1. Technical Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to sleep systems that provide variable control of the support and comfort characteristics of the sleep system. More particularly, these apparatuses and methods provide automatic adjustment of the support and comfort characteristics of a sleep system based on a person's body variances. These apparatuses and methods also provide manual adjustment of the support and comfort characteristics of the sleep system based on support and comfort levels that a person selects.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of different sleep systems are currently available. Such sleep systems may comprise all aspects of a bedding assembly including, but not limited to, mattresses, box springs, foundation units, bed frames, pillows, mattress pads, linens and, more generally, to any type of sleep product that influences a person's sleep. However, each respective sleep system may be suitable for some persons but not suitable for others persons. The characteristics of a suitable sleep system for a person depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the physical attributes of the person (e.g., weight, height, body dimensions, weight distribution, etc.), preferred sleeping positions (e.g., sleeping on back, side, front, etc.), sleeping habits and so on.
Two very different primary components of sleep systems affect a person's overall sleep experience: support and comfort. First, a sleep system delivers support to a person by holding the person in a proper postural alignment, while evenly redistributing the person's body weight across a wide area so as to relieve interface pressure. For example, a mattress may deliver support through the resistance provided by innersprings to the downward force applied due to the person's body weight.
Second, a sleep system delivers comfort to a person's body through the use of comfort materials layered on a top region of the sleep surface. For instance, by layering firming pads and harder, high density foam on top of the innersprings, a mattress can be manufactured to provide varying levels of hardness or firmness. On the other hand, by layering soft materials over the innersprings like convoluted foam, low density foam and/or fiber materials like wool, silk or cashmere, a mattress can be manufactured to provide varying levels of softness or a more plush feel.
The sleep system that is most suitable for a particular person is that sleep system which provides the best possible combination of comfort and support to the person. Further, suitable sleep systems will vary considerably based on a person's physical attributes, sleeping habits, etc.
The number of factors that influence the suitability of a sleep system for a person are vast and interrelated. Thus, the selection of a suitable sleep system can be a complicated and difficult process for a person. Further, the sleep system that a person selects for themselves based on what sleep system feels most appealing to the person during a showroom testing of the sleep system may not be the most suitable sleep system for the person. Rather, it may require several weeks of sleeping on a given sleep system for a person to determine the long-term suitability of the sleep system. However, prospective sleep system purchasers are generally limited to such brief showroom testing.
Apparatuses and methods for objectively evaluating a person on a sleep system so as to determine the optimal comfort and support characteristics for the person have been developed by the inventors of the present application, as set forth in a related Provisional Application entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Evaluating a Person on a Sleep System,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. The apparatuses and methods disclosed in the aforementioned related Provisional Application can be employed to (among other things) recommend which of the generic sleep systems that are commercially available will most closely provide the person with the optimal comfort and support characteristics that are determined for the person based on their individual characteristics. Thus, apparatuses and methods disclosed in the aforementioned related Provisional Application (among other things) assist a purchaser in determining the long-term suitability of a sleep system during a brief showroom setting.
However, conventionally, purchasers are typically limited to selecting one of the limited models of generic sleep systems that are commercially available. But, the limited number of generic sleep systems that are commercially available may not precisely provide the optimal comfort and support characteristics that are determined for the person according to the apparatuses and methods of the aforementioned related Provisional Application since generic sleep systems are not custom manufactured to the purchaser's individual characteristics.
Thus, there is a need for a sleep system that can be precisely varied to provide custom determined optimal comfort and support characteristics for a person based on that person's individual characteristics.
Additionally, during the course of a night, a person will experience numerous body variances. For example, among other body variances, the person will exhibit movement and the person's sleeping position will vary throughout the night. The person's heart rate, rate of breathing, state of sleep and sleep quality will also vary. As the person experiences such variances over the course of the night, the optimal sleep system support and comfort characteristics corresponding to the experienced variances will also vary.
However, the support and comfort characteristics of conventional mattresses (even adjustable mattresses) are fixed and do not vary automatically while a person sleeps. Thus, there is a need for a sleep system that can detect and analyze a person's body variances. There is also a need for a sleep system that can automatically adjust the support and comfort characteristics of the sleep system based on such body variances on an immediate basis.
