US3063067A

US3063067A - Inflatable insulating mattress

Info

Publication number: US3063067A
Application number: US85567A
Authority: US
Inventors: Willard L Morrison
Original assignee: Liquefreeze Co Inc
Current assignee: Liquefreeze Co Inc
Priority date: 1961-01-30
Filing date: 1961-01-30
Publication date: 1962-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 1979-11-13

Description

Nov. 13, 1962 w. L. MORRISON INFLATABLE INSULATING MATTRESS Filed Jan. 50, 1961 INVENTOR. M11401. flank/3M United States Patent 3,063,067 INFLATABLE INSULATING MATTRESS Willard L. Morrison, Lake Forest, 111., assignor to Liquefreeze Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 85,567 2 Claims. (Cl. 5-350 My invention relates to improvements in infiatable insulating mattress and method of making it.

The mattress is a self-contained inflatable insulating member or panel which when inflated obtains its structural strength from the relationship between the elements of the mattress in tension and the pneumatic pressure within the mattress much as an automobile tire gets its structural strength from the relationship between the tension fabric and the air pressure.

In order that the mattress may have adequate insulating effect it is necessary that it be substantially filled with loose, fluffy, insulating material which will inhibit convection currents in the inflating air.

I propose to obtain the desired result by weaving two parallel spaced apart sheets of fabric much as carpet is woven and to join these two parallel woven sheets by a multiplicity of yarns woven into each of the fabric sheets and extending back and forth between them. These yarns extend through and will be looped or woven into each of the fabric layers, will extend generally perpendicular to them and will be of soft, fluffy material having sufficient structural strength to be woven into the fabric and to support a tension between the two fabrics but of such character that while compressed in the loop areas to be woven into the fabric, they expand between those areas more or less in contact with one another to generally fill the area with a soft, fluffy, fabric filling material.

Thus the parallel woven layers spaced apart as they are, are joined together by the cross yarns which hold them in general parallelism.

Thereafter the two opposed fabrics will be impregnated with an elastomeric or other suitable material which will fill the interstices, enclose the threads and cause each of the two parallel sheets to be gas tight. Thereafter I propose to seal the periphery about the edges of the fabrics with a gas tight structure including an inflation stem, after which the pad will be inflated, exerting a tension on the cross yarns and causing them to hold the two woven sheets in parallelism in a strong, structural relationship which is, as above indicated, a function of the tensile strength of the material and the pressure of the air in the chamber. The threads which form the two parallel fabrics can be referred to as the warp threads, the woof threads are the filling threads or yarns which extend perpendicular to the fabric and join the two fabric sections.

My invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein- FIGURE 1 is a section on an enlarged scale through a part of the structure as it comes from the loom;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section similar to FIGURE 1 showing one of the woven fabric sheets impregnated with elastomeric material to make it gas tight;

Patented Nov. 13, 1962 FIGURE 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a detail section on a small scale showing one edge of the mattress.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

The warp, generally parallel threads 1 are interwoven with the warp threads 2' at right angles thereto in the manner usual to carpet manufacture. The loosely spun fluffy yarns 3 are interwoven with the threads 1 and 2, there being an assembly of threads 1 and 2 to form the upper fabric 4 and the lower fabric 5 and the woof yarns 3 being interwoven at opposite sides of the structure with the warp layers. It will be noted that at 6 where the woof yarns are interwoven With the warp yarns, the yarns are compacted and compressed but in the area 7 between the two sheets 4- and 5, the woof yarns expand and come generally in contact with one another as shown at 8. The binding strip 9 around the periphery of the structure joins the layers 4 and 5 together and is in gas tight relationship therewith to make a gas tight connection. The filling valve 10 as is conventional in the tire industry, makes it possible to inflate the structure.

The woof threads are so close together that when under tension they hold the two layers 4 and 5 in general parallelism and the yarns are close enough together so that the pressure of inflation holds them tight but is not sufiicient to stress them beyond the danger point.

I claim:

1. An insulating mattress including a pair of parallel spaced woven fabric base sheets impregnated with elastomeric filling, woof yarns looped and woven into the fabric sheets, extending perpendicular to and between them and holding them in general parallelism, a flexible gas impervious sealing wall encircling the peripheries of the sheets and joining them to define a gas tight reservoir, an inflation valve communicating with the interior of the inflatable reservoir thus formed, the woof yarns being softer than and of greater cross sectional area than the yarns of the base sheets.

2. An insulating mattress including a pair of parallel spaced woven fabric base sheets impregnated with elastomeric filling, woof yarns looped and woven into the fabric sheets, extending perpendicular to and between them and holding them in general parallelism, a flexible gas impervious sealing wall encircling the peripheries of the sheets and joining them to define a gas tight reservoir, an inflation valve communicating with the interior of the inflatable reservoir thus formed, the woof yarns being compressed where they are woven into the base sheets but free to expand into contact with one another in the area between the base sheets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 679,680 Langer July 30, 1901 765,377 Busche July 19, 1904 811,407 Keil Jan. 30, 1906 2,753,573 Barker -7... July 10, 1956