US20110314612A1

US20110314612A1 - Health Bed Device for Actively Supporting Neck and Shoulder and Method thereof

Info

Publication number: US20110314612A1
Application number: US12/824,003
Authority: US
Inventors: Han-Chung Hsu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-06-07
Filing date: 2010-06-25
Publication date: 2011-12-29
Also published as: JP2011255175A; EP2392233A1; TW201143680A

Abstract

A health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder and a method thereof mainly comprises a head air bladder set and a neck and shoulder air bladder set installed in the top surface, near a front end, of a cushion in a mattress. The head air bladder set is not aerated, and the neck and shoulder air bladder set is full of air. Each air bladder of the head air bladder set and the neck and shoulder bladder set is connected to an aerating/deflating device through air tubes. The air tubes are connected to a control device, so the control device derives the aerating/deflating device to aerate or deflate the air bladders of the head air bladder set and the neck and shoulder air bladder set. Each air tube is connected to a pressure sensor. When a pressure sensor detects the pressure of a air bladder increasing suddenly, it can determine that a user changes his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side. The air bladders whose pressures increased are the air bladder pressed by the user. Meanwhile, the control device derives the aerating/deflating device to automatically decrease the pressures inside the air bladders to setting values, and to aerate the air bladders of the head air bladder set to setting value so as to reduce the pressure on the user's shoulder.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder and a method thereof, and more specifically, to a device and a method that detects a pressure value of each air bladder with pressure sensors to determine whether a user change his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side and automatically reduces the pressure on the user's shoulder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of prior health beds, such as memory beds, is energy beds, etc. A common point of such health beds is that these beds passively support a user. That is, springs inside the beds are the device to support a user's body. In fact, the springs are compressed by the user's body weight and cannot actually support the user's body. Therefore, these health beds cannot solve a user's sleep problems.
In order to solve the problem of passive support of the prior health beds, the inventor of this invention has applied a series of patent applications regarding health beds that can actively support a user's spine: PCT Appl. No. PCT/CN2007/0002585 (Ref. 1), PCT Appl. No. PCT/CN2007/002602 (Ref. 2), PCT Appl. No. PCT/CN2007/002956 (Ref. 3), and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/493,196 (Ref. 4). However, the patent applications mentioned above focus on supporting a user's spine but overlook problems of hand numbness, neck and shoulder pain, and stiff neck resulting from the fact that a user's shoulder is not able to bear the user's body weight when the user lie on his/her side for a long time.
Thus, there is room for improving the prior health beds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of this invention is to provide a health bed device for actively supporting a user's neck and shoulder and a method thereof. By detecting whether pressure values of the air bladders of a neck and shoulder air bladder set rise suddenly, it can determine whether a user change his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side. If a user's sleep position is determined to be lying on his/her side, the pressure values of the air bladders whose pressure was rising will be decreased to settings, so the pressure on the user's shoulder can be reduced.
The other object of this invention is to provide a health bed device for actively supporting a user's neck and shoulder and a method thereof. A head air bladder set, which is not inflated, is installed in the heath bed. When a user is lying on his/her side, the head air bladder set will be inflated to settings, so the position of the user's head will be up and the position of the user's shoulder will be down, and the pressure on the user's shoulder can be reduced.
A health bed device for actively supporting a user's neck and shoulder and a method thereof, which can achieve the objects, mainly comprise a mattress, a head air bladder set, a neck and shoulder air bladder set, a pressure sensor set, a air tube set, an aerating/deflating device, and a control device. The head air bladder set and the neck and shoulder air bladder set are installed in the top surface, near a front end, of the mattress, so when a user lies down, the user's head lies on the head air bladder set, and the user's neck and shoulder lie on the neck and shoulder air bladder set.
Each air bladder of the head air bladder set and the neck and shoulder air bladder set is connected to one end of an air tube of the air tube set, and the aerating/deflating device is connected to the other end of the air tube. Every air tube is connected to a pressure sensor. The control device derives the aerating/deflating device through the air tube set to aerate or deflate the air bladders of the head air bladder set and the neck and shoulder air bladder.
Under normal condition, the air bladders of the head air bladder set are not aerated, and the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set are full of air. When the control device receives the signal detected by the pressure sensors that the pressures of all the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set increase, it could determine that the user changes his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side. When the control device receives the signal that the pressure value of the air bladder which is pressed by the user's shoulder is the highest, the control device will turn on the control switches. Then, the aerating/deflating device aerates the air bladders of the head air bladder set to the setting pressure and deflates the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set to the setting pressure. As a result, the user's shoulder is lowered, and the user's head is raised, so the pressure on the user's shoulder is reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic sectional view of the health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder and method thereof of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic structural view of the health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder and method thereof of the present invention.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B illustrate schematic implementation views of the health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder and method thereof of the present invention.

