U.S. patent number 3,872,526 [Application Number 05/419,910] was granted by the patent office on 1975-03-25 for vibratory water bed.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Inter Dyne. Invention is credited to Paul J. Betts.
United States Patent |
3,872,526 |
Betts |
March 25, 1975 |
Vibratory water bed
Abstract
A water bed includes a water-filled container forming a mattress
which is surrounded around its periphery by a frame for supporting
the sides thereof. A plurality of vibrating units are coupled in
mechanical communication with sides of the mattress and include
apertures formed through the frame and covered by sheets of
flexible material adjacent and in contact with the water mattress.
A variable speed motor is coupled directly to each sheet of
flexible material and extends through the aperture in the frame. An
eccentric weight is coupled to the shaft of the motor for vibrating
the flexible sheet which transmits such mechanical perturbations to
the mattress and to the body of a person resting on the mattress by
the filling fluid. Means are provided for supplying the motor with
an adjustable voltage for varying the speed of rotation of the
eccentric weight and, therefore, the frequency of vibrations
developed.
Inventors: |
Betts; Paul J. (Muskegon,
MI) |
Assignee: |
Inter Dyne (Spring Lake,
MI)
|
Family
ID: |
23664260 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/419,910 |
Filed: |
November 29, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/674; 5/109;
5/678; 601/152 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
27/085 (20130101); A47C 21/006 (20130101); A61H
2201/0142 (20130101); A61H 23/0263 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
27/08 (20060101); A47C 21/00 (20060101); A61H
1/00 (20060101); A61H 23/02 (20060101); A47c
027/08 (); A61g 007/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;5/348,348WB,109 ;128/33
;103/38 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gilliam; Paul R.
Assistant Examiner: Calvert; Andrew M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Price, Heneveld, Huizenga &
Cooper
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A vibrating water bed comprising:
a fluid-filled container forming a mattress;
a planar sheet of relatively thick flexible material;
rigid support means positioned in contact with said mattress and
including an aperture and means for securing said sheet of flexible
material to said support means to cover such aperture wherein said
sheet engages a portion of said mattress;
a vibrating motor; and
means mounting said vibrating motor directly to said sheet to
transmit vibrations to said sheet.
2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said flexible
material comprises ABS plastic.
3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said supporting
means comprises a panel extending along and in contact with a side
of said mattress, and wherein said sheet of flexible material is
affixed to said panel on a side adjacent and in contact with said
side.
4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said vibrating motor
comprises a variable speed motor having a rotating output shaft
including an eccentric weight coupled to said shaft.
5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said vibrating motor
includes a housing and wherein said coupling means includes a
plurality of screws extending through said sheet and threadably
engaging said housing.
6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 and further including
insulating means positioned over said screws between said screws
and said mattress.
7. Apparatus for providing a vibrating water bed which includes a
fluid-filled container forming a mattress, said apparatus
comprising:
a frame for engaging side walls of a water bed mattress, at least
one side of said frame including an aperture formed
therethrough;
a panel of resilient material secured at the periphery thereof to
said one side of said frame to be adjacent said mattress to cover
said aperture and engage a side of said mattress;
means for generating vibratory impulses; and
means coupling said generating means to said panel to transmit
impulses to said panel and said mattress.
8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said panel comprises
sheet plastic material.
9. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said panel comprises
a sheet of ABS plastic affixed to said frame around the periphery
of said sheet.
10. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said generating
means comprises a vibratory motor including a housing.
11. The apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said coupling
means includes a plurality of screws extending through said panel
and threadably engaging said housing.
12. The apparatus as defined in claim 11 and further including
insulating means positioned over said screws between said screws
and said mattress.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to water beds and more particularly,
to means for applying vibratory impulses to them.
The relaxing effects of vibrating mattresses are well-known.
Conventional spring mattresses of this type, such as frequently
employed in motels, are provided with vibrating motors for
providing localized vibratory forces or impulses to a person
resting on the mattress. Typically, such installations provide a
constant frequency and amplitude vibration which is relaxing to the
user and conducive to sleep.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,568 issued to H. Whitesell on Apr. 16, 1963
describes a vibrating bed for physiotherapy applications. This unit
employs a water-filled support cushion with vibratory impulses
provided thereto by means of either a pump which pulsates fluid
through the cushion or by employing a conventional loudspeaker
actuated at audio frequencies and coupled to the bottom of the
cushion.
The pulsating pump approach is relatively expensive as it requires
a specialized pump together with fluid connections to the mattress.
The loudspeaker approach will provide some localized vibrating
forces of limited amplitude to the cushion but due to the inherent
power handling limitations of a loudspeaker, as well as the
relatively expensive power source required for driving them, such a
system is not practically or economically feasible for use with
conventional water beds. Uses of known systems, therefore, are
restricted to clinical applications such as in physical therapy
clinics where specially designed beds can be provided as well as
the required peripheral excitation equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, however, relates to improved and simplified
structure for use with commercially available water beds and which
provides variable frequency vibratory impulses to a water bed of a
sufficient amplitude to achieve the desired results economically
and easily. Apparatus embodying the present invention include a
water-filled mattress with a support member coupled to at least a
portion thereof and including an aperture formed therethrough. A
flexible sheet is coupled to the support member immediately
adjacent and in contact with the mattress and covers the aperture.
