U.S. patent application number 12/029966 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-23 for inflatable two chamber bed with raised headboard.
Invention is credited to Timothy F. Austen, Brian Coleman, Mike Joss, Vincent Wen.
Application Number | 20080256717 12/029966 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39870735 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080256717 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Austen; Timothy F. ; et
al. |
October 23, 2008 |
Inflatable Two Chamber Bed with Raised Headboard
Abstract
An inflatable mattress. The inflatable mattress comprises a
support system having upper and lower inflatable support chambers
arranged in a substantially vertical manner and an inflatable
headboard chamber arranged in a substantially perpendicular manner
to the upper and lower inflatable chambers. Each inflatable support
chamber comprises a top layer and a bottom layer. The inflatable
mattress may further comprise an inflatable reinforcing chamber
disposed between the upper and lower inflatable support chambers
and attached to the lower inflatable support chamber.
Inventors: |
Austen; Timothy F.;
(Glencoe, IL) ; Coleman; Brian; (Hawthorn Woods,
IL) ; Joss; Mike; (Chicago, IL) ; Wen;
Vincent; (Taipei City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BRINKS HOFER GILSON & LIONE
P.O. BOX 10395
CHICAGO
IL
60610
US
|
Family ID: |
39870735 |
Appl. No.: |
12/029966 |
Filed: |
February 12, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60925468 |
Apr 20, 2007 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/709 ;
5/706 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 19/022 20130101;
A47C 27/10 20130101; A47C 27/082 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/709 ;
5/706 |
International
Class: |
A47C 27/08 20060101
A47C027/08 |
Claims
1. A two-chamber inflatable mattress comprising: a support system
comprising an upper and a lower inflatable support chamber arranged
in a substantially vertical manner, each inflatable support chamber
comprising a top layer and a bottom layer; and an inflatable
headboard chamber disposed at the distal end of the support system
and being attached to said lower inflatable support chamber.
2. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein said inflatable
headboard chamber comprises a bottom surface substantially in
alignment with said bottom layer of said lower inflatable support
chamber and wherein said inflatable headboard chamber comprises a
top surface extending higher than said top layer of said upper
inflatable support chamber.
3. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein said inflatable
headboard chamber is disposed substantially perpendicular from said
lower inflatable support chamber and upstands therefrom.
4. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein the support system
further comprises a reinforcing chamber disposed between said upper
and lower inflatable support chambers and being attached to said
lower inflatable support chamber.
5. The inflatable mattress of claim 4, wherein the reinforcing
chamber is further attached to said inflatable headboard
chamber.
6. The inflatable mattress of claim 4, wherein said inflatable
reinforcing chamber comprises a substantially tubular shape in
cross section.
7. The inflatable mattress of claim 6, wherein said inflatable
reinforcing chamber comprises an outer perimeter substantially
matching the outer perimeters of said upper and said lower
inflatable support chambers.
8. The inflatable mattress of claim 7, further comprising at least
one opening defined in said inflatable reinforcing chamber and at
least one opening defined in said lower inflatable support chamber,
said openings being substantially aligned with each other and
forming a channel providing fluid communication between said
inflatable reinforcing chamber and said lower inflatable support
chamber.
9. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein said mattress
includes a passageway between said upper and lower inflatable
support chambers.
10. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein said inflatable
headboard chamber further comprises at least one opening in a front
gusset, said opening being in fluid communication with at least the
lower inflatable support chamber.
11. The inflatable mattress of claim 10, wherein said upper
inflatable support chamber, said lower inflatable support chamber
and said inflatable headboard chamber are in fluid
communication.
12. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein said inflatable
headboard chamber attached to said support system substantially
perpendicular to said lower inflatable support chamber.
13. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein said upper
inflatable support chamber is attached to said lower inflatable
support chamber.
14. The inflatable mattress of claim 1, wherein said upper
inflatable support chamber includes quadra coils.
15. An inflatable mattress comprising: a support system comprising
an upper and a lower inflatable support chamber arranged in a
substantially vertical manner, each inflatable support chamber
comprising a top layer and a bottom layer; an inflatable headboard
chamber disposed substantially perpendicularly to said upper and
lower inflatable support chambers; and an inflatable reinforcing
chamber disposed between said upper and lower inflatable support
chambers.
16. The inflatable mattress of claim 15, wherein said inflatable
headboard chamber comprises a top surface, said top surface
extending above said top layer of said upper inflatable support
chamber.
