JP2741571B2 - Water bed - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water bed in which a liquid is sealed in a water bag, and more particularly to a water bed whose weight is reduced and temperature control safety is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a water bed in which a water solution is sealed in a water bag and a heater such as a plate, a sheet, and a board is provided on the lower surface of the water bag is known. Generally known. In this water bed, the upper surface (bed surface) is freely deformed according to the body pressure due to the fluidity of the water solution in the water bag, so that the body pressure is dispersed, and the temperature of the water solution in the bag can be appropriately adjusted by the heater. . For this reason, in recent years, in addition to general use, it is becoming popular for medical use.

[0003] Since such a water bed has a structure in which a liquid such as water is sealed in a water bag, the water bed is heavier than a conventional bed having a built-in spring. For this reason, the floor on which the water bed is installed must have strength to withstand its weight, and when installed on a general house, there is a problem that the water bed can be used only in a place where the floor is strong. In addition, there is also an inconvenience that it is not easy to change the installation location because a large amount of labor is required even for a short distance of movement.

Conventionally, in order to solve such a problem,
A water bed has been proposed in which the depth of the water is shallow, and a cushion mat is accommodated in a water bag. In this waterbed, the total depth of the waterbed is reduced by reducing the depth of the water and storing a cushion mat in the bag. In addition, the cushion mat reduces the flow (swell) of the water liquid in the bag, so that the usability is further improved.

In a water bed containing such a cushion mat, when the upper surface of the water bag is depressed due to the body pressure of the user, the cushion mat swells downward and deforms in accordance with the depression. May come into direct contact with inner bottom surface. In this case, heat conduction and convection from the heater to the water solution in the water bag become poor, and not only the heater is overheated, but in some cases, the overheated heater may cause burns.

If the bag is made too thin, the cushion mat abuts against the bottom surface of the bag during use, and a hard reaction force acts on the buttocks and the like, which may cause an uncomfortable feeling of bottoming.

[0007] The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to prevent the heater mat from overheating while the cushion mat is lightly grossly housed in a water bag. It is an object of the present invention to provide a water bed that enables appropriate water temperature adjustment.

[0008]

In the water bed of the present invention, a heater for heating the liquid sealed in the water bag is attached to a lower surface of the water bag, and a cushion mat is accommodated in the water bag. In the water bed, on the inner bottom surface of the water bag, there is provided a gap communicating in the horizontal and vertical directions, and a gap guaranteeing member is provided which does not close even when a load pressure is applied through the cushion mat. Do Ri, the sky
The gap ensuring member is a multi-point supporting member for supporting the cushion mat at multiple points.
It is characterized by having a number of protrusions. Also many of this
Projections also characterized Rukoto such an elastic body in which the upper end is curved.

Of course, the gap ensuring member has a gap communicating in the horizontal and vertical directions, and is made of a synthetic resin as long as the gap does not close even when a load pressure is applied through the cushion mat. A three-dimensional lattice-shaped member can also be used.

The air gap assurance member is usually installed at least on a portion of the bottom surface of the bag to which the heater is attached in consideration of heat conduction and convection from the heater to the liquid. It can also be provided in a portion that is not provided, and can be installed on the entire bottom surface inside the bag. Further, it is preferable that the liquid flow layer secured by the void ensuring member has a height of at least about 5 mm. Further, the gap assurance member is made of an appropriate material (synthetic resin) that is not chemically affected by the liquid in the bag.
It consists of.

[0011]

As described above, such a water bed is provided with a gap guaranteeing member on the inner bottom surface, and the gap guaranteeing member has a gap communicating horizontally and vertically in the inner bottom surface of the water bag. I have. When using,
Even when the upper surface of the water bag is depressed due to the user's body pressure (load pressure) and the cushion mat swells and deforms downward according to the depression, the cushion mat is in contact with the gap guarantee member. The gap of the member does not close.

That is, since the flow of the liquid sealed in the water bag is ensured between the cushion mat and the inner bottom surface of the water bag, heat conduction and convection from the heater to the liquid in the water bag are always good. It is performed. In addition, a hard reaction force does not act on the buttocks and the like of the user, and an unpleasant feeling of bottoming is alleviated.

