GB2306881A

GB2306881A - Beds and articles of bedding

Info

Publication number: GB2306881A
Application number: GB9522974A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David House
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-11-09
Filing date: 1995-11-09
Publication date: 1997-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 2015-11-09
Also published as: NO982083L; EP0859564A1; GB2306881B; CA2237193A1; GB9522974D0; AU7141196A; NZ319233A; JP2000500991A; WO1997017000A1; NO982083D0

Abstract

An article of bedding, in particular a mattress, including air pathways 4, 5 therein for circulation of air therethrough and a source of air 3 serving to direct the air through the air pathways. The air is dehumidified so as to reduce the number of dust mites thereby relieving asthma sufferers. Other items through which air may be circulated include bed bases, pillows, duvets or storage boxes for bedding or toys.

Description

ARTICLES OF BEDDING The present invention relates to articles of bedding, and in particular to mattresses for use by asthma sufferers.

A substantial proportion of the population suffers from asthma, often as a result of an allergic reaction to house dust mites. House dust mites reside in very large numbers in materials used within the home such as bedding materials including mattresses, pillows, duvets and the like, and have become more common as a result of homes becoming warmer. A typical bed will contain 20,000 to 30,000 house dust mites which will emerge from the mattress in response to warmth caused by occupancy of the bed. Tests have shown that, by controlling house dust mites, asthmatics will suffer less. In these tests, house mites were eliminated by an "initial kill" using liquid nitrogen. Such a treatment is not practically possible for most sufferers.

It is known that the house dust mite survives and reproduces best in an atmosphere of relatively high humidity. It is also known that the number of mites found in houses located in mountainous regions above 1200 metres is much less than the number of house mites found in houses located at sea level where humidity is much higher.

It is believed that dust mite populations begin to die out when the relative humidity level within the air falls below 60% at 200C.

It has been proposed to fit a de-humidifier within a bedroom which will extract stale air containing dust mite dung pellets from the room while a heat exchanger uses the warmth of the outgoing air to dry incoming air. The humidity of air within a bedroom is, therefore, maintained at a low level thereby causing a substantial reduction in the house dust mite population within that bedroom. The use of such a de-humidifier in a bedroom must be switched on for most of the day in order to maintain the humidity level within the room at a low level. Also, whilst the humidity level in the air within the room is maintained at a low level, pockets of air within the bedroom, for example beneath the bed remain at a high level. Most of the house mites which cause asthma to occur reside within the mattress and bedding of a bed.While the air within the room may be kept at a low humidity, the air within the mattress and bedding will only reduce in humidity over time. Again, this means that the de-humidifier in the room must be left on for a considerable period before the dust mite population is effectively reduced.

Another disadvantage of the proposed bedroom dehumidifier is that the air within the bedroom will become very dry causing discomfort for any occupants.

According to the present invention, an article of bedding includes air pathways therein for circulation of air therethrough, and a source of air serving to direct air through the air pathways. Preferably, the article of bedding is S mattress. It is also preferred that the source of air includes a de-humidifier operable to direct de-humidified air through the air pathways. Articles of bedding according to this invention permit a reduction in the humidity of air within the bedding thereby reducing the population of house dust mites disposed within the article of bedding.

Optionally, a mattress according to the invention further comprises a layer of material which is nonpermeable to air, but which will permit passage of water vapour therethrough. This will improve the maintenance of a low humidity level within the mattress adjacent to the occupant of the bed.

The article of bedding preferably includes walls therein for guiding the air therethrough, and these walls would normally include a dividing wall disposed across the article of bedding for directing the air through substantially the whole length of the bedding before returning along the bedding on the opposite side of the dividing wall.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a humidity reducing apparatus comprises a source of reduced humidity air and a closed body into which reduced humidity air from the reduced humidity air source is directed.

Embodiments of a mattress constructed in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the mattress.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the mattress according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic plan view of the mattress, and Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of the present apparatus.

In order to reduce the population of house dust mites within a mattress, reduced humidity air is circulated within the mattress since a high population of house dust mites cannot be sustained in a low humidity atmosphere.

Referring to Figure 1, the mattress 1 includes pathways 9 therein through which air is able to circulate. The mattress includes a divider wall 7 which extends from one end of the mattress almost to the opposite end, being broad enough to stretch the entire width of the mattress when the mattress is considered laid flat. The divider wall 7 forms an air barrier dividing the upper half of the mattress when considered laying flat from the lower half of the mattress. At the end of the mattress where the divider wall 7 reaches the end of the mattress, a manifold is located into which air is blown and out of which air is exhausted. The manifold 2 includes an air inlet port 3 through which air is blown, the manifold directing the air into the lower half of the mattress beneath the divider wall 7.The manifold 2 also includes an air exit port 8 through which air is exhausted from the upper half of the mattress 1, above the divider wall 7.

Reduced humidity air is blown into the manifold 2 via the air inlet port 3 from a de-humidifier unit (not shown) of conventional construction.

In use, the de-humidifier unit blows air into the manifold 2 via the air inlet port 3 whereupon the manifold 2 directs the reduced humidity air into the lower half of the mattress 1 beneath the divider wall 7. This air flow leaving the manifold is shown by arrow 4. The reduced humidity air passes beneath the divider wall 7 until it reaches the end of the mattress whereupon the reduced humidity air passes into the top half of the mattress 1 as indicated by arrow 6. The reduced humidity air then returns to the manifold 2 as indicated by arrow 5. Once the reduced humidity air has reached the manifold 2, the air is exhausted from air exit ports 8. The reduced humidity air blown into the mattress reduces the humidity within the entire structure of the mattress causing a reduction in the population of house dust mites.

The de-humidifier unit may be located next to or within the mattress, although if the de-humidifier unit is of a type which generates sufficient noise to disturb a sleeper, the de-humidifier unit may be located in a different room, the reduced humidity air being supplied to the air inlet port 3 via a length of tube.

The de-humidifying unit does not need to remove all of the humidity from the air, but just to a level, such as 60% at 200C, which will cause the population of house dust mites to reduce. The reduced humidity inhibits the life cycle of the mites, and that of the fungi which is also present and which breaks down the fat in discarded human skin scales which is a major source of food for the house dust mite.

In the preferred embodiment, the outer material of the mattress should be of a material which is nonpermeable to air (not shown) in order to promote air flow within the mattress without leakage. Such a material is preferably constructed from a coated fabric which whilst it is not air permeable, permits water vapour generated by the body to disperse through the fabric so that any temporary increase in humidity is rapidly reduced by the flow of low humidity air within the mattress. In this way, the mattress remains comfortable for the patient to sleep on, and any water vapour entering the upper air pathway of the mattress is quickly taken out of the mattress. Such a material would also prevent free water from entering the mattress, and could be made fire proof by virtue of special treatments of the materials concerned.

Removable filters (not shown) are attachable to the air inlet port 3 and the air exit port 8 in order to trap any material in the flow of low humidity air. The inlet and outlet ports of the mattress may be disposed at the side or end of the mattress allowing for a number of mountinq positions for the tubing connecting the mattress to the de-humidifier unit.

According to another embodiment of this invention (not shown) Whe exit port of the manifold may be connected via tubing to the de-humidifier so that the air passing through the mattress is re-circulated. An advantage of this is that, once the humidity of the re-circulating air has dropped below a certain reduced humidity level, the air may be re-circulated without the expense of running the de-humidifier. De-humidification is only required once the humidity has reached a predetermined level.

Furthermore, the re-circulation of reduced humidity air reduces the likelihood that the air within the bedroom will also be reduced in humidity as a result of reduced humidity air exiting the system. Such a reduction in humidity of the air within the room would cause discomfort to any occupant.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, a closed box is connected to the de-humidifier via tubing so that children's toys, bedding and the like may be placed in the box into which a flow of reduced humidity air is directed from the de-humidifier in order to reduce the population of dust mites within such toys and bedding.

The box is preferably lidded for simple loading and unloading the box.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the dehumidifier is of a sufficient size and power that dehumidification of the bedroom occurs as a result of reduced humidity air being exhausted into the room via the air exit ports.

In another embodiment, the article of bedding may be any of a duvet, a bedstead or base for a bed, a pillow or any other article of bedding

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An article of bedding including air pathways therein for circulation of air therethrough and a source of air serving to direct the air through the air pathways.
2. An article of bedding according to claim 1 wherein the source of air includes a de-humidifier for directing de-humidified air through the air pathways.
3. An article of bedding according to claim 1 or 2 further comprising an inlet filter.
4. An article of bedding according to any preceding claim further comprising an outlet filter.
5. An article of bedding according to any preceding claim further comprising a manifold for leading air into the air pathways.
6. An article of bedding according to any preceding claim further including walls within the article of bedding for guiding the air therethrough.
7. An article of bedding according to claim 6 wherein the walls include a dividing wall disposed across the article of bedding for directing the air through the whole length of the article of bedding before returning along the article of bedding on the opposite side of the dividing wall.
8. An article of bedding according to any preceding claim wherein the article of bedding is a mattress.
9. An article of bedding according to claim 8 further comprising a layer of material which is non-permeable to air, but which will permit passage of water vapour therethrough.
10. An article of bedding according to any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the article of bedding is a duvet.
11. An article of bedding according to any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the article of bedding is an eiderdown.
12. An article of bedding according to any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the article of bedding is a base of a bed.
13. A humidity-reducing apparatus comprising a source of reduced humidity air and a closed body into which reduced humidity air from the reduced humidity air source is directed.
14. A humidity-reducing apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the closed body is a mattress.
15. A humidity-reducing apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the closed body is a box.