient material such as polyurethane foam has a top wall 12, a
bottom wall 14, two side walls 16 and two end walls 18. The side
rail 10 may be comprised of polyurethane foam surrounding springs
or other firming central mattress structure, such as shown in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,537,699, or latex core, or fiber core or water or air
mattress, or the like. Strips of double-sided adhesive tape 20 are
applied to each end wall 18. If the side rail 10 is intended for
shipment to a mattress fabricator for later assembly, the exposed
adhesive surfaces of the strips 20 are covered with a removable
protective liner 22. FIG. 2 shows the adhesive 23 applied to each
surface of the strip 20.
[0025] Ideally, the strips 20 of adhesive tape are pre-applied to
multiple foam side rails 10 before the side rails are intended for
assembly into a mattress border construction. The pre-assembled
side rails 10 with a strip 20 of adhesive applied to each end wall
18 may be stacked in a shipping carton 24 for delivery to a
mattress fabricator. Hence, as shown in FIG. 3, twelve side rails
10 may be stacked in a shipping carton 24 in pre-assembled form for
later assembly into a mattress border assembly. Of course, it is
also possible to ship end rails with pre-applied adhesive tape, or
to include a combination of side rails and end rails in a single
shipping carton. The strips 20 of double-sided adhesive tape are
covered with liner 22 to prevent the side rails 10 from adhering to
the carton 24 or other side rails.
[0026] As shown best in FIGS. 4 to 6, a mattress border assembly 30
comprises a frame-like structure formed from two side rails 10, 10'
adhered to two end rails 32, 32'. Each end rail 32, 32' preferably
is formed of polyurethane foam, but may be comprised of
polyurethane foam surrounding a network of supporting springs or
other firming structure, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,699,
or the like. Each end rail has a top wall 34, a bottom wall 36, two
side walls 40 and two end walls 38. A strip 20 of adhesive tape
applied to a first end wall 18 of a first side rail 10 adheres to a
portion of a side wall 40 of a first end rail 32. Concurrently, a
strip 20 of adhesive tape applied to a second end wall 18' of the
first side rail 10 adheres to a portion of a side wall 40' of a
second end rail 32'. In like manner, a strip 20 of adhesive tape
applied to a first end wall 18 of a second side rail 10' adheres to
a portion of a side wall 40 of a first end rail, and a strip 20 of
adhesive tape applied to a second end wall 18' of the second side
rail 10' adheres to a portion of a side wall 40' of the second end
rail 32'.
[0027] The adhesive tape must have sufficient bonding strength to
adhere to the strands of a polyurethane foam network. We have found
that the tape should have a bonding strength in the range of 5 to
15 psi, preferably 10 psi. The tape preferably is coated with an
acrylic adhesive to a coating weight in the range of 30 to 34
grains per 24 square inches, preferably 32 grains per 24 square
inches. The bond must tack and set quickly, reaching about 90% of
its full bonding capability within about 10 minutes of adhering
parts together with the tape, and preferably reaches full bonding
capability within about 15 minutes. The bond also should hold
securely such that a 100 g weighted material held to foam with such
adhesive tape will remain secure for at least 10,000 minutes.
Preferably, the double-sided adhesive tape is 3M #9695 tape.
[0028] Whereas a liquid adhesive or hot melt adhesive has ability
to penetrate into the foam strand network to increase bonding sites
and form a strong bond, the adhesive present on a strip of an
adhesive tape does not penetrate the strands. Heretofore, adhesive
tapes were not believed to have sufficient bonding strength to hold
foam components together. Surprisingly, we have found that adhesive
tapes with the above adhesive coating weigth, bonding strength and
adhesive setting time, sometimes called dwell time, are able to
hold foam components together so that tear strengths greater than
about 15 psi are required to separate the foam components.
[0029] In one preferred embodiment, the strips 20 of adhesive tape
are applied to portions of the end walls 18 of a side rail 10 so as
to minimize the amount of adhesive tape and reduce costs. We have
found that the strips should be applied at minimum to a portion of
the end walls of the side rails that will be adjacent the outer
edge of the mattress border assembly when the border assembly is
fully assembled. Bonding along the outer edge of the mattress
border encasement system efficiently maintains the durability and
integrity of the system. We prefer to use adhesive tapes with a
minimum width of two inches, although other widths may be suitable
and perform effectively.
