ELASTIC CUSHION, SIDE ENCLOSURE, ELASTIC CUSHION LAYER AND FURNITURE

Abstract

An elastic pad for furniture can be customized and assembled by a user. The elastic pad includes an outer cover, an elastic module layer and at least one elastic pad layer. A side enclosure of the outer cover is detachably connected with a top cover body, and the side enclosure is detachably connected with the bottom cover body. The elastic pad is configured to allow a user to select a desired type and/or a desired number of elastic module layers and elastic pad layers, and to further select the side enclosure based on a thickness of the elastic module layer and elastic pad layer, and assemble the top cover body, the bottom cover body, the selected side enclosure, and the selected elastic module layers and elastic pad layers together to obtain the elastic pad.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of furniture, and specifically to an elastic pad, a side enclosure, an elastic pad layer and furniture.

BACKGROUND

With the gradual improvement of people's material life, residents' demands for household supplies are also changing. Especially, users are having increasing demands for the products such as mattresses and sofa cushions on which people need to sit or lie for a long time, and the demands also tend to be diversified.

It should be appreciated that in the current home product market, mattresses are clearly divided into high-end mattresses and low-end mattresses. Low-end mattresses are typically thin in thickness for ease of handling and storage, but do not meet the user's demands for comfort to some extent. However, the high-grade mattress usually has a complex internal structure, exquisite work and large thickness, and the user will feel its superior comfort performance when sitting and lying on such mattresses. However, due to the complexity of its internal structure, the high-end mattress cannot be disassembled. The mattress purchased by the user must be integrated and inseparable. The user will feel inconvenience when handling and storing the mattress. Furthermore, if some of the components of the high-end mattress are aged, the user cannot perform maintenance purposefully and can only discard the whole mattress, which causes some waste.

Furthermore, the conventional high-end mattresses are all of a one-piece structure, and the user cannot adjust the degree of softness and hardness thereof; if the user desires to obtain a plurality of different experiences, he needs to purchase a plurality of high-end mattresses correspondingly. There are currently no high-end mattresses available on the market for individual customization by users.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an elastic pad, a side enclosure, an elastic pad layer and a furniture, to at least partially address the above problems.

SUMMARY

A main object of the present invention is to provide an elastic pad, a side enclosure, an elastic pad and a furniture. The elastic pad of the present invention is a high-end elastic pad with higher comfort. As compared with the conventional elastic pads of the same type, the elastic pad of the present invention also allows the user to assemble and disassemble the elastic pad, which can provide the following convenience for the user: 1. the user may select corresponding parts according to his own needs so as to purposefully produce an elastic pad more suitable for the user's needs in use; 2. if part of the structures of the elastic pad age, the user may purchase the corresponding parts by himself, and replace aged parts with new parts to continue to use the elastic pad.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elastic pad which can be customized and assembled by a user and on which the user sits or lies, the elastic pad comprising:

an outer cover capable of defining an enclosed receiving space, the outer cover comprising a top cover body, a bottom cover body and a side enclosure connected between the bottom cover body and the top cover body and extending integrally in a peripheral direction, the side enclosure being detachably connected with the top cover body, the side enclosure being detachably connected with the bottom cover body;

an elastic module layer disposed in the receiving space, a spring in a compressed state in a height direction of the elastic pad being disposed in the elastic module layer;

an elastic pad layer also disposed in the receiving space and stacked above the elastic module layer, the elastic pad is configured to allow a user to:

select a desired type and/or a desired number of elastic module layers and elastic pad layers according to his demands for softness and harness;

select the side enclosure based on a total thickness of the selected elastic module layer and elastic pad layer;

place the elastic module layer and the selected elastic pad layer in the receiving space and enclose the outer cover.

In one embodiment, the elastic pad layer comprises an elastic buffer layer comprising a fabric cover structure and a first-layer structure, a second-layer structure and a third-layer structure in the fabric cover structure, a hardness of the third-layer structure being higher than that of the second-layer structure, a hardness of the second-layer structure being higher than that of the first-layer structure.

In one embodiment, in the elastic buffer layer structure, the first-layer structure is closest to the user and the third-layer structure is farthest from the user; or

In said elastic buffer layer structure, the second-layer structure is closest to the user, and the third-layer structure is farthest away from the user; or

In said elastic buffer layer structure, the third-layer structure is closest to the user, and the first-layer structure is farthest away from the user; or

In the elastic buffer layer structure, the first-layer structure is closest to the user and the second-layer structure is farthest from the user; or

In the elastic buffer layer structure, the second-layer structure is closest to the user, and the first-layer structure is farthest away from the user; or

In the elastic buffer layer structure, the third-layer structure is closest to the user and the second-layer structure is furthest from the user.

In one embodiment, the first-layer structure is made of sponge, egg sponge, animal fleece, or latex.

In one embodiment, the second-layer structure and the third-layer structure are made of sponge.

In an embodiment, the elastic module layer comprises a plurality of elastic modules which can be arranged in an array in a direction perpendicular to a height direction of the elastic pad, a spring being disposed in each elastic module.

In one embodiment, each of the elastic modules comprises a conical spring and a spring support receiving and holding the conical spring, the elastic module layer further comprises an elastic module layer bottom layer and a plurality of rail beams disposed on the elastic module layer bottom layer, and the plurality of elastic modules are capable of being mounted on the plurality of rail beams and sliding in place along the corresponding rail beams.

In one embodiment, the elastic module layer bottom layer is integrated on the bottom cover body.

In one embodiment, each of the rail beams is configured to engage sliding modules on left and right sides thereof, respectively, so that the elastic modules on the left and right sides of the rail beam can slide along corresponding slide rails independently of each other.