17. The inflatable mattress of claim 15, wherein said lower
inflatable support chamber and said reinforcing chamber include
side gussets, said side gussets having distal leading edges; and
wherein said inflatable headboard chamber includes a front gusset
attached to said distal leading edges of said side gussets.
18. The inflatable mattress of claim 17, wherein said side gusset
of said lower inflatable chamber and said side gusset of said
reinforcing chamber are comprised of a single gusset.
19. The inflatable mattress of claim 15, wherein portions of said
reinforcing chamber are movable relative to said upper inflatable
support chamber.
20. The inflatable mattress of claim 15, wherein portions of said
inflatable headboard chamber are movable relative to said upper
inflatable support chamber.
21. The inflatable mattress of claim 15, wherein said lower
inflatable chamber includes a distal perimeter, said distal
perimeter attached to a front gusset of said inflatable headboard
chamber.
Description
[0001] The present application claims priority from a provisional
application, U.S. Patent Application No. 60/925,468, filed Apr. 20,
2007 and entitled INFLATABLE TWO CHAMBER BED WITH RAISED
HEADBOARD.
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of
inflatable support systems, which may include air mattresses and
inflation controls thereof. More specifically, the present
invention relates to an inflatable two-chamber air mattress with a
raised inflatable headboard chamber.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Background of the Invention
[0003] Most everyone has faced the need for an extra bed or
mattress at some time in their lives. Air mattresses, originally
introduced many years ago, have allowed homeowners and others to
provide their guests with a surface more comfortable than sleeping
on the floor, while not imposing the same storage requirements of
traditional, large mattresses.
[0004] While air mattresses are a significant improvement over
sleeping on the ground or curled up on a sofa, the mattresses still
have some shortcomings. For example, air mattress designs were
clunky and uncomfortable, the manufacturing techniques and
materials used resulted in poor air retention, the inflation and
deflation systems employed with such mattresses often required
significant time and effort to completely inflate and deflate the
mattresses, and the mattresses tended to provide only marginal
support.
[0005] Some issued patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,633, issued
to Robert B. Chaffee on Dec. 18, 1990 ("the Chaffee patent"), and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,495, issued to Yaw-Yuan Hsu, et al. on Oct. 5,
1999 ("the Hsu patent"), have attempted to address some of these
shortcomings. By way of example, the Chaffee patent teaches the use
of a large, manually operated pressure release valve to speed
deflation. The Chaffee patent also teaches the inclusion of a small
cylinder around which a deflated bed can be rolled, further
simplifying deflation. This same arrangement also allows the bed to
automatically unroll while being inflated, which also simplifies
the inflation process. The Chaffee patent also illustrates the
inclusion of an electric motor and pump, which speed the inflation
process.
[0006] The Hsu patent attempts to address some of the comfort
problems typically associated with air mattresses. The Hsu patent
utilizes tube beams inside a mattress to provide additional lateral
load support. These tube beams are structures that are added to the
inside of the mattress and are attached to the upper and lower
mattress surfaces through a sinusoidal sealing pattern in an
attempt to provide further rigidity to the mattress.
[0007] A person sleeping on mattresses such as those described in
the Chaffee and Hsu patents still may have the perception of
sleeping on the floor. Furthermore, getting into and out of such a
bed can be difficult, especially for an elderly or disabled
person.
[0008] A solution to this problem is to provide a mattress that
approximates the dimensions of a traditional bed, such as height
and width. But, such inflatable mattresses have a propensity to
roll over. Rollovers are not only a problem with inflatable
mattresses, but with all lightweight support surfaces, such as
inflatable furniture. Some in the prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No.
6,161,902, issued to Marvin S. Lieberman on Dec. 19, 2000 (the
Lieberman patent) and the "Retro Air Chair" by Intex Recreation
Corporation of Long Beach, Calif., have used multiple inflatable
cylindrical tubes to improve the stability of inflatable
chairs.
[0009] While the stabilization methods employed in the prior art
can improve overall chair stability, each has shortcomings,
especially when applied to other support systems. For example, the
Lieberman patent teaches the installation of a "U" shaped
inflatable tube underneath the front of a chair and a small
inflatable tube extending along and immovably attached to the rear
base of the chair. Each of these tubes is also inflated separately
from and to a higher pressure than the body of the chair. The
increased pressure of these tubes strengthens the base of the
chair, thus reducing the likelihood of rollover. While this
approach has some merit, the introduction of separately inflatable
tubes means added work for the consumer, who must move an inflation
device from one valve to another until the chair is properly
filled.
