The invention relates to an electric motor driven adjustable mattress.
Electric motor driven adjustable support apparatuses for supporting a mattress are generally known. The known support apparatuses have support parts that are adjustable relative to one another by means of an electric motor driven drive apparatus. The known support apparatuses are generally adjustable between a reclined position, in which the support parts together form an essentially horizontal support plane, and a sitting position, in which the support parts are adjusted relative to one another and support a user resting on the mattress, at least in the area of his/her back, to facilitate sitting on the mattress, for example in the bed. The number of support parts of the support apparatus may vary, depending on the particular requirements. The support apparatuses generally have at least one middle support part that is stationary during the adjustment, and an upper body support part that is adjustable relative to the middle support part. The upper body support part itself may have a multi-part design, and may have a back support part and a head and neck support part, for example. Depending on the particular requirements, in addition to the upper body support part a lower body support part may be provided, which at its end facing away from the upper body support part is connected to the middle support part. The lower body support part may also have a multi-part design, and may have a thigh support part and a calf support part, for example.
An object of the invention is to provide a mattress having improved properties, an esthetically pleasing design, and a high level of comfort for a user of the mattress.
This object is achieved by the invention set forth herein.
This object is achieved by the invention set forth herein.
Advantageous and practical further embodiments are set forth set forth herein.
Further features, properties, and advantages of the invention result from the patent claims, the description, and the drawings.
One embodiment of an electric motor driven adjustable mattress according to the invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the appended drawings. All features that are described in the description, illustrated in the drawings, and claimed, alone or in any suitable combination with one another, constitute the subject matter of the present invention, regardless of their recapitulation in the claims, and regardless of their description or illustration in the drawings. The subject matter of the invention also includes combinations of the invention, in which one feature or multiple features of the invention is/are omitted and/or replaced by other features.
Relative terms such as left, right, up, and down are for convenience only and are not intended to be limiting.
The drawings show the following:
The invention provides a mattress having an integrated adjustment apparatus.
A first embodiment of an electric motor driven adjustable mattress according to the invention is explained in greater detail with reference to
The electric motor driven adjustable support apparatus 6 is explained in greater detail below with reference to
The flat cushion element, which fills the space between the bottom side of the casing 4 and the top side of the support apparatus and essentially completely covers the support apparatus 6, is not illustrated in
In a manner that is explained in greater detail below, the support apparatus 6 has support parts that are adjustable relative to one another by means of an electric motor driven drive apparatus, likewise explained in greater detail below.
In the illustrated embodiment, the support apparatus 6 has a middle support part 8 (see
In the illustrated embodiment, the upper body support part 12 has a neck support part 14, to one end of which a back support part 18 is articulatedly connected and pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 16. At its end facing away from the neck support part 14, the back support part 18 is connected to a pelvis support part 22 and pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 20, the pelvis support part with its end facing away from the back support part 18 being connected to the middle support part 8 and pivotable about the pivot axis 10.
A lower body support part 26 is articulatedly connected to the end of the middle support part 8 facing away from the pelvis support part 22 so as to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 24; in this embodiment, the lower body support part has a thigh support part 28 and a calf support part 30. One end of the thigh support part 28 is connected to the middle support part 8 so as to be pivotable about the pivot axis 24, while the end of the thigh support part facing away from the middle support part 8 is articulatedly connected to the calf support part 30 so as to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 32.
The pivot axes 10, 16, 20, 24, 32 are parallel to one another, so that the support apparatus 6, starting from the end position of the adjustment movement (reclined position) illustrated in
One its side facing the cushion element, which in the use position of the mattress 2 is the top side, each of the support parts 8, 14, 18, 22, 28, 30 defines a support surface at or on which the cushion element is supported. In the reclined position, the support parts 8, 14, 18, 22, 28, 30 together form an essentially horizontal support plane, while the support parts 8, 14, 18, 22, 28, 30 are pivotably adjusted relative to one another in the sitting position.