It is also important to recognize that a person's physical attributes (e.g., weight, weight distribution, etc.) and sleeping habits may vary somewhat over time after the person purchases a particular sleep system. For example, the person may gain or loose substantial weight over time, or the person's preferred sleeping position may change. Consequently, the optimal sleep system support and comfort characteristics corresponding to the person's physical attributes may also vary over time. Thus, there is a need for a sleep system that can analyze such long-term variances and automatically adjust its support and comfort characteristics over time, on a weekly or nightly basis, for example.
Further, a person's support and comfort preferences may vary and, thus, there is a need for a sleep system which allows a person to manually adjust its support and comfort characteristics to the person's liking.
Conventional mattresses have failed to adequately address the above needs and other needs not explicitly mentioned above. For example, a pocketed coil type mattress designed to have an adjustable level of support is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,182 (hereinafter “the '182 patent), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The support level adjustment mechanism described regarding that conventional adjustable mattress uses several air bladders that are placed under individual pocketed coils of the mattress.
However, the mattress described in the '182 patent has numerous disadvantages. For example, although the conventional mattress described in the '182 patent can change the amount or level of support, it cannot not adjust for comfort.
Further, according to the mattress described in the '182 patent, each of the air bladders is of a width equal to one of the strings of springs. More particularly, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 of the '182 patent, the mattress described therein has a number of coil springs 34, each coil spring being contained within a fabric pocket 32. Each of a plurality of inflatable pneumatic members 50 are arranged underneath a respective row of the pocketed coil springs. The inflatable pneumatic members 50 are connected to an air pump 64 through pneumatic tubes 62 and 60. When the air pump 64 supplies air to the inflatable pneumatic members 50, the inflatable pneumatic members 50 expand. When air is released from the inflatable pneumatic members 50, the inflatable pneumatic members 50 contract.
In the mattress described in the '182 patent, each of the inflatable pneumatic members 50 is placed directly underneath a single row of pocketed coil springs, as clearly shown in FIG. 3 of the '182 patent. Thus, when a respective inflatable pneumatic member 50 is inflated so that it expands, the respective inflatable pneumatic member 50 operates to compress only the single row of pocketed coil springs that is located directly above it.
By compressing the pocketed coil springs, the pocketed coil springs provide firmer support in the specific area of the mattress where the single row of pocketed coil springs is located. When air is released from an inflatable pneumatic member 50, the inflatable pneumatic member 50 compresses, as shown, for example, in FIG. 6 of the '182 patent, by inflatable pneumatic member 50c. This allows the row of pocketed coil springs above the inflatable pneumatic member 50c to decompress, thereby providing less support in those areas of the mattress where the row of pocketed coil springs is located.
However, the mattress described in the '182 patent only provides an adjustable level of support. It does not allow for adjusting a degree of comfort for the person. Further, the mattress described in the '182 patent can only provide a minimal overall increase in support. For example, indentation load deflection tests performed on the mattress described in the '182 patent show an overall increase in support that is a fraction of the illustrative embodiments described herein. The mattress described in the '182 patent also does not automatically adjust the support and comfort characteristics of the sleep system based on the person's body variances.
Thus, there is a need for a sleep system having variable comfort characteristics in addition to an adjustable degree of support provided by the sleep system and for a sleep system that provides automatic adjustment, as described above. There is also a need for a sleep system in which the force applied by each inflatable member is dispersed among a plurality of rows of coils, rather than being limited to the single row of coils directly above it.
Aspects of the present invention provide a sleep system having variable control of the support and comfort characteristics of the sleep system. Aspects of the present invention also provide automatic adjustment of the support and comfort characteristics of a sleep system in response to a person's body variances. Further, aspects of the present invention provide manual adjustment of the support and comfort characteristics of a sleep system based on support and comfort levels that a person selects.
