US20190231086A1

US20190231086A1 - Comfort item comprising foam filling elements

Info

Publication number: US20190231086A1
Application number: US16/304,273
Authority: US
Inventors: Hans Erik Schmidt
Original assignee: Quilts of Denmark AS
Current assignee: NorviGroup Denmark AS
Priority date: 2016-05-24
Filing date: 2017-05-24
Publication date: 2019-08-01
Also published as: JP6898437B2; US20170340131A1; ES2818618T3; JP2019516537A; KR20190015356A; WO2017202435A1; PL3462993T3; EP3462993A1; CN109475235A; DK3462993T3; EP3462993B1

Abstract

A comfort item (200) has a first volume (202) delimited by an outer boundary, where the first volume (202) includes several foam pieces (100). The foam pieces have a body part (101); several foam arms (102) having a first end and a second end, where the first end is attached to the body part (101), and the second end protrudes away from the body part (101); and several contour recesses (103) between the foam arms (102), wherein the width of the foam arms is greater that the length of the foam arms. Several foam filling elements for such a comfort item are also described. As a result, a comfort item is obtained with a filling providing good filling properties and adding air to the comfort item.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a comfort item comprising foam piece elements and to a plurality of foam filling element for such a comfort item.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

When making comfort items such as pillows and duvets, various filling materials are possible having different advantages and disadvantages.
Down, feathers, fibre and foam are possible conventional materials.
Down is the softest of the conventional options, while foam has a good supporting ability that allows maintaining a good posture throughout a sleep cycle or a rest period.
Combination solutions have also been seen in the art striving to combine the softness of the down and the support of the foam.
Foam is typically either supplied as a single piece having the size and shape thought to be desirable or alternatively, it is shredded and supplied in a shape that allows a larger degree of compression thus making it a softer choice.
However, the predefined shape of a single piece of foam may become uncomfortable during the sleep period, while shredded foam will collapse over a longer period.
Further, it is of interest to obtain a comfort item where the filling creates a support for the user either supporting e.g. the head of the user or lying on the body of the user (duvet). At the same time, air is required in the comfort item ensuring that the body can breathe through the comfort item and creating a light and comfortable comfort item. Generally, to ensure such properties in a comfort item, the properties of the filling is very important.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, it relates to a comfort item having in an inner volume a plurality of foam pieces, wherein said plurality of foam pieces comprises a body part and a plurality of foam arms having a first end, a second end, a width and a length extending from said first end to said second end, where said first end is attached to said body part, and said second end protrudes away from said body part, and a plurality of contour recesses between said foam arms and wherein the width of said foam arm is larger the length of said foam arm.
Such plurality of foam pieces would be suitable as filling for a comfort item and would ensure a filling material introducing air into the comfort item. Thereby, a comfort item is supplied which is better at retaining elastic deformation characteristics than the foam solutions of the art by retaining at least some air between pieces in the uncompressed state. When using a plurality of such foam pieces for filling e.g. a comfort item such as a pillow or a mattress, a filling is obtained having good filling properties and adding air to the comfort item. Inside the comfort item, the foam arms of one foam piece will be pressed towards the foam arms of neighbouring foam pieces, and the arms will be able to compress, but also due to the shape of the foam arms, they will provide a resistance ensuring that the arms do not just collapse due to a slight pressure. Therefore, it is necessary that the arms are shaped with dimensions ensuring enough foam material along the length of the arms, whereby the arms will not collapse easily.
In an embodiment, the length of the arms is also shorter than the body part. Thereby, the body part is the main part defining the flexibility of each element, and the arms are for maintaining a distance towards neighbouring elements ensuring air in the comfort item.
In an embodiment, the distance between the body part and at least a part of the contour recess is smaller than the distance between the body part and the second end of the foam arms. Thereby the foam arms are present along the body parts.
In an embodiment, the foam piece is planar. Thereby, it is easy to produce, e.g. by making a shaped foam beam and slicing the foam elements from the foam beam, or by extruding/cutting it from sheets of foam.
In an embodiment, the foam piece extends in three dimensions from the body part. Thereby, it is even more effective at retaining free air between foam pieces.
In an embodiment, the foam piece may comprise at least one through-going hole or blind cavity. Thereby, it is even more effective at retaining free air between foam pieces. The holes and/or cavities may be arranged according to any angle relative to the foam pieces, such as perpendicular to the plane of the planar piece or parallel to the plane, or even angular relative to the plane.
In an embodiment, the contour recesses between said foam arms have a width being smaller than the width of said foam arms. Thereby, the foam arms cannot fit into the recesses ensuring that the air in the recesses is maintained.
In an embodiment, the contour recesses between said foam arms have a width being wider than the width of said foam arms. Thereby, even if the arms enter the recesses, air is still present and further, the arm does not lock in the recess.
In an embodiment, the length of the foam arms of the foam pieces is smaller than the breadth of the foam arms as measured at their base, where the base of a foam arm is the end closest to the centre of the foam piece. By having a foam piece having foam arms that are broader than they are long, a deflection-resistant foam piece is achieved, which retains its elasticity and thereby comfort level over time. This is because the foam arm becomes relatively rigid and exerts a force on neighbouring foam pieces to return to its relaxed state.
In an embodiment, the contour of the recess has a different shape than the contour of the foam arms. Thereby, the foam arms does not fit into the recess, and air will still be present between individual foam pieces. In a further embodiment, the contour of the recess is formed or two lines being angled relative to each other in a wide v-shape, and the foam arms have a rectangular tongue-shape. In this embodiment, the whole foam piece may be said to conform to a plus-shape, or a +-shape.
In an embodiment, the foam arms of the foam pieces are trapezoid-shaped.
In an embodiment, the foam piece is flower-shaped, clover-shaped or quatrefoil-shaped. In other words, it has arms being lobe-shaped.
In an aspect, it relates to a comfort item comprising a first volume delimited by an outer boundary, where the first volume comprises a plurality of foam pieces.
In an embodiment, the outer boundary further delimits at least one second volume, the second volume comprising a comfort filling. By comfort filling is meant down, feather, buckwheat, latex, foam including memory foam, micro beads, polyester fibre or other biological or synthetic material generally being elastically compressible. In an embodiment of the invention, the comfort filling may be water, whereby the water allows at least the second volume to change shape reversibly.
Thereby, the benefits of other materials may be combined with the benefits of foam according to the invention.
In an embodiment, the outer boundary delimits at least two second volumes comprising a comfort filling, where the first volume is placed between the second volumes. Thereby, the user may turn over the comfort item and retain the softness of the comfort filling between the foam and the skin. In an embodiment, the comfort filling is chosen from a list of down, feathers and synthetic fibres.
By comfort item is meant pillows, mattresses and duvets. The outer boundary and divider sheet are most often made of cotton, wool or synthetic fibres.
In an embodiment, the foam pieces have at least two arms, at least three arms, at least four arms, at least five arms, at least six arms, at least seven arms or at least eight arms. In another embodiment, the foam pieces has at most three arms, at most four arms, at most five arms, at most six arms, at most seven arms, or at most eight arms.
In an embodiment, the foam pieces are made of any type of foam such as open-celled or closed-celled foam. In a preferable embodiment of the invention, the foam pieces are made of open-celled foam.