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C illustrate schematic operation views of the health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder and method thereof of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 showing the health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder and method thereof of the present invention. The health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder mainly comprises:
a mattress 1 comprising an open 11 installed on the bottom surface of the mattress 1, a cushion 12 wrapped in the mattress 1, a layered upper accommodation room 121 installed in the top surface, near a front end, of the cushion 12, a lower accommodation room 122 installed in the bottom surface of the cushion 12, and a plurality of penetrating holes 123 installed in the cushion 12 between the upper accommodation room 121 and the lower accommodation room 122, the cushion 12 is made of foam, pocket spring, memory foam, flexible material, or other kinds of foam materials; in addition, the upper accommodation room 121 and the lower accommodation room 122 are located in the head position of the mattress 1;
a head air bladder set 21 comprising a top layer 211 and a plurality of air bladders S1 and S2, which are averagely distributed on the surface of the top layer 211, each air bladder S1 and S2 having a plurality of aerating/deflating holes (not shown in figures); the head air bladder set 21 is installed in the space of the higher layer of the upper accommodation room 121, and the air bladder S1 and S2 are in a state of not being aerated;
a neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 comprising a top layer 221 and a plurality of air bladders S3˜S5, which are averagely distributed on the surface of the top layer 221, each air bladder S3˜S5 having a plurality of aerating/deflating holes (not shown in figures); the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 is installed in the space of the lower layer of the upper accommodation room 121, and each air bladder S3˜S5 is aerated and full of gas, in which the height of the air bladders is nearly equal to the height of the upper accommodation room 121, so the surface of the mattress 1 is not affected by the aerated neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 and does not raise;
an air tube set 3 comprising a plurality of air tubes 31, one end of each air tube 31 connected to one of the aerating/deflating holes of each air bladder S1˜S5 of the head air bladder set 21 and the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22, and the other end of each air tube 31 penetrating the penetrating holes 123 of the cushion 12 and the lower accommodation room 122 so as to expose the end from the open 11 on the bottom of the mattress 1 and connected to the first tube 41 of a three-way tube 4;
an aerating/deflating device 5 having a plurality of venting holes (not shown in figures), each venting hole is electrically connected to a control switch 6, as shown in FIG. 4, each control switch 6 connected to the second tube 42 of the three-way tube 4, so that the aerating/deflating device 5 is able to aerate and deflate the air bladders S1˜S5 of the head air bladder set 21 and the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22;
a pressure sensor set 8 comprising several pressure sensors 81, the pressure sensors 81 connected to the third tube 43 of the three-way tube 4 so as to detect the pressure inside each air bladder S1˜S5 of the head air bladder set 21 and the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22; and
a control device 7 connected to the aerating/deflating device 5 and each of the control switches 6 and electrically connected to each pressure sensor 81 of the pressure sensor set 8, and the control device 7 is able to turn on or turn off the control switch 6 according to the signal of the detected result from the pressure sensor 81, so the aerating/deflating device 5 is able to aerate or deflate each air bladder S1˜S5 of the head air bladder set 21 and the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22.
In addition, the control device 7 can be a PC (personal computer), a laptop, a PDA, or other electronic products with screens or input interfaces, and the input interface can be buttons, keys, a touch screen, or a remote controller.
Moreover, the top surface of the cushion 12 of the mattress 1 can be covered by an upper pad 13 to position the head air bladder set 21 and the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 so as to make a user more comfortable. The upper pad 13 can be made of memory foam, latex pad, different types of foam materials, or flexible materials.
Furthermore, the aerating/deflating device 5 can also be installed in the mattress 1, so every air tube 31 of the air tube set 3 does not expose from the mattress 1.
