U.S. patent application number 12/726139 was filed with the patent office on 2011-03-24 for heating air mat and air mat heating system having the same.
Invention is credited to Dong-Chul LEE.
Application Number | 20110067178 12/726139 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43755291 |
Filed Date | 2011-03-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110067178 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEE; Dong-Chul |
March 24, 2011 |
HEATING AIR MAT AND AIR MAT HEATING SYSTEM HAVING THE SAME
Abstract
A heating air mat which supplies heated air into the mat to
provide heat to a user, and an air mat heating system including the
same are disclosed. The air mat heating system includes a heating
air mat having a mat body and a heated air injection part through
which the heated air is injected into the mat body, and a heater
connected to the heated air injection part of the air mat to supply
the heated air into the air mat. The air mat provides heat to the
body of a user by supplying heated air into the air mat, thereby
eliminating accidents relating to the use of electricity while
ensuring good heating efficiency and to reduction of energy
consumption when used for local heating and assistant heating.
Inventors: |
LEE; Dong-Chul; (Seoul,
KR) |
Family ID: |
43755291 |
Appl. No.: |
12/726139 |
Filed: |
March 17, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/423 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 21/048 20130101;
A47C 27/082 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/423 |
International
Class: |
A47C 27/08 20060101
A47C027/08; A47C 31/00 20060101 A47C031/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 21, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0088838 |
Claims
1. An air mat heating system comprising: a heating air mat having a
mat body into which heated air is injected, and a heated air
injection part through which the heated air is injected into the
mat body; and a heater connected to the heated air injection part
of the air mat to supply the heated air into the air mat.
2. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein the mat
body comprises to at least one heated air discharge port through
which the heated air is discharged outside the mat body.
3. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein the mat
body further comprises a plurality of air passages arranged in
parallel to each other and forming a corrugated shape on an upper
side of the mat body.
4. The air mat heating system according to claim 2, wherein the mat
body further comprises an opening/closing valve for air discharge
provided to the heated air discharge port to selectively open the
heated air discharge port to allow the heated air to be selectively
discharged from the mat body through the heated air discharge
port.
5. The air mat heating system according to claim 4, wherein the
opening/closing valve for air discharge comprises a flexible film
type valve plate disposed inside the heated air discharge port to
open and close the heated air discharge port.
6. The air mat heating system according to claim 4, wherein the
heated air discharge port comprises a plurality of heated air
discharge ports formed on an upper surface of the mat body, at
least one of the plurality of heated air discharge ports being open
to discharge the heated air above the mat body when an external
force is applied to the upper surface of the mat body.
7. The air mat heating system according to claim 6, wherein among
the heated air discharge ports, a heated air discharge port
compressed by the external force is open and discharges the heated
air above the mat body.
8. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein the mat
body comprises at least one heated air discharge port formed on an
upper surface thereof to discharge the heated air from the mat body
to an outside of the mat body.
9. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein as the
heated air is supplied from the heater into the mat body through
the heated air injection part, the mat body is expanded to form a
cushion.
10. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein the
heater comprises a heating unit heating air, a housing having a
first outlet through which the heated air is discharged, and a
variable heated air supply passage made of a flexible material and
connecting the first outlet to the heated air injection part.
11. The air mat heating system according to claim 10, wherein the
variable heated air supply passage is made of woven fabrics to have
flexibility.
12. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein the
heated air injection part comprises: an air injection port
connected to the heater; and a flow path formed at one side thereof
with the air injection port and being connected at the other side
with the mat body to communicate with the mat body, the flow path
being made of a flexible material.
13. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein the
heater comprises a housing having a first outlet, and the heated
air injection part is directly connected to the first outlet of the
housing.
14. The air mat heating system according to claim 1, wherein the
heated air injection part is selectively connected to the
heater.
15. The air mat heating system according to claim 2, wherein the
mat body further comprises a plurality of air passages arranged in
parallel to each other and forming a corrugated shape on an upper
side of the mat body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a heating air mat and an
air mat heating system including the same and, more particularly,
to a heating air mat and an air mat heating system including the
same that supplies heated air into the mat to provide heat to a
user.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A typical indoor heating apparatus is generally classified
into a boiler heating type and an electric heating type. In the
boiler heating type, water heated by a boiler is supplied to and
circulated through a heating pipe arranged on the bottom of a
building, thereby heating the bottom of an indoor room.