[0010] The Retro Air Chair applies an alternative stabilization
technique. Two small inflatable stabilizer bars are attached to the
base of the chair to increase the surface area covered by the
chair. These stabilizer bars are attached to the chair through
narrow, short inflator tubes. The inflator tubes allow the
stabilizer bars to be in fluid communication with the chair body
and to fill with air as the chair is filled. The increased surface
area created by the combination of the inflator tubes and the
stabilizer bars provides more stability by distributing the weight
over a larger area.
[0011] As with the Lieberman patent, the shape and position of the
stabilizer bars employed on this chair also strengthens the chair
body where the stabilizer bars contact the chair. However, such
strengthening is only provided to areas adjacent to the tubes.
While this may be practical for inflatable support systems with
smaller weight bearing surfaces, such as chairs, a few, relatively
short stabilizer bars will not provide stability for larger
inflatable support systems, such as inflatable mattresses.
[0012] An additional problem faced by inflatable support systems of
the prior art is structural stability of the sides of the support
system. The shape of the sides tends to distort as weight is
applied at or near the edge of the support system. Such distortion
can cause instability in the top surface of the mattress near the
edges. This problem becomes increasingly significant as the height
of the support system is increased. A means of improving the
structural stability of the side of the mattress is therefore
preferable as height is increased.
[0013] Additionally, it is desirable to create an inflatable
support system that has all of the comforts and amenities of a
traditional mattress and frame or boxspring structure. Therefore,
means of improving the comfort and end user familiarity with the
support structure is preferable. One such inflatable support
structure may include features that allow the end user to apply
traditional mattress covering materials to the inflatable raised
structure while providing the end user with a familiar headboard
design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] An inflatable mattress is provided. The inflatable mattress
comprises a support system having upper and lower inflatable
support chambers arranged in a substantially vertical manner. Each
inflatable support chamber comprises a top layer and a bottom
layer. The inflatable mattress may further comprise an inflatable
reinforcing chamber disposed between the upper and lower inflatable
support chambers and attached to the lower inflatable support
chamber. The inflatable mattress may also include an inflatable
headboard chamber, disposed substantially perpendicularly to the
upper and lower inflatable support chambers.
[0015] In an alternative embodiment, an inflatable mattress is
provided. The inflatable mattress comprises a support system
comprising upper and lower inflatable support chambers arranged in
a substantially vertical manner, each inflatable support chamber
comprising a top layer, a bottom layer and an outer perimeter. An
inflatable reinforcing chamber may be disposed between the upper
and lower inflatable support chambers. At least a portion of said
outer perimeter of the bottom layer of the upper inflatable support
chamber and at least a portion of the outer perimeter of the top
layer of the lower inflatable support chambers may be contact with
the inflatable reinforcing chamber. The inflatable mattress may
also include an inflatable headboard chamber, disposed
substantially perpendicularly to the outer perimeter of the upper
and lower inflatable support chambers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The accompanying drawings which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, and illustrate embodiments
of the invention and together with the description serve to explain
the principles of the invention.
[0017] In the drawings:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a side planar view of one embodiment of a
two-chamber mattress;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the mattress embodiment
of FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a front planar view of the mattress embodiment of
FIG. 1;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a close up view of the mattress embodiment of FIG.
1 showing the upper chamber separated from the inflatable lower
chamber;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a rear planar view of the mattress embodiment of
FIG. 1; and
[0023] FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of an alternative
embodiment of a two chamber mattress.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
[0025] FIGS. 1 and 2 are side planar view and side perspective
views of the structure of one embodiment of an inflatable two
chamber mattress. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment comprising
an inflatable support system including two support chambers 20, 21,
stacked vertically, and an inflatable headboard chamber. In this
embodiment the upper support chamber 20 may be constructed with
side gussets 32 approximately ten inches high, which connect to top
34 and bottom 36 layers. The lower support chamber 21 may be
constructed from a top layer 38, a bottom layer 40 and a side
gusset 42 that is approximately fifteen inches high. It should be
clear to one skilled in the art that alternative support chamber
constructions and optional side gusset heights and chamber
arrangements could be substituted without departing from the spirit
and scope of the present invention. The upper support chamber 20
may rest on top of the lower support chamber 21. The top layer 38
of the lower support chamber 21 may be in contact with the bottom
layer 36 of the upper support chamber 20.
