Patent Grant
7540048
This invention relates to a bedding apparatus and in particular to an improved adjustable support means for a bed. More particularly the invention relates to an adjustable configuration of support for a bed which can have an inner sprung mattress or other type of mattress.
A bed ensemble is a combination of an upper mattress supported on a lower base and forms a typical bedding apparatus in common use. The upper mattress can be of any type, composition or configuration to provide the necessary comfort and secondary support for the user. The lower base is used to elevate the mattress off the ground and to provide ventilation, but importantly to also provide controlled support for the upper mattress.
Since people have very distinctly unique body shapes and weight distribution along the length of their bodies, mattress and bed ensembles need some means of variable support along the length of the mattress. In particular the adjustment is required from the shoulder down to the waist, lower back, hip, under the knees and ultimately at the lower leg and feet.
However a prime importance is the correct support of a person in a bed particularly if a person is in bed for a long period such as in the case of incapacitated people or patients in hospitals. Although hospital beds have various moving parts these are primarily for use for facilitating medical operations or emergency positioning of the patient. The only variation for the comfort of the patient is the planar half folding of the bed to provide the top end of the bed as a back rest and allow the patient to sit up.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved support base for a bed that allows better support for the long term user of beds.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved support base for a bed that overcomes or at least ameliorates the problems of the beds of the prior art.
In accordance with the invention there is provided a support base for a bed mattress, the support base including an adjustable support means for selectively adjusting a portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
The adjustable support means can be able to selectively adjust a portion less than a quarter of the mattress. The adjustable support means can be positioned so as to adjust an end portion of the mattress to provide a headrest or footrest for the user of the bed. However in another form the adjustable support means can be positioned so as to adjust a middle portion of the mattress to provide a lower lumbar support or knee support for the user of the bed.
The adjustable support means is selectively operated by a powered means.
The adjustable support means is preferably operated in conjunction with a folding of the plane of the bed to provide a backrest such that the adjustable support means provides a localised support relative to the folding plane of the bed.
The adjustable support means is in one form operative in conjunction with powered operation of the folding bed. In another form the adjustable support means is operative in conjunction with mechanical operation of the folding bed.
The mechanical operation of the adjustable support means in conjunction with the folding bed can use levers, rods, plates, gussets and sliding mechanisms associated with the hinged folding of the bed to provide adjusting a portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
In another option the mechanical operation of the adjustable support means in conjunction with the folding bed uses cams associated with the hinged folding of the bed to provide adjusting a portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress. The cams can be rotational cams or linearly operative cams.
Also in accordance with the invention there is provided a support base for a bed mattress having at least two planar portions with at least one able to rotate relative one another, and the support base further including an adjustable support means able to adjust a portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress, and the support base still further including a differential displacement member connected with the at least two planar portions and the adjustable support means such that rotation of the at least one planar portion relative to said another causes adjustment of said portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
The adjustable support means can be able to selectively adjust a portion less than a quarter of the mattress. The adjustable support means can be positioned so as to adjust an end portion of the mattress to provide a headrest or footrest for the user of the bed. However in another form the adjustable support means can be positioned so as to adjust a middle portion of the mattress to provide a lower lumbar support or knee support for the user of the bed.
The adjustable support means is selectively operated by a powered means.
The adjustable support means is preferably operated in conjunction with a folding of the plane of the bed to provide a backrest such that the adjustable support means provides a localised support relative to the folding plane of the bed.
The adjustable support means is in one form operative in conjunction with powered operation of the folding bed. In another form the adjustable support means is operative in conjunction with mechanical operation of the folding bed.
The mechanical operation of the adjustable support means in conjunction with the folding bed can use levers associated with the hinged folding of the bed to provide adjusting a portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
In another option the mechanical operation of the adjustable support means in conjunction with the folding bed uses cams associated with the hinged folding of the bed to provide adjusting a portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress. The cams can be rotational cams or linearly operative cams.
