WO2015034528A1

WO2015034528A1 - Support cushions for thermal management

Info

Publication number: WO2015034528A1
Application number: PCT/US2013/058681
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hamid Ghanei; Tyler Wayne KILGORE
Original assignee: Tempur-Pedic Management, Llc
Priority date: 2013-09-09
Filing date: 2013-09-09
Publication date: 2015-03-12

Abstract

A support cushion for providing prolonged cooling at an upper surface of the support cushion is provided. The support cushion includes a body supporting portion having an upper surface, at least one region of phase change material positioned and configured to provide cooling at the upper surface of the body supporting portion, and a copper layer underlying and operably connected to each region of phase change material.

Description

SUPPORT CUSHIONS FOR THERMAL MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

[00011 The present invention relates to support cushions for thermal management, in particular, the present invention relates to support cushions, such as mattresses, that make use of regions of phase change material having underlying heat-conducting metal layers to transfer heat across each region of phase change material and allow the phase change material to provide prolonged cooling at an upper surface of the support cushion.

BACKGROUND

(0002] An aspect of successful and restful sleep is individual sleep comfort. Medical research suggests that sleep deprivation ("sleep debt") can have significant negative impacts on longevity, productivity, and overall mental, emotional, and physical health. Chronic sleep debt has been linked to weight gain and, more specifically, has been observed to not only affect the way the body processes and stores carbohydrates, but has also been observed to alter hormone levels that affect appetite. Moreover, sleep debt may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness, which has led some researchers to suggest a link between sleep debt and worksite accidents, traffic incidents, and general afternoon inattentiveness. Furthermore, sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat and additional research has recently suggested that a lack of sleep can affect immune function, resulting in increased susceptibility to illness and disease, e.g., cancer. n all. researchers have now suggested that sleep debt costs the United States §63 billion annually in lost productivity due to these various effects, Accordingly, a support cushion that improves sleep comfort and lowers individual sleep debt would be both highly desirable and beneficial.

I SUMMARY

{9003} The present invention relates to support cushions for thermal management, in particular, the present invention relates to support cushions, such as mattresses, that make use of regions of phase change material having underlying heat-conducting metal layers that transfer heat across each region of phase change material and allow the phase change material to provide continued cooling at the upper surface of the support cushion. Tims, the support cushions of the present invention allow a user to improve their level of sleep comfort b providing continued cooling at the surface of the support cushion.

fOOlM) In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a support cushion is provided in the form of a mattress assembly thai includes a mattress or body supporting portion having a first or upper surface and a second o lower surface opposite the upper surface. The mattress assembly also includes at least one region of phase change material that is positioned and configured to provide cooling at the first surface of the body supporting portion. ^'The mattress assembly further includes a heat-conducting metal layer in the form of a copper layer that lies underneath and is operabl connected to each region of phase change material such that heat can be transferred from one discrete area in a region of phase change material to the copper layer and then across the entirety of the region of phase change material to thereby allow the phase change material to provide cooling at the first surface of the body supporting portion over a longer period of time.

[0€05] The body supporting portion of the mattress assembly is generally comprised of a flexible foam tor suitably distributing pressure from a user's body or portion thereof across the body supporting portion. In some embodiments, the flexible foam is a viseo-e!astic foam thai has a desired density and hardness, and allows pressure to be absorbed uniformly and distributed evenly across the body supporting portion of the mattress assembly. In this regard, in certain embodiments, the body supporting portion can further include a comfort portion or layer that is positioned adjacent to and forms the first surface of the body supporting portion, and provides a level of comfort to a body of a user, or a portion thereof, resting on the mattress assembly. Such a comfort layer, in certain embodiments, is also comprised of a visco-eiastic foam or other foam, but typically has a density less than that of the remainder of the body supporting portion of the mattress assembly so as to provide a softer surface on which to rest.