[0005] In the electric heating type, heating is performed in two
manners, that is, a bottom heating manner and an air conditioner
manner. In the bottom heating manner, a heating pipe having a
liquid heat storage medium and a heat generating wire on a panel is
buried in the bottom of the room and electric energy is supplied to
the heat generating wire to thereby heat the bottom of the room. In
the air conditioner manner, indoor air is heated. It should be
understood that the electric heating type includes a heating manner
using an electric heating mat.
[0006] However, both the boiler heating type and the electric
heating type heat the room by heating the bottom of the room and
thus have low heating efficiency in view of bed users. In other
words, since a person lying on a bed is separated a predetermined
distance from the bottom of the room, these heating types have low
thermal efficiency with respect to the body of the person and
consume lots of energy by heating the entire bottom of the room to
thereby providing low heating efficiency.
[0007] Although an electric mattress, an electric blanket, an
electric heat mat, or the like is used for local heating or
assistant heating, these have problems such as a short circuit of
an electric wire, a complicated manufacturing process, high
manufacturing costs, and the like. Particularly, when using any of
these local heating or assistant heating articles, a user directly
contacts a heat generating member of the article and is influenced
by electromagnetic waves emitted therefrom which are not good for
the user's health.
[0008] Further, a heating method of the electric mattress and the
like using the electric wire provides a temperature variation on
the surface thereof, which can cause scalding of a user approaching
or contacting the electric wire and can provide an unpleasant
feeling to the user when using the electric mattress and the like
for a long time.
[0009] Moreover, when using the electric mattress as the assistant
heating article by laying the electric mattress under a bed
mattress, the surface of the bed mattress is liable to be
discolored by the electric wire of the electric mattress.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention is conceived to solve the problems of
the related art, and an aspect of the invention is to provide a
heating air mat and an air mat heating system including the same,
which supplies heated air into the mat to provide heat to a
user.
[0011] Another aspect of the invention is to provide a heating air
mat and an air mat heating system including the same, which
discharges heated air outside the mat to increase heating
efficiency.
[0012] A further aspect of the invention is to provide a heating
air mat and an air mat heating system including the same, which has
a higher temperature inside a surface contact region of the air mat
contacting the body of a user than outside the surface contact
region.
[0013] Still another aspect of the invention is to provide a
heating air mat and an air mat heating system including the same,
which can simultaneously realize surface heating on a surface of
the mat contacting the body of a user and space heating in a
certain space using heated air discharged from the air mat.
[0014] In accordance with an embodiment, the present invention
provides an air mat heating system including: a heating air mat
having a mat body into which heated air is injected, and a heated
air injection part through which the heated air is injected into
the mat body; and a heater connected to the heated air injection
part of the air mat to supply the heated air into the air mat.
[0015] In accordance with another embodiment, the present invention
provides a heating air mat connected to a heater to receive heated
air from the heater, wherein the heating air mat includes a mat
body providing heat as the heated air is injected into the mat body
and a heated air injection part formed at one side of the mat body
to receive the heated air supplied from the heater and
communicating with an interior of the mat body to inject the heated
air into the mat body.
[0016] According to the embodiments of the invention, the heating
air mat provides heat to a user by supplying heated air into the
air mat, thereby eliminating accidents relating to the use of
electricity while ensuring good heating efficiency and reduction of
energy consumption when used for local heating and assistant
heating.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of embodiments of the invention given in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air mat heating system
including a heating air mat disposed on a bed in accordance with a
first embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the heating air mat
shown in FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the heating air mat in accordance
with the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the heating air mat, in
accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention,
including a heated air discharge port through which heated air is
discharged;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the heating air mat in
accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention
disposed on a bed; and
[0023] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a heating air mat in
accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0024] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In
the detailed description of the embodiments, like components will
be denoted by like reference numerals and a repetitious description
thereof will be omitted herein.
[0025] First, a heating air mat in accordance with a first
embodiment of the present invention and an air mat heating system
including the same will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to
4.
[0026] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air mat heating system
including a heating air mat disposed on a bed in accordance with a
first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view
of the heating air mat shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of
the heating air mat in accordance with the first embodiment of the
invention, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the heating air
mat, in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention,
including a heated air discharge port through which heated air is
discharged.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 1, the air mat heating system according to
the first embodiment includes a heating air mat 100 and a heater
200 which supplies heated air into the air mat 100.
[0028] The air mat 100 may be disposed at any of various desired
locations, for example, on a bed or on the bottom of a room. In
this embodiment, the air mat 100 is disposed on the bed as shown in
FIG. 1. Then, when receiving heated air from the heater 200, the
air mat 100 supplies heat to a person who lies or sits on the air
mat 100.