In one embodiment, each of the rail beams comprises:

a support wall extending from a top side of the rail beam to a bottom side thereof in a vertical direction;

a top engaging portion whose middle portion is connected to a top side of the support wall, the top engaging portion extending respectively towards left and right sides of the support wall and then bending downwards, thereby forming, at the top of the rail beam, two top-side receiving portions opening downwards;

a bottom engaging portion whose middle portion is connected to a bottom side of the support wall, the bottom engaging portion extending respectively toward the left and right sides of the support wall and then bending upwards, thereby forming, at the bottom of the rail beam, two bottom-side receiving portions opening upward,

wherein left and right sides of the spring support of each of the elastic modules are each provided with a mating protrusion capable of mating with the top-side receiving portions and bottom-side receiving portions of the rail beam, and the mating protrusions respectively protrude upward from a front surface on both sides of the bottom of the spring support and protrude upward from a bottom surface on both sides of the bottom of the spring support.

In one embodiment, each of the rail beams comprises:

a base disposed on the bottom cover body;

a pair of connecting walls extending upward from left and right sides of the base, respectively;

a pair of end walls extending opposite each other from top ends of the pair of connecting walls, a space existing between the pair of end walls,

wherein the base, the pair of connecting walls, the pair of end walls jointly define a pair of receiving portions opening to each other,

wherein both left and right sides of the spring support of each of the elastic modules are provided with a downwardly extending connecting leg, a bottom end of the connecting leg is provided with mating projections extending away from each other, and the mating projections are configured to be capable of engaging the pair of receiving portions of each of the rail beams.

In one embodiment, a partition wall is provided between the two connecting walls of the base, and a height of the partition wall is smaller than that of the connecting walls.

In one embodiment, the connecting walls on left and right sides of the base are respectively intermittently disposed in an extension direction of the rail beam, and are staggered from each other.

In one embodiment, the bottom cover body is further detachably provided with a plurality of sets of rail beam mounting members, each set of rail beam mounting members being disposed at an interval in an extension direction of the rail beam corresponding thereto.

In one embodiment, each of the rail beam mounting members is fixed on the top surface of the bottom cover body by ultrasonic welding, riveting or adhesion.

In one embodiment, each of the rail beam mounting members comprises a mounting member projection located at a top thereof, the mounting member projection projects in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the rail beam and parallel to the bottom cover body, a bottom of the rail beam is provided with a mounting receiving portion corresponding to the mounting member projection, the mounting member projection can mate with the mounting receiving portion of the rail beam so that the rail beam can slide relative to the rail beam mounting member in its own extension direction and be mounted in place.

In one embodiment, each of the rail beams is fixed directly to a top surface of the bottom cover body by ultrasonic welding, riveting or adhesion.

In one embodiment, each of the rail beams comprises a plurality of rail beam segments connected successively.

In one embodiment, a front end of each of the rail beam segments is provided with a forwardly-extending projection, a rear end of each of the rail beam segments is provided with a groove recessed toward inward the rail beam segment, and the projection and groove of adjacent rail beam segments are adapted to mate with each other to connect adjacent rail beam segments together.

In one embodiment, an outer profile of each of the elastic modules is a truncated cone shape, the elastic pad layer further comprises an elastic balancing web layer, the elastic balancing web layer is provided with a plurality of openings, a size of the openings coincides with an outer diameter of the elastic modules at a predetermined height, so that the elastic balancing web layer can respectively sleeve the plurality of elastic modules in the openings, thereby associating all the elastic modules.

In one embodiment, the size of the opening coincides with the outer diameter at the top of the elastic module.

In one embodiment, the elastic pad is configured to allow the user to select at least two elastic pad layers, and stack the at least two elastic pad layers in a different order to obtain elastic pads with different degrees of softness and hardness.

In one embodiment, the top cover body, the bottom cover body, the side enclosure and the elastic pad layer are all configured to be rolled up and accommodated by the user.

In one embodiment, each of the elastic modules is constructed as a truncated cone structure with an open lower end and a hollow interior, and a plurality of the elastic modules are constructed to allow the user to remove all elastic modules from the rail beams and sequentially nestle the elastic modules in a height direction of the elastic modules; in the nested state, a lower elastic module of the adjacent elastic modules is inserted upward into an upper elastic module through an opening at a lower end of the upper elastic module.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elastic pad which can be customized and assembled by a user and on which the user sits or lies, the elastic pad comprising:

an outer cover capable of defining an enclosed receiving space, the outer cover comprising a top cover body and a bottom cover body, the top cover body and the bottom cover body being detachably connected to each other;

elastic pad layers disposed in the receiving space independently of each other;

the elastic pad is configured to allow a user to:

select a desired type and/or a desired number of elastic module layers and elastic pad layers according to his demands for softness and harness;

assemble the top cover body, the bottom cover body and the selected elastic module layers and elastic pad layers together to obtain the elastic pad.

In one embodiment, the top cover body comprises a skirt portion extending peripherally towards the bottom cover body; and/or

the bottom cover body comprises a skirt portion extending peripherally towards the top cover body,

the elastic pad is not provided with a side enclosure, and the top cover body and the bottom cover body are directly joined together.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a side enclosure which is the side enclosure in the elastic pad in any of the above solutions.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elastic pad layer which is the elastic pad layer in the elastic pad in any of the above solutions.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a furniture comprising the elastic pad in any of the above solutions.

In one embodiment, the furniture is a bed, a sofa or a sofa bed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference may be made to preferred embodiments shown in the figures to enable better understanding of the above and other objects, features, advantages and functions of the present invention. The same reference numerals in the figures denote the same parts. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that the figures are intended to schematically illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and not intended to impose any limitations to the scope of the present invention. All parts in the figures are not drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an assembled state of an elastic pad according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the elastic pad of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of several of elastic pad layers of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A-FIG. 4G are cross-sectional views of several exemplary configurations of elastic buffer layers.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a bottom cover body with elastic modules mounted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the mounting of rail beams on the bottom cover body in one embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a schematic view of a rail beam mounting member of FIG. 6 from a plurality of perspectives;

FIG. 7B and FIG. 7C are schematic views showing the engagement of other two types of rail beam mounting members with the bottom cover body;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the rail beams mounted in place;

FIG. 9A is a partially enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 8;

FIG. 9B is a view of an end of the structure of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a plurality of elastic modules mounted on the bottom cover body, wherein a pair of adjacent elastic modules located on left and right sides of a rail beam are shown in an enlarged manner;

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged view of a portion B of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of rail beams mounted in place on the bottom cover body in an embodiment.