In the past, in order to prevent the heater from overheating due to the contact of the cushion mat with the bottom surface of the water bag, the thickness of the water bag had to be increased. According to the present invention, such a problem is solved, so that the thickness of the water bag can be made smaller than before, and the weight of the water bag can be reduced.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a mattress (for example, having a thickness of 18) accommodated and installed in a bed frame (not shown) via a liner.
(about cm).

The water bed 1 contains a cushion mat 3 in a water bag 2 and a liquid (usually,
A water solution 4) in which a small amount of a preservative is dissolved is enclosed. A heater 5 is attached to the lower surface 2a of the water bag 2, and a gap guarantee member 6 is installed on the inner bottom surface 2b.

The water bag 2 is made of rubber, rubberized cloth,
It is made of a waterproof sheet made of a vinyl chloride resin or the like, and is provided with an inlet (or further outlet) for the water liquid 4 at a location not shown.

As the cushion mat 3, the specific gravity of the cushion mat 3 is usually smaller than that of the aqueous liquid 4, and is non-water-absorbing and flexible. A resin fiber, a glass fiber, a net made of a synthetic resin foam, a woven fabric, a nonwoven fabric, a laminate thereof, and the like are used.
The cushion mat 3 is formed to have a surface dimension slightly smaller than the surface dimension of the water bag 2, and its thickness is set to a predetermined thickness (for example, about 8 cm). Due to the presence of the cushion mat 3, the water depth of the water liquid 4 below the cushion mat 3 is about 10 cm.

Further, the heater 5 is a planar heating element (for example, 30 × 30 cm) for heating the water solution 4 in the water bag 2 to a predetermined temperature (usually about 40 ° C.) via the lower surface 2 a of the water bag 2. ) And connected to a power supply via a cord not shown. In the present embodiment, the heater 5 is arranged at the center in the left-right width direction at the center in the longitudinal direction of the water bed 1.

The gap assurance member 6 is installed on the inner bottom surface 2b by an appropriate means such as adhesive fixing so as to have a sufficient area to cover the inner bottom surface 2b corresponding to the lower surface 2a of the water bag 2 to which the heater 5 is attached. Have been.

Here, the gap assurance member 6 is integrally formed of, for example, a soft synthetic resin of a vinyl chloride type which does not rust or corrode. As shown in FIGS. A plurality of short pillars 6b project from the lower surface of the net-like base portion 6a, and a number of support projections 6c project from the upper surface thereof.

The gap assurance member 6 has a thickness of 10
mm, and has a space through which the water liquid 4 can sufficiently flow in the plane direction and the vertical direction. As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 4, the upper end of each of the plurality of support projections 6c is curved to an arbitrary side, and is an elastic projection having elasticity in the vertical direction.

In the water bag 2, instead of the water solution 4, a urethane resin hydrogel, a silicone resin hydrogel, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylic acid, isobutylene / maleic anhydride, or the like is used. A hydrated gel using a water-soluble polymer may be enclosed.

Next, the operation of the water bed 1 thus configured will be described. Since the water bed 1 has a shallow water depth and the cushion mat 3 is accommodated in the water bag 2, the amount of the water liquid 4 is reduced accordingly, and the total weight is greatly reduced.

Further, the cushion mat 3 floats in the water 4 in the water bag 2, so that when the upper surface of the water bag 2 is depressed by the user's body pressure and the water 4 moves, the cushion mat 3 is lifted. The mat 3 suppresses the upward and downward movement of the water liquid 4, and the undulation of the water bed 1 is eliminated or reduced.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper surface 2c of the water bag 2 is greatly depressed by the body pressure of the buttocks B1, which is near the center of gravity of the body B of the user, and the cushion mat 3 is enlarged downward accordingly. Even if the swelling deformation occurs, since the gap assurance member 6 is located below the swelling deformation portion 3a, the swelling deformation portion 3a may be in contact with the upper surface of the gap assurance member 6; Internal bottom surface 2b of bag 2
There is no direct contact with

The swelling deformation portion 3 of the cushion mat 3
Even if a is in contact with the upper surface of the gap assurance member 6, the bulging deformation portion 3a is elastically supported at many points by a large number of support protrusions 6c forming elastic protrusions having elasticity in the vertical direction. The reaction force of a hard feeling does not act on the buttocks B1 of the child, and an unpleasant feeling of bottoming is alleviated.