[0030] One advantage of the present invention is that the side
rails 10 and end rails 32 may be shipped in a pre-assembled form
with strips 20 of adhesive tape applied to their surfaces. One side
of the double sided tape is applied to the rails by the foam
fabricator, and the other side is covered with protective liner
until such time as the rails are intended to be brought together to
form a mattress border assembly. Such pre-assembly of mattress
border assembly components for shipment prior to final assembly has
not heretofore been possible with liquid adhesives and hot melt
adhesives. Shipping the mattress border assembly as a
fully-assembled construction is more costly because the mattress
border assembly does not efficiently fill standard shipping
cartons, but leaves a void space in the central portion bounded by
the rails. By contrast, as shown in FIG. 3, shipping cartons can be
efficiently packed with multiple side rails (or with end rails or a
combination of side rails and end rails or other components) in
stacked relation, without wasted space or volume within a shipping
carton.
[0031] FIG. 7 shows a foam mattress core 50 surrounded by a
mattress border assembly 60 according to another embodiment of the
invention. In this embodiment, each side rail 10 and end rail 32
includes additional strips of adhesive tape.
[0032] As shown best in FIG. 7, a first end rail 10 has a top wall
12, a bottom wall 14, two side walls 16 and two end walls 18, 18'.
A strip 20 of adhesive tape is applied to each end wall 18, 18'
just as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. In addition, an
elongated strip 62 of double-sided adhesive tape is applied to the
top wall 12, and an elongated strip 64 of double-sided adhesive
tape is applied to the bottom wall 14 of the first end rail 10.
Similarly, strips 62' and 64' are applied to the top wall 12' and
bottom wall 14' of the second end rail 10'. A first end rail 32 has
an elongated strip 66 of double-sided adhesive tape applied to the
top wall 34, and an elongated strip 68 of double-sided adhesive
tape applied to the bottom wall 36. Similarly, strips 66' and 68'
are applied to the top wall 34' and bottom wall 36' of the second
end rail 32'. In this preferred embodiment, the strips of adhesive
tape are shown covering only a portion of the top walls and bottom
walls of the end rails. While tape could be applied to cover the
entire top and bottom wall surfaces of the side and end rails
within the scope of this invention, it has been found that
sufficient bonding is obtained by applying the strips to the
portions nearest to what will become the outer perimeter of the
mattress border assembly. With this preferred construction, less
tape is required resulting in substantial material cost
savings.
[0033] The strips 62, 64, 66, and 68 are covered with protective
liner (not shown) as in the prior embodiment to permit the rails to
be shipped in an unassembled form for assembly by a mattress
fabricator. When the mattress is ready for assembly, the protective
liners are removed first from the strips of adhesive covering the
end walls 18, 18' of the side rails 10, 10'. The end walls 18, 18'
are then adhered to portions of the side walls of the end rails 32,
32' to form the mattress border assembly frame-like structure such
as previously shown in FIG. 5.
[0034] Thereafter, the mattress core 50 is positioned within the
frame-like structure. The mattress core 50 has been illustrated as
a foam mattress, but might be any other mattress core structure
known in the art, such as a network of springs within a casing or
ticking material.
[0035] The protective liners are then removed from tape strips 62
and 66 to expose the adhesive surface of the strips on the top
walls 12 of the side rails 10 and the top walls 34 of the end rails
32. A first foam sheet cover 70 is then adhered to the top walls
12, 34 by the adhesive tape.
[0036] The protective liners are then removed from tape strips 64
and 68 to expose the adhesive surface of the strips on the bottom
walls 14 of the side rails 10 and the bottom walls 36 of the end
rails 32. A second foam sheet cover 72 is then adhered to the
bottom walls 14, 36 by the adhesive tape.
[0037] The mattress construction so formed comprises a mattress
border assembly encasing a mattress core 50 as shown in FIGS. 8 and
9. Assembly is completed by the mattress fabricator without use of
liquid adhesives or hot melt adhesives. The mattress border
assembly components are fixedly adhered together using only the
adhesive tape. The mattress construction can then be completed in
the customary fashion, by encasing the assembly in a fabric or
quilting or ticking to form the completed mattress.
[0038] The invention has been illustrated by detailed description
and examples of the preferred embodiments. Various changes in form
and detail will be within the skill of persons skilled in the art.
Therefore, the invention must be measured by the claims and not by
the description of the examples or the preferred embodiments.
* * * * *