In addition to the pivot axes 10, 16, 20, 24, 32, in this embodiment the support apparatus 6 has two bending and folding axes 34, 36 that are spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the support apparatus 6 and also with respect to the pivot axes (see in particular
It is apparent from
According to the invention, a bending and folding axis is understood to mean an axis between two support parts that allows the support parts to pivot to the extent that in the folded state of the mattress 2, and thus in the state in which the support parts are folded together, the support surfaces, on which the cushion is supported, of at least two support parts face one another. The bending and folding axis thus allows bending of the support apparatus in order to fold the mattress to reduce its extension in the longitudinal direction and thus make the mattress more compact, and thereby facilitate transport or storage of the mattress. A bending and folding axis may in particular allow pivoting of two support parts, joined together via the bending and folding axis, by 45° or more relative to one another.
For an arrangement of two bending and folding axes, the mattress may, for example, be folded once approximately in the middle in order to reduce its extension in its longitudinal direction by approximately one-half. However, to reduce the extension of the mattress even further in its longitudinal direction, it is also possible by means of a bending and folding axis to fold a first end of the mattress toward the middle, and subsequently, by means of a second bending and folding axis, to fold the other end of the mattress, likewise toward the middle and thus over the first end.
In the folded state of the support apparatus 6, the mattress 2 is folded and forms a compact and therefore easily transportable storage and transport unit. Due to the folding mechanism provided according to the invention, the mattress 2 may in particular be folded up so compactly that it may be shipped via standard postal or courier delivery, thus dispensing with expensive, time-consuming transport by a freight forwarding service.
As is apparent from
The electric motor driven drive apparatus 38 has an output element which on the one hand is in drive connection with at least one electric motor, and which on the other hand is operatively connected to four Bowden cables 40′, 40″, 42′, 42″ (see
In the illustrated embodiment, the Bowden cables 40′, 40″ are associated with the lower body support part 26 for adjusting same relative to the middle support part 8, while the Bowden cables 42′, 42″ are associated with the upper body support part 12 for adjusting same relative to the middle support part 8.
For actuating the Bowden cables 42′, 42″, 40′, 40″, a shared single electric motor 84 is provided which is situated in a housing 44 (motor box, see
The spindle nut 46 is situated on the threaded spindle 86 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and is secured against rotation by means of a linear guide that is molded into the lower half-shell 80 of the housing 44. For supplying power and controlling the electric motor 84, power supply and control means are provided, whose design is generally known to those skilled in the art and therefore is not explained in greater detail here, and also not shown. Depending on the selected rotational direction of the output shaft, the threaded spindle 86 rotates in such a way that the spindle nut 46 moves linearly in one direction or the other in order to actuate the Bowden cables 40′, 40″, 42′, 42″.
The spindle nut 46 is also discernible in
With regard to the manner in which a support part of a support apparatus is adjusted via two Bowden cables in each case, reference is made to EP 2 792 277 B1, whose entire disclosed content is hereby incorporated by reference into the present patent application.
The Bowden cables 42′, 42″ (see
The operating principle of the Bowden cables is explained in greater detail below by way of example, with reference to the Bowden cable 42′. The Bowden cable 42″ has a corresponding operating principle.
The traction cable 48′ is led out through an opening 54 in the housing 44 (see
The jacket 50′ of the Bowden cable 42′ is on the one hand secured to the housing 44 (see
The connection of the Bowden cable 42″ to the neck support part 14 takes place in a corresponding manner, with the Bowden cables 42′, 42″, viewed with respect to the longitudinal center plane of the support apparatus 6, engaging on different sides of the neck support part 14 in order to uniformly introduce the adjustment force into the neck support part 14 so that twisting of the neck support part 14 during the adjustment is avoided.
For adjusting the neck support part 14 together with the back support part 18 and the pelvis support part 22 relative to the middle support part 8, the electric motor 84 drives the threaded spindle 86 in such a way that the spindle nut 46 moves to the right in
The Bowden cables 40′, 40″ are used in a corresponding manner for adjusting the thigh support part 28, and thus the lower body support part 26, relative to the middle support part 8. For this purpose, the jackets 54′, 54″ are secured on the one hand to the housing 44 (see
Resetting the support parts of the support apparatus into the starting position of the adjustment movement takes place under the weight force of their own weight plus that of the person resting thereon, but with the drive apparatus switched on.