(0006j With respect to the phase change material included in the mattress assembly, the one or more regions of phase change materia! are typically positioned and configured to provide cooling to a user lying in a supine or prone position on the first surface of the body supporting portion. In this regard, in certain embodiments, the regions of phase change material are generall incorporated into the first surface of the body supporting portion such that the body of a user, or a particular portion thereof, directly contacts the phase change material when lying on the body supporting portion in a supine or prone position, in certain embodiments, each region of phase change material has a thickness of about 3 mm to about 5 mm to provide a sufficient amount of cooling to the body of user lying on the body supporting portion.

f OOTj To further take advantage of the cooling capabilities of the regions of phase change materials, in certain embodiments, the regions of phase change material can be positioned on a particular area of the body supporting portion and used to coo! an area of the body supporting portion that would be in contact with a particula part of the body of a user that is prone to excessive heating (e.g., the head or torso of a user). For example, in some embodiments, the regions of phase change material included in a mattress comprise an upper region of phase change material positioned at an upper area of the body supporting portion and a centra] region of phase change materia! positioned at a centra! area of the body supporting portion, such that the regions of phase change material are positioned and configured to provid cooling to the head and torso regions of a user lying on the body supporting portion. As another example, in certain embodiments, (he mattress assembly can include a first upper region of phase change material and a second upper region of phase change material positioned on opposite sides of the body supporting portion, such that two upper regions of phase change material can be included on a single body supporting portion and positioned and configured to provide cooling to the heads of two users lying on the upper surface of the body supporting portion. Similarly, in some embodiments, the mattress assembly can include a first central region of phase change material and a second central region of phase change material positioned on opposite sides of the body supporting portion, such that two central regions of phase change material can be included on a single body supporting portion and positioned and configured to provide cooling to the torsos of two users lying on the upper surface of the body supporting portion. In some embodiments, the regions of phase change material located on opposite sides of the body supporting portion of the mattress assembly are connected b strips of phase change material that allow heat to be transferred across the regions of phase change material.

[0008] in addition to being positioned to provide cooling at the areas of the body- supporting portion that would be in contact with particular parts of the body of a user, as indicated above, each region of phase change material is also operabiy connected to a heat- conducting metal layer in the form of a copper layer lying underneath each region of phase change material. By operabiy connecting the regions of phase change material to underlying copper layers, the copper layers directly contact the regions of phase change material and allow heat to be transferred not only from a discrete heated area, in a region of the phase change material to the underlying copper layer, but also across the copper layer to unhealed areas in a region of phase change material to thereby distribute the heat across the entire region of phase change material in a short amount of time. In this regard, a discrete heated area in a region of phase change material is prevented from quickly reaching its mel ting point at which it would cease to provide or would provide a reduced level of cooling at the upper surface of the body supporting portion. In other words, in certain embodiments, the copper layer acts to transfer heat away from a heated area in a particular region of phase change material and transfer it across the entire region of phase change material to thereby increase the time that the phase change material provides cooling at the first surface of the body supporting portion, in some embodiments, the copper layer is comprised of a copper mesh to provide a suitable copper layer through which heat can be transferred, whi le also providing a flexible copper layer that does not interfere with the comfort of a user lying on the first surface of the body supporting portion .

0009] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become ev ident to those of ordinary skill in the an after a study of the description, figures, and non-limiting examples in this document.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

j^'OOlOj FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary support cushion, in the form of a mattress assembly, made in accordance with the present invention:

JOOl l j FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sect tonal view of the exemplary mattress assembly of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 ;

{0012} FIG. 3 is a top view of the exemplary mattress assembly of FIG. i ;

β013] FIG. 4 is another top view of the exemplary mattress assembly of FIG. 1 , but with the regions of phase change materia! removed to show the underlying copper mesh:

[0014] PIG. 5 is a top view of another exemplary mattress assembly made in accordance with the present invention;

[6015] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the exemplary mattress assembly of FIG 5, and showing the mattress assembly having an adjustable foundation; and [00 J 6) FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of exemplary support cushions for use in a chair and made in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

(0O17j The present invention relate to support cushions for thermal management In particular, the present invention relates to support cushions, such as mattresses, that make use of regions of phase change material having underlying heat-conducting metal layers that transfer heat across each region of phase change material and allow the phase change material to provide prolonged cooling at an upper surface of the support cushion. Thus, the support cushions of the present invention allow a user to improve their level of sleep comfort by providing prolonged cooling at the surface of the support cushion.