FIGS. 13A and FIG. 13B are two possible configurations of the view of the end of any of the rail beams of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing that a plurality of elastic modules are mounted on the bottom cover body in the embodiment, wherein a pair of adjacent elastic modules are shown on the left and right sides of a rail beam in an enlarged manner;

FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged view of a portion C of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing rail beams are mounted in place on the bottom cover body in an embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a front view and a top view of a pair of adjacent rail beam segments of a rail beam;

FIG. 18 is a schematic view showing a plurality of elastic modules are mounted on the rail beams shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a partially enlarged view of a portion D in FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a schematic view with the elastic pad of FIG. 2 being disassembled and the elastic modules being removed.

FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 are views showing the elastic pad of FIG. 1 is disassembled and accommodated;

FIG. 23 is a flow chart of a method of customizing and assembling an elastic pad according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the figures. What are described herein are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may implement other manners of the present disclosure on the basis of the preferred embodiments, and said other manners also fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

The present invention provides an elastic pad for household products, such as a mattress, sofa cushion, or other pads for a user to sit and lie on, and furniture including the elastic pad. The elastic pad allows a user to customize and assemble, disassemble, and accommodate it. FIG. 1-FIG. 23 show some preferred embodiments according to the present invention.

First, it should be noted that directional terms and positional terms mentioned in the present invention should be understood with reference to the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 23. As used herein, the directional terms and positional terms refer to relative directions, relative positions rather than absolute directions and absolute positions between parts.

Referring first to FIG. 1, an elastic pad in a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a rectangular parallelepiped structure, and “longitudinal direction”, “transverse direction” and “height direction” should be understood with reference to the rectangular parallelepiped structure shown in FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction being indicated by D1, the transverse direction being indicated by D2, and the height direction being indicated by D3. For example, rail beams in preferred embodiments of the present invention extend in the transverse direction and spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction. The “left and right sides” of a part refer to both sides of the part in the transverse direction. In addition, the present invention also mentions a “peripheral direction”. It should be noted that the peripheral direction is not necessarily only applicable to a circular structure. In the structure shown in FIG. 1, the direction in which a plane defined by the transverse direction D2 and the longitudinal direction D1 surrounds the periphery of the elastic pad 100 is referred to as the peripheral direction.

Referring to FIG. 1, an elastic pad 100 comprises an outer cover 110 and an elastic module layer and at least one elastic pad layer laminated on the elastic module layer disposed within an enclosed receiving space defined by the outer cover 110. The outer cover 110 is configured to be removable and comprises a top cover body 102, a bottom cover body 105, and a side enclosure 109 extending integrally in a peripheral direction between the bottom cover body 105 and the top cover body 102. The side enclosure 109 is detachably connected to the top cover body 102 and the side enclosure 109 is detachably connected to the bottom cover body 105. For example, a zipper 101 extending entirely along the entire periphery of the elastic pad is provided between the top cover body 102 and the side enclosure 109, and the zipper 101 extending entirely along the entire periphery of the elastic pad is also provided between the bottom cover body 105 and the side enclosure 109.

Referring to FIG. 2, an elastic module layer and at least one elastic pad layer are removably received within the outer cover 110. The elastic pad 100 of the present embodiment is characterized in that the elastic pad is configured to allow a user to select a desired type and/or a desired number of elastic pads, further select a side enclosure having a height adapted for a total thickness of all the elastic pads selected for the elastic module layer, and assemble the top cover body, the bottom cover body, the selected side enclosure, and the selected elastic pads together to obtain the elastic pad.

The user can select one or more elastic pads from the following elastic pads according to his demands for softness and hardness: a plurality of elastic buffer layers having different degrees of softness and hardness, and FIGS. 4A-4G give some examples of a plurality of elastic buffer layers having different degrees of softness and hardness. Furthermore, the user can further select one or more elastic pads from a plurality of elastic balancing web layers. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show a combination of a plurality of elastic pad layers, comprising, from bottom to top, an elastic module layer, an elastic balancing web layer 104 and an elastic buffer layer 103. The arrangement manner of the elastic module layer is shown in detail in FIG. 5-FIG. 19.

Since the elastic pad of the present invention allows the user to select the type and number of the elastic pad layers, an overall stacking height of the elastic pad layers is uncertain. Therefore, the elastic pad is also collocated with an outer cover side enclosure 109 having a plurality of height dimensions for selection by the user. Based on this, in the present invention the zipper 101 is provided between the top cover body 102 and the side enclosure 109, and between the bottom cover body 105 and the side enclosure 109.

It should be appreciated that it is not a conventional arrangement in the art to provide a zipper between the top cover body and the side enclosure. An outer cover of a conventional mattress is usually provided with only one zipper even if the zipper needs to be provided, which on the one hand can save the production process, and on the other hand can avoid possible loss of some of a plurality of parts resulting from the disassembling of the outer cover. Therefore, for elastic pads such as conventional mattresses, it is preferable that no zipper or only one zipper is provided, whereas it is a significantly inferior solution to provide two zippers enabling the cover to be split into three parts. Hence, those skilled in the art are not motivated to modify a conventional mattress outer cover into a solution of arranging a zipper between the top cover body and the side enclosure, and between the bottom cover body and the side enclosure.