LIST OF FIGURES

In the following, example embodiments are described according to the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates different foam piece embodiments according to the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates foam pieces used in different comfort items.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention is described through a series of embodiments, none of which are to be thought of as limiting the invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates a number of foam pieces 100 according to the invention. The foam pieces 100 may take a variety of different shapes as illustrated by the embodiments shown in FIG. 1. Foam piece 100A is a rectangular plus-shaped foam piece. Foam piece 100B is a substantially rectangular plus-shaped foam piece having rounded corners closest to the centre of the piece. Foam piece 100C is flower-shaped. Foam piece 100D comprises four arms being trapezoid, Foam piece 100F is star-shaped.
Each foam piece according to the invention has a body part 101 and a number of foam arms 102 extending away from the body part 101. Between two neighbouring foam arms 102, the foam piece forms a recess contour 103, where the distance between the contour and the body part 101 is lower than between the outer edge of a foam arm 102 and the body part 101. The recess may be shaped by straight edges as in the embodiment 100A, as a concave recess as in the embodiment 100B, and as an angle between two diverging lines as in 100C.
In the art, shredded foam is blown into for example pillows and duvets. These arbitrarily formed pieces of foam will eventually settle against each other in a way, where there is substantially no free air between the foam pieces. This corresponds to the pillow becoming compressed. Shaking, beating and washing the pillows may then be performed to disband the shredded foam. However, this only achieves moderate success of separation and expansion of the pillow.
By having the shapes disclosed herein and exemplified in embodiments 100A, 100B, 100 C 100D, 100E and 100F, it is ensured that the pieces may never engage each other completely, but instead there will always be free air between them. Further, by compressing the pieces such as by placing a head onto the pillow, the arms of the pieces may easily bend and compress out of their preferred shapes thus affording comfort, while expanding back into a larger shape when not under pressure. Removing the head again restores the previous and preferred state at least partially. Since the shape of the pieces are known and controlled, and since the non-deformed shapes do not engage each other effectively, it is ensured that during compression, the foam pieces do not fasten to each other. Instead, on decompression, the pieces return at least substantially or partially to their natural and preferred shapes. Thereby, a pillow filled with foam pieces according to the invention will retain its capacity of elastic expansion for longer than solutions in the art.
The shapes of the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 achieves individual foam pieces being both flexible, as the arms may bend, while the force required to compress them is not negligible.
In another embodiment of the invention, the foam piece is star-shaped, has an uneven number of arms, is a sphere and/or is elongated.
Embodiments 100G and 100H are two variations of embodiment 100A. Embodiment 100G is a planar foam piece, whereby the foam arms 102 all extend from the body part 101 in a single plane. Then, only the thickness of the piece protrudes in the third dimension. Thereby, foam pieces may easily be produced from foam sheets or rolls or other convenient planar foam shapes.
In another embodiment 100H, the arms of the foam piece extend from the centre in all three dimensions. Thereby, pockets of air are secured even better between foam pieces.
The principles behind embodiments 100G and 100H being that 100H is a version of 100G extended into three dimensions are extendable to the other shown planar embodiments.
Three-dimensional foam pieces may also take the basic shape of 100D but instead having arms distributed in three dimensions according to the same distribution of 45 degrees between neighbouring arms.
Further, star-shaped foam piece 100F may have any number of arms extending symmetrically in three dimensions, such as conveniently 4, 6, 8, 12 or 20.
In another embodiment of the invention, the foam piece further comprises holes or cavities.
FIG. 2 illustrates various embodiments of comfort items according to the invention.
FIG. 2A illustrates a pillow 200A according to the invention, with a first volume 202 and a multitude of foam pieces 100 filling up this first volume 202.
FIG. 2B illustrates a pillow 200B according to the invention, being a combination pillow, where a first volume is filled with foam pieces according to the invention, and where a second volume 203 is filled with another type of comfort fill, such as feathers, down or fibres. The volumes are separated by divider sheets 204. Thereby, the shape stability of foam is achieved in combination with other product features, such as the softness of down, feathers or fibre.
FIG. 2C illustrates a pillow 200C according to the invention, much like embodiment 200B in that it is a combination pillow. Importantly, 200C comprises two second volumes filled with another type of filling such as down or feathers. Thereby, the pillow retains its comfort in both orientations, and the user may turn it over during use.
FIG. 2D illustrates a mattress according to the invention, said mattress being a combination mattress, where a first volume is filled with foam pieces according to the invention, and where a second volume 203 is filled with another type of filling, preferably feathers or down. Thereby, the shape stability of foam is achieved, while the comfort of down or feathers is also achieved.
When a multitude of foam pieces according to the invention is placed together, the recesses then geometrically hinder the foam pieces from taking up the full space of the comfort item. Instead, air pockets among the foam pieces remain. These are then compressible by a user on use. Thereby, the total compression range remains greater for a longer period of time.
Further, because the foam pieces are not shredded, their edges are significantly smoother, whereby even if they settle into a somewhat clumped position, a shake of the comfort item will release the foam pieces much better than will be possible with shredded foam pieces which may easily fasten strongly together. In an embodiment of the invention, this allows the pillow not to experience fatigue like normal shredded foam-filled comfort items.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