[0029] Generally, the bed includes a bed frame 11 made of metal or
plastics and a head supporter 12. The bed frame 11 is provided with
a bed mattress 20, on which the air mat 100 according to this
invention will be disposed.
[0030] The heater 200 supplies heat, i.e. heated air, into the air
mat 100 and is connected to the air mat 100. The heater 200 is
selectively connected to the air mat 100. More specifically, the
heater 200 may be detachably connected to the air mat 100. Thus,
when the heater 200 is connected to the air mat 100 and operated in
this state, heated air generated by the heater 200 can be supplied
into the air mat 100.
[0031] The air mat 100 includes a mat body 110 and a heated air
injection part 120 through which heated is injected into the mat
body 110. When the heated air is injected into the mat body 110,
the mat body provides heat to the outside of the mat body 110.
[0032] The heated air injection part 120 is provided to the mat
body to allow the heated air to be injected into the mat body 110
therethrough. The heated air supplied from the heater 200 is first
introduced into the heated air injection part 120 and is then
supplied into the mat body 110. Here, the heated air injection part
120 and the mat body 110 communicate with each other.
[0033] The heated air injection part 120 may be integrally
connected to one side of the mat body, more specifically, to an
edge of the mat body 110. However, it should be noted that the
invention is not limited thereto. The heater 200 includes a heating
unit (not shown) and a housing 210 which accommodates the heating
unit. The housing 210 includes at least one first outlet 211
through which heated air generated by the heating unit (not shown)
is discharged.
[0034] The heated air injection part 120 may be directly connected
to the first outlet 211 of the heater 200 or may be connected
thereto via a separate heated air supply passage (not shown). The
heated air supply passage may be formed, but is not limited to, to
have a variable shape by a flexible material.
[0035] To have flexibility, the heated air supply passage may be
made of woven fabrics, for example, natural fiber, synthetic fiber,
and the like. More specifically, the heated air supply passage may
be made of non-woven fabrics or cotton fabrics. When the heated air
supply passage has a variable shape, the heated air supply passage
can be flexibly bent or curved to permit smooth supply of heated
air even in the case where one of the air mat 100 and the heater
200 is moved with the other fixed at a certain place.
[0036] In this embodiment, the heated air injection part 120 is
directly detachably connected to the first outlet 211 of the
heater. Thus, when the heater 200 is detached from the heated air
injection part 120 and operated in this state, it is possible to
heat an indoor space via convection. Further, when the heater 200
is connected to the heated air injection part 120 and operated in
this state, the air mat 100 can directly supply heat to the body of
a user.
[0037] The heated air injection part 120 of the air mat may be
coupled to the first outlet 211 of the heater via any of various
manners such as screw fastening, connector coupling, hook coupling,
compressing, or the like. Further, at least one of the heated air
injection part 120 and the first outlet 211 may be provided with a
sealing member (not shown) which blocks a gap between the heated
air injection part 120 and the first outlet 211 to prevent leakage
of heated air.
[0038] The first outlet 211 may be formed at any location such as
an upper side and/or a lateral side of the housing 210. The housing
210 may further include a second outlet (not shown) through which
heated air is discharged outside the housing 210 to heat an outside
space of the heater 200.
[0039] On the other hand, the housing 210 is formed with an intake
port 212 and is provided with a blower unit (not shown) such as a
fan or the like to force a flow of air.
[0040] The heating unit may include a coil heater (not shown) which
generates heat using electricity or may include a burner (not
shown) which generates heat using fossil fuel. However, the
invention is not limited thereto and any apparatus may be used as
long as it can heat air.
[0041] Although air, that is, heated air, directly heated by the
coil heater or the burner may be supplied to the air mat, air to be
supplied into the air mat may be heated via a heat sink (not
shown), which has good thermal conductivity and is heated by the
coil heater or the burner, to prevent the air from being
overheated.
[0042] In the air mat heating system described above, when a user
sits or lies on the air mat 100 disposed on the bed mattress 20,
heat is supplied from the air mat 100 to the user. As a result,
when the user sleeps or rests under indoor conditions of a low
temperature, the air mat provides good heating effect in a local
region, thereby avoiding difficulty of heating the overall indoor
space.
[0043] It should be understood that the air mat 100 can be disposed
at any different places. For example, the air mat 100 may be
disposed on the bottom or on a sofa in the room as shown in FIG.
5.
[0044] Therefore, in the air mat heating system according to this
embodiment, since the air mat 100 can provide warmth to the body of
a user using the heated air supplied from the heater 200, it is
possible to minimize heat loss and reduce energy consumption while
increasing heating efficiency by eliminating a need for heating the
overall space of the room, when a blanket is covered on the user
sitting or lying on the mat body 110.
