Patent Application
20100024127
The invention relates generally to the textile and furniture industry, specifically, an improved mattress pad.
Mattress padding generally comprises a soft, pliable, fabric casing that is filled with a soft material and is designed to be placed over a mattress to provide additional padding and/or support. One of the original implementation of mattress padding is known as a mattress pad. A mattress pad is composed of quilted and filled batting-type material that is fitted on top of a mattress in the same manner as a fitted sheet. The mattress pad provides additional cushion to the mattress and may also provide protection from damage to the mattress. It recent years, it has become common for a mattress pad to be integrated into the mattress. Such mattresses are known pillow top mattresses.
Cushioning or fill material for mattress pads is usually synthetic fibers, such as batting or puffball polyester fiberfill, also known simply as puffballs or polyester fiberfill. The puffballs are puff-blown polyester fiberfill that are resilient, fluffable and shapeable. Puffball polyester fiberfill is ideal for use in mattress pads because it retains its softness and fluffiness and recreates the loft and support of down. Polyester fiberfill is used as filling or insulating material for pillows, cushions, bedding materials, such as mattress pads, quilts, comforters, duvets, and in apparel, such as coats, parkas, and boots.
Mattress pads are typically quilted to prevent the fill material from clumping into one particular spot. Quilting or baffling is stitching that goes through the front and back of the mattress pad and creates pockets to hold a set amount of filler material and prevent it from migrating. The amount of quilting varies, but typically higher quality mattress pads include more quilting. Additionally, the quilting may be an ornamental feature of the mattress pad and can be sewn in the shape of a design on the pad.
As used in the instant application, the term “filled quilting” of “filled quilted cushioning” refers to a construction comprised of top and bottom layers of sheet material in which closed pockets have been sewn through in a quilted pattern and wherein said pockets contain cushioning or fill material such as batting or puffball polyester fiberfill.
The lack of the ability to offer a mattress pad that has varied cushioning dependant upon the body part that contacts the mattress pad is problematic. Different body parts require different density padding to allow for maximum comfort. The amount of padding needed for maximum comfort is dependent upon the body part and amount of the person's body that is in contact with the mattress. The head of a sleeper requires firm padding or maximum support. The core of the body, which makes the most contact with the mattress pad, requires the softest density of padding. The legs and feet of a sleeper require a medium amount of padding.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,286 describes a cushioning device and method of producing the cushioning device. The cushioning device may be a pillow which includes an upper pocket with a cavity for receiving filler material such as down, fiberfill, or fiberballs and second cavity for receiving additional filler material such as a foam core. The foam core is a visco-elastic or polyurethane foam. The pillow is designed to provide maximum support and comfort.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,555 describes a dual-filled adjustable postural health pillow. The pillow consists of a three dimensionally rectangular outer casing which holds at least two discretely, proportionately filled casings/chambers. The bottom casing is filled with grain hulls to elevate the head and support the neck. The top casing is filled with a compressible material such as wool or down to provide cushion. An aperature in the grain-filled casing allows a user to adjust the volume of fill for customization and maximum comfort.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,636 describes a cushion construction. A resilient, flexible foam material such as polyurethane foam or latex foam rubber with a convoluted front and rear surface is wrapped with a batt or web of soft resilient non-woven fibrous material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,996 describes a mattress formed from foam material. The mattress comprises a foam body having an upper surface for supporting a user and a lower surface for resting on a support. An inner core region formed from foam material having a greater indentation force deflection co-efficient than the remainder of the foam body is provided. The inner core region extends substantially along the length of the mattress and provides greater support in the mattress along an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mattress. The inner core is designed to provide additional support, reduce sag and increase the life of the mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,538 is a multi-section mattress overlay for systematized pressure dispersion. The overlay is polyurethane foam and has several sections defined in a relatively flat support surface thereof. The sections are horizontally disposed so as to correspond with different parts of a user's body. Each section has predetermined support characteristics. A plurality of projections are formed in each surface section. Tailored support characteristics in respective sections provide engineered support for all parts of a user's body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,251 describes a mattress pad adapted to prevent decubiltus ulcers of a person laying thereon wherein there are a head section and a feet and legs section having similar top configurations and an intermediate torso support insert section there between of a top configuration different than said other two sections. The insert section is capable of being a replaceable insert within said pad or permanently affixed thereto. The mattress pad is composed of a polyurethane foam.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,868 describes a varying firmness mattress. The '868 patent describes a mattress, not a mattress pad. The mattress includes a solid mattress with an upper foam portion, where the foam portion is similar to egg-crate foam. The firmness of the mattress is varied in horizontal sections. The variation is achieved by modification of the heights of the hills of the foam. The mattress consists of an upper variable firmness section covering a lower section of generally uniform firmness. Each region of the mattress is of substantially uniform firmness, but the firmness is varied from one region to another. The regions are formed of a resilient, foam rubber material indented in patterns to provide numerous closely spaced apart hills surrounded by intended valleys, with the firmness of the regions being varied by varying the heights of the hills.
