Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C27/00—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas
  • A47C27/08—Fluid mattresses
  • A47C27/081—Fluid mattresses of pneumatic type
  • A47C27/083—Fluid mattresses of pneumatic type with pressure control, e.g. with pressure sensors
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C23/00—Spring mattresses with rigid frame or forming part of the bedstead, e.g. box springs; Divan bases; Slatted bed bases
  • A47C23/04—Spring mattresses with rigid frame or forming part of the bedstead, e.g. box springs; Divan bases; Slatted bed bases using springs in compression, e.g. coiled
  • A47C23/043—Spring mattresses with rigid frame or forming part of the bedstead, e.g. box springs; Divan bases; Slatted bed bases using springs in compression, e.g. coiled using wound springs
  • A47C23/0435—Spring mattresses with rigid frame or forming part of the bedstead, e.g. box springs; Divan bases; Slatted bed bases using springs in compression, e.g. coiled using wound springs of adjustable resilience
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C27/00—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas
  • A47C27/14—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays
  • A47C27/148—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays of different resilience
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C27/00—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas
  • A47C27/14—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays
  • A47C27/20—Spring, stuffed or fluid mattresses or cushions specially adapted for chairs, beds or sofas with foamed material inlays with springs moulded in, or situated in openings in foamed material
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47C—CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
  • A47C31/00—Details or accessories for chairs, beds, or the like, not provided for in other groups of this subclass, e.g. upholstery fasteners, mattress protectors, stretching devices for mattress nets
  • A47C31/12—Means, e.g. measuring means, for adapting chairs, beds or mattresses to the shape or weight of persons
  • A47C31/123—Means, e.g. measuring means, for adapting chairs, beds or mattresses to the shape or weight of persons for beds or mattresses
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16F—SPRINGS; SHOCK-ABSORBERS; MEANS FOR DAMPING VIBRATION
  • F16F3/00—Spring units consisting of several springs, e.g. for obtaining a desired spring characteristic
  • F16F3/08—Spring units consisting of several springs, e.g. for obtaining a desired spring characteristic with springs made of a material having high internal friction, e.g. rubber
  • F16F3/10—Spring units consisting of several springs, e.g. for obtaining a desired spring characteristic with springs made of a material having high internal friction, e.g. rubber combined with springs made of steel or other material having low internal friction
  • F16F3/12—Spring units consisting of several springs, e.g. for obtaining a desired spring characteristic with springs made of a material having high internal friction, e.g. rubber combined with springs made of steel or other material having low internal friction the steel spring being in contact with the rubber spring