In the illustrated embodiment, the shared single electric motor 84 is operatively connected to the upper body support part 12 and to the lower body support part 26 in such a way that the adjustment of the upper body support part 12 and of the lower body support part 26 takes place in a time-delayed manner, at least in phases, during the adjustment movement. In the illustrated embodiment, the time delay is designed in such a way that the adjustment of the lower body support part 26 begins later than the adjustment of the upper body support part 12. For this purpose, on the one hand the Bowden cables 42′, 42″ associated with the upper body support part 12 and on the other hand the Bowden cables 40′, 40″ associated with the lower body support part 26 are designed and configured in such a way that during the adjustment, the output element initially pulls on the Bowden cables 42′, 42″ associated with the upper body support part 12, and pulls on the Bowden cables 40′, 40″ associated with the lower body support part 26 only in the further course of the adjustment movement, so that the adjustment of the lower body support part 26 begins later than the adjustment of the upper body support part.
When the spindle nut 46 moves to the right in
As the spindle nut 46 continues to move, it subsequently comes into engagement with the barrel-shaped fastening elements 60′, 60″, so that the thigh support part 28 together with the calf support part 30 is then adjusted relative to the middle support part 8. In this way, initially the upper body support part 12 is moved, and only then is the lower body support part 26 moved in the adjustment.
As a result, according to the invention the adjustment of the upper body support part 12 and of the lower body support part 26 takes place in a time-delayed manner, at least in phases, during the adjustment movement.
In the illustrated embodiment, the spindle nut 46 (output element) thus initially carries out an idle stroke with respect to the traction cables 52′, 52″ before the spindle nut 46 begins to pull on the traction cables 52′, 52″, thus adjusting the lower body support part 26. Due to the length of the idle stroke, it may be specified by design whether and to what extent a time delay occurs during the adjustment of the upper body support part 12 and of the lower body support part 26.
However, it is also possible according to the invention to carry out the adjustment of the upper body support part 12 and of the lower body support part 26 simultaneously.
It is also possible according to the invention to design only the upper body support part 12 to be adjustable, while the lower body support part 26 always remains unadjusted in its position illustrated in
For supporting the cushion element, the support parts of the support apparatus 6 on their sides facing the cushion element (see
According to the invention, at least one support part also has, in addition to the spring elements 64 situated on the side facing the cushion element, further spring elements situated on the side facing away from the cushion element, i.e., the bottom side in
In the illustrated embodiment, the spring elements 64 have a slat-like design and are made of plastic.
As is apparent from
It is also apparent in particular from
The adjustment of the pelvis support part 22 together with the back support part 18 and the neck support part 14 on the one hand and the adjustment of the thigh support part 28 relative to the middle support part 8 [on the other hand] take place in the above-described manner under the drive action of the electric motor driven drive apparatus 38. When the thigh support part 28 pivots relative to the middle support part 8, the calf support part 30 pivots relative to the thigh support part 28 about the pivot axis 32 due to the force of gravity, without drive power, as is apparent from
To prevent the calf support part 30 from loosely moving relative to the thigh support part 28 about the pivot axis 32 in an adjusted position, a means for fixing the calf support part 30 relative to the thigh support part 28 in the adjusted position is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, this means has a metal bracket 68 in the form of a flat bar (see
In the illustrated embodiment, a further cushion element 70 is situated on the side of the support apparatus facing away from the cushion element (see
A second embodiment of a mattress 100 according to the invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to
In the illustrated embodiment, the support apparatus 102 has a middle first support part 104, the ends of which are connected, about mutually parallel pivot axes 106, 108, on the one hand to a second support part 110 that forms an upper body support part, and on the other hand to a third support part 112 that forms a lower body support part.