100A-H—foam pieces
101—body part
102—foam arm
103—contour recess
200A-D—comfort items
202—first volume
203—second volume
204—divider sheet

Claims

1. A comfort item (200) comprising:

a first volume (202) delimited by an outer boundary, where the first volume (202) comprises

a plurality of foam pieces (100);

wherein the foam pieces comprise

a body part (101);

a plurality of foam arms (102) comprising at least three arms extending away from the body part in different directions, the foam arms (102) having a first end and a second end, where the first end is attached to said body part (101) and the second end protrudes away from the body part (101); and

a plurality of contour recesses (103) between the foam arms (102),

wherein the width of the foam arms is wider that the length of the foam arms and wherein the foam arms have a stump shape and are one of: rectangular tongue-shaped, trapezoid-shaped or lobe shaped.

2. A comfort item according to claims 1, wherein the distance between the body part (101) and at least a part of the contour recesses (103) is smaller than the distance between the body part (101) and the second end of the foam arms (101).

3. A comfort item according to claim 1, where the foam piece (100) is planar.

4. A comfort item according to claim 1, where the foam arms (102) extend in three dimensions from the body part (101).

5. A comfort item according to claim 1, wherein the foam piece comprises at least one through-going hole or blind cavity.

6. A comfort item according to claim 1, wherein the contour recesses between the foam arms have a depth being longer than the length of the foam arms.

7. A comfort item according to claim 1, wherein the contour recesses between the foam arms have a width being smaller than the width of the foam arms.

8. A comfort item according to claim 1, wherein the contour recesses between the foam arms have a width that is greater than the width of the foam arms.

9. A comfort item (200) according to claim 1, wherein the outer boundary further delimits at least one second volume (203), where the first volume (202) and the second volume (203) are separated by a divider sheet (204), wherein the second volume comprises a comfort filling.

10. A comfort item (200) according to claim 1, wherein the outer boundary delimits at least two second volumes (203) comprising a comfort filling, where the first volume (202) is placed between the at least two second volumes (203).

11. A comfort item (200) according to claim 9, wherein the comfort filling is one or more of: down, feather, buckwheat, latex, foam, memory foam, micro beads, polyester fiber or water.

12. A plurality of foam pieces to be used as filling for a comfort item wherein the foam pieces comprise

a body part (101);

a plurality of foam arms (102) comprising at least three arms extending away from the body part in different directions, the foam arms (102) having a first end and a second end, where the first end is attached to the body part (101), and the second end protrudes away from the body part (101); and

a plurality of contour recesses (103) between the foam arms (102),

wherein the width of the foam arms is greater that the length of the foam arms and wherein the foam arms have a stump shape and are one of: rectangular tongue-shaped, trapezoid-shaped or lobe shaped.