[0026] As FIG. 3 illustrates, a motorized pump 10 is attached to
upper support chamber 20. The pump 10 should be powerful enough to
fill the entire support system with a gas or fluid, such as air,
such that the upper support chamber 20 can provide comfortable
support to a user. Inflation of the support system can begin by
pressing a button 23 on or near the pump 10, as is illustrated in
FIG. 3. The pump 10 may automatically stop inflating the support
system when the pressure within the support system reaches a limit
selectable by a user. In addition, should a user desire to rapidly
decrease the pressure within the support system, a user simply
activates a dump valve 27. The pump 10 may also monitor support
system air pressure and automatically add additional air if the
pressure falls below a level selected by a user.
[0027] Air entering the upper support chamber 20 may flow into the
lower support chamber 21 through a series of reinforced openings,
as shown in FIG. 1. These openings 11 are defined in the top layer
38 of the lower support chamber 21 and the bottom layer 36 of the
upper support chamber 20. The openings 11 are substantially aligned
such that air may flow between them.
[0028] Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, a reinforcing chamber 14
is included in the support system. This reinforcing chamber 14 runs
circumferentially around the support system at the junction between
the upper support chamber 20 and the lower support chamber 21. The
reinforcing chamber 14 may run around the entire circumference of
the upper and lower support chambers 20 and 21, or may be disposed
only around the sides and proximal end of the chambers, in a
U-shape. The reinforcing chamber 14 may be attached to the side
gussets 32, 42 of the upper 20 and lower 21 inflatable support
chambers, respectively. Alternatively, the reinforcing chamber 14,
may be attached to the mattress by the side gusset 42 and top layer
38 of the lower reinforcing chamber 21, or, optionally, no
reinforcing chamber may be used at all.
[0029] Again referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper support chamber
20, lower support chamber 21, inflatable headboard chamber 60
(described below), and reinforcing chamber 14 are preferably made
from heavy weight (preferably 18 gauge) polyvinylchloride (PVC) or
other watertight and airtight material. PVC may be attached to PVC
or other material by electronically "welding" the PVC to the other
material, although other attachment means, such as through a
chemical bond or by stitching edges of each sheet together, may
also be used. Such an attachment means may be used, for example, to
join the top of a chamber with the side of a chamber or to add a
layer of fabric, padding, flocking, or other material (collectively
"fabric") to the PVC.
[0030] FIG. 3 is a front planar view of a mattress embodiment. As
shown in FIG. 3, within the upper support chamber 20 and the lower
support chamber 21, PVC strips 15 can be attached to the inner
surface of the top layer 34, 38 and bottom layer 36, 40 of each
chamber 20, 21. Such PVC strips 15 create elongated parallel
channels 44, which help to shape and structurally reinforce the
upper support chamber 20 and the lower support chamber 21. It
should be apparent to one skilled in the art that alternative
chamber support architectures, such as the "coil construction"
technique known in the art, may be employed without departing from
the spirit or scope of the present invention. One such alternative
may include using a quadra coil design, known in the art (FIG. 6),
U.S. Pat. No. D513,145 incorporated herein by reference.
[0031] Although alternative inflation methods are contemplated, one
example includes inflating the mattress by causing air to enter the
support system at the pump 10 and travel through the channels 44
created by PVC strips 15 within the upper support chamber 20. The
PVC strips 15 are preferably shaped such that air is able to flow
past the ends of the PVC strips 15, thereby allowing air to
circulate within the upper support chamber 20 and the lower support
chamber 21.
[0032] As the upper support chamber 20 inflates, air can enter the
lower support chamber 21 through the openings 11. The embodiment
shown uses four such openings 11, each of which is approximately
three quarters of an inch in diameter. Each opening 11 is
substantially centered within a circular weld four inches in
diameter, where such a weld can also serve to attach the upper
support chamber 20 to the lower support chamber 21. It should be
obvious to one skilled in the art that other opening arrangements,
including, but not limited to, fewer openings of a larger size, or
more openings of a smaller size, may also be used.
[0033] The reinforcing chamber 14 may be in fluid communication
with the lower support chamber 21 through any number of openings 16
and runs circumferentially around the support system, desirably in
a U-shape. As described below, the distal ends of the reinforcing
chamber 14 and the lower inflatable support chamber 21 may be
directly attached to a front gusset of the inflatable headboard
chamber, negating the necessity that the reinforcing chamber extend
the entire perimeter of the upper and lower inflatable chambers. In
an alternative embodiment, the reinforcing chamber 14 may receive
air from the upper support chamber 20. In still another embodiment,
the reinforcing chamber 14 may be in fluid communication with both
the upper support chamber 20 and the lower support chamber 21. In
yet another embodiment, the reinforcing chamber 14 may be
separately inflatable, thereby allowing the reinforcing chamber 14
to be inflated to a pressure greater than the pressure in the
remaining support system.