An aspect of the present invention provides a sleep system comprising: a sleep support member comprising: a comfort layer comprising: a plurality of comfort layer inflatable members; and a comfort layer sensor configured to provide data relating to respective pressures of the comfort layer inflatable members; a data analysis unit configured to analyze data provided by the comfort layer sensor and to generate analyzed comfort layer data; and a control unit configured to control a pressure within each of the respective comfort layer inflatable members using the analyzed comfort layer data.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a sleep system comprising: a sleep support member comprising: a support layer comprising: a plurality of support layer inflatable members; and a support layer sensor configured to provide data relating to respective pressures of the support layer inflatable members; a data analysis unit configured to analyze data provided by the support layer sensor and to generate analyzed support layer data; and a control unit configured to control a pressure within each of the respective support layer inflatable members using the analyzed support layer data.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of controlling a variable sleep support member, the method comprising: determining whether a person is disposed on the sleep support member; if a person is disposed on the sleep support member, then: analyzing data relating to respective pressures of a plurality of comfort layer inflatable members that are arranged in a comfort layer of the sleep support member to generate analyzed comfort layer data; and controlling a pressure within at least one of the comfort layer inflatable members using the analyzed comfort layer data.
The above and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail illustrative embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:
Illustrative embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements.
Aspects of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for adjusting the support and comfort characteristics that a sleep system provides. The support and comfort characteristics of the illustrative sleep system may be adjusted automatically in response to a person's body variances. On the other hand, the support and comfort characteristics of the sleep system may be adjusted manually based on support and comfort levels that a person selects.
In contrast to the conventional mattress shown in
According to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the variable comfort layer 220 and the variable support layer 230 are configured to allow adjustment to (among other things) the two primary components of sleep systems discussed above that affect a person's overall sleep experience, namely, comfort and support. That is, the embodiment shown in
As explained in greater detail below, the variable comfort layer 220 is configured to allow adjustment to the pressure applied to a top region of the variable sleep system 201 at various regions of a person's body. More particularly, the variable comfort layer 220 is configured to allow immediate adjustments to the region of a sleep system that typically delivers comfort to a person's body through the use of comfort layers at a top region of the sleep surface.
On the other hand, the variable support layer 230 is configured to allow adjustment to the pressure applied to a region of the variable sleep system 201, located below the variable comfort layer 220, at various regions of the person's body. More particularly, the variable support layer 230 is configured to allow immediate adjustments to the region of a sleep system that typically delivers support to a person's body through the resistance provided by the innersprings.
As explained in detail below, by adjusting both the variable comfort layer 220 and the variable support layer 230, it is possible to adjust the variable sleep system 201 so that it provides the best possible combination of comfort and support to the person. Adjustments to the variable support layer 230 may be performed automatically based on body variances of the person, or manually based on the person's comfort preferences.
Further, according to one illustrative embodiment, the coils comprising the layer of upper coils 231 and the layer of lower coils 232 comprise what is known in the industry as pocketed coil springs, in which each spring is individually enclosed within a pocket of material. However, the present invention is not limited to a configuration employing pocketed coils and a wide variety of support devices can be used consistent with the present invention, including, but not limited to, layers of plastic based materials or other engineered support systems.
According to the illustrative embodiment shown in
A plurality of support layer inflatable members or bladders 234 are disposed between the layer of upper coils 231 and the layer of lower coils 232. As shown in
The support layer inflatable members 234 may be constructed of a variety of materials including, but not limited to plastic, vinyl, neoprene, rubber and the like. According to the illustrative embodiment shown in
As shown in
Accordingly, by controlling the inflation/deflation of the support layer inflatable members 234, the support characteristics of the variable sleep system 201 can be adjusted. For example, if the sense and control unit 250 automatically determines, based on the person's body variances, to provide more support for the person's lower back, or receives a manual instruction to do so, then the support layer inflatable members 234 disposed in a region corresponding to the person's lower back can be controlled to further inflate. Consequently, the support layer inflatable members 234 would apply greater forces to certain coils within the layer of upper coils 231 and the layer of lower coils 232 that are disposed in a region corresponding to the person's lower back, causing the aforementioned coils to further compress and, in turn, apply greater support to the person's lower back.
As shown in
As further illustrated in
As shown in
Each of the support layer sensors 238 is configured to provide real time measurements relating to the pressure of a respective support layer inflatable member 234 or a respective group of support layer inflatable members 234. As such, when a person is positioned on the variable sleep system 201, measurements relating to the pressure of respective support layer inflatable members 234 can be acquired and analyzed. Using such measurements, a support layer pressure profile of the person can be obtained and used to determine adjustments that would provide the most suitable sleep system support layer characteristics for the person.