Further referring to FIG. 4A-FIG. 4G, several types of elastic buffer layers having different degrees of softness and hardness are further described. FIG. 4A-FIG. 4G show elastic buffer layers are arranged in a descending order of hardness. The elastic buffer layers of FIG. 4A-FIG. 4G each include a fabric cover structure 1034 made of a non-woven fabric and a three-layer structure covered by the fabric cover structure 1034. A third-layer of structure 1033 of the three layers has a larger hardness than the second-layer structure 1032, which has a larger hardness than the first-layer structure 1031.

In the elastic buffer layer 1034a shown in FIG. 4A, the first-layer structure 1031 is furthest away from the user, the third-layer structure 1033 is closest to the user, and the second-layer structure 1032 is sandwiched between the first-layer structure 1031 and the second-layer structure 1032. The first-layer structure 1031, the second-layer structure 1032, and the third-layer structure 1033 are all made of sponge.

In the elastic buffer layer 1034b shown in FIG. 4B, the third-layer structure 1033 is furthest from the user, the second-layer structure 1032 is closest to the user, and the first-layer structure 1031 is sandwiched between the second-layer structure 1032 and the third-layer structure 1033. The first-layer structure 1031, the second-layer structure 1032, and the third-layer structure 1033 are all made of sponge.

In the elastic buffer layer 1034c shown in FIG. 4C, the first-layer structure 1031 is closest to the user, the third-layer structure 1033 is furthest from the user, and the second-layer structure 1032 is sandwiched between the first-layer structure 1031 and the third-layer structure 1033. The second-layer structure 1032 and the third-layer structure 1033 are made of sponge, and the first-layer structure 1031 is made of latex.

In the elastic buffer layer 1034d shown in FIG. 4D, the first-layer structure 1031 is closest to the user, the third-layer structure 1033 is furthest from the user, and the second-layer structure 1032 is sandwiched between the first-layer structure 1031 and the third-layer structure 1033. The second-layer structure 1032 and the third-layer structure 1033 are made of sponge, and the first-layer structure 1031 is made of egg sponge.

In the elastic buffer layer 1034e shown in FIG. 4E, the first-layer structure 1031 is closest to the user, the third-layer structure 1033 is furthest from the user, and the second-layer structure 1032 is sandwiched between the first-layer structure 1031 and the third-layer structure 1033. The first-layer structure 1031, the second-layer structure 1032 and the third-layer structure 1033 are all made of sponge.

The first-layer structure 1031 in FIG. 4F and FIG. 4G employs animal fluff. In the elastic buffer layer 1034f shown in FIG. 4F, the first-layer structure 1031 is closest to the user, the third-layer structure 1033 is furthest from the user, and the second-layer structure 1032 is sandwiched between the first-layer structure 1031 and the third-layer structure 1033. The second-layer structure 1032, the third-layer structure 1033 are made of sponge, and the first-layer structure 1031 is made of duck down.

In the elastic buffer layer 1034g shown in FIG. 4G, the first-layer structure 1031 is closest to the user, the third-layer structure 1033 is furthest from the user, and the second-layer structure 1032 is sandwiched between the first-layer structure 1031 and the third-layer structure 1033. The second-layer structure 1032 and the third-layer structure 1033 are made of sponge, and the first-layer structure 1031 is made of goose down.

In addition to the seven examples of the first elastic pad shown in FIG. 4A-FIG. 4G, the present embodiment continues with the following examples: in a first elastic pad, the first-layer structure is closest to the user, the second-layer structure is farthest away from the user, and the third-layer structure is sandwiched between the first-layer structure and the second-layer structure; in a first elastic pad, the second-layer structure is closest to the user, the first-layer structure is farthest away from the user, and the third-layer structure is sandwiched between the first-layer structure and the second-layer structure; in a first elastic pad, the third-layer structure is closest to the user, the second-layer structure is furthest from the user, and the first-layer structure is sandwiched between the second-layer structure and the third-layer structure. In these examples, the first-layer structure is made of sponge, egg sponge, animal fleece, or latex, and the second and third-layer structures are made of sponge.

One or more of the exemplary elastic buffer layers described above may be utilized by a user according to his demands for softness and hardness. Alternatively, the user may not select the elastic buffer layer, and only select the elastic balancing web layer.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an elastic module layer. A plurality of elastic modules 106 can be arranged in an array on the bottom cover body 105 in the receiving space along a plane perpendicular to the height direction to thereby constitute an elastic module layer. Furthermore, the spring in each elastic module is in a compressed state in the height direction. It needs to be appreciated that in the present embodiment, the elastic modules are mounted on the bottom cover body 105, so that the elastic module layer and the bottom cover body 105 are formed as one piece. However, in other embodiments, the elastic module layer may be disposed separately from the outer cover 110, and the elastic module layer may be integrally disposed within or removable from the outer cover 110.

Returning to the present embodiment, the elastic modules 106 are slidably mounted in place via rail beams 108 provided on the bottom cover body 105, each rail beam 108 extending in a transverse direction. FIG. 6-FIG. 11 show one specific implementation.

Referring to FIG. 6, each rail beam 108 is removably mounted to the bottom cover body 105 by a set of rail beam mounting members 107, each set of rail beam mounting members 107 being spaced from one another in an extension direction of its corresponding rail beam 108. Each set of rail beam mounting members 107 comprises three rail beam mounting members 107 which are respectively disposed at both ends and at an intermediate position of the rail beam 108.

The structure of each rail beam mounting member 107 is shown in FIG. 7A. Each rail beam mounting member 107 is provided, at the top thereof, with a mounting projection projecting in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the rail beam 108 and parallel to the bottom cover body 105, and a recess 1073 recessed in the longitudinal direction is formed below the projection. In other words, each of the rail beams 108 comprises an upper structure 1071 and a lower structure 1072, a dimension of the upper structure 1071 in the longitudinal direction being larger than that of the lower structure 1072 in the longitudinal direction, so that both longitudinal ends of the upper structure 1071 form the mounting projection with respect to the lower structure 1072. The mounting projection and the recess 1073 therebelow are adapted to cooperate with the rail beam 108.