Here, in particular, the gap assurance member 6 includes a plurality of short struts 6b on a lower surface of a base portion 6a having a coarse mesh shape.
Has a thickness of 10 with a large number of support protrusions 6c protruding from the upper surface.
mm, and has a space through which the water liquid 4 can sufficiently flow in the plane direction and the vertical direction. The gap assurance member 6 sufficiently covers the inner bottom surface 2b corresponding to the lower surface 2a of the water bag 2 with the heater 5 attached thereto.

For this reason, even when the bulging deformation portion 3 a of the cushion mat 3 is in contact with the upper surface of the gap ensuring member 6, the bulging deformation portion 3 a and the inner bottom surface 2
b, the flow of the water liquid 4 is sufficiently ensured, and the heat of the heater 5 is well conducted to the water liquid 4 inside through the water bag 2, and the overheating of the heater 5 is prevented beforehand. Is done.

As shown in FIG. 6, the void assurance member 6 may be replaced with a void assurance member 7 formed from a soft synthetic resin of vinyl chloride as a raw material and formed into a multi-directional elastic three-dimensional lattice. The gap assurance member 7 can also ensure good circulation of the water liquid 4 and can elastically support the bulging deformation portion 3a of the cushion mat 3.

In the above embodiment, since the heater 5 is provided at one place, the gap assurance member 6 is also provided as one. However, when the heater 5 is provided at a plurality of places, it is needless to say that
The gap assurance member 6 can also be provided at a plurality of locations according to the heater. In the case where the heater is installed at a plurality of locations, if there is no possibility that the cushion mat 3 will come into contact with the heater, the air gap assurance member 6 may not be installed on the heater. Further, even if the heater 5 is provided only at one location, for example,
A plurality of smaller gap assurance members 6 can be provided. Furthermore, the gap ensuring member 6 can be installed on the entire inner bottom surface of the water bag 2. In this case, the position of the heater 5 can be set arbitrarily.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the upper surface of the water bag is greatly depressed by the user's body pressure and the cushion mat is greatly swelled and deformed downward according to the pressure, the cushion mat is a gap guarantee member. It does not come into direct contact with the inner bottom surface of the water bag just by contacting the inside. The gap ensuring member ensures the flow of the water liquid sealed in the water bag between the cushion mat and the inner bottom surface of the water bag.

Therefore, according to the present invention, heat conduction and convection from the heater to the water liquid in the water bag are always performed satisfactorily, even though the water mat is a light weight water bed in which the cushion mat is stored in the water bag. Therefore, overheating of the heater can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a structure of a water bed showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the gap ensuring member shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gap ensuring member shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged side view of the gap assurance member shown in FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a partially broken side view showing the operation of the water bed of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the gap assurance member constituting the water bed of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water bed 2 Water bag 2a Lower surface 2b Inner bottom surface 2c Upper surface 3 Cushion mat 4 Water liquid 5 Heater 6,7 Void assurance member 6a Base 6b Short strut 6c Support projection

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-7-177953 (JP, A) JP-A 6-198 (JP, U) JP-A 3-122757 (JP, U) JP-A 63-153869 (JP) , U)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heater for heating a liquid sealed in a water bag is provided on a lower surface of the water bag,
In a water bed in which a cushion mat is housed in a water bag, the inner bottom surface of the water bag has a gap communicating in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the cushion mat also receives a load pressure through the cushion mat. Ri Na voids assurance member is provided gap does not close, the gap assurance member, multi-point supports the cushion mat
A water bed comprising a large number of protrusions . 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of protrusions of the gap ensuring member have upper ends.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the member is made of a curved elastic body.
On the water bed.