According to the illustrative embodiment shown in
According to the illustrative embodiment illustrated in
Moreover, a first force dispersing cover 235 may be disposed between the support layer inflatable members 234 and the coils of the layer of upper coils 231. Among other things, the first force dispersing cover 235 facilitates the dispersion of the force applied by each support layer inflatable member 234 among a plurality of rows of upper coils 231. The first force dispersing cover 235 may be comprised of a wide variety of materials including, but not limited to, non-woven fabric, polystyrene, etc.
Likewise, a second force dispersing cover 236 may be disposed between the support layer inflatable members 234 and the layer of lower coils 232. Among other things, the second force dispersing cover 236 facilitates the dispersion of the force applied by each support layer inflatable member 234 among a plurality of rows of lower coils 232.
According to one illustrative embodiment, the first force dispersing cover 235 may be glued to the coils of the layer of upper coils 231 and the second force dispersing cover 236 may be glued to the layer of lower coils 232. By inserting the first and second force dispersing covers 235 and 236 between the coils and the inflatable members, the force applied by expanding each respective inflatable member is spread over a greater area and hence across a greater number of coils. In this illustrative configuration, the first and second force dispersing covers 235 and 236 disperse the force of the inflatable members to achieve a greater effect on the coils over a greater area.
As shown in
Consistent with the illustrative embodiment depicted in
Thus, if the sense and control unit 250 automatically determines, based on the person's body variances, to make the variable comfort layer 220 firmer under the shoulder region of the person, or receives a manual instruction to do so, then the respective comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224 under the person's shoulder region is/are further inflated. On the other hand, if the sense and control unit 250 automatically determines to make the variable comfort layer 220 softer under the shoulder region of the person, or receives a manual instruction to do so, then the respective comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224 under the person's shoulder region is/are further deflated so as to provide more cushion in those areas.
Additionally, as shown in
Moreover, as shown in
Also, according to the illustrative embodiment shown in
Importantly, when a person is positioned on the variable sleep system 201, measurements relating to the pressure of respective comfort layer inflatable members 224 can be acquired and analyzed. Using such measurements, a comfort layer pressure profile of the person can be obtained and used to determine adjustments that would provide the most suitable sleep system comfort layer characteristics for the person.
Although the illustrative embodiment shown in
Additionally, according to illustrative embodiments of the present invention, as shown in
According to the illustrative embodiment shown in
Alternatively, according to the illustrative embodiment shown in
According to an illustrative embodiment, the variable comfort layer 220 may be configured to comprise a plurality of different zones, each zone providing respective comfort characteristics. For instance, the variable comfort layer 220 may comprise seven different comfort zones, wherein each comfort zone comprises at least one comfort layer inflatable member 224 and wherein the seven different comfort zones are not equal in size. On the other hand, the variable support layer 230 may comprise three different support zones, wherein each support zone comprises at least one support layer inflatable member 234, wherein the three different support zones are not equal in size.
Consistent with the present invention, the support layer sensors 238 and the comfort layer sensors 228 provide the ability to measure a wide variety of data. For example, when a person is positioned on the variable sleep system 201, data provided by the support layer sensors 238 and the comfort layer sensors 228 can be analyzed to determine, among other things, the person's weight, weight distribution, body position, breathing rate, heart rate, state of sleep, etc. Further, such data can be acquired and analyzed over time to determine a variety of body variances of the person while the person sleeps.
As shown in
Thus, according to one illustrative embodiment, a person positions themselves on the variable sleep system 201 and the processor 330 measures and analyzes the effect of the person's body on various points on the variable comfort layer 220 and the variable support layer 230. Using such measurement data, the processor 330 then determines the optimal adjustments to the support layer inflatable members 234 and comfort layer inflatable members 224 that would provide the person with the best combination of zoned support and zoned comfort. The sense and control unit 250 then adjusts the support layer inflatable members 234 and comfort layer inflatable members 224 to their respective determined optimal levels, thus providing the variable sleep system 201 with optimal support and comfort characteristics.