Further referring to FIG. 7A, the bottom of the mounting projection is provided with an array of securing bumps 1074 for ultrasonically welding the mounting projection to the bottom cover body 105.

FIG. 8-FIG. 9B show schematic views after the rail beams 108 are slidably mounted in place in a transverse direction relative to the rail beam mounting members 107. Referring to FIG. 8-FIG. 9B, a bottom of the rail beam 108 is provided with a mounting receptacle 1081 corresponding to a mounting protrusion that can mate with the mounting receptacle 1081 so that the rail beam 108 can slide in its own extension direction relative to the rail beam mounting member 107 and be mounted in place. The mounting receptacle 1081 also actually forms a snap hook 1086 that snaps into the recess 1073 of the rail beam mounting member 107.

A body structure of the rail beam 108 (i.e., the structure for mating with the elastic module 106) is also shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B. Each rail beam 108 comprises a support wall 1082 extending from a top side of the rail beam 108 to a bottom side thereof, a top engaging portion 1083, and a bottom engaging portion 1085. The top engaging portion 1083 is connected to a top side of the support wall 1082 and respectively extends towards left and right sides of the support wall 1082 and then bends downwards, so as to form, at the top of the rail beam 108, two top-side receiving portions 1084 opening downwards; the bottom engaging portion 1085 is connected to a bottom side of the support wall 1082 and respectively extends toward the left and right sides of the support wall 1082 and then bends upwards, so as to form, at the bottom of the rail beam 108, two bottom-side receiving portions 1084 opening upward.

Accordingly, referring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, each of the elastic modules 106 comprises a conical spring and a spring support 106 receiving and holding the conical spring, each of left and right sides of the spring support 106 has a mating protrusion 1061 protruding upward from a top surface of a bottom body of the spring support 106 while protruding downward from a bottom surface of the bottom body of the spring support 106 so that the mating protrusion 1061 can be simultaneously received by the top-side receiving portions 1084 and bottom-side receiving portions 1084 of the rail beams 108 on left and right sides of the elastic module 106. That is, both left and right sides of each rail beam 108 are provided with a structure capable of engaging the elastic modules 106 on both left and right sides thereof, respectively, and allowing the two elastic modules 106 on both sides of the rail beam 108 to slide along their respective slide rails independently of each other.

FIG. 7B and FIG. 7C show examples of other embodiments as alternatives to ultrasonic welding. Referring to FIG. 7B, the rail beam mounting member may be adhesively bonded to the bottom cover body 105, and also comprises an upper structure 1071 and a lower structure 1072 formed with recesses 1073. Referring to FIG. 7C, the rail beam mounting member 107 is riveted to the bottom cover body 105 by rivets 1075, and the rail beam mounting member 107 is likewise provided with a mounting projection and recesses.

FIG. 13A-FIG. 15 illustrate another alternative embodiment. In this embodiment, both the left and right sides of the spring support of each of the elastic modules 125 have a mating protrusion 1251 that protrude upward from a top surface of a main body of the spring support while protruding downward from a bottom surface of the main body of the spring support, so that the mating protrusion 1251 can be simultaneously received by receiving portions 1212 at top and bottom sides of the rail beams 121 on both the left and right sides of the elastic module (the receiving portion 1212 is formed with a receiving groove 123 shown in FIG. 13A and 13B). The left and right sides of each rail beam 121 are provided with a structure capable of engaging the elastic modules 125 on the left and right sides thereof, respectively, and allowing the two elastic modules on both sides of the rail beam 121 to slide along their respective slide rails independently of each other.

However, unlike the previous embodiment, the rail beam in this embodiment is secured directly to the bottom cover body 122 by ultrasonic welding (as shown in FIG. 13A), adhering or riveting with rivets 124 (as shown in FIG. 13B). The present embodiment omits the provision of rail beam mounting members.

FIG. 16-FIG. 19 illustrate yet another embodiment. Referring first to FIG. 17, each rail beam comprises a plurality of rail beam segments which are sequentially connected in the longitudinal direction. A front end of each rail beam segment is provided with a forward projection and a rear end of each rail beam segment is provided with a forwardly recessed groove, and the projection and groove of adjacent rail beam segments are adapted to mate with each other to connect adjacent rail beam segments together. For example, for adjacent rail beams as shown in FIG. 17, the projection 1312a of a front end of a first rail beam 1312 can extend into the forwardly recessed groove 1311a of the rear end of the second rail beam 1312.

Referring to FIG. 19, each rail beam comprises: a base 131; a pair of connecting walls extending upward from left and right sides of the base 131, respectively; a pair of end walls extending opposite each other from top ends of the pair of walls. There is a space between each pair of end walls, wherein the base 131, the pair of connecting walls, the pair of end walls jointly define a pair of receiving portions 1313 opening to each other, the receiving portions 1313 being formed with receiving grooves 1314. Accordingly, both left and right sides of the spring support of each elastic module are provided with: a downwardly extending connecting leg; mating projections 1321 extending toward each other from the connecting legs on the left and right sides of the spring support. The receiving grooves 1314 of the pair of receiving portions 1313 of each rail beam can respectively engage corresponding mating projections 1321 of the elastic modules located on the left and right sides of the rail beam. Preferably, a partition wall 1315 is provided between the two connecting walls of the base 131, and the height of the partition wall 131 is less than that of the connecting walls.

As can be seen by further viewing FIG. 16, the connecting wall provided on the left side of the base 131 is intermittently provided in the longitudinal direction, the connecting wall provided on the right side of the base 131 is intermittently provided in the longitudinal direction, and the connecting wall provided on the left side of the base 131 and the connecting wall provided on the right side of the base 131 are staggered in the transverse direction.