[0018} Referring first to FIGS. 1 -4, in one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a support cushion is provided in the form of a mattress assembly 1 0 that includes a foundation 60 (for example, a box-spring mattress) and a mattress or body supporting portion 20 having a first or upper surface 22 and a second or lower surface 23 that is opposite the first surface 22, The mattress assembly 10 further includes four regions of phase change material 32a. 32b, 34a, 34b that are positioned and configured to provide cooling at the upper surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20, The mattress assembly 10 also includes four heat- conducting metal layers in the form of four copper layers 50a, 50b, 52a* 52b that are each positioned underneath a particular region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b, Each of the copper layers 50a, 50b, 52a. 52b has a shape thai generally mirrors that of its overlying region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b. Additionally, each of the copper layers 50a. 50b, 52a, 52b is operably connected to a particular region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b, such that heat can be transferred from a discrete area in each region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b across the entirety of the region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b to allow each region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b to provide cooling at the first surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20 over a prolonged period of time, as described in further detail below.

{0019] The body supporting portion 20 of the mattress assembly 10 is generally comprised of at least one continuous layer of flexible foam for suitably distributing pressure from a user's body or portion thereof across the body supporting portion 20. Such flexible foams include, but are not limited to, latex foam, reticulated or non-reticulated visco-elastic foam (sometimes referred to as memory foam or low-resilience foam), reticulated or non- reticulated non-visco-elastk foam, polyurethane high-resilience foam, expanded polymer foams (e.g., expanded ethylene vinyl acetate, polypropylene, polystyrene, or polyethylene), and the like, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, the body supporting portion 20 is comprised of a visco-elastic. foam that has a low resilience as wel l as a sufficient density and hardness, which allows pressure to be absorbed uniformly and distributed evenly across the body supporting portion 20 of the mattress assembly 10. Generally, such visco-elastic foams have a hardness of at least about 10 N to no greater than about 80 , as measured by exerting pressure from a plate against a sample of the material to a compression of at least 40% of an original thickness of the material at approximatel room temperature (i.e.. 2 C to 23°C), where the 40% compression is held for a set period of time as established by the international Organization of Standardization (ISO) 2439 hardness measuring standard. In some embodiments, the visco-elastic foam has a hardness of about 10 ^"N, about 20 , about 30 N. about 40 , bout 50 N, about 60 N„ about 70 , or about 80 to provide a desired degree of comfort and body-conforming qualities.

0201 The visco-elastic foam described herein for use in the mattress assembly 10 can also have a density that assists in providing a desired degree of comfort and body- conforming qualities, as well as an increased degree of material durability, in some embodiments, the densit of the visco-elastic foam used in the body supporting portion 20 has a density of no less than about 30 kg/m^J to no greater than about 150 kg/m\ In some- embodiments, the density of the visco-elastic foam used in the body supporting portion 20 of the mattress assembly 10 is about 30 kg/nr, about 40 k.g/m\ about 50 kg m^"\ about 60 kg/m^"\ about 70 kg v⁴, about 80 kg/m^J, about 90

about 120 kg/nr , about 130 kg/m*, about 140 kg/nv', or about 150 kg/m^'\ Of course, the selection of a visco-elastic foam having a particular density will affect other characteristics of the foam, including its hardness, the manner in which the foam responds to pressure, and the overall feel of the foam, but if is appreciated that a visco-eiasiic foam having a desired density and hardness can readily be selected for a particular application or mattress assembly as desired. Additionally, it is appreciated that the body supporting portions of the mattress assemblie need not be comprised of a continuous layer of ilexible foam at all, but can also take the form of more traditional mattresses, including spring-based mattresses, or mattresses that include one or more air bladders without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein,