The invention also provides a support base for a bed mattress which can have at least two planar portions with at least one rotatable planar portion able to rotate relative an adjacent planar portion with a planar flexible continuous mattress able to extend over both the rotatable planar portion and the adjacent planar portion, and the support base further including an adjustable support means at least partially mounted on the rotatable planar portion and selectively able to adjust a portion of the mattress resting on the rotatable planar portion out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress wherein the support base allows for adjustment from a continuous linear formation to a backrest formation with the adjustable support means providing localised support.
The support base for a bed mattress can further include a differential displacement member connected to the at least one rotatable planar portion, said differential displacement member engaging said adjustable support means so as to displace the adjustable support means towards the a portion of the mattress resting on the rotatable planar portion such that rotation of the at least one planar portion relative to said another causes adjustment of said portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
The differential displacement member can be connected to the rotatable planar portion and engages a fixed means so as to displace the adjustable support means towards the a portion of the mattress resting on the rotatable planar portion such that rotation of the at least one planar portion relative to said another causes adjustment of said portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
The differential displacement member is in one form an elongated member connected to the rotatable planar portion and engaging a fixed means so as to extend at an differing angle to the rotating planar portion such that rotation of the rotating planar portion causes a differential movement of the differential displacement member to the rotating planar portion to displace the adjustable support means towards the a portion of the mattress resting on the rotatable planar portion such that rotation of the at least one planar portion relative to said another causes adjustment of said portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
The invention can have a support base for a bed mattress including a housing having a plurality of transverse slats for supporting said mattress wherein one or more of said slats are individually adjustable relative to said housing to provide calibrated positive or negative height adjustment for each slat, characterised in that said height adjustment is provided by a means which is operable external to said housing. The height adjustment means may be (a) cams positioned at either end of a given slat, (b) elongate cams supporting the length of each slat, (c) general height adjusting blocks, or (d) height adjusting blocks calibrated to a height adjustment scale shared by other means for height adjustment, such as cams. If the elongate cams are made of suitable diameter the slats can be eliminated with the bed mattress supported directly on the cams, which function as slats.
Accordingly, in another aspect the invention provides a support base for a bed mattress including a housing having a plurality of transverse elongate cams for supporting said mattress and an adjustment means for said cams wherein one or more of said cams are individually adjustable relative to said housing to provide height calibrated adjustment for said bed mattress.
Preferably said height adjustment means is provided by a means which is operable external to said housing.
The cams may be fixed to a common axle which protrudes outside the housing to provide the external access to said height adjustment means. The cams may also be provided with calibrations to provide quantitative data on the amount of adjustment occurring. Handles or other fittings may be used to operate the height adjustment means.
The adjustment can be either totally individual from one height adjustment means to the next, or may be coordinated between height adjustment means to provide rapid adjustment.
The height adjustment may also be achieved by “general” height adjusting blocks or may be faithfully duplicated by the use of height adjusting blocks corresponding to the cam calibrations.
The support base may be adapted for a range of bed sizes including single, double and larger sizes. The adjustment means can be coordinated for both sides of a multiple user bed or separate systems incorporated in either side.
In another aspect the invention provides a support base for a bed mattress wherein said support base housing has a hinged portion adapted for raising to support the user in a partially upright position wherein the raiseable portion of said housing incorporates one or more transverse slats or transverse elongate cams for supporting said mattress wherein the slats or cams are individually adjustable relative to said housing to provide local adjustment of said mattress wherein said adjustment is provided by a means which is operable external to said housing.
In order that the invention will be more readily understood embodiments of the invention will be described by way of illustration only with reference to the drawings wherein:
a shows the positive and negative slat adjustment using height adjustment blocks.
b shows a calibrated cam and corresponding height blocks.
Referring to the drawings and particularly
However in the sitting up position the mattress provides no lumbar support. Therefore in the embodiment of the invention shown in
The adjustable support means 21 in
Therefore the adjustable support means 21 is selectively able to adjust a portion of the mattress 15 resting on the rotatable planar portion 12a out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress wherein the support base allows for adjustment from a continuous linear formation to a backrest formation with the adjustable support means providing localised support P.
In a particularly preferred form the operation of the rotating planar portion 12a by electric motor or magnetic field lift simultaneously operates the adjustable support means 21.