The above-described connection manners of the elastic modules and the bottom cover body can all be applied to elastic pads that allow the user to customize according to his demands for softness and hardness.

In addition to the elastic buffer layer 103 and elastic module layer described above, the elastic balancing web layer 104 also has some preferred arrangements. For example, turning back to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the elastic balancing web layer 104 is provided with a plurality of openings 1041, wherein the size of the openings 1041 coincides with an outer diameter of the elastic modules 106 at a predetermined height, so that the elastic balancing web layer 104 can respectively sleeve the plurality of elastic modules 106 in the openings 1041, thereby associating all the elastic modules 106. Preferably, the size of the opening 1041 coincides with the outer diameter at the top of the elastic module 106.

The elastic pad in this embodiment allows the user to disassemble and store it by himself. FIG. 20-FIG. 22 are schematic views showing a disassembling and stowing process.

First, the user may first remove the outer cover and remove the elastic modules 106 from the rail beams. A state of the elastic pad at this time is shown in FIG. 20.

Furthermore, each of the elastic buffer layer 103, the top cover body 102, and the side enclosure 109 can be rolled and accommodated. Still further, the rail beam or rail beam mounting member is made of a flexible plastic material to allow the bottom cover body 105 integrated with rail beams to be rolled up and accommodated along a plane perpendicular to the extension direction of the rail beam. After the bottom cover body is rolled and accommodated, the softer rail beams do not puncture the bottom cover body. It may be understood that both the rail beam and the rail beam mounting member are a structure with a certain stable shape, but they themselves are not necessarily very hard; the rail beam and the rail beam mounting member may also be subjected to a certain deformation under a certain external force.

Referring to FIG. 21, after being separated from one another, the outer cover 110, the elastic buffer layer 103, the elastic modules 106 and the elastic balancing web layer 104 of the elastic pad may be further accommodated in the following steps: stacking the elastic buffer layer 103 and the elastic balancing web layer 104 and rolling and accommodating them together to form a first accommodation roll 120a; separating the top cover body 102, the side enclosure 109 and the bottom cover body 105 from one another (it may be understood that a zipper is provided between the top cover body 102 and the side enclosure 109, and between the side enclosure 109 and the bottom cover body 105) and stacking them, rolling and accommodating them together to form a second accommodation roll 120b.

Furthermore, each of the elastic modules 106 is constructed in a truncated cone structure with an open lower end and a hollow interior, and a plurality of the elastic modules 106 are constructed to allow the user to remove all elastic modules 106 from the rail beams and sequentially nestle the elastic modules in a height direction of the elastic modules to form an elastic module accommodation set 120c. In the nested state, a lower elastic module 106 of the adjacent elastic modules 106 is inserted upward into the upper elastic module 106 through an opening at a lower end of the upper elastic module 106.

Furthermore, the user may place the first accommodation roll 120a, the second accommodation roll 120b and the elastic module accommodation set 120c together in an accommodation box 120. The accommodation box 120 of a corresponding size may be sold or presented together with the elastic pad to allow the user to disassemble and accommodate the elastic pad at home.

FIG. 22 shows an example of another accommodation manner. Referring to FIG. 19, after being separated from one another, the outer cover 110, the elastic buffer layer 103, the elastic modules 106 and the elastic balancing web layer 104 of the elastic pad may be further accommodated in the following steps: stacking the elastic buffer layer 103, the elastic balancing web layer 104 and the side enclosure 109 and rolling and accommodating them together to form a first accommodation roll 120a; stacking the top cover body 102 and the bottom cover body 105 and rolling and accommodating them together to form a second accommodation roll 120b.

Furthermore, each of the elastic modules 106 is constructed in a truncated cone structure with an open lower end and a hollow interior, and a plurality of the elastic modules 106 are constructed to allow the user to remove all elastic modules 106 from the rail beams and sequentially nestle the elastic modules in a height direction of the elastic modules to form an elastic module accommodation set 120c. In the nested state, a lower elastic module 106 of the adjacent elastic modules 106 is inserted upward into the upper elastic module 106 through an opening at a lower end of the upper elastic module 106.

Furthermore, the user may place the first accommodation roll 120a, the second accommodation roll 120b and the elastic module accommodation set 120c together in an accommodation box 120. The accommodation box 120 of a corresponding size may be sold or presented together with the elastic pad to allow the user to disassemble and accommodate the elastic pad at home.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides an alternative to the elastic pads shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 22. In this alternative, no side enclosure is provided, and the top cover body comprises a skirt portion extending peripherally toward the bottom cover body; and/or the bottom cover body comprises a skirt portion extending peripherally toward the top cover body. The top cover body and the bottom cover body are joined directly together and define a receiving space. In this alternative, in addition to the differences described above, all other structures (including but not limited to the elastic module layer, the elastic buffer layer, the balancing web layer, rail beam structures on the bottom cover body) may employ the structures shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 22, i.e., the structures shown in FIG. 1-FIG. 22 may be applied to the solution “without a side enclosure”. The solution constitutes one embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention further provides a furniture including the elastic pad of the above-described embodiment. The furniture may be a furniture on which the user can sit or lie on, for example, a sofa, a bed or a sofa bed.

The present embodiment further provides a method of customizing and assembling an elastic pad. FIG. 23 shows an example of steps of the method. Referring to FIG. 23, the method comprises: acquiring a top cover body and a bottom cover body; acquiring a desired number and a desired type of elastic module layers and elastic pad layers according to demands for softness and hardness; acquiring a side enclosure according to an overall stacking height dimension of all the acquired elastic pad layers (including the elastic module layer); connecting the top cover body with the side enclosure, and connecting the bottom cover body with the side enclosure, and receiving the selected elastic pad layer in a receiving space jointly defined by the top cover body, the bottom cover body, and the side enclosure.

