CUSHION WITH PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL (PCM) CONTAINERS

Abstract

A cushion comprising a body of cushioning material having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface. The first surface has a plurality of upwardly extending fingers and a plurality of spaced apart pockets defined between the fingers. The cushion has a plurality of phase change material (PCM) containers each containing a phase change material, each of the phase change material (PCM) containers being disposed in one of the pockets in the body of cushioning material.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to cushions. Specifically, the present invention relates to a cushion with discrete portions of phase change material (PCM) disposed on or in the cushion for providing a cooling effect when the cushion is used.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cushioning materials have a variety of uses, such as for mattresses, cushions, seating surfaces, shoe inserts, packaging, medical devices, etc. Cushioning materials may be formulated and/or configured to reduce peak pressure on a cushioned body, which may increase comfort for humans or animals, and may protect objects from damage. Thus, as the cushion cradles the supported body part, the cushion supports more of the body part. Since more of the body is in contact with the cushion, rather than being pushed above it, less of the body area is exposed to ambient air around the cushion. Therefore, many users find mattresses and cushions to “sleep hot.” Thus, it would be desirable to overcome the limitations of the existing cushions/mattresses and to provide a better solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of cushion may comprise a body of cushioning material having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface. The first surface may have a plurality of upwardly extending fingers and a plurality of spaced apart pockets defined between the fingers. The phase change material (PCM) containers may contain a phase change material and each of the phase change material (PCM) containers may be disposed in one of the pockets in the body of cushioning material.

In some embodiments, each of the phase change material (PCM) containers may have a side-to-side dimension of at least 5 millimeters. Other phase change material (PCM) containers may have a side-to-side dimension or diameter of up to 50 millimeters. Some of the phase change material (PCM) containers may have a spherical shape having a diameter in a range of 15 to 25 millimeters. In some embodiments, the phase change material (PCM) containers may have a shape of an egg, a flattened sphere, or a cylinder.

In certain embodiments, the second surface may have a plurality of upwardly extending fingers and a plurality of spaced apart pockets defined between the fingers. Some of the phase change material (PCM) containers may be disposed in the pockets of the second surface in the body of cushioning material. The phase change material (PCM) containers may have a first phase change temperature. Also, the phase change material (PCM) container on the second surface may have a second phase change temperature. The cushioning material may be selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, visco-elastic, latex, fiber, down and feather. Each of the phase change material containers may be fixed in thermal communication with the body of cushioning material.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a cushion may comprise a body of cushioning material having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface, and the first surface may have a plurality of spaced apart pockets. A plurality of phase change material (PCM) containers each containing a phase change material may be disposed in one of the pockets in the body of cushioning material. In some embodiments, the second surface may have a plurality of spaced apart pockets and some of the phase change material (PCM) containers may be disposed in the pockets of the second surface in the body of cushioning material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Furthermore, it is required that the present invention is understood not simply by the actual terms used but by the meaning of each term lying within.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cushion in the form of a pillow;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view across 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a cushion with phase change material containers disposed on both surfaces;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a cushion with a plurality of spaced apart pockets; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a phase change material container in the form of a sphere with an outwardly extending ring at a centerline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a cushion with discrete portions of phase change material (PCM) disposed on or in a cushion for providing a cooling effect when the cushion is used. The cushion may take a variety of forms, such as a mattress cover, mattress, seat cushion, pillow, or other types of cushions. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment of a cushion 10 in the form of a pillow with a pillow cover 12 that selectively covers a body of cushioning material 14. In the illustrated embodiment, the cushion material is a body of foam material shaped as an egg-crate, also known as convoluted foam, type cushion. FIG. 2 provides a cross-sectional view across 2-2 of FIG. 1. As shown, the body of material 14 has a base portion 16 with a plurality of upwardly extending fingers 18. The fingers are spaced apart by valleys or pockets 20 between the fingers 18.

In the illustrated embodiment, PCM containers 22 are disposed in some or all of the pockets 20 between the fingers 18. The pockets 20 and containers 22 are sized and shaped such that the containers nest in the bottom of each pocket 20. The PCM containers 22 may be adhesively or mechanically attached into the pockets 20. In some embodiments, a cover may restrain PCM containers 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the PCM containers 22 take the form of a small sphere with a plastic outer shell 24 filled with a phase change material 26. In an embodiment, the fingers 18 may have a height, from the bottom of a pocket 20 to the top of a finger 18, in the range of 5 to 6 centimeters and the containers 22 may have a diameter in the range of 15 to 20 millimeters, with the pockets 20 sized to receive these containers.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the containers 22 may take the form of a sphere with an outwardly extending ring 50 at a centerline where two sphere halves are joined to form the sphere. In some embodiments, the ring 50 may extend outwardly by approximately 3 millimeters. This ring 50 may help in securing the container 22 to the body of the cushion. The phase change material may have a phase change temperature in the range of 25° C. to 30° C., while some embodiments may have a phase change temperature of approximately 29° C. As known to a person of skill in the art, different PCM materials may be used.

For embodiments using PCMs in the above discussed temperature range, the PCM will solidify at room temperature and when placed in contact with the skin of a human, the person will feel cool. The PCM will increase in temperature until it reaches its phase change temperature, which may be close to a neutral skin temperature. The cushion 10 may be designed such that when the cushion is in use, a user does not feel the PCM containers 22 as hard spots in the cushion. By selecting the type and durometer or Indentation Load Deflection (ILD) of foam material 14 for a given expected load, the cushion may be designed such that the fingers compress only enough for slight contact with the PCM containers. As shown in FIG. 1, if the cushion is a pillow, lower ILD foam may be used to achieve this goal while if the cushion is a seat cushion, higher ILD foam may be required. As shown in FIG. 1, PCM containers 22 may be provided in all of the pockets 20 between the fingers except at the perimeter of the pillow. Alternatively, only certain pockets may be filled with PCM containers. The containers 22 may all be the same or a mix of container sizes, shapes and PCM-fills may be used. In one non-limiting example, the containers near the center of the cushion use one phase change temperature of PCM and the containers near the perimeter use a second phase change temperature of PCM. In another non-limiting example, the containers towards one end or on one-half of the cushion are one phase change temperature and the other end or half are another phase change temperature. Alternatively, different shapes or sizes of PCM containers may be used in different areas to provide different temperature capacitances.