Further, according to another illustrative embodiment, the processor 330 records measurement data regarding the effect of the person's body on various points on the variable comfort layer 220 and the variable support layer 230 over time. By analyzing such data, the processor 330 can detect a wide variety of body variances of the person and can determine optimal adjustments to the support layer inflatable members 234 and comfort layer inflatable members 224 based on such detected variances.
According to one illustrative embodiment, the sense and control unit 250 can detect and provide immediate automatic adjustments to the comfort layer inflatable members 224 and the support layer inflatable members 234 based on measurements taken about the person during sleep, as to continuously provide the variable sleep system 201 with custom-determined optimal comfort and support characteristics, respectively. In particular, during the course of a night, the sense and control unit 250 can detect and analyze a wide variety of body variances that a person experiences including, but not limited to, a person's weight distribution, body position, breathing rate, heart rate, state of sleep, sleep quality etc. Thus, the sense and control unit 250 can automatically adjust both the comfort layer inflatable members 224 and the support layer inflatable members 234 in immediate response to such body variances so as to continuously provide optimal support and comfort characteristics to the person throughout the night.
For example, if based on measurements regarding changes in the person's sleep quality, the sense and control unit 250 determines that additional support is needed in a particular zone of the variable sleep system 201 to improve sleep quality, then the support layer inflatable members 234 in that zone can be adjusted.
Or, for instance, the sense and control unit 250 can determine that a person has rolled over in their sleep to a new sleeping position (e.g., the person has rolled from their back to their side) and that, as a result, additional support is needed in the person's hip area. Accordingly, the sense and control unit 250 can then adjust designated support layer inflatable member(s) 234 corresponding to the region of the person's hip area by increasing the pressure within those designated support layer inflatable member(s) 234. Consequently, the designated support layer inflatable member(s) 234 would expand, causing the coil(s) of the layer of upper coils 231 located above the designated support layer inflatable member(s) 234 to compress. This, in effect, causes the coil(s) corresponding to the region of the person's hip area to be biased by the inflation of the designated support layer inflatable member(s) 234. Accordingly, additional support would be provided in that area of the variable sleep system 201 that corresponds to the person's hip area.
In addition to providing immediate automatic adjustments like those examples discussed above, the sense and control unit 250 can also measure and analyze a person's body variances (e.g., gains or losses in weight, changes in weight distribution, etc.) and sleeping habits over an extended period of time. Hence, the sense and control unit 250 can adjust the comfort layer inflatable members 224 and the support layer inflatable members 234 in response to such long-term variances so as to continuously provide optimal support and comfort characteristics to the person over an extended period.
By way of illustration, suppose a person gradually gains substantial weight during the years subsequent to their purchase of the sleep system 201. In such a case, the sense and control unit 250 would detect, measure and analyze this gradual variance in weight over time. Based on such an analysis, the sense and control unit 250 might, for example, then determine that additional support is required, throughout the entire support layer 230, to compensate for the person's weight gain and to thereby provide the variable sleep system 201 with the optimal support characteristics for the person. Accordingly, as the person gains weight over time, the sense and control unit 250 would automatically control each of the support layer inflatable members 234 to further inflate, as necessary, to provide the optimal support characteristics for the person corresponding to their gradual variance in weight.
Consistent with the present invention, the optimal pressure levels for each of the respective comfort layer inflatable members 224 and support layer inflatable members 234 and at which the variable sleep system 201 provides optimal comfort and support characteristics to the person can be determined in a number of ways. For example, such optimal pressure levels can be determined by analyzing data obtained by observing a plurality of different persons of varying physical attributes (e.g., persons of different heights, weights, weight distributions, waist widths, shoulder widths, etc.) as they are positioned on a variety of different sleep systems having different comfort and support characteristics, in a variety of different sleeping positions and by recording observed data in the database 390. By recording such observed data in the database 390, along with which particular comfort and support characteristics provide each respective person with the best support (e.g., spinal alignment, etc.) and comfort characteristics (e.g., lowest amount of interface pressure, etc.) a correspondence between particular physical attributes of persons and suitable comfort and support characteristics can be established and stored in the database 390.
Examples of apparatuses and methods for objectively evaluating a person on a sleep system so as to determine the optimal comfort and support characteristics for the person have been developed by the inventors of the present application, as set forth in the aforementioned related Provisional Application. However, such apparatuses and examples are merely examples and the present invention is not limited to these examples.
According to one illustrative embodiment, the optimal pressure levels of the support layer inflatable members 234 and comfort layer inflatable members 224 for a person can be calculated as set forth in the aforementioned related Provisional Application using the test bed disclosed therein. Such calculations can then be used to provide the most suitable variable support and variable comfort settings to which the variable sleep system 201 can be adjusted. For example, the calculations from the aforementioned test bed can be provided to and stored in the database 390 in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, transfer via wireless or wired communication, transfer via storage media, manual data input, etc.
That is, by way of illustration, a prospective sleep system purchaser could visit a sleep system showroom where an evaluation of the person on a sleep system can be performed according to the aforementioned related Provisional Application. As a result of this evaluation, the prospective sleep system purchaser would be provided with optimal variable support and variable comfort settings to be transferred to a variable sleep system 201 in the purchaser's home. Thus, the variable sleep system 201 would adjust the support layer inflatable members 234 and comfort layer inflatable members 224 to the optimal pressure levels so as to provide the optimal support and comfort characteristics to the purchaser.
According to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a person can manually input body data to the sense and control unit 250, including, but not limited to, data such as the person's height, weight, body size, etc. Using such manually inputted body data, the processor 330 then determines the optimal adjustments to the support layer inflatable members 234 and comfort layer inflatable members 224 that would provide the person with the best combination of zoned support and zoned comfort. The sense and control unit 250 then adjusts the support layer inflatable members 234 and comfort layer inflatable members 224 to their respective determined optimal levels, thus providing the variable sleep system 201 with optimal support and comfort characteristics using the manually inputted body data.
In addition to the support and comfort characteristics of the variable sleep system 201 being automatically adjustable, as described above, a person could also manually control the support and comfort characteristics of the variable sleep system 201 based on support and comfort levels that the person selects. For example, if a person desired to make the variable sleep system 201 feel firmer under the person's shoulders, then the person could control the comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224 corresponding to the person's shoulder region to be further inflated by increasing the pressure of the respective comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224. When the respective comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224 corresponding to the person's shoulder region inflate and expand, the respective comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224 cause the coils of the layer of upper coils 231 below to compress and cause the region of the upper buildup layer 290 above to compress. Consequently, the variable sleep system 201 would apply greater contact pressure to the region corresponding to the person's shoulders (i.e., this region would feel firmer).
Conversely, if the person desired to make the variable sleep system 201 feel softer, then the person could control the sense and control unit 250 to reduce the pressure of certain comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224 (e.g., by releasing air from certain comfort layer inflatable member(s) 224) so as to cause the variable sleep system 201 to apply less contact pressure to the person in those areas (i.e. those areas would feel softer and have more cushion).
Although the above example describes manual adjustments to the comfort characteristics of the variable sleep system 201, a person can also manually adjust the support characteristics of the variable sleep system 201 in an analogous manner. Indeed, in contrast to conventional devices like the mattress described in the '182 patent (which only provides an overall increase in support of less 15%), indentation load deflection tests show that illustrative embodiments of the present invention exhibit an overall increase in support of more than 100%.
Furthermore, although the illustrative embodiments described above relate to varying the support and comfort characteristics of the variable sleep system 201 to provide the optimal support and comfort for a single person, the present invention can also be employed to vary the support and comfort characteristics of the variable sleep system 201 to provide the optimal support and comfort for a person and their sleeping partner. According to one illustrative embodiment, the variable sleep system 201 may comprise two separate variable surfaces so that optimal support and comfort characteristics can be provided to two persons at the same time, even if the two persons have significantly different physical attributes. Thus, apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention also provide automatic adjustment of the support and comfort characteristics of a sleep system comprising two variable surfaces in response to body variances of two persons, respectively. Further, aspects of the present invention provide manual adjustment of the support and comfort characteristics of a sleep system comprising two variable surfaces based on support and comfort levels that two persons select, respectively.
The method of controlling the support and comfort of a mattress according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium can be any data storage device that can store data which can be read by a computer or a computer system. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to illustrative embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The illustrative embodiments should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined not by the detailed description of the invention but by the claims set forth in the related non-provisional application and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/028,591, filed on Feb. 14, 2008, in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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