None of the mattresses or mattress pads known describe a mattress pad that has filled quilted cushioning with horizontal zones of differing firmness dependant upon the body part that contacts the mattress pad. None of the mattress pads described above are tailored to support a specific portion of a user's body using filled quilted cushioning for maximum comfort. The improved mattress pad of the invention solves this problem by providing a uniquely filled quilted mattress pad designed to support different parts of a sleeper's body with filled quilting that is varied in horizontal sections of the pad.
None of the prior art methods provide a mattress pad tailored to a sleeper's body by using filled quilted cushioning. The mattress pad of the invention provides improved filled quilting to vary the firmness of cushioning by use of horizontal zones corresponding to differing parts of a sleeper's body. The invention uses unique quilting patterns to solve this problem.
The current invention satisfies the above needs by providing a mattress pad for providing support to a body comprising filled quilted cushioning and horizontal zones of differing firmness. The firmness in each of said horizontal zones is created by varying the quilting pattern of the mattress pad in each of the horizontal zones. Also disclosed is a mattress pad wherein the horizontal zones comprise a top section, a middle section and a bottom section.
The current invention also provides an improved mattress pad for providing support to a body with varying filled quilted cushioning in horizontal sections comprising a top section with small quilted cushioning providing firm support for a head; a middle section with large quilted cushioning providing moderate support for upper legs and a torso; and a bottom section with channeled quilting providing moderate support for lower legs and a recessed portion for feet.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention may be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of the embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings.
The mattress pad 1 of the invention may be filled with a synthetic material or feather or down. The synthetic material can be polyester fiberfill, puff ball, bonded fiber, gel fiber, batting or any other known synthetic material. Non-woven materials typically offer the greatest loft and resilience for use in mattress pads 1. Any new or known material suitable for filling a mattress pad 1 or fiber bed can be used to fill the mattress pad 1 of the invention. The filler material used in the present invention is granular or particulate in nature (i.e. comprised of loose discrete pieces) not monolithic.
As shown in
The middle section 4 is the softest section of the mattress pad 1 and provides moderate support. The middle section 4 will receive the greatest amount of body contact and is desired to be the softest for maximum comfort. The middle section 4 is created to provide moderate support by using the largest quilting 2 pattern. The quilting 2 used in the middle section 4 creates squares that are approximately 10 inches by 10 inches. The middle section 4 is approximately 40 inches in length.
The bottom section 5 of the mattress pad 1 is also created to provide moderate support. The bottom section 5 is where the sleeper's ankles and feet will rest. The quilting 2 used in the bottom section 5 creates channels. The channels are approximately five inches in width. The bottom section 5 is approximately 20 inches in length. The channels of the bottom section 5 allow a sleeper to comfortably rest his or her feet in the depth of the channel. The lack of vertical quilting 2 in this section allows for more movement of the filler material and thus a softer cushion.
Accordingly, it will be understood that the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed by way of example and that other modifications and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art.