[0045] On the other hand, a plurality of air passages 111 may be
formed inside the mat body 110, so that heated air supplied from
the heater 200 is introduced into the plurality of air passages
111. The air passages 111 are arranged in parallel to each other
and communicate with each other. The air passages 111 may form a
corrugated shape on an upper surface of the mat body 110.
[0046] The mat body 110 may be made of a flexible material, such as
woven fabrics or synthetic resins, which can be easily folded or
unfolded for convenient storage and/or movement. The mat body 110
may be expanded to form a cushion when heated air is supplied into
the mat body through the heated air injection part 120.
[0047] The mat body 110 receives the heated air supplied from the
heater and is heated by the heated air, thereby providing heat to
the body of a user.
[0048] The mat body 110 may include at least one heated air
discharge port 111a. With this configuration, heated air having a
proper temperature can be continuously supplied from the heater 200
into the mat body 110.
[0049] The entire area of the at least one heated air discharge
port 111a may be smaller than that of an inlet of the heated air
injection part 120.
[0050] On the other hand, according to the embodiment of this
invention, the heating air mat 100 can provide heat to the user not
only by heating the surface of the mat body 110 using the heated
air supplied into the mat body 110, but also by discharging the
heated air through the heated air discharge port 111a.
[0051] In other words, the surface of the mat body 110,
particularly, the upper surface of the mat body 110, is formed with
the heated air discharge port 111a, through which the heated air
can be discharged outside the mat body 110 and come into contact
with the user, thereby providing heat to the user.
[0052] When the upper surface of the mat body is formed to have the
corrugated shape by the air passages 111 as in this embodiment, the
heated air discharge port 111a is formed, but is not limited to, on
a vertex, that is, a ridge (top), of each of the air passages
111.
[0053] Additionally, the mat body 110 of the heat air mat according
to this embodiment may further include an opening/closing valve
111b for air discharge provided to the heated air discharge port
111a. The opening/closing valve 111b allows the heated air to be
selectively discharged from the mat body 110 to the outside through
the heated air discharge port 111a.
[0054] The opening/closing valve 111b for air discharge selectively
opens at least part of the heated air discharge port 111a. In this
embodiment, the mat body 110 includes the plurality of heated air
discharge ports 111a formed on the surface of the mat body 110,
particularly, on the upper surface of the mat body 110. Further,
the opening/closing valves 111b are provided to the respective
heated air discharge ports 111a.
[0055] When an external force is applied to the upper surface of
the mat body 110, heated air is discharged through at least one of
the heated air discharge ports 111a. More specifically, when one of
the heated air discharge ports 111a is compressed by the external
force, the heated air is discharged above the mat body 110
therethrough.
[0056] In this embodiment, the opening/closing valve 111b is
disposed inside the heated air discharge port 111a to be brought
into close contact with and close the heated air discharge port
111a by air pressure inside the mat body 110 when a force is not
applied to the heated air discharge port 111a, and to form a gap
with respect to the heated air discharge port 111a to thereby open
the heated air discharge port 111a such that air can be discharged
through the gap when a force is applied to the heated air discharge
port 111a.
[0057] More specifically, when a person lies or sits on the mat
body to apply a force to the upper surface of the mat body, a gap
is formed between the opening/closing valve 111b and the heated air
discharge port 111a to allow heated air to be discharged above the
mat body 110 therethrough, so that heat can be provided to the
person lying or sitting on the mat body 110.
[0058] Particularly, since the heated air is discharged mainly
through the heated air discharge ports 111a compressed by the
weight of the person lying or sitting on the mat body 110,
discharge of the heated air can be minimized or prevented through
the heated air discharge ports 111a which are subjected to no
external force, thereby lowering heat loss.
[0059] Therefore, since the upper surface of the mat body 110 has a
higher temperature inside the contact region contacting the body of
a user than outside the contact region, the heating air mat has
improved heating efficiency.
[0060] In this embodiment, a flexible film type valve plate is
disclosed as one example of the opening/closing valve 111b and is
disposed inside each of the heated air discharge ports 111a to open
or close the heated air discharge ports 111a.
[0061] More specifically, the valve plate of the opening/closing
valve 111b is secured to an inner rim of the heated air discharge
port 111a by a securing portion 111c, which may be formed in
various manners such as thermal compression or adhesion. Then, when
a person lies or sits on the mat body 110, the rest of the rim of
the valve plate excluding a portion of the rim of the valve plate
where the securing portion 111c is formed is widened to form a gap
between the heated air discharge port 111a and the valve plate for
discharging air.