As shown in
Referring to
In
It can therefore be seen that the invention allows a design of any amount of variations of structure with required localised support by the mechanical operation of the adjustable support means in conjunction with the folding bed using combination of levers, rods, plates, gussets and sliding mechanisms associated with the hinged folding of the bed to provide adjusting a portion of the mattress out of the plane of extension of the adjacent remainder of the mattress.
Referring to
a shows the support base where the slats have been lowered in region 10 by activation of said cams, to accommodate the hip or shoulder region of the user. If using calibrated height adjustment blocks, this setting would correspond to a cam reading of −2 (−3 from the support and +1 from the block). In region 11 the cams have been raised to accommodate the waist or neck region of the user corresponding to a cam reading of +2 and +1 for the slats shown.
The calibrated cam is shown in
That is, while a practitioner may have need of an easily adjustable bed such as is provided by the use of cams, a patient, once diagnosed, may not require a variable height bed implemented by cams, but may simply require a variable height bed implemented by blocks, the blocks being set to heights determined by the practitioner using a cam adjustable bed.
Referring now to
The particular embodiment shown in
Each slat has a cam 119 positioned at either end connected and operated via an axle 115. The slats may be divided into two separate sides 116 and 117 to provide for independent adjustment for each user. The slats have a cam 114 at either end to provide the variable height support which can be adjusted by rotating the axle 115 which protrudes to the exterior of the housing 111. The external protrusions 118 allow ready adjustment of the height of the individual slats.
Referring now to
An extension of the previously detailed aspect of the invention may be provided as shown in
The support base of the invention provides for the first time, a fully adjustable and variable macro support for a bed mattress. In particular, embodiments of the invention utilising cams may provide the ability to adjust and tailor the heights of individual slats of the support base whilst the mattress is in situ and indeed the slats can be adjusted whilst the occupant is lying on the fully configured bed.
The slats can be either totally independent in their adjustment or if desirable some slats could be interconnected to speed up and/or coordinate the adjustment regime of a given bed.
In use the support base of the invention would be used in conjunction with a suitable mattress and the profile of the user would allow either a professional orthopaedic adviser or an informed user to adjust the macro support for the mattress so as to provide the necessary differentiation required over the length of the mattress in order to properly and correctly provide the necessary orthopaedic support for each individual user. The ease and confidence with which the support base of the invention can be adjusted allows the user to make various adjustments if and when required, and the infinite adjustment available by way of the operating cams and fine adjustment available by way of height adjustment blocks allow complete variation as would be required by any user. The adjusting handles could be provided with optional reference readings and calibration to allow quantitative adjustment of the macro support for a mattress so as to assist the user or practitioner to obtain the ideal support required. Such quantitative adjustment facilities of the support base of the current invention would also allow professional advisers to conduct assessments of individual patients and provide recommendations for the patient to make adjustments to the support base in accordance with their medical requirements without the need for attending the user's bedside.
As can be seen the adjustable bed system allows a selection of constructions of base to allow adjustable bed construction that suits the user. This is further extended by selection of spring systems and padding systems. The present invention relates to bed and mattress structures and particularly to mattress structures that can be customised to individual users. The mattress of the present invention can be delivered to the user in a variety of forms assembled from kits provided at the point of sale to accommodate the musculoskeletal condition of the user. The mattress can also be customised at the factory or at some assembly location or at the point of sale based on a customer's requirements.
The mattress includes the separate components of springs and padding. The mattress further includes one or more mattress covers which preferably combine one user's selection of springs and padding. A second user's selection can be incorporated in a separate mattress cover. For double or queen or king sized beds the two user's selected combination can then be retained together to form a single bed by means of a further mattress cover or by the continuous base. Alternatively a single double or queen or king sized mattress cover could house the two user's separately selected combination of springs and padding.
The mattress covers define a mattress interior receiving a plurality of mattress structure components. The bottom cover can be placed on a surface and used as a template for building the mattress with a “bottom up” assembly technique placing the components on the bottom of the mattress on top of the bottom cover and building the other components thereon. The top cover may also be positioned to facilitate a “top down” assembly by starting with the top cover and first adding the components on the top of the mattress to the top cover and building the other components thereon.