In other embodiments, all of the PCM containers may be filled with the same type and phase change temperature of PCM material. In some embodiments, different PCM containers may contain different type of PCM materials with different phase change temperatures. Also, not all pockets of a cushion may include PCM containers. In yet another embodiment, not all PCM containers may be of the same shape or size. In the illustrated embodiment, the PCM containers 22 are all spheres. In other embodiments, the PCM containers may have other shapes e.g. egg shaped, flattened spheres, cylinders, and any other shape, which provides a desired performance.

The illustrated embodiment in FIG. 1 is a one sided foam pad with fingers extending only from a single side with the base portion 16 being flat on the other side. As shown in FIG. 3, in other embodiments fingers 18 may extend from a first surface 40 as well as a second surface 60 of the cushion 10. The pockets in the first surface 40 and second surface 60 may or may not include PCM containers 22. In each case, the fingers 18 may be referred to as extending “upwardly” independent of the orientation of the cushion. For example, fingers 18 on the second surface 60 may extend “upwardly” with respect to the surface. Alternatively, this may be defined as outwardly from the second surface 60. In another embodiment, the first surface 40 may include PCM containers 22 with the first phase change temperature and the second surface 60 may include PCM containers 22 with the second phase change temperature. Other shapes and configurations of foam pads may also be used, such as molded foam. Further, the PCM containers 22 may be embedded in a cushioning pad with portions of cushioning material covering each PCM container 22. The PCM container 22 may be located to facilitate thermal transfer. In some embodiments, the PCM container 22 may have a side-to-side dimension of at least 5 millimeters. In other embodiments, the side-to-side dimension may at least be 10 millimeters, and in yet other embodiments, it may be at least 15 millimeters.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the first surface 40 and the second surface 60 of a cushion 10 may have a plurality of spaced apart pockets 20. In other embodiments, only the first surface 40 or the second surface 60 may have a plurality of spaced apart pockets 20. Some or all of the pockets 20 of the first and/or second surface may have phase change material containers 22 in a cube form. In some embodiments, not all phase change material containers 22 may be of the same shape or size. The phase change material containers 22 may have other shapes e.g. egg shaped, flattened spheres, cylinders, and any other shape, which provides a desired performance. In some embodiments, the pockets 20 may be of different shape to accommodate phase change material containers 22 of different shapes and/or sizes. The phase change material containers 22 may have different phase change temperatures. It is noted that in certain embodiments the PCM containers are disposed below the surface of the cushion. For example, in FIG. 4 the surface 40 may be said to define a surface plane and the containers 22 are all spaced below this plane.

While the illustrated embodiment(s) uses foam as a cushioning material, other cushioning materials such as fibrous material, polyurethane, visco-elastic, latex, down, feathers or a mixture of materials may also be used. In one embodiment, a layer of one type of cushioning material may be combined with a layer of another type of cushioning material, e.g. a layer of down in combination with a sublayer of foam. A mix of foam materials may also be used, such as a denser base material and a lower durometer upper material for the fingers 18, or vice versa.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. It is the following claims, including all equivalents, which define the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cushion comprising: a body of cushioning material having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface, the first surface having a plurality of upwardly extending fingers and a plurality of spaced apart pockets defined between the fingers; anda plurality of phase change material (PCM) containers each containing a phase change material, each of the phase change material (PCM) containers being disposed in one of the pockets in the body of cushioning material.

2. The cushion of claim 1, wherein each of the phase change material (PCM) containers has a side-to-side dimension of at least 5 millimeters.

3. The cushion of claim 1, wherein each of the phase change material (PCM) containers has a side-to-side dimension or diameter of up to 50 millimeters.

4. The cushion of claim 1, wherein at least one of the phase change material (PCM) containers has a spherical shape having a diameter in a range of 15 to 25 millimeters.

5. The cushion of claim 1, wherein at least one of the phase change material (PCM) containers has a shape of an egg, a flattened sphere or a cylinder.

6. The cushion of claim 1, wherein the second surface has a plurality of upwardly extending fingers and a plurality of spaced apart pockets defined between the fingers.

7. The cushion of claim 6, wherein some of the phase change material (PCM) containers are disposed in the pockets of the second surface in the body of cushioning material.

8. The cushion of claim 1, wherein the phase change material (PCM) containers have a first phase change temperature.

9. The cushion of claim 6, wherein the phase change material (PCM) container on the second surface has a second phase change temperature.

10. The cushion of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, visco-elastic, latex, fiber, down and feather.

11. The cushion of claim 1, wherein each of the phase change material containers is fixed in thermal communication with the body of cushioning material.

12. A cushion comprising: a body of cushioning material having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface, the first surface having a plurality of spaced apart pockets; anda plurality of phase change material (PCM) containers each containing a phase change material, each of the phase change material (PCM) containers being disposed in one of the pockets in the body of cushioning material.

13. The cushion of claim 12, wherein: the second surface has a plurality of spaced apart pockets; andsome of the phase change material (PCM) containers being disposed in the pockets of the second surface in the body of cushioning material.