US2192463A

US2192463A - Inner-spring unit for mattresses

Info

Publication number: US2192463A
Application number: US236197A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wesley Arthur
Original assignee: Burton Dixie Corp
Current assignee: Burton Dixie Corp
Priority date: 1938-10-21
Filing date: 1938-10-21
Publication date: 1940-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 1957-03-05

Description

March 5, 1940.

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Patented Mar. 5,

INNER-SPRING UNIT FOR MATTRESSES Arthur Wesley, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Burton- Dixie Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application October 21, 1938, Serial No. 236,197'

3 Claims.

One of the leading objects and prime purposes of the current invention is to provide an improved and novel type an'd style of springassembly adapted for use in inner-spring mat- 5 tresses and for employment in similar or comparable relations.

An outstanding and paramount aim of the invention is to supply a spiral-spring unit of the kind referred to in which the supporting capacities of the various springs of the structure are varied or graduated to conform substantially to the loads to which they are subjected in service.

The central portion of a persons body is heavier than the head and legs, and, accordingly,

l5 that middle part of the spring structure is made of greater carrying capacity without, however, decreasing the comfort of that section of the spring and mattress to the occupant.

Again, the border or margin of such a mattress is frequently subjected to greater usage and loads than other parts, as by a person sitting on the edge portion of a mattress, and, therefore, such border sections should be of greater capacity or stiffer than other parts of the spring-unit within the mattress.

Conforming these springs to their several loads and at the same time preserving their comfort and ease to the occupmts throughout the whole area of the mattress is not such a simple matter as it may at rst appear to be.

For example, in a spring-unit having 19 cross rows of upright spiral-springs and 1l lengthwise rows of such springs, the single row of springs around all four edges of the assembly may be considered as the border-springs, the 9 rows of cross-springs (9 in each row) at the middle portion of the spring-unit may be designated as the 0n the other hand, each border-spring while 50 of the same form as each end-spring, is made of one-half gauge heavier wire to provide a stiffer margin for the spring-unit.

The center section of the assembly must carry a greater weight than the end sections by reason n of the fact that, as stated above. the middle portion of a persons body is of materially greater weight than the head and legs which are supported by the two end sections of the unit. and, accordingly, the springs constituting such central section are each made of greater carrying I capacity.

This is accomplished, in the present preferred embodiment of the invention, by using wire of one-half gauge greater size than that of which the end-springsare made, but this would make 10 the center of the unit objectionably stiller than the remainder, and, to overcome such inconvenient or discommodious feature, each such centralsection spring is given one more complete convolution than the end-springs, this being done 15 to ail'ord each such spring a greater volume of wire to support the greater load and to make each such spring of greater height, say one-half inch, over the end springs, thus providing the assembly with a slight crown throughout its cen- 90 tral zone.

That is to say, each of these central-zone or middle-area springs, in order to perform its extra duty, is increased in height, made of a greater number' of convolutions, and is formed of wire 23 of augmented gauge.

This is not all, however, since, in order to 0E- set, or to compensate, for the naturally softer and more resilient eil'ect resulting from the use of the added turn or convolution of the wire in 30 each spring, the diameter of the center convolution of the spring is reduced, in some instances, about inch, as otherwise the extra turn of the wire would make the central-springs softer than the end-springs. 35

Should these central-springs be merely stiffer than the others, as would happen if the same windings in number and pitch and diameter as the end-springs were used, with merely an increase in the weight of the wire, they would be 40 uncomfortably objectionable. A

However, by making the several cooperative changes specified, all undesired factors are compensated forand the central-'springs are not appreciably stiier than the end-springs although they have more carrying or supporting power. So far as is known, these features are new and the results accruing therefrom provide a springunit with unusual characteristics of comfort for, and enjoyment by, the occupants of the mattress incorporating such resilient or elastic structure conforming in its various parts to the different weights ofthe several portions of the body of a normal human being.

Referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating the present preferredembodiment of the invention described above and in the several views of which drawings like reference'numerals' have been used to designate the same parts:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the spring-unit;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale on line 2-2 of Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a partial vertical section on a similar enlarged scale on line 3-3 of Figure l.

Referring to these drawings, the border-springs Il may be of wire of 131/2 gauge and 5 inches high, the center-springs I2 may be of wire oi' 14 gauge 51/2 inches high, and the end-springs Il may be of wire of 141/2 gauge and 5 inches high, these several springs being joined together in any approved manner to form a complete unit or assembly, as by the employment of helical-springs I4 interlocked with the end rings or convolutions of the springs.

In the drawings, the differences between the springs have been purposely exaggerated somewhat to make such differences more apparent or conspicuous.

'Ihose acquainted with this art will, of course, understand that the invention as defined by the appended claims, which should be construed or l interpreted as generically as the state of the prior art will permit, is not necessarily limited or restricted to the precise and exact details presented and that modiiications and changes may be resorted to without departure from the underlying principles of the invention and without the loss or sacrifice of any oi' its material benents and advantages.

I claim:

1. In a mattress inner-spring unit, the combination o! upright spiral-springs arranged in longitudinal and transverse rows and means fastening said springs together to form a springunit, the longitudinal border-springs' being of larger gauge wire than the springs forming the two transverse end-sections of the unit exclusive of their border-springs. the springs constituting the transverse central-section oi' the unit, exclusive of its border-springs, each being of heavier gauge wire, of greater heighth, and of more turns than the springs of said end-sections, said longitudinal border-springs being of practically the same heighth, said central-section springs being of practically the same heighth, and said endsection springs being of practically the same heighth.

2. The mattress inner-spring unit set forth in claim 1 in which said transverse.central-section springs have their center convolutions of less diameter than that of said end-section springs.

3. The mattress inner-spring unit set forth in claim 1 in which both the longitudinal and transverse border-springs are of larger gauge wire than the springs forming the two transverse end-sections of the unit.

ARTHUR WESLEY.