The mattress structure components include a frame made from a relatively firm foam rubber such as a high resiliency, high density urethane foam. The frame is positioned generally along the perimeter of the mattress. Use of a relatively firm foam provides support characteristics that aid users as they ingress and egress to and from an upwardly-facing sleeping surface of the mattress and that prevent the user from rolling off of the sleeping surface.
A plurality of cores including an air bladder, “zone foam” elements, “sculptured foam” shaped from foam blocks, and combinations thereof are provided for filling the central opening. The cores are selected to customize the firmness, support, and interface pressure characteristics to meet the individual desires of each user. To customize the mattress in such a fashion requires considering the combination of each individual's height, weight, body type, weight distribution, health conditions, and preferences.
The preferred method for customising the mattress is initiated when a potential user completes a questionnaire to aid in the analysis of that user's “sleep profile.” The sleep profile assesses such factors as the user's general health and sleep habits. A firmness recommendation is computed either in terms of a pressure for various zones of a “test mattress” containing an air bladder or in terms of a foam type and density for each zone. In addition, a surface recommendation is established based on the user's responses to a surface recommendation questionnaire.
Once the surface and hardness recommendations are established, the user lies on a test sleeping surface. The preferred firmness readings can be translated to establish the foam density that, if incorporated into a mattress, will provide the firmness and support characteristics similar to those provided by the test sleeping surface having the preferred firmness readings.
Once the customized bed configuration is established, a mattress can be assembled from a kit at the point of sale containing the plurality of cores for the user to test and verify that the mattress meets his or her preferences. If the mattress is not satisfactory, it can be adjusted at the point of sale. Once the user is satisfied, he or she can immediately take delivery of the completed customized mattress if desired.
The mattress structure in accordance with the present invention can be sized for a twin bed, a double bed, a queen-sized bed, or a king-sized bed. When the mattress is sized for queen-sized and king-sized beds, both sides of the mattress can be individually customised if desired to provide the firmness and support characteristics desired by individual sleep partners by customising the core and customising the top to provide the desired firmness and support for each side of the bed.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU03/01274 | 9/26/2003 | WO | 00 | 3/19/2007 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2005/030009 | 4/7/2005 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 853049 | Weston | May 1907 | A |
| 1914661 | Burke | Jun 1933 | A |
| 3126554 | Janapol | Mar 1964 | A |
| 3289222 | Nielsen | Dec 1966 | A |
| 3298363 | Parkin | Jan 1967 | A |
| 3339214 | Janapol | Sep 1967 | A |
| 3340548 | Janapol | Sep 1967 | A |
| 3484878 | Nielsen | Dec 1969 | A |
| 3534417 | Boyles | Oct 1970 | A |
| 4307477 | Jacobsen | Dec 1981 | A |
| 4389743 | Callaway | Jun 1983 | A |
| 4494260 | Olds et al. | Jan 1985 | A |
| 5048167 | Heffley et al. | Sep 1991 | A |
| 5109558 | Di Blasi | May 1992 | A |
| 5136740 | Kraft | Aug 1992 | A |
| 5708996 | Marenco | Jan 1998 | A |
| 6061856 | Hoffmann | May 2000 | A |
| 6088853 | Jansen | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6874182 | L'Hegarat et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
| 7159255 | Piraino | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 20040098805 | Piraino | May 2004 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2 146 706 | Oct 1996 | CA |
| 659 180 | Jan 1997 | CH |
| 4 442 719 | Dec 1995 | DE |
| 1 970 0132 | Jul 1998 | DE |
| 103 807 | Mar 1984 | EP |
| 337 828 | Oct 1989 | EP |
| 374 742 | Oct 1994 | EP |
| 1 201 164 | May 2002 | EP |
| 2 662 063 | Nov 1991 | FR |
| 275 5358 | May 1998 | FR |
| 211 7234 | Jan 1985 | GB |
| WO0170163 | Sep 2001 | WO |
| WO0215750 | Feb 2002 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20070214571 A1 | Sep 2007 | US |