The step of acquiring a desired number and type of elastic pad layer comprises acquiring an elastic buffer layer. The step of acquiring the elastic buffer layer comprises selecting at least one elastic buffer layer from a plurality of elastic buffer layers based on demands for hardness. Examples of the structures of the elastic buffer layers are given in FIG. 4A-FIG. 4G and the related depictions.

Furthermore, the obtained elastic module layer comprises a plurality of elastic modules, and the plurality of elastic modules can be arranged in an array in a direction perpendicular to the height direction of the detachable elastic pad so as to constitute the elastic module layer. Specific optional structures of the elastic module layer are shown in FIG. 5-FIG. 19.

Furthermore, the step of acquiring a desired number and type of elastic pads comprises acquiring an elastic balancing web layer. The structure of the elastic balancing web layer is shown in FIG. 2-FIG. 3 and the relevant depictions.

Furthermore, in an example where the elastic buffer layer and the elastic module layer are obtained simultaneously, the elastic buffer layer is disposed in the receiving space and located between the top cover body and the elastic module layer.

Furthermore, the method further comprises an accommodating method of accommodating parts constituting the household elastic pad. Referring to FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, the accommodating method comprises: rolling and accommodating the top cover body, the bottom cover body, the side enclosure and the elastic pad. Preferably, each elastic module is constructed in a truncated cone structure with an open lower end and a hollow interior, and the method further comprise: removing all elastic modules from the rail beams, and sequentially nestle the elastic modules in a height direction of the elastic modules so that in the nested state, a lower elastic module of the adjacent elastic modules is inserted upward into the upper elastic module through an opening at a lower end of the upper elastic module.

Alternatively or additionally, the above method further comprises: implementing the acquisition of the outer cover comprising the bottom cover body, the acquisition of the plurality of elastic modules, the acquisition of the elastic balancing web layer and the acquisition of the elastic buffer layer at different times and positions respectively. For example, if the elastic balancing web layer of the elastic pad ages, the user may purchase the elastic balancing web layer alone to replace the old elastic balancing web layer so that he may continue to use the elastic pad. The same principle applies to the elastic buffer layer, elastic modules, outer cover, etc.

Also preferably, the step of acquiring the outer cover comprises: selecting a corresponding outer cover according to a desired colour, material and pattern of the elastic pad. The step of acquiring a plurality of elastic modules comprises: selecting corresponding elastic modules according to a desired degree of elasticity and flexibility of the elastic pad. The step of acquiring an elastic balancing web layer comprises: selecting a corresponding elastic balancing web layer according to the desired degree of elasticity and flexibility. The step of acquiring an elastic buffer layer comprises: selecting a corresponding elastic buffer layer according to the desired degree of elasticity and flexibility.

Such an arrangement enables the user to purposefully assemble a suitable elastic pad according to his own needs. For example, if a user desires to obtain a soft elastic pad, he may separately purchase an elastic balancing web layer, an elastic buffer layer, an elastic modules, etc. with a high degree of flexibility to assemble the desired soft elastic pad; if the user desires to obtain a hard elastic pad, he may separately purchase an elastic balancing web layer, an elastic buffer layer and elastic modules with a low degree of flexibility so as to assemble and form the desired hard elastic pad; if the user desires to select an outer cover of a different material (e.g., cloth, silk, etc.), he may purchase the outer cover for replacement.

As described in the previous embodiments, the side enclosure may have a variety of height dimensions to be selected by the user, so that the side enclosure may be manufactured and sold as a single item. The present invention further provides an embodiment of the side enclosure in which the separate side enclosure is the side enclosure in the elastic pad according to FIG. 1-FIG. 22.

Similarly, the elastic pad layer may have a variety of structural arrangements to be selected by the user, so that each elastic pad layer may be manufactured and sold as a separate item. The present invention also provides an embodiment of an elastic pad layer in which the separate elastic pad layer is an elastic buffer layer in an elastic pad according to FIG. 1-FIG. 22, particularly the elastic buffer layer in FIG. 4A-FIG. 4G.

The elastic pad provided by the present invention is a high-end elastic pad with higher comfort. As compared with the conventional elastic pads of the same type, the elastic pad of the present invention also allows the user to customize, assemble and disassemble the elastic pad, which can provide the following convenience for the user: 1. the user may select corresponding parts according to his own needs so as to purposefully produce an elastic pad more suitable for the user's needs in use; 2. if part of the structures of the elastic pad age, the user may purchase the corresponding parts by himself, and replace aged parts with new parts to continue to use the elastic pad.

The above depictions of various embodiments of the present invention are provided to those having ordinary skill in the art for depiction purpose, and are not intended to exclude other embodiments from the present disclosure or limit the present disclosure to a single disclosed embodiment. As described above, various alternatives and modifications of the present disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, although some alternative embodiments have been described in detail, those having ordinary skill in the art will understand or readily develop other embodiments. The disclosure is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and variations of the present disclosure described herein, as well as other embodiments falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure described herein.

Claims

1-30. (canceled)

31. An elastic pad comprising: an outer cover defining an enclosed receiving space, the outer cover comprising a top cover body, a bottom cover body and a side enclosure connected between the bottom cover body and the top cover body, the side enclosure detachably connected to the top cover body, the side enclosure detachably connected to the bottom cover body;an elastic module layer in the receiving space, the elastic module layer including a spring in a compressed state;an elastic pad layer also disposed in the receiving space and stacked above the elastic module layer,the elastic pad layer configured to allow:selection of a desired type and/or a desired number of elastic module layers and elastic pad layers; andselection of the side enclosure based on a total thickness of the selection of one or more of the elastic module layer and the elastic pad layer.