The connection between the second support part 110 and the first support part 104 on the one hand, and between the third support part 112 and the first support part 104 on the other hand, is formed by means of bending and folding axes in such a way that for folding the mattress 100, the third support part 112 is foldable onto the first support part 104, and the second support part 110 is subsequently foldable onto the side of the third support part 112 facing away from the middle support part 104.
In the illustrated embodiment, the connection between the first support part 104 and the second support part 110 is formed via a first intermediate support part 114 that is connected to the first support part 104 so as to be pivotable about the pivot axis 106. The second support part 110 is connected to the first intermediate support part 114 via a pivot axis 116 that is parallel to the pivot axis 106.
In the folded-up or collapsed state of the mattress 100 (see
Correspondingly, the connection between the third support part 112 and the first support part 104 is formed via a second intermediate support part 118, which on the one hand is connected to the first support part 104 so as to be pivotable about the pivot axis 108. The other end of the second intermediate support part 118 is connected to the third support part 112 about a pivot axis 120 that is parallel to the pivot axis 108, wherein the length of the second intermediate support part 118 is dimensioned so that when the third support part 112, including the cushion structure, is folded onto the first support part 104, the third support part 112 and the first support part 104 are situated essentially parallel to one another (see
Whereas in the first embodiment, bending and folding axes are provided in addition to the pivot axes, in the second embodiment the pivot axes 116, 120 at the same time have the function of a bending and folding axis.
For adjusting the second support part 110 relative to the first support part 104, an electric motor driven adjustment apparatus is provided which has an electric motor driven drive apparatus that is operatively connected to the support parts via an adjustment mechanism. The design of such electric motor driven adjustment apparatuses is generally known to those skilled in the art, and is therefore not explained here in greater detail. The electric motor driven adjustment apparatus may be designed, for example and in particular, as described with respect to the first embodiment.
The electric motor driven adjustment apparatus is designed in such a way that the second support part 110 together with the cushion structure may be folded onto the first support part 104 (see
In the illustrated embodiment, the third support part 112 is foldably connected to the first support part 104 via the second intermediate support part 118 (see
The cushion structure also has a lower cushion element on which the support apparatus 102 is placed, as illustrated in
One embodiment of a method for preparing the mattress 100 for transport or storage is explained below with reference to
As is apparent from
A vacuum device is subsequently connected to the wrapping 134 via a tube 136, and a vacuum is created in the wrapping 134, as the result of which the cushion structure 30 of the mattress 100 begins to be compressed.
It is apparent that a compact storage and transport unit has thus been formed, in which in particular the longest extension defined by the longitudinal extension of the mattress 100 is significantly reduced.
Due to its compactness, the storage and transport unit may be easily shipped via a parcel service. For self-pickup by a user, due to the compactness of the storage and transport unit 138, transport is likewise simplified and is easily possible in a passenger vehicle.
To simplify the transport even further, the storage and transport unit 138 may be provided with a rolling means.
After transport to a user, the user may unpack the storage and transport unit 138 from the outer container 140 and remove the wrapping 134, whereby the cushion structure 130 of the mattress 128 re-expands and assumes its original state, and the support parts 110, 112 may be unfolded. In this state, the mattress 100 is then ready for use.
The method according to the invention allows a mattress to be easily and inexpensively prepared for storage or transport by forming a space-saving, compact storage and transport unit.
The functioning of the bracket 68 is explained in greater detail below with reference to
In the illustrated embodiment, the position of the hinge points 29, 31 is selected in such a way that, during an adjustment of the thigh support part 28 together with the calf support part 30 from an unadjusted starting position, in a first kinematic phase the calf support part 30 is initially lifted, and is not pivoted together with the thigh support part 28 until a second kinematic phase.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As is apparent from
While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, and uses and/or adaptations of the invention and following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10 2017 110 522 | May 2017 | DE | national |
10 2017 114 091 | Jun 2017 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/665,041, filed Jul. 31, 2017, and this application claims the priority of German Application No. 10 2017 110 522.0, filed May 15, 2017, and German Application No. 10 2017 114 091.3, filed Jun. 26, 2017, and each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20200163464 A1 | May 2020 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15665041 | Jul 2017 | US |
Child | 16738278 | US |