[0062] Thus, when there is no load applied to the mat body 110,
that is, when no external force is applied to the heated air
discharge port 111a, the opening/closing valves 111b are
respectively brought into close contact with the heated air
discharge ports 111a by pressure of the heated air supplied into
the mat body 110 to close the heated air discharge ports 111a,
thereby preventing the heated air from being discharged outside the
mat body 110.
[0063] On the other hand, when a person lies or sits on the mat
body 110 to apply a load to the heated air discharge port 111a,
close contact between the opening/closing valves 111b and the
heated air discharge ports 111a is released to open the heated air
discharge ports 111a, so that heat can be discharged from the mat
body 110 to the outside.
[0064] Conclusively, the opening/closing valves 111b allow only the
heated air discharge ports 111a located at portions of the mat body
110 where a person lies or sits to be opened, thereby significantly
improving heating efficiency with respect to the body of the
person.
[0065] The heated air injection part 120 includes an air injection
port 121 connected to the heater 200. The heated air injection part
120 may further include a flow path 122 which guides air to the mat
body when the air is introduced into the heated air injection part
120 through the air injection port 121.
[0066] In other words, the flow path 122 is formed at one side
thereof with the air injection port 121 connected to the first
discharge port 211 of the heater and is connected at the other side
with the mat body 110 so that the heater 200 and the mat body 110
communicate with each other through the flow path 122. Here, the
flow path 122 may be made of a flexible material.
[0067] Referring to FIG. 5, the air mat heating system according to
this embodiment may be used on the floor of a living room 30 as
well as on the bed.
[0068] When the air mat heating system is used on the floor of the
living room 30, the first outlet 121b of the heater 200 may be
formed on a lateral side or a front side of the housing 210 instead
of the upper side thereof.
[0069] The air mat 100 may be formed to have various lengths. For
example, the air mat 100 may be fabricated to have a length
corresponding to the lower half of a person's body as shown in FIG.
6. In this case, the air mat 100 can provide heat to the lower half
of the person who lies on a bed.
[0070] Medically, the upper half of a person's body has a higher
temperature than the lower half. Thus, when heated air is supplied
to the lower half of the body, heat can be rapidly provided to the
person to balance the body temperature between the upper half and
lower half of the body, thereby improving blood circulation and
promoting metabolism.
[0071] Further, when supplying the heated air to the lower half of
the body, the sympathetic nerve mainly distributed in the lower
half of the body is released, thereby efficiently maintaining the
body temperature of a user and allowing the user to feel heat more
rapidly.
[0072] It should be understood that the air mat 100 may be
fabricated in various sizes suitable for cushions. Further, in the
air mat heating system, the air mat 100 may be made of any
lightweight and flexible material to be easily folded or unfolded
for convenience of movement and storage, and the heater 200 may be
fabricated in a small size to be used with a chargeable or
non-chargeable battery or fossil fuel.
[0073] Further, although the air mat heating system according to
this invention realizes heating with the air mat by supplying hot
air from the heater to the air mat, the air mat heating system may
be configured to realize cooling with the air mat by connecting a
cooling apparatus capable of supplying cold air to the air mat to
supply cold air from the cooling apparatus to the air mat. In other
words, the air mat heating system according to this embodiment may
be converted into an air mat cooling system.
[0074] The air mat according to the embodiments and the air mat
heating system including the same provide the following
effects.
[0075] First, the air mat heating system provides heat to a user by
supplying heated air into the mat body, thereby eliminating
accidents relating to the use of electricity while ensuring good
heating efficiency and reduction of energy consumption when used
for local heating and assistant heating.
[0076] Second, the air mat heating system discharges heated air
from the mat body to the outside of the air mat to allow heating on
the surface of the mat body and heating in a local space by
convection of the heated air to be simultaneously performed,
thereby improving heating efficiency.
[0077] Third, the opening/closing valve is provided to each of the
heated air discharge ports, so that the surface of the mat body has
a higher temperature inside a contact region contacting the body of
a user sitting or lying on the mat body than other portions of the
mat body, thereby improving heating efficiency while minimizing
heat loss.
[0078] Fourth, the air mat can be used in a folded state to provide
convenience in maintenance and carriage, thereby significantly
improving convenience of use.
[0079] Fifth, the air mat acts like a cushion, thereby providing
comfort to the body of a user.
[0080] Although some embodiments have been provided to illustrate
the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that
the embodiments are given by way of illustration only, and that
various modifications, changes, and substitutions can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The
scope of the invention should be limited only by the accompanying
claims and equivalents thereof.
* * * * *