Claims
- 1. A cushioning apparatus adapted to cushion objects placed on either surface of said apparatus, said apparatus including one or more pieces of open cell self-inflating flexible polyurethane foam to form a foam core, said foam core is covered by one or more hermetically sealed envelopes forming one or more autonomous airtight chambers, means for controlling and modulating the principle characteristics of said open cell self-inflating flexible polyurethane foam, said means comprising means for removing some air uniformly from within said open foam cells to change the softness and support ratio within the foam core.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for removing some air results in altering the cellular density of said foam core.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said means for removing some air results in increasing the cellular density of said foam core.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said foam core has an IFD value within a range of 22 to 50 in its original factory pre-set configuration and a progressively decreasing value when some air is removed from said core.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said foam core has a density within a range of 1.2 to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot in its original, factory pre-set configuration, and a progressively increasing density when some air is removed from said foam core, without adding weight to the overall apparatus.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the foam core exhibits a diminishing density and increasing IFD value when allowed to self-inflate from a collapsed state.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for removing some air from said foam core includes one or more valves installed in said chamber walls that are removably connected to a vacuum pump by way of a hose.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 including a pressure-balanced closure spring located in said valve.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 7, including a means for opening and closing said valve and said closure spring.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9, including means for opening said valve by a hose, which is permanently attached to said valve but removably connected to said vacuum pump.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 8, including a closure force of said spring which opposes a re-inflating force of the foam core, said opposing force to be weaker than the re-inflating force of said foam core in its collapsed state, whereby some air can re-enter said foam core to avoid the risk of compression set inherent in a totally collapsed foam, collapsed over a certain period of time.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 8, including a closure force of said spring which equals the re-inflating force of said foam core when said foam core is in a partially inflated state so that no more air can enter said foam core.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said pressure-balanced closure force of said spring is within a range of 2 lb. to 6.0 lb.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said foam core has a thickness of at least four inches in a fully self-inflated state to be able to fully achieve the characteristics of said modulation.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 7, including means for distancing said valve in said chamber from any adjacent materials that may obstruct airflow.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said means for distancing is air-permeable and contiguous with said foam material within the chamber.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said air permeable distancing element is communicably attached to said valve at a point which is opposite to said foam material.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said air permeable distancing element acts as a means to increase inflation and deflation speed as well as the air quantity to and from the apparatus and into a vacuum pump.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 1, including one or more foam pieces combined to form one or more foam cores, said cores may have identical factory pre-set density and IFD ratings and are further combined into autonomous airtight chambers within said apparatus.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 1, including one or more foam pieces combined to form one or more foam cores, said cores may have different factory pre-set density and IFD ratings and are further combined into autonomous airtight chambers within said apparatus.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein each of said autonomous airtight chambers has one or more valves located in a wall of each of said chambers with an air-permeable distancing element interconnected to said valves.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein each of said autonomous airtight chambers has one or more valves located in a wall of each of said chambers with an air-permeable distancing element interconnected to said valves.
- 23. The apparatus in claim 1, whereby a partially deflated foam core contained within an autonomous airtight chamber, having a closed valve, recovers slowly when a weight placed upon said chamber is removed, thereby exhibiting the principal characteristics of visco-elastic foam.
- 24. The apparatus in claim 23, whereby further deflation of a partially deflated foam core contained within an autonomous airtight chamber, having a closed valve, exhibits no upward recovery thereby exhibiting less upward pressure than visco-elastic foam.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the self-inflating foam core adjusts to pressure points only locally without creating a hammock effect.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said autonomous airtight chambers may be permanently attached to each other to form a sectional mattress.
- 27. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said autonomous airtight chambers may be removably connected to each other at the exterior edges of said chamber.
- 28. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein each of said autonomous airtight chambers, when combined into a mattress or support apparatus, may be used on either side before modulation is commenced.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Application is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 10/018,722 having a filing date of Oct. 30, 2001 which in turn is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 9/800,752 having a filing date of Mar. 7, 2001.
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10018722 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
Child |
10244456 |
Sep 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09800752 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
Child |
10018722 |
Apr 2002 |
US |