32. The elastic pad of claim 31 wherein the elastic pad layer comprises an elastic buffer layer including a fabric cover structure and a first-layer structure, a second-layer structure and a third-layer structure in the fabric cover structure, the third-layer structure having a hardness higher than the second-layer structure, the second-layer structure having a hardness higher than the first-layer structure.

33. The elastic pad of claim 32 wherein in the elastic buffer layer structure: (i) the first-layer structure is closest to a top surface of the elastic pad and the third-layer structure is closest to a bottom surface of the elastic pad; or(ii) the second-layer structure is closest to the top surface of the elastic pad, and the third-layer structure is closest to a bottom surface of the elastic pad; or(iii) the third-layer structure is closest to a top surface of the elastic pad, and the first-layer structure is closest to a bottom surface of the elastic pad; or(iv) the first-layer structure is closest to a top surface of the elastic pad and the second-layer structure is closest to a bottom surface of the elastic pad; or(v) the second-layer structure is closest to a top surface of the elastic pad, and the first-layer structure is closest to a bottom surface of the elastic pad; or(vi) the third-layer structure is closest to a top surface of the elastic pad and the second-layer structure is closest to a bottom surface of the elastic pad.

34. The elastic pad of claim 31 wherein the elastic module layer comprises a plurality of elastic modules arranged in an array, each elastic module including a spring.

35. The elastic pad of claim 34 wherein each elastic module comprises a conical spring and a spring support holding the conical spring, the elastic module layer further comprises an elastic module layer bottom layer and a plurality of rail beams on the elastic module layer bottom layer, and the plurality of elastic modules are configured for mounting and sliding on the rail beams.

36. The elastic pad of claim 35 wherein the elastic module layer bottom layer is integral with the bottom cover body.

37. The elastic pad of claim 35 wherein each rail beam is configured to engage sliding modules on left and right sides thereof, respectively, to allow elastic modules on both sides of the rail beam to slide along slide rails of the rail beam independently of each other.

38. The elastic pad of claim 37 wherein each rail beam comprises: a vertical support wall connected to a middle portion of a top engaging portion;the top engaging portion forming two downward-opening top-side receiving portions at the top of the rail beam;the vertical support wall connected to a middle portion of a bottom engaging portion a bottom engaging portion forming two upward-opening bottom-side receiving portions at the bottom of the rail beam;wherein left and right sides of the spring support of each elastic module have a mating protrusion configured to mate with the top-side receiving portions and bottom-side receiving portions of the rail beam, and the mating protrusions protrude upward from a front surface on both sides of the bottom of the spring support and protrude upward from a bottom surface on both sides of the bottom of the spring support.

39. The elastic pad of claim 35 wherein each rail beam comprises: a base on the bottom cover body;a pair of connecting walls extending upward from left and right sides of the base;a pair of end walls extending from top ends of the pair of connecting walls, with a space between the pair of end walls;the base, the pair of connecting walls, and the pair of end walls jointly providing a pair of receiving portions opening towards each other; andleft and right sides of the spring support of each elastic module having a downwardly extending connecting leg, a bottom end of the connecting leg including mating projections extending away from each other, the mating projections configured to engage the pair of receiving portions of each of the rail beams.

40. The elastic pad of claim 39 wherein a partition wall is provided between the two connecting walls of the base, and the partition wall has a height less than the connecting walls.

41. The elastic pad of claim 40 wherein the connecting walls on left and right sides of the base are intermittent and staggered from each other.

42. The elastic pad of claim 40 wherein the bottom cover body includes a plurality of spaced apart sets of detachable rail beam mounting members.

43. The elastic pad of claim 42 wherein each rail beam mounting member comprises a mounting member projection projecting in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the rail beam and parallel to the bottom cover body, a mounting receiving portion corresponding to the mounting member projection at a bottom of the rail beam, the mounting member projection configured to mate with the mounting receiving portion of the rail beam so that the rail beam can slide relative to the rail beam mounting member.

44. The elastic pad of claim 37, wherein each of the rail beams comprises a plurality of rail beam segments, a forwardly-extending projection at a front end of each rail beam segment, a groove recessed inward toward the rail beam segment at a rear end of each rail beam segment, the projection and groove of adjacent rail beam segments configured to mate with each other to connect adjacent rail beam segments together.

45. The elastic pad of claim 36, wherein each elastic module has a truncated cone shape, the elastic pad layer further comprises an elastic balancing web layer having a plurality of openings sized to coincide with an outer diameter of the elastic modules at a predetermined height, so that the elastic balancing web layer can sleeve the plurality of elastic modules in the openings.

46. The elastic pad of claim 45 wherein the openings coincide with an outer diameter at the top of the elastic modules.

47. The elastic pad of claim 31 wherein the elastic pad is configured to allow use of at least two elastic pad layers and stack the at least two elastic pad layers in different orders to provide different degrees of softness and hardness.

48. The elastic pad of claim 32 wherein the top cover body, the bottom cover body, the side enclosure and the elastic pad layer are configured to be rolled up.

49. The elastic pad of claim 38 wherein each elastic module has a truncated cone structure with an open lower end and a hollow interior, and the elastic modules are configured for removal from the rail beams and nested.

50. An elastic pad, comprising: an outer cover configured to define an enclosed receiving space, the outer cover comprising a top cover body detachably connected to a bottom cover body;elastic pad layers disposed in the receiving space independently of each other;the elastic pad configured to allow:selecting a desired type and/or a desired number of elastic module layers and elastic pad layers; andassembling the top cover body, the bottom cover body and the selected elastic module layers and elastic pad layers together to form the elastic pad.

51. The elastic pad of claim 50 wherein the top cover body comprises a skirt portion extending peripherally towards the bottom cover body; and/or the bottom cover body comprises a skirt portion extending peripherally towards the top cover body; orthe elastic pad has no side enclosure, and the top cover body and the bottom cover body are directly joined together.