FOAMLESS SLEEPING PAD

Abstract

A foamless, generally self-inflating sleeping pad comprises, in one embodiment, an inflatable sleeping pad frame to which is attached fabric top and bottom layers which are stretched into place when the frame is inflated. In a second embodiment, the frame and top and bottom layers of the sleeping pad are constructed of fabric however a central inflatable structure is provided, for example in the form of a “Z” shaped inflatable structure. In all cases, atmospheric air fills the interior volume of the sleeping pad and if required, a small volume of air may be added to the cavity by means of a two-way valve to increase the firmness of the sleeping pad.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to outdoor equipment and more particularly, to an inflatable sleeping pad or mattress that provides user comfort without utilizing foam and without requiring significant inflation by the user.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A large portion of the population enjoy camping and other outdoor activities. When engaged in these activities, however, many people enjoy some of the comforts of home. Although individuals engaged in various outdoor activities enjoy such comforts of home, weight, space and collapsibility (portability) are still very important features.

Campers and others who sleep away from home often desire to soften the ground or floor on which they sleep with a foam or air-filled sleeping pad. Sleeping pads are widely used in the camping and outdoor arenas. Although foam sleeping pads are well-known, hikers and other remote campers are concerned with the weight and volume of a collapsed foam sleeping pad which they want to collapse into a small package and must carry.

Therefore, some sleeping pads (such as foam-filled inflatable sleeping pads) are much too large, heavy, and bulky and are accordingly not desirable by hikers and may not be the first choice of campers due to their cumbersome nature. However, the ability of the foam within the pad to “self-inflate” the pad is appealing and convenient. Air filled (i.e., inflatable) sleeping pads not filled with foam are also widely known. Although air filled sleeping pads are generally lightweight and collapsible, they typically must be inflated by blowing with the lungs or with the aid of pump and take a significant amount of time, air volume and pressure to inflate.

Most inflatable sleeping pads that are not foam-filled and self-inflating are made to inflate with a pump which is yet another item to carry. Pumps add weight to the overnight kit and can be lost or damaged. If the inflatable sleeping pad is not designed to be inflated with a pump, the user will need to inflate the sleeping pad by mouth. This also has its drawbacks in that typical prior art sleeping pads require a significant amount of air volume to inflate them with enough air volume and pressure to make them comfortable. Some users may find inflating sleeping pads by mouth to be difficult. Furthermore, direct contact with the mouth can pass germs and transfer moisture to the inside of the pad, promoting mildew and deterioration of the pad materials. One way or another, inflating a sleeping pad takes time and is inconvenient and a design than shortens the process will be desirable among users.

Accordingly, what is needed is a sleeping pad which does not have the weight or bulk of foam-filled pads and has a reduced air volume for inflation without giving up the thickness and overall dimensions necessary for user comfort and support. In other words, what is needed and provided with the present invention is a foamless and generally self-inflating pad that provides all the comforts of a foam sleeping pad without the added weight and bulk of foam or the lengthy inflation time of a typical air-filled pad.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention features, in a first embodiment, a foamless, self-inflating sleeping pad, comprising an air inflatable frame, fluidly coupled to a first air inlet/outlet valve, and configured for being inflated with air to form first and second sides and first and second ends of the foamless, self-inflating sleeping pad. The first and second sides and first and second ends of the foamless, self-inflating sleeping pad define an internal sleeping pad central region. The air inflatable frame first and second sides and first and second ends form an air inflatable frame top region and an air inflatable frame bottom region.

The first embodiment further includes a second air inlet/outlet valve, fluidly coupled to the internal sleeping pad central region and a bottom fabric layer, coupled to the bottom region of the air inflatable frame and a top fabric layer, coupled to the top region of the air inflatable frame.

A second embodiment of the invention features a foamless, self-inflating sleeping pad, comprising a fabric sleeping pad, configured for being inflated with air to form first and second sides and first and second ends of the foamless, self-inflating sleeping pad. The first and second sides and the first and second ends of the foamless, self-inflating sleeping pad comprise a fabric material and define an internal sleeping pad central region, the first and second sides and the first and second ends defining a sleeping pad top region and a sleeping pad bottom region. A second air inlet/outlet valve, is fluidly coupled to the internal sleeping pad central region while a bottom fabric layer, is coupled to the sleeping pad bottom region and a top fabric layer is coupled to the sleeping pad top region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description, taken together with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the foamless sleeping pad having an inflatable pad periphery without a top fabric layer to show the interior of the sleeping pad according to the teachings of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a first embodiment of the foamless sleeping pad with inflatable periphery according to one embodiment of the present invention with a top fabric layer in place;

FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the foamless sleeping pad according to the second embodiment of the present invention without a top fabric layer to show the inflatable Z-structure of the sleeping pad in the interior cavity of the sleeping pad and without an inflatable periphery according to the teachings of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates the another embodiment of the foamless sleeping pad shown in FIG. 3 with a top fabric layer in place and with an inflatable periphery, according to the teaching of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Closely related to an air mattress, an inflatable sleeping pad requires an external air volume and pressure source to inflate, typically in the form of pump or by blowing into the pad directly. There are many forms of pumps for such purposes, ranging from electric-powered devices, to hand-operated, to bags that are blown into and then closed and squeezed in order to transfer air. Manual pumps will generally be desirable to hikers and campers but filling a large volume air pad with a manual pump can be a lengthy and tiresome process. The present invention solves this problem by providing a foamless sleeping pad having only small areas to be filled with air and thus a small hand operated pump can be expedient and sufficient.

In a first embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, the foamless sleeping pad 10 features an air frame structure 12 which defines the periphery of the sleeping pad 10 by forming the length and width of the sleeping pad 10. The air frame structure 12 is air filled by connecting a small pump (not shown) or blowing into a periphery frame fill valve 14. Because the frame 12 is narrow (it will be cylindrical in cross-section once inflated and only as high as the sleeping pad 10 pad is thick), the volume of air required to fill the frame structure 12 is significantly less than trying to fill an entire central sleeping pad volume 19 with air. This inflatable frame 12 will typically be made either of the same material as the rest of the pad, or could be made of any of various airtight, weldable materials such as thermoplastic polyurethane.

In accordance with this embodiment of the invention and indeed all embodiment of the invention, the foamless sleeping pad 10 includes a fabric bottom sheet 16 and a fabric top sheet 18. The top and bottom fabric sheets 16/18 are preferably constructed of a lightweight, air impermeable fabric such as polyurethane-coated nylon.

In use, once the sleeping pad air-filled frame 12 is filled with air and the top and bottom fabric layers 16/18 are “stretched” or tensioned into position, atmospheric air pressure is allowed to fill the interior central volume 19 of the foamless sleeping pad 10 with air. By opening air valve 20 which if connected to the central region 19 of the sleeping pad 10. In order to make the sleeping pad “more firm”, however, the user may provide some amount of additional air either by means of a pump or by mouth through the sleeping pad central region fill valve 20. The central region fill valve 20 may be located on the top or bottom fabric sheets 16 or 18 or alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, both of the fill valves 14 and 20 may be located on the sidewall 12 of the sleeping pad and may be disposed in close proximity to one another or on opposite side or ends of the inflatable frame structure 12.

When the user of the sleeping pad 10 wishes to store the sleeping pad, the user simply opens the frame and central region fill valves 14, 20 allowing the air to escape and the entire sleeping pad can be rolled up or folded into a very small and lightweight roll or package.

In a second embodiment of a foamless sleeping pad 10A in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, FIG. 3, the sides 36, ends 35, and top and bottom layers or sheets 16, 18 of the sleeping pad 10A are constructed of a lightweight, air impermeable fabric as was previously described above in connection with the first embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2. However in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, there is no inflatable air frame structure 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 but rather, the sleeping pad 10A includes an air-fillable internal cavity structure 30, as shown for exemplary purposes only, in the form of a “Z” air structure connected to a separate fill valve 32. This Z-shaped internal frame could be formed by die cutting material to the desired shape and welding two layers of coated fabric together with a design of die-cut openings and weld lines that both promote folding into the Z-shape and reduce fabric weight and air volume to make inflating of this internal structure quicker. The inflatable internal cavity structure 30 serves much like “springs” in a traditional mattress providing comfort to the user, which level of comfort can be adjusted by controlling the amount of air placed in the internal cavity structure 30. The internal cavity structure 30 is secured in place within the sleeping pad central region by mean such as welding, gluing or the like.

The advantage of this embodiment is that the central air-filled structure 30 can provide the requisite rigidity or stiffness in the central region of the foamless sleeping pad 10A without the use of heavy and bulky foam. The “Z” structure 30 may include several cutouts or openings 34 which, in addition to making the assembly lighter and faster to inflate, allow atmospheric and/or pressurized air in the central region 19 of the sleeping pad 10A to flow freely and fill the central region 19. As described in connection with the first embodiment, a separate central region