A variable speed motor is coupled to the flexible sheet and spaced
from the sides of the aperture. The motor is provided with an
eccentric weight causing the motor to vibrate when in operation
thereby vibrating the flexible sheet which transmits such
mechanical impulses to the mattress and to a person resting on the
mattress.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a water bed with three vibrating
units embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the vibrating unit
at location C shown in FIG. 1 and taken along the section lines
II--II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the apparatus shown
in FIG. 2 taken along the section lines III--III of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is an electrical circuit diagram of the control circuit for
the unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a water bed 100
including a mattress 12 comprising a sealed container made of
polymeric material 14 such as P.V.C. and filled with fluid 166 such
as water. Such mattresses are commercially available and in
widespread usage and typically include a sealable opening (not
shown) for filling and draining the water mattress so formed.
Mattress 12 is supported by a generally rectangular framework
comprising end walls 17 and 18 and side walls 20 and 22. End wall
18 forms the head end of the bed. Along the right side of the water
bed there is provided a horizontally extending ledge 24 coupled to
wall 22 for housing the controls employed with the vibratory water
bed. The frame members are, in the preferred embodiment, made of
wood although other suitable material could likewise be employed.
The mattress 12 is supported on a floor surface 26 although in some
installations, it may be desirable to provide an elevated platform
to support the mattress.
Positioned at areas A, B and C along side wall 22 to be located at
the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions, respectively, when a
person is resting on the mattress, are vibrating units 30 (FIG. 2)
for providing relatively localized vibrations to these body areas.
Units 30 can be positioned at other locations of the bed and a
greater or fewer number of units also could be employed. Each of
the vibrating units is identical so a description of only one of
the units follows.
Each of the units 30 includes a motor 32 which, in the preferred
embodiment, was a relatively small alternating current motor such
as a fan motor capable of variable speed operation when the voltage
applied to the motor is varied. Motor 32 includes an output shaft
34 having an eccentric weight 36 coupled thereto. In the preferred
embodiment, the eccentric weight 36 comprised a piece of
rectangular steel bar stock one-fourth inch by one-fourth inch,
approximately 1 1/2 inches long, weighing two to three ounces and
coupled at one end to shaft 34.
Motor 32 is mounted at its end remote from shaft 34 to a flexible
sheet 40 for transmitting vibrations of the motor housing to the
sheet which is coupled across an aperture 23 in support wall 22. As
seen in FIG. 2, sheet 40 is in direct contact with the side of the
mattress 12 to effect transmission of vibrations of motor 32 to the
mattress. In the preferred embodiment, sheet 40 was a one-eighth
inch sheet of A.B.S. plastic 12 inches by 12 inches and a motor 32
was coupled thereto by means of a pair of flat head screws 37
extending through the sheet into threaded apertures in the end of
the motor housing. Aperture 23 was approximately eight inches by
eight inches to permit the motor to extend outwardly from sheet 40,
as seen in FIG. 2, without contacting the edges of aperture 23.
Thus, sufficient clearance is provided around the motor to prevent
rubbing of the motor against wall 22.
As seen in FIG. 3, sheet 40 is stapled to wall 22 to cover aperture
23 by a plurality of staples 42 around its edges. For safety
purposes, the flat head screws 37 are backed by strips 43 of
electrically insulative tape to insulate the screw heads from
mattress 12. Each of the vibrating units at locations A, B and C is
independently operated by speed controls 25 and on-off switches 21
now discussed.
One of the identical controls used with each of the vibratory units
30 is shown in FIG. 4. The control units shown in FIG. 4 include a
pair of power input terminals XX coupled to a conventional 110V AC
line. Supply voltage is applied to motor 32 through an on-off
switch 21 and a rheostat 25 having a wiper arm 25' which can be
adjusted to reduce or increase the voltage applied to the motor
and, therefore, the speed of operation and frequency of vibrations
produced. In the preferred embodiment, vibrating frequencies of
approximately 10-1800 Hz were obtainable. By adjusting the weight
of the eccentric weight 36 coupled to the shaft 34 of the motor,
the amplitude of the vibrations may be varied.
Thus, by providing the water bed with the improved vibratory unit
as herein disclosed, a conventional water bed can easily be
converted to a vibratory unit at a relatively reduced cost. Various
modifications to the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those
skilled in the art. Thus, for example, sheet 40 can be made of
other materials such as P.V.C., rubber or the like as long as it is
generally flexible or resilient to respond to motor vibrations and
transmit such vibrations to the mattress. The support for sheet 40
need not be in the form of a rectangular bed frame but could be of
any shape as long as sheet 40 is securely held in contact with the
mattress. These and other modifications to the invention will,
however, fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as
defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *