JP3196158B2 - Bed hardness preference device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for judging a desired hardness as a criterion for a bed purchaser to select a bed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When purchasing a bed, not only the size and design, but also the hardness, that is, the cushioning property of the mattress is an important factor in selection. In particular, many people feel that the bed where the waist and buttocks sink when lying down on the mattress has a bad feeling of use. There is provided an arrangement in which a coil spring having a relatively high spring constant is disposed at a portion where the coil spring is disposed.

[0003] However, in the case where the spring constant of the coil spring is uniformly increased in order to prevent the lower back and buttocks from sinking, the mattress as a whole becomes harder and the mattress is relatively opposed to the intermediate support zone which supports the lower back and buttocks. In the case where a hard coil spring is arranged, the difference in hardness between this intermediate support zone and the other zones, if you do not select one that matches the user's physique, the waist and buttocks will rise, etc. On the contrary, the feeling of use may be deteriorated.

[0004] Therefore, when purchasing a bed, it is desirable that the user actually sleeps on the bed and selects one that fits his or her physique. Performing the act of lying down is very embarrassing and courageous, and you have to sleep in a number of beds to compare your comfort. Also, even if you actually lie down on several beds and compare the sleeping comfort, you may forget the previous feeling as you get up from the bed that you have already checked for comfort and walk to the next bed Often difficult to compare. For this reason, the majority of bed buyers check the hardness by pushing the top of the mattress with their hands or knees or sitting on it, and at this time they choose their physique and preference. It is difficult to select a bed that fits the needs.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the technical problem thereof is that a bed purchaser is required to purchase a number of beds displayed at a store. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily select a bed suitable for one's physique, such as the condition of the lower back and buttocks, without having to lie down on the bed one after another.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The technical problems described above are:
This can be effectively solved by the present invention. That is, the bed hardness preference device according to the present invention includes a spring mattress including a plurality of coil springs that are vertically compressible and arranged substantially horizontally in a plane, and regulates upward displacement of an upper end of each of the coil springs. A spring retainer that allows downward displacement, a first support for supporting a lower surface of the spring mattress, and a first support.
A first lifting drive unit that raises and lowers, a second support that supports the lower end of the coil spring group in a specific zone located at a position corresponding to the waist of the human body in the spring mattress,
A second lifting drive unit that is supported by the first support and independently raises and lowers the second support with respect to the first support, and that corresponds to the raising and lowering of the first support and the second support. do it
A hardness display unit for displaying the changing hardness of the coil spring .

[0007] In the above configuration, the spring mattress can be laid on top by a person, similarly to the bed mattress. In this spring mattress, when the second support is appropriately displaced upward by the second lifting / lowering drive unit, a coil spring group in a specific zone corresponding to a specific portion such as a waist or a buttock of a human body is compressed upward, and is moved to another zone. The initial compression load is larger (harder) than the arranged coil spring. In addition, the hardness of the coil spring group in the other zones can be appropriately adjusted by the first support and the first lifting / lowering drive unit that raises / lowers the same. Therefore, unlike when checking the hardness by sitting on the end of the spring mattress or pushing with the knees, it is possible to accurately determine the hardness suitable for one's physique.

[0008] That is, when a bed purchaser selects a bed suitable for his or her physique, he lays down on the spring mattress in the bed hardness preference device having the above-described configuration, and removes the coil spring group in the specific zone from another. It is possible to check the comfort while adjusting the hardness to a value which is harder than the coil spring group of the zone. Then, since the change in hardness is displayed on the hardness display section, it is possible to numerically determine the hardness at the time when the feeling of use is most improved. Therefore, if a value measured in advance is displayed on each bed displayed at the sales floor, a bed purchase applicant can easily select a bed suitable for his or her physique.

[0009]

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a preferred embodiment of a bed hardness preference device according to the present invention, and FIG.
Is a partial cross-sectional view in the longitudinal direction showing a schematic configuration of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the width direction showing a used state. In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a base, and reference numeral 2 denotes a first movable support plate 3 serving as a first support which is lifted and supported on the base 1 so as to be movable up and down. This is a spring mattress provided via a second movable support plate 4 as a second support, and has a general bed shape in appearance. On one side surface of the base 1, a step 11 is provided.

The spring mattress 2 includes a spring unit 20, a heat insulating cushion sheet 23 laid on the upper surface of the spring unit 20, such as urethane foam or felt, and a cover sheet 24 further enclosing the outside. . A webbing 2 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the outer cover sheet 24.
5 is sewn, and the lower end of the webbing 25 is
It is fixed to the side. The spring unit 20
Is a bag 2 made of a cloth-like material such as a flexible nonwoven fabric.
A large number of pocket coils having a structure in which a coil spring 22 is enclosed in a single unit 1 are vertically arranged horizontally and vertically adjacent to each other. The upper surface of each pocket coil (spring unit 20) is fixed to the cushion sheet 23 by bonding or the like.

The spacer 31 and the second movable support plate 4 are made of thick plywood or the like having the same thickness, and are supported horizontally. Among them, the second movable support plate 4 is disposed immediately below the intermediate support zone A that supports a portion centered on the waist and the buttocks 101 of the human body 100 lying on the spring mattress 2 shown in FIG.
The spacers 31 and 32 are respectively disposed on both sides thereof, that is, directly below the upper body supporting zone B for supporting the trunk 102 to the head 103 and the leg supporting zone C for supporting the leg 104.

The upper ends of the coil springs 22 constituting the spring unit 20 are in contact with the metal plates 51, respectively. A wire 52 is connected to a central portion of the metal plate 51 by an appropriate means. The wire 52 is attached to the spacers 31 and 32 or the second movable support plate 4, respectively, corresponding to the axial positions of the coil springs 22. Small hole 3 opened
1a, 32a or 4a, and small holes 3a, 12 similarly opened in the first movable support plate 3 and the top plate 12 of the base 1 thereunder.
a, and a nut 53 screwed into its lower end 52a
Is in contact with the lower surface of the top plate 12. The metal plate 51, the wire 52, and the nut 53 constitute a spring retainer 5 that regulates the upward displacement of the upper end of each coil spring 22.

Since the spring retainer 5 does not have a restricting force with respect to the downward displacement of the upper end of the coil spring 22, it does not impair the compression elasticity of the coil spring 22 at all. Therefore, the spring mattress 2
When the coil spring 22 is compressed downward by receiving a downward load due to the weight of the person from above, the metal plate 51 and the wire 52 are displaced downward, and the nut 53 is moved from the lower surface of the top plate 12. Leave below.

In the top plate 12 of the base 1, a plurality of bolt insertion holes 12b as shown in FIG.
Nuts 61 are integrally provided in the respective upper openings. Further, on the lower surface of the top plate 12, sprockets 62 are respectively disposed at lower openings of the bolt insertion holes 12b, and the sprockets 62 are each restricted in vertical displacement by a metal case 63. And is kept rotatable.

A screw shaft 64 is vertically inserted into each bolt insertion hole 12 b formed in the top plate 12 of the base 1, and the upper end of the screw shaft 64 is provided on the first movable support plate 3 via a washer 65. It is in contact with the lower surface. The screw shaft 64 is screwed with a nut 61 fixed on the bolt insertion hole 12b. Therefore, the first movable support plate 3 includes the plurality of screw shafts 64, washers 6
It is floatingly supported on the top plate 12 of the base 1 via the nut 5 and the nut 61. Further, as clearly shown in the perspective view of FIG. 5, the screw shaft 64 has a sprocket 62 disposed below each bolt insertion hole 12b.
The engagement protrusion 62b formed in the shaft hole 62a and the engagement groove 64a formed in the screw shaft 64 in the axial direction are engaged with each other so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction. are doing.

As shown in FIG. 3, a geared motor 66 is disposed below the top plate 12 of the base 1, and an output shaft of the geared motor 66 is provided with a speed reduction mechanism (not shown). A drive sprocket 67 is attached via the sprocket. And this drive sprocket 67,
An endless chain 68 is looped around a sprocket 62 disposed below each bolt insertion hole 12b.

The above-described nut 61, sprocket 62,
The metal case 63, the screw shaft 64, the washer 65, the geared motor 66, the drive sprocket 67, and the endless chain 68 constitute a first lifting drive unit 6 for moving the first movable support plate 3 up and down. That is, when each sprocket 62 is rotated R in either the forward or reverse direction by the driving of the geared motor 66 via the driving sprocket 67 and the endless chain 68, the first lifting drive unit 6 is moved together with these sprockets 62. Each of the screw shafts 64 to be rotated is provided with a propulsive force by being screwed with a nut 61, and is driven in an axial direction (vertical direction).
Move to V. Thus, the first movable support plate 3 horizontally supported at the upper end of each screw shaft 64 via the washer 65 is vertically displaced within a predetermined range.

Since the vertical movement of the sprocket 62 is restricted between the top plate 12 and the metal case 63, the engagement position of the sprocket 62 with the screw shaft 64 (the engagement projection 62b with the engagement groove 64a). The engagement position) changes relatively as the screw shaft 64 moves in the axial direction.

The first movable support plate 3 includes a second movable support plate 4
A plurality of shaft holes 3b are formed at appropriate intervals in the thickness direction (vertical direction). A drive rod 72 extending vertically from the air cylinder 71 is inserted into each of the shaft holes 3 b, and the upper end thereof is in contact with the lower surface of the second movable support plate 4. In addition, each air cylinder 7
1 is fixed to the first movable support plate 3 via fixing means (not shown), that is, the second movable support plate 4 includes a plurality of air cylinders which are raised and lowered together with the first movable support plate 3. 71 by the second lifting drive unit 7
Above the first movable support plate 3, it is supported so as to be able to move up and down independently of the first movable support plate 3.

A control unit 8 (see FIG. 3) is disposed at an appropriate place on the base 1, and drives the geared motor 66 in the first lifting / lowering drive unit 6 and each air cylinder of the second lifting / lowering drive unit 7. The supply / discharge of air pressure to / from 71 is controlled by a remote control switch 81 via the control unit 8. The remote control switch 81 can be operated while the user is lying on the spring mattress 2. For example, an operation unit for adjusting the overall hardness for controlling the drive of the geared motor 66 and the air cylinder And an operation unit (not shown) for strengthening the hardness of the intermediate support zone for controlling the supply and discharge of air pressure to and from the air supply 71.

That is, when the geared motor 66 is driven to rotate normally by operating the whole hardness adjusting operation section of the remote control switch 81, as described above, the driving sprocket 67, the endless chain 68, and each sprocket Since the screw shafts 64 which are normally rotated via the shaft 62 rise at the same time, the first movable support plate 3 rises while keeping the horizontal state. Therefore, all the coil springs 22 whose upper ends are connected to the top plate 12 of the base 1 via the spring retainers 5 are compressed from below via the spacers 31 and 32 and the second movable support plate 4. Since the compression load increases, the feel of the spring mattress 2 becomes harder as a whole.

The geared motor 66 is operated by operating the operation unit for adjusting the overall hardness of the remote control switch 81.
Is driven in the reverse direction, the first movable support plate 3 is lowered while maintaining the horizontal state by the operation opposite to the above. For this reason, each coil spring 22 extends downward to reduce the compressive load, and the feel of the spring mattress 2 becomes generally soft.

At this time, unless the operation part for strengthening the hardness of the intermediate support zone in the remote control switch 81 is operated, no air pressure is supplied to each air cylinder 71 in the second elevation drive unit 7, so that the second movable support plate 4 is in contact with the first movable support plate 3 and is at the same height as the spacers 31 and 32. For this reason, the middle coil spring group 22A located on the second movable support plate 4 and the coil spring groups 22B and 2 located on the spacers 31 and 32 on both sides thereof.
2C have the same hardness, and the hardness is uniformly increased and decreased as the first movable support plate 3 moves up and down.

When air pressure is supplied to each of the air cylinders 71 in the second lifting drive unit 7 by operating the operation unit for strengthening the hardness of the intermediate support zone by the remote control switch 81, the drive rods 72 are simultaneously moved upward. 2, the second movable support plate 4 floats from the first movable support plate 3 in a state where the second movable support plate 4 is kept horizontal, and becomes higher than the spacers 31 and 32 on both sides thereof, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the waist and buttocks 10 of the human body 100 shown in FIG.
The coil spring group 22A of the intermediate support zone A that supports the portion centered at 1 is the upper body support zone B on both sides thereof.
And the coil spring group 22B, 2 of the leg support zone C
Since the compression amount (compression load) is greater than that of 2C, the hardness of the intermediate support zone A can be enhanced independently of the overall hardness of the spring mattress 2.

In this state, the remote control switch 8
In the case where the air pressure of the air cylinder 71 is released by operating the operation portion for strengthening the intermediate support zone in 1, the second movable support plate 4 is lowered by the reverse operation, so that the intermediate support zone A Each of the coil springs 22 in the coil spring group 22A extends downward to reduce the compression load, and the difference between the overall hardness of the spring mattress 2 and the hardness of the intermediate support zone A decreases.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a hardness indicating section 9 is provided above one side of the spring mattress 2. The hardness display unit 9 includes, for example, the coil spring group 22 of the upper body support zone B and the leg support zone C.
B and 22C and the hardness of the coil spring group 22A in the intermediate support zone A corresponding to the waist and buttocks 101 are displayed.

Each of the coil spring groups 22A to 22A
Since the initial compression load of C corresponds to the height of the first movable support plate 3 and the second movable support plate 4, the hardness display unit 9
For example, it may be configured to operate based on detection data from a sensor for detecting the height of the first movable support plate 3 or the second movable support plate 4 or the like.

The bed hardness preference device configured as described above is installed, for example, in a part of a bed counter. In addition, various beds (not shown) exhibited at the bed counter have values of the hardness of the entire spring mattress and the hardness of a portion corresponding to the intermediate support zone A, which are measured in advance in a manufacturing process or the like. It is displayed in some way, such as pasting a piece of paper.

When a bed purchaser selects his or her favorite bed hardness, as shown in FIG. 3, he lays on the spring mattress 2 of the bed hardness preference device to check his or her comfort. . At this time, the bed purchase applicant operates the remote control switch 81 to adjust the hardness of the entire spring mattress 2 and the hardness of the coil spring group 22A of the intermediate support zone A supporting the waist and the buttocks 101, As shown in FIG. 4, the sleeping comfort was checked including the degree of depression / lift of the waist and buttocks 101 due to individual differences in physique, and when the hardness became the most comfortable, the hardness was displayed on the hardness display section 9. Read the value. Therefore, by comparing the value with the hardness display value of the bed displayed at the sales floor, the purchaser of the bed can select a bed suitable for his / her taste and physique.

The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. For example, the first lifting / lowering drive unit 6 that adjusts the hardness of the entire spring mattress 2 via the first movable support plate 3 includes a motor, an endless chain, a sprocket, and a screw shaft as shown in FIG. It is also possible to apply an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or a manual elevating mechanism, and the second elevating drive unit 7 for strengthening the coil spring group 22A via the second movable support plate 4 is provided with a hydraulic or hydraulic device. A manual lifting mechanism may be employed.

[0031]

According to the bed hardness preference apparatus according to the present invention, the bed hardness can be checked while lying on the spring mattress in the same manner as when the bed is actually used. Zones, for example, the hardness of the coil spring group of the zone supporting the waist and buttocks is strengthened by a desired hardness than the other zones, and the waist and buttocks are adjusted so that the degree of sedimentation is most appropriate, Since the hardness at that time can be checked, there is no need to lie on a number of beds and compare the sleeping comfort. Therefore, a bed suitable for one's physique can be easily selected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a preferred embodiment of a bed hardness preference device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the width direction showing a schematic configuration of the embodiment in a used state.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a support zone and a human body in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of a lifting drive unit in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 base 2 spring mattress 20 spring unit 22 coil spring 22A coil spring group (coil spring group of specific zone) 3 first movable support plate (first support) 4 second movable support plate (second support) 5 spring Holder 6 First lifting drive 7 Second lifting drive 9 Hardness display

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A spring mattress having a plurality of coil springs which are vertically compressible and are arranged in a substantially horizontal plane, and restricts upward displacement of an upper end of each of the coil springs and allows downward displacement. A spring support, a first support for supporting the lower surface of the spring mattress, a first lifting drive unit for raising and lowering the first support, and a specific zone at a position corresponding to a waist of a human body in the spring mattress. A second support that supports the lower end of the coil spring group, a second lifting drive unit that is supported by the first support and independently raises and lowers the second support with respect to the first support, It changes according to the elevation of the first support and the second support.
A hardness display unit for displaying the hardness of the coil spring .