{0021] Referring still to FIGS. 1 -4. in this exemplary embodiment, the body supporting portion 20 further includes a comfort, portion or layer 70 that is positioned adjacent to and forms the first surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20. The comfort layer 70 can also be comprised of a visco-elastic foam. However, the comfort layer 70 typically has a density, hardness, or both that is less than thai of the remainder of the body supporting portion 20 of the mattress assembly HI such that the comfort layer 70 provides a softer surface on which to rest the body of a user or a portion thereof For example, in certain embodiments, the mattress assembly 10 includes a comfort layer 70 that is comprised of a visco-elastic foam with a density of about 35 kg nr* and a hardness of about 10 N, while the remainder of the body supporting portion 20 is comprised of visco-elastic foam with a density of about 80 kg/nr^' and a hardness of about 13 N. [0022] With further regard to the body supporting portions of the mattress assemblies of she present invention, as indicated above, the body supporting portions are generally comprised of one or more layers of viseo-elastic foam having a density and hardness suitable for distributing pressure from a user's body, or portion thereof. However, it is additionally contemplated that an exemplary body supporting portion can be further comprised of one or more different or additional layers having various densities and hardnesses. For instance, i t is contemplated that a layer of high-resilience polyufethane foam can be secured to a lower surface of a layer of low-resilience visco-eiastic foam used in a bod supporting portion. Such mufti-layered body supporting portions are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 7,469,437: 7,507,468; 8,025,964; and 8.034,445, as well as in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20 1 /0252562, each of which is incorporated herein by this reference,

100231 Turning now to the regions of phase change material 32a. 32b, 34a. 34b included in the mattress assembly 10. the regions of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b are positioned and configured to provide cooling to a user lying in a supine or prone position on the first surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20. in this regard, the regions of phase chang material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b are generally incorporated into the first surface 22 of the body supportin portion 20 by removing a portion of the first surface 22 (in this case, a portion of the comfort layer 70) and then filling it with a phase change material so as to place the body of a user, or a particular portion thereof, in direct contact with the phase change material. The phase change material that is incorporated into ihe first surface 22 of the body- supporting portion 20 is typically comprised of fibers or flexible foams that are coated with or include substances having a high heat of fusion and that store or release heat as the substances oscillate between solid and liquid form (i.e., phase change materials). As the phase change materials included in the regions of phase change material 32a. 32b. 34a, 34b change from solid to liquid form (i.e., melt) as the result of heat generated by a user lying on one or more of the regions of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b, the phase change materials thus continually absorb heat and provide a cooling effect to the user until all of the phase change material has been transformed from a solid to a liquid form. In the regions of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b shown in FIGS. 1 -3, each of the regions of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b has a thickness of about 3 mm to about 5 mm so as to incorporate an amount of phase change material in each of the regions 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b thai will provide a sufficient amount of cooling to the body of a user K ing on the body supporting portion.

[§024] Referring now to only FIGS. 1 and 3, to further take advantage of the cooling capabilities of the regions of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34 b, the regions of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b are positioned on areas of the body supporting portion 20 that would be in contact, with a particular portion of the body of a. user that is prone to excessive heati g, hi particular, in this exemplary embodiment, the body supportin portion 20 includes a first upper region of phase change material 32a and second upper region of phase change material 32b that are positioned on opposite sides of an upper area 24 of the body supporting portion 20, such that the first upper region 32a and second upper region 32b are positioned and configured to provide cooling to the heads of two users lying on the first surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20 of the mattress assembly 10, Similarly, the bod supporting portion 20 of the mattress assembly 10 also includes a first central region, of phase change materia! 34a and a second central region of phase change materia! 34b positioned on opposite sides of a central area 26 of the body supporting portion 20, such that the first central region 34a and the second central region 34b are positioned and configured to provide cooling to the torsos of two users lying on the first surface 22 of the bod supporting portion 20. Moreover, in the exemplary embodiment shown in PIGS. 1 and 3, the first upper region of phase change material 32a and the second upper region of phase change material 32b are connected to one another by an upper strip of phase change materia! 33, and the first central region of phase change material 34a and the second central region of phase change material 34b are connected to one another by a central strip of phase change material 35, The upper strip of phase change material 33 and the central strip of phase change material 35 allow heat to be further transferred, respectively, between the upper regions of phase change material 32a, 32b or between the central regions of phase change material 34a, 34b, as described in further detail below.