Definitions

• the invention relates to a shaped body comprising a spring and foam and uses thereof.
• Mattresses such as those formed of polyurethane foam, latex foam, and the like, with or without coiled springs, are generally known in the art.
• One of the ongoing problems associated with mattress assemblies is user comfort.
• these mattresses are often fabricated with multiple foam layers having varying properties, such as density and hardness, among others, to suit the needs of the intended user.
• manufacturers have employed so-called memory foams, also commonly referred to as viscoelastic foams.
• These foams are often structures having both closed and open cells but, in some instances, may be reticulated foam structures.
• the memory foam When used in a mattress, the memory foam conforms to the shape of a user when the user exerts pressure onto the foam, thereby minimizing pressure points from the user's body. The memory foam then returns to its original shape when the user and associated pressure on the memory foam is removed. However, the return to the original shape of the memory foam is a relatively slow process because of the viscoelastic cellular structure of these types of foams.
• a polyurethane is formed from the reaction from a polyol (an organic compound having multiple groups) with a di- or poly-isocyanate.
• a di-isocyanate is TDI or toluene di isocyanate.
• An example of a poly-isocyanate is MDI or methlyendiphenyl-isocyanate.
• a polyurethane form formed from MDI with a polyol may have the aforementioned viscoelastic properties.
• the mattress construction shown in this US patent is said to improve comfort by combining the properties of the foam and the springs.
• This construction of combining the properties of the springs and the foam on top of each other is felt by the user.
• the uppermost part of the construction is mostly made of foam and is the primary contact material felt by the user and which reacts initially under load of the user.
• the secondary material is below (and is mostly springs) and only reacts once the foam transfers the load of the user due to the body weight further downwards. This means that the foam is already partly compressed.
• the foam and the springs in this construction can move independently from each other and are not attached to each other.
• the spring and the foam are not connected to each other and so they can move independently from each other without being synchronized.
• this pocket material will disturb the dynamic reaction to the load negatively as the pocket material is an inflexible material which will become‘loose’ under the load, without any dynamic reflection.
• the combination of the flexible foam and the coil-spring as shown in figure 2 of that document also shows no connection to synchronize the behavior of the coil spring and the flexible foam under dynamic load. The coil-spring and the flexible foam can move independently from each other especially when under low load.
• Canadian Patent CA 449 744 A (Glenn) describes a spring consisting of a spring wire helix and a core of spongy elastic material inserted in and extending substantially the full height or length of the spring wire helix with the core‘snugly fitting’ when the spring is not loaded, but extending between the wires once the spring is under load.
• the UK patent application GB 2 052 677 A (Price Bros) also describes a composite spring comprising a coil spring coaxially enclosing a deformable core, at least some of the coils of the spring being in contact with the periphery of the core and deforming the surface of the core.
• the foam in the deformable core squeezes out between the wire of the spring under load, which is the ‘deformed surface’.
• a shaped body is described in this document.
• the shaped body comprises at least one spring and at least one foam section.
• the uppermost section of the foam section is attached to the uppermost section of the at least one spring, and the lowest section of the foam section is attached to the lowest section of the least one spring.
• the foam section and the spring are attached in at least two places in a parallel fashion so that the shaped body acts as a single object on compression.
• the firm connections can either be made directly in which sections of the foam are attached directly to the spring, or through an intermediate element, such as a plate or similar firm material.
• the shaped body with the parallelly organized spring and foam section has effectively properties similar to that of a viscoelastic foam, i.e. it is both viscous being resistant to shear or strain when subjected to a force and being elastic and returning to its original shape on removal of the force.
• viscoelastic foam there is no need to use a viscoelastic foam in the shaped body.
• the viscoelastic foam would be affected by temperature and could even change its properties unpredictably with the presence of body heat.
• the viscoelastic foams are also impermeable to air and create therefore a feeling of heat or warmth which may be uncomfortable to a person sitting on a cushion or lying on a mattress.
• viscoelastic foams are more expensive than conventional foams.
• the shaped body can be used in a cushion for example on a chair, or as a mattress for a bed. It will be appreciated that these applications are, however, not limiting of the invention.
• the foam section is positioned inside the spring. This protects the foam section from damage.
• a temperature-regulating device is arranged in thermal contact with the at least one section of the foam section having thermoelastic properties; and a control device for the temperature-regulating device adapted to adjust the firmness of the foam section by alteration of temperature. This enables the firmness of at least part of the foam to be adjusted.
• the shaped body with the thermoelastic foam section can have at least one of a horizontal channel or a vertical channel to enable air to circulate within the shaped body and cool the shaped body.
• the shaped body with the thermoelastic foam section may also include a plurality of sensors to measure pressure applied to a surface of the shaped body.
• the spring comprises an inner section which is located completely within the spring and contains a foam section.
• the uppermost and lowest parts of the foam section and the spring are attached to each other and the foam section is designed to have a cross diameter sufficient smaller than the cross section of the spring, so that the foam will not creep or extend between the wire of the spring under load of maximum 0.5 N/cm 2 .
• Fig. 1 shows a construction of a shaped body with a foam and springs.
• Fig. 2 shows an alternative construction of the shaped body.
• Fig. 3 shows a combination of a plurality of springs and the foam.
• FIG. 4A and 4B show load deflection curves. Detailed description of the Invention
• the present document teaches a shaped body 10 which comprises at least one spring 20 having an inner section 22 and one foam section 30 as is shown in Figs 1 to 3 and is suitable, for example, for use as a mattress for a bed or a cushion.
• the foam section 30 is either a conventional polyurethane foam or can be made from a viscoelastic foam, but this is not limiting the invention and other types of foam can be used in the shaped body.
• the viscoelastic foam has the property that it changes its dynamic properties on warming, as will be explained below.
• the conventional polyurethane foam does not change its dynamic properties on warming at typical room temperatures. It will be seen in Fig. 1 that the cross diameter of the foam section 30 is smaller than the cross-section of the inner section 22 of the spring 20.
• the shaped body can be used in connection with a warming device, sensors and a controller to change the properties of the foam in the mattress or cushion, as explained below.
• a warming device sensors and a controller to change the properties of the foam in the mattress or cushion, as explained below.
• This enables the use of such shaped bodies in areas which are close to surface of a product, such as in the mattress on the bed.
• the shaped bodies enable significant changes in the firmness of the bed and its mattress, which are substantially independent of the influence of body temperature on their firmness. This means that the foams can be placed close to the surface of the mattress of the bed, and therefore the changes in firmness are more perceptible during the use of the bed.
• thermoelastic foams together with a temperature changing device enabling the warming of the foams in the range from 20° C to 50°C and results in the product having changing properties.
• the inventors have established that the changes in the firmness of the foam itself are rapid and can be clearly noticed by the user, even with small changes in the temperature caused by the temperature changing device.
• the expression‘uppermost’ or‘lowest’ section of a spring or the foam is defined as the sections within this foam/spring combination. This combination can be glued to foam or spring on top or below this combination within a final product.
• an uppermost section 34 and a lowest section 36 of the foam 30 are attached to the springs 20 as this will enable the foam 30 to return to the original shape after removal of a load.
• the construction can include channels or holes in the foam 30 or elsewhere to allow warmer air to leave the section of the foam, based on the tendency of warmer air to rise.
• the shaped bodies with comfort features are made of the foam 30 with the springs 20.
• These springs 20 are mostly metal, although some plastic versions are available.
• the springs 20 are either attached to each other or are standing singly in pockets beside each other, as can be seen in Fig. 3.
• the springs 20 can be assembled in several layers horizontally placed on top of each other. In this latter case of several horizontal layers, each one of the horizontal layers may have a different firmness characteristic with the uppermost horizontal layer of the springs 20 being the softest one of the layers and the lowermost horizontal layer being the firmest one of the layers. This leads to an increase of the firmness with increased load forces from the top of the product during use.
• Figs. 4A and 4B are graphs in which increasing flexural loads on a beam are plotted along the vertical axis, and deflections resulting from these loads are plotted along the horizontal axis. Both curves are distinctively different for foam and for springs.
• Fig. 4A shows the graph for one of the springs 20. It will be seen that the increase of firmness with increasing is very linear, but not in the beginning with a low load.
• the same curve for polyurethane flexible foam is seen in Fig. 4B and has a different characteristic. As can be seen the increasing load for the polyurethane flexible foam 30 leads to an increasing firmness at a low load, then the firmness is more or less static with an increasing load, before increasing fast again when the polyurethane foam is compressed completely.
• the foam 30 can be sized in a way that the foam 30 does not creep out from between the wire material under load of the spring 20, as this creeping out would destroy the dynamic properties of the combination of the foam 30 and the spring 30 described herein.
• this condition can be fulfilled by designing the section of the flexible foam 20 to be sufficiently smaller in diameter than the diameter of the spring 20.
• thermoelastic foam with a corresponding controller to control the firmness together with the spring 20 enables controlling of the firmness of the shaped body 10 by controlling the firmness of the thermoelastic foam 30. With the air on both side of the thermoelastic foam 30 inside the spring 20, a fast release of excessive thermal energy is possible.
• Figure 1 shows a typical construction of a section of a shaped body, such as the aforementioned bed, mattress or cushion. Several of these sections can be placed adjacent to each other, either horizontally or vertically or both to form the complete product.
• the shaped body 10 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a spring 20 with the uppermost section 24 and the lowest section 26 which is attached to a foam 30 arranged inside the body of the spring 20.
• the foam 30 has an uppermost section 34 and a lowest section 36 which are attached by affixation, e.g. by an adhesive, through a top plate 44 and a bottom plate 46 to the spring 20.
• the foam 30 can be a viscoelastic foam as discussed in this document or a conventional foam.
• the top plate 44 could be at the surface of the mattress and the bottom plate 46 could be at the bottom surface of the mattress or cushion.
• top plate 44 and the bottom plate 46 are intermediate layers within the mattress or cushion as long as the top plate 44 and the bottom plate 46 attaches spring 20 and foam 30 with each other.
• the top plate 44 and/or the bottom plate 46 must therefore be sufficiently mechanically firm to generate parallel behavior and could be made of metal or another plastic.
• Figure 2 shows an alternative construction of the shaped body 10 in which the spring 20 is arranged inside a cylindrically shaped foam 30.
• the uppermost section 24 of the spring 20 is attached to the upper section 34 of the foam 30 and the lowest section 26 of the spring 30 is attached to the lowest section 36 of the foam 30.
• the foam 30 will move outwards under increasing load so that the foam 30 is not creeping out from between the wire of spring 20.
• Fig. 3 shows a plurality of metal springs 20 are arranged adjacently along the length of a block shaped piece of the foam 30. This construction could be used, for example, in the aforementioned mattress.
• Fig. 3 also shows a temperature generating layer 50 is firmly fixed or glued inside the thermoelastic foam 1.
• the temperature generating layer 50 is connected by cable to an outside controller 60.
• One or more sensors 70 on the surface of the shaped body 10 can detect pressure on the shaped body 10 and change the properties of the shaped body 10 and so adjust the firmness of the cushion or mattress.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Mattresses And Other Support Structures For Chairs And Beds (AREA)
• Bedding Items (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Related Child Applications (2)

Publications (2)

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ID=62713044

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (8)

Family Cites Families (35)

• 2018
  • 2018-04-27 LU LU100788A patent/LU100788B1/en active IP Right Grant
• 2019
  • 2019-04-26 CN CN201980028346.3A patent/CN112040812B/zh active Active
  • 2019-04-26 JP JP2020558540A patent/JP7396679B2/ja active Active
  • 2019-04-26 AU AU2019260547A patent/AU2019260547B2/en active Active
  • 2019-04-26 EP EP19719314.7A patent/EP3784091B8/en active Active
  • 2019-04-26 WO PCT/EP2019/060718 patent/WO2019207097A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2019-04-26 US US17/043,178 patent/US11825954B2/en active Active

Patent Citations (8)

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