[0034] As best illustrated in FIG. 4, when the chambers 14, 20, 21
are inflated, a space 50 is formed between the upper 20 and lower
21 inflatable support chambers in the middle section of the upper
20 and lower 21 inflatable support chambers. When a user sits or
lies on the inflatable mattress, the middle sections of the upper
20 and lower 21 inflatable support chambers may come into
substantial contact with each other. Furthermore, in such an
embodiment, the upper inflatable support chamber 20 is movable
relative to at least the lower inflatable support chamber 21 and
the inflatable reinforcing chamber 14. FIG. 4 shows the inflatable
reinforcing chamber 14 and the lower inflatable support chamber 21
separated from the upper inflatable support chamber 20.
[0035] Referring again to FIG. 1, the inflatable mattress may also
include an inflatable raised headboard chamber 60. The headboard
may include a front 62, back 64, and opposite side gussets 66 and
68. The headboard 60 may be attached to the two-chambered mattress
structure by attaching the distal perimeter edges of the lower
inflatable support chamber 21 and the inflatable reinforcing
chamber 14 to the front gusset 62 of the headboard, as shown in
FIG. 5. The distal perimeter edge may be defined by the distal
leading edges of the side gussets 42, the top gusset 38, and the
bottom gusset 40 of the lower inflatable chamber 21. The distal
perimeter may also include the distal leading edges of the
reinforcing chamber 14, as shown in FIG. 5. The headboard chamber
60 may be attached substantially perpendicular to the inflatable
support structure.
[0036] The bottom of the headboard chamber 60 may be substantially
in alignment with the bottom layer of the lower inflatable support
chamber 21. Moreover, the top of the headboard chamber 60 may
extend above the top layer of the upper inflatable support chamber
20. The headboard chamber 60 may be substantially perpendicular to
the upper and lower inflatable support chambers 20 and 21.
[0037] As discussed above with regard to the upper and lower
inflatable support chambers 20 and 21, the headboard 60 may
similarly also include PVC strips 70 (FIG. 1) that support the
shape of the headboard. It should be apparent to one skilled in the
art that alternative chamber support architectures, such as the
"coil construction" technique known in the art, may be employed
without departing from the spirit or scope of the present
invention.
[0038] In one embodiment, the side gussets 62, 64, 66, and 68, and
the PVC strips 70 in the upper portion of the headboard 60 may be
formed in a P-shape. This shape allows the headboard 60 to extend
out over the top layer 34 of the upper inflatable support chamber.
This embodiment increases the comfort to the user, allowing them to
easily recline against the headboard. The headboard 60, however,
may be formed of any suitable shape.
[0039] FIG. 5 is a rear planar view of one embodiment of the
inflatable mattress. As shown in FIG. 5, the headboard 60 may be in
fluid communication with the lower inflatable support chamber by
creating at least one, and desirably two, openings 72 in the front
gusset of the headboard 60. In this embodiment, the distal
perimeter of the lower inflatable support chamber 21 and the
reinforcing chamber 14 may be attached directly to the front gusset
62 of the headboard along the distal edges of side gussets 42, top
gusset 38 and bottom gusset 40, eliminating the need for a
corresponding rear gusset to contain the air within the mattress
when inflated. Alternatively, the lower inflatable support chamber
21 and the reinforcing chamber may be constructed independently of
the headboard, including rear gussets (not shown) and attached to
the inflatable headboard chamber 60. Attaching the lower inflatable
support chamber 21 and the reinforcing chamber 14 to the inflatable
headboard chamber 60 may increase the stability of the inflatable
headboard chamber 60. However, it is contemplated that the
headboard 60 may be attached only to the lower inflatable support
chamber 21.
[0040] It should be noted that, preferably in the present
embodiment, the upper inflatable support chamber 20 is not directly
attached to the headboard chamber 60, allowing the user to use
standard mattress covering material with the inflatable mattress.
Of course, in other embodiments, other attachment means, including
attachment to the upper inflatable support chamber 20, may be
used.
[0041] In another embodiment of the two chambered mattress of the
present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the top chamber 20 may
include quadra coils 74, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D 513,145,
formed in the top layer 34. The quadra coil design provides added
comfort and aesthetic features.
[0042] It should be noted that there could be a wide range of
changes made to the present embodiments without departing from the
scope of the claimed invention. For example, more support chambers
could be added, the size of the chambers could be changed, and
other types of inflation methods could be utilized. It is therefore
intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as
illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that
it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are
intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.
* * * * *