0025| Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 4, in addition to being positioned to provide cooling at die areas of the body supporting portion 20 that would be in contact with particular portions of the body of a user, each region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b is also operably connected to a particular copper layer 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b lying underneath each region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b. In particular, each copper layer 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b directly contacts a particular region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b and allows heal to be transferred not only from a discrete heated area in a particular region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b to its respective underlying copper layer 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b, but each copper layer 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b also allows heat to be transferred across the copper layer 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b to unheated areas of a particular region of phase change material 32a. 32b, 34a, 34b to thereby distribute the heat across the entire region of phase change material 32a. 32b, 34a, 34b in a short amount of time. In this regard, by including the underlying copper layers 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b in the mattress assembly 10. discrete heated areas of a particular region of phase change material 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b, such as what may result from a user lying in a particular position on the body supporting portion 20 for a prolonged time period, are prevented from quickly reaching their melting points and ceasing to provide sufficient cool ing at the upper surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20. In other words, the copper layers 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b act to transfer heat away from a discrete heated area in a particu lar region of phase change materia! 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b and transfer It across the entire region 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b to increase the time that the phase- change material in that area is capable of absorbing heat and prov iding cooling at the upper surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20.

[0026] To further facilitate the transfer of heat, the copper layers 50a, 50b in the upper area 24 of the body supporting portion 20 are also operably connected to one another by an upper flexible band of copper S t , and the copper layers 52a, 52 b in the central area 26 of the body supporting portion 20 are connected to one another by a central flexible band of copper 54, as best shown in FIG. 4. The upper band of copper 51 and the centra! band of copper 54 are positioned underneath the strips of phase change materia! 33, 35, and provide a further means to transfer heat not only between the copper layers 50a. 50b in the upper area 24 of the body supporting portion 20 and the copper layers 52a, 52b in the central area 26 of the body supporting portion 20, but a!so between the first upper region of phase change material 32a and the second upper region of phase change material 32b and between the first central region, of phase change material 34a and the second central region of phase change materia! 34b. which are shown in FIG. 3.

£0027} With further respect to the copper layers 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b included in the mattress assembly 10, as indicated above, each copper layer 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b is typically comprised of a copper mesh to provide a both suitable layer through which heat can be transferred and also a flexible layer that does not interfere with the comfort of a user lying on the upper surface 22 of the body supporting portion 20, However, it is further contemplated that numerous other heat-conducting metals having various forms, including various forms of silver, gold, aluminum, nickel, and the like can also be readily incorporated into a mattress assembly of the present invention and used to transfer heat across a region of phase change material.

[0028 { Referring now to FIGS. 5-6, in another exemplar embodiment of the present invention that makes use of regions of phase change material to provide cooling at the upper surface of the body supporting portion of a mattress assembly, an exem plary mattress assembly \ 10 is provided that that includes an adjustable foundation 160 to allow a user to place the mattress assembly 1 10 into one or more desired ergonomic positions. Like the mattress assembly 10 shown in PIGS, 1 -4, the mattress assembly 1 10 also includes a mattress or body supporting portion 120 having a first or upper surface 122 and a second or lower surface 123 thai is opposite the upper surface 122. Unlike the mattress assembly 10 shown in FIGS. 1-4, however, multiple upper and multiple lower regions of phase change material are not incorporated into the first surface 122 of the body supporting portion 120 of the mattress assembly 1 10. Rather the mattress assembly 1 10 only includes a single upper region of phase change material 132 positioned at an upper area 124 of the body supporting portion 120 along with a single central region of phase change material 134 positioned at a central area 126 of the body supporting portion 120. Of course, it is contemplated that various other arrangements of regions of phase change material could also be incorporated into and positioned on a body supporting portion of a mattress assembly and used to provide cooling to a body of a. user, or a portion thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.

[0029] As yet another refinement to the present, invention, although the support cushions shown in FIGS, 1 -6 are in the form of mattress assemblies 10, 1 10, and are dimensionally sized to support a user lying in a supine or prone position, it is contemplated that the features described herein are equally applicable to head pillows, seat cushions, seat backs, neck pillows, leg spacer pillows, mattress toppers, overlays, and the like. As such, the phrase "body support'^" or the phrase "'body supporting*' is used herein to refer to any and all such objects having any size and shape, and that are capable of or are generally used to si!pport the body of a user or a portion thereof. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, support cushions made in. accordance with the present invention are incorporated into a seat 212 and back 214 of a desk chair 210. Each support cushion of the desk chair 210 includes a body supporting portion 220 having an upper surface 222, a region of phase change material 230 positioned and configured to provide cooling at the upper surface 222 of the body supporting portion 220, and a layer of copper mesh 250 underlying and operab!y connected to the region of phase change material 230. Similar to the mattress assemblies of the present invention, the layer of copper mesh 250 included in each support cushion of the desk chair 210 allows heat to be transferred from a particular area of the region of phase change material 230 to the copper mesh 250, and then across the entirety of the region of phase change material 230 to provide prolonged cooling at the upper surface 222 of the body supporting portion 220 of the desk chair 21.0.

[QQ29] Throughout this document, various references are mentioned. All such references are incorporated herein by reference,

| 30^'{ One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional embodiments or implementations are possible without departing from the teachings of the present invention or the scope of the claims which follow. This detailed description, and particularly the specific details of the exemplary embodiments and implementations disclosed herein, is given primarily tor clarity of understanding, and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

f . A support cushion, comprising:

a body supporting portion having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface;

at least one region of phase change material positioned and configured to provide cooling at the first surface of the body supporting portion; and

a heat-conducting metal layer underlying and operably connected to each region of phase change material.

2. The support cushion of claim K wherein the at least one region of phase change material comprises an. upper region of phase change materia! positioned at an upper area of the body supporting portion and a central region of phase change material positioned at a central area of the body supporting portion.

3. The support cushion of claim 1 , wherein the at least one region of phase change material comprises a first upper region of phase change material and a second upper region of phase change material, the first upper region and the second upper region being positioned on opposite sides of the body supporting portion,

4. The support cushion of claim 3. further comprising a strip of phase change material, connecting the first upper region of phase change material to the second upper region of phase change material.

5. The support cushion of claim 1 , wherein the at least one region of phase change material comprises a first central region of phase change material and a second central region of phase change material, the first central region and the second central region being positioned on opposite sides of the bod supporting portion.

1.5

6. The support cushion of claim 5, further comprising a strip of phase change materia! connecting the first central region of phase change material to the second central region of phase change material.

7. The support cushion of claim 1 , wherein the at least one region of phase change material is incorporated into the first surface of the body supporting portion.

8. The support cushion of claim 7, wherein the at least one region of phase change material ha a thickness of about 3 mm to about 5 mm.

9. Th support cushion of claim 1. wherein the heat-conducting metal layer comprises a copper layer.

10. The support cushion of claim 9. wherein the copper layer is comprised of a copper mesh.

1 1. Th support cushion of claim wherein the body supporting portion is comprised of a flexible foam.

12. The support cushion of claim 1 1, wherein the flexible foam is a viseo-elastic foam,

13. The support cushion of claim i , wherein the body supporting portion includes a comfort layer positioned adjacent to and forming the first surface of the body supporting portion, the comfort layer being comprised of a visco-e!astic foam.

14. The support cush ion of claim 1 , wherein the comfort layer has a density less than that of a remainder of the body supporting portion,

1 5. A support cushion, comprising:

an upper region of phase change materia! positioned at an tipper area of the first surface of^" the bod supporting portion and a central region of phase change material positioned at. a central area of the first surface of the body supporting portion ; and

a copper mesh underlying and operably connected to each region of phase change material.

16. A mattress assembly, comprising:

a mattress having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface;

an upper region of phase change, materia! incorporated into the first surface of the mattress and positioned to provide cooling to a head of a person lying on the mattress;

a central region of phase change material incorporated into the first surface of the mattress and positioned to provide cooling to a torso of a user lying on the mattress;

a first copper layer underlying and operably connected to the upper region of phase change material; and

a second copper layer underlying and operably connected to the centrai region of phase change material.

1 ?. The mattress assembly of claim 16, further comprising a foundation positioned and configured to provide support to the mattress.

18. The mattress assembly of claim 17, wherein the foundation is adjustable. I ⁰·, The mattress assembly of claim 16, wherein the upper region of phase change material comprises a first upper region of phase change material and a second upper region of phase change material, the first upper region and second upper region being positioned an opposite sides of the mattress, and

wherein the central region of phase change material comprises a first centrai region of phase change material and a second central region of phase change material the first central region and the second central region being positioned on opposite sides of the mattress.

20. The mattress assembly of claim 16, wherein the mattress is comprised of a viscoelastsc foam.