Please refer to FIG. 2, FIG. 3A, 3B, and FIG. 4A, 4B, 4C illustrating schematic operation views of the present invention. When a user 9 is lying on his back on the surface of the mattress 1, the user's head is lying on the air bladders S1˜S2 of the head air bladder set 21, and the user's shoulder is lying on the air bladders S3˜S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22. Meanwhile, the air bladders S1˜S2 are not aerated, and the air bladders S3˜S5 are full of gas. Because the user's whole back shares the pressure of the user's body weight, the pressures of each air bladder S3˜S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 detected by the pressure sensors 81 are almost the same. As shown in FIG. 4A, the pressures of the air bladders S1˜S2 of the head air bladder set 21 are close to 0, and the pressures of the air bladders S3˜S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 are 1 kg/cm². When the user 9 changes his sleep position from lying on his back to lying on his side, the user's shoulder bears the pressure of his body weight. Therefore, the pressures of each air bladder S3˜S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 detected by the pressure sensors 81 increase. Among these air bladders S3˜S5, the pressure of air bladder S4, on which user's shoulder is lying, increases most. It can not only determine the user 9 changed his sleep position from lying on his back to lying on his side, but also find out which air bladder is pressed by the user's shoulder through the pressure sensors 81. As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 4B, the pressures of the air bladders S3 and S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 increase to 1.5 kg/cm², and the pressure of the air bladder S4 increases to 2 kg/cm². Hence, it can determine that air bladder S4 is pressed by the user's shoulder. When the control device 7 receives the pressure signal detected by the pressure sensors 81, the control device 7 will turn on the control switch 6, so the aerating/deflating device 5 is able to deflate the air bladders S3˜S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22. After the pressures of the air bladders S3˜S5 decrease to the settings, the control switch 6 is turned off. Meanwhile, the control device 7 will turn on the control switch 6, so the aerating/deflating device 5 is able to aerate the air bladders S1˜S2 of the head air bladder set 21. After the pressures of the air bladders S1˜S2 increase to the settings, the control switch 6 is turned off. As shown in FIG. 3B and FIG. 4C, the pressures of the air bladders S3 and S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 decrease to 1 kg/cm², the pressure of the air bladder S4 decreases to 1.5 kg/cm², and the pressures of the air bladders S1 and S2 of the head air bladder set 21 increase to 0.5 kg/cm². As a result, the user's shoulder is lowered, and the user's head is raised, so the pressure on the user's shoulder is reduced.
The pressure values mentioned in FIG. 4A to 4C provided above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention to show the technical features of the invention, but not to limit the claims of the invention.
In addition, if the user 9 feels there is not enough pressure in the head air bladder set 21 or there is too much pressure in the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22, the amount of air aerated or inflated in every air bladder S1˜S5 can be individually adjusted through the input interface of the control device 7.
When the control device 7 receives the signal detected by the pressure sensors 81 that the pressures of air bladders S3˜S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 return to the initial values, it can be determine that the user changes his sleep position from lying on his side to lying on his back. The control device 7 will turn on the control switch 6, and the aerating/deflating device 5 will deflate the air bladders S1 and S2 of the head air bladder set 21 to completely remove the pressures of the air bladders S1 and S2, and will aerate the air bladders S3˜S5 of the neck and shoulder air bladder set 22 to the initial pressure values.
Comparing with prior arts, the present invention has the following advantages, which include:
1. The invention determines if a user change his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side by detecting whether the pressures of the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set increase suddenly. If it determines the user is lying on his/her side, the pressures of the air bladders whose pressures increased will be automatically decreased to the settings to reduce the pressure on the user's shoulder.
2. A head air bladder set, which is not inflated, is installed in the heath bed of the present invention. When a user is lying on his/her side, the head air bladder set will be inflated to settings, so the position of the user's head will be up and the position of the user's shoulder will be down, and the pressure on the user's shoulder can be reduced.
Although the invention has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, the principles involved are susceptible for use in numerous other embodiments that will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. This invention is, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder comprising:

a mattress having a cushion wrapped therein, the cushion installing a plurality of penetrating holes;

a neck and shoulder air bladder set having a plurality of air bladders, each air bladder having an aerating/deflating hole, and the air bladders full of air, the neck and shoulder air bladder set installed in the top surface, near a front end, of the cushion;

an air tube set having a plurality of air tubes, the first end of each air tube connected to the aerating/deflating hole of an air bladder of the neck and shoulder air bladder set, and the second end of each air tube penetrating the penetrating holes of the cushion;

an aerating/deflating device having a plurality of venting holes, each venting hole electronically connected to a control switch, and each control switch connected to the second end of an air tube of the air tube set;

a pressure sensor set having a plurality of pressure sensors, each pressure sensor connected to a air bladder of the neck and shoulder air bladder set and detecting the pressure value of the air bladder;

a control device electronically connected to the aerating/deflating device, each control switch, and each pressure sensor of the pressure sensor set;

wherein the control device receives the signal detected by the pressure sensors that the pressures of all the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set increase, it determines that a user changes his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side, and the control device reads the signal that the pressure value of the air bladder which is pressed by the user's shoulder is the highest, the control device turns on the control switches to make the aerating/deflating device deflate all the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set to setting pressure values.

2. The health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a plurality of three-way tubes, each fist tube of the three-way tubes is connected to an air tube, each second tube of the three-way tubes is connected to a control switch, and each third tube of the three-way tubes is connected to a pressure sensor, so the pressure sensors can detect the pressure value inside the air bladders.

3. The health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder of claim 1, wherein the control device has an input interface and is a personal computer, a laptop, or a PDA.

4. A health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder comprising:

a head air bladder set having a plurality of air bladders, each air bladder having an aerating/deflating hole, and the air bladder not being aerated, the head air bladder set installed in the top surface, near a front end, of the cushion;

a neck and shoulder air bladder set having a plurality of air bladders, each air bladder having an aerating/deflating hole, and the air bladders full of air, the neck and shoulder air bladder set installed in the top surface, near a front end, of the cushion, and the neck and shoulder air bladder set arranged parallel with the head air bladder set;

an air tube set having a plurality of air tubes, the first end of each air tube connected to the aerating/deflating hole of an air bladder of the head air bladder set and the neck and shoulder air bladder set, and the second end of each air tube penetrating the penetrating holes of the cushion;

a pressure sensor set having a plurality of pressure sensors, each pressure sensor connected to a air bladder of the head air bladder set and the neck and shoulder air bladder set and detecting the pressure value of the air bladder;

wherein the control device receives the signal detected by the pressure sensors that the pressures of all the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set increase, it determines that a user changes his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side, and the control device reads the signal that the pressure value of the air bladder which is pressed by the user's shoulder is the highest, the control device turns on the control switches to make the aerating/deflating device aerate the air bladders of the head air bladder set to setting pressure values, and deflate all the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set to setting pressure values.

5. The health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder of claim 4, wherein the cushion of the mattress installs a layered upper accommodation room in the top surface, near a front end, of the cushion, and installs a lower accommodation room in the bottom surface of the cushion, and wherein the penetrating holes are installed in the cushion between the upper accommodation room and the lower accommodation room, wherein the head air bladder set is installed in the space of the higher layer of the upper accommodation room, and wherein the neck and shoulder air bladder set is installed in the space of the lower layer of the upper accommodation room.

6. The health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder of claim 4, wherein the device further comprises a plurality of three-way tubes, each fist tube of the three-way tubes is connected to an air tube, each second tube of the three-way tubes is connected to a control switch, and each third tube of the three-way tubes is connected to a pressure sensor, so the pressure sensors can detect the pressure value inside the air bladders.

7. The health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder of claim 4, wherein the control device has an input interface and is a personal computer, a laptop, or a PDA.

8. A method of a health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder comprising:

step 1: installing a neck and shoulder air bladder set in the top surface, near a front end, of a cushion in a mattress, the neck and shoulder air bladder set having a plurality of individual air bladders, each air bladder connected to a control switch on a venting hole of an aerating/deflating device through an air tube, each air tube connected to a pressure sensor so as to detect the pressure inside the air bladders by the pressure sensors, and sending the detecting signals to a control device, the control device turning on or turning off the control switches according to the received signals to make the aerating/deflating device aerate each air bladder simultaneously or individually;

step 2: when a user lying on his/her back, the pressure of each air bladder of the neck and shoulder air bladder set almost being the same, and when the control device receiving the signal detected by the pressure sensors that the pressure of all the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set increasing, it determining the user changing his/her sleep position from lying on his/her back to lying on his/her side, wherein the air bladder whose pressure increasing the most is the air bladder pressed by the user;

step 3: the control device turning on the control switches to deflate every air bladder of the neck and shoulder air bladder set to adjust the pressure of each air bladder to setting pressure values;

Step 4: when the control device receiving the signal detected by the pressure sensors that the pressure of the air bladders of the neck and shoulder air bladder set returning to initial values, it determining the user changing his/her sleep position from lying on his/her side to lying on his/her back, and the control device turning on the control switches to make the aerating/deflating device aerate each air bladder of the neck and shoulder air bladder set to the initial pressure values.

9. A method of a health bed device for actively supporting neck and shoulder of claim 8, wherein mattress further comprises a head air bladder set installed in the top surface, near a front end, of the cushion in the mattress, wherein the pressure of each air bladder of the head air bladder set being close to 0, when a user lying on his/her side, the control device turning on the control switches to make the aerating/deflating device increase the pressure inside the air bladders of the head air bladder set to setting values.