Patent Application
20110035879
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an orthopedic mattress and, in particular, an air mattress that includes a series of air vents and air channels that promote the cooling of the mattress by natural convection.
2. Related Art
Today millions of people suffer from back and back induced pain and discomfort.
In many cases these problems can be traced back to poor sleeping habits and even poorer quality beds and mattresses. Also, patients and other persons confined to a bed for long periods of time frequently develop pressure sores, which are medically known as decubitus ulcers and which are commonly referred to as bedsores. Decubitus ulcers are formed due to an interruption of blood flow in the capillaries below skin tissue due to pressure against the skin. These pressure sores can be debilitating and painful and, in extreme cases, can lead to death.
In many instances an orthopedic mattress may be utilized to ease, or even alleviate the foregoing problems. An orthopedic mattress is useful because it promotes a healthy back and alleviates bed pain by supporting the spine in its correct alignment and by avoiding the development of localized pressure points. This in turn makes an orthopedic mattress comfortable, restful, and supportive and people who use orthopedic beds tend to sleep better, feel more rested in the morning, and are less likely to become restless during the night.
Orthopedic mattresses come in a range of constructions from traditional springs and coils, to memory foam, latex foam, and composites of all three compositions. In particular, memory foam and latex mattresses are typically made to conform to the user's body rather than be hard or very firm. In this way, a mattress that contours around the sleeper enables the mattress to fill the gap under the lower back, while still being firm and offering support to the rest of the body without sagging or deflecting.
Memory foam is a polyurethane-based foam that reacts to pressure and body heat. These properties allow the foam to mold itself to the shape of a warm body within a few minutes. By its nature, memory foam holds a lot of heat because the foam would not be effective if it didn't dissipate heat so slowly. Thus, an orthopedic mattress using memory foam may sleep warmer than traditional mattresses, especially in warm climates, which may make the user hot and sweaty. Thus, a need exists for an orthopedic mattress that provides cooling as well as comfort to the user.
An air mattress is provided for use in orthopedic bedding. The mattress includes a convoluted top surface having a plurality of air vents, and sidewalls having a set of air channels that communicates with the air vents to promote the circulation of air throughout the mattress. In use, air is drawn into the set of air channels and ejected through the air vents to cool a user by natural convection.
Also provided is a method of cooling a mattress. The method includes the steps of forming at least one air vent through a top surface of the mattress; forming at least one air channel in at least one sidewall of the mattress, wherein at least one air channel communicates vent with at least one air vent formed in the top surface; drawing cool air into at least one air channel of the mattress, the cool air passing from at least one air channel to at least one air vent fanned in the top surface; and ejecting the cool air from the mattress through at least one air vent. At least one elongated air channel may be formed in at least one sidewall of the mattress to provide more convection cooling in some areas of the mattress over other areas of the mattress.
Other devices, apparatus, systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
The invention may be better understood by referring to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
According to the invention, the mattress 20 and each of its layers are formed of a foam material. For example, the mattress 20 may be formed of a memory foam, latex rubber foam, rebond foam, polyurethane foam, high density foam, evlon foam, high resilience foam, closed cell foam, open cell foam, or any other suitable foam material. The mattress 20 may be constructed to a rectangular shape or any other suitable construction. The mattress 20 may also be constructed to a thickness ranging from approximately 8 inches to 16 inches, and to the dimensions of conventional bedding including hospital, twin, full, queen, king, California king, California queen, and super king-sized bedding.
The support, convection, and base layers 30, 50, and 40 may be formed from a single piece of foam or integrally formed or molded with one another as three discrete layers. The support, convection, and base layers 30, 50, and 40 may be of the same resilience, or the support layer 30 may be of greater resilience (i.e., made from a lighter density foam) than the convection and base layers 50, 40 to provide softness to the user. For example, in one implementation the support layer may have a 4 lb density, the convection layer may have a 2 lb density, and the base layer may have a 2 lb density. Similarly, the mattress 20 layers may be constructed from the same type of foam material or alternatively, each layer may be constructed from a different type of foam.
Turning to
The air vents 34, as shown in the figures, are holes that extend from the top surface 32 to the bottom surface 36 of the support layer 30. The air vents 34 are configured to allow cool air drawn into the mattress 20 to flow out of the support layer 30, The air vents 34 may be uniformly distributed throughout the support layer 30 to provide uniform cooling, while increasing the ability of support layer 30 to conform to the user's body. In one implementation, the air vents 34 may be 0.25 inch drill holes, but in other implementations the air vents 34 may be constructed of any suitable size or shape.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In one implementation, the first set of notches 60 and the bottom surface 36 of the support layer 30 define a first set of air channels 64. These air channels 64 are configured to communicate with the air vents 34 formed in the support layer 30 to promote the circulation of air throughout the mattress 20. The second set of notches 62 and a top surface of base layer 40 define a second set of air channels 66. These air channels are configured to draw-in cool air on one side of the mattress 20, and displace warm air on an opposite side of the mattress 20. In one implementation, the air channels 64, 66 may have dimensions of 1 inch by 0.75 inches, but the air channels may be constructed to any suitable dimensions. In one implementation, shown in
In use, the mattress 20 is positioned on the box spring of a bed with the support layer 30 uppermost, as shown in
As better shown in
In use, the mattress 20 may be enclosed by a mattress cover (not shown) for durability and sanitary purposes.
The foregoing description of implementations has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the claimed inventions to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above description or may be acquired from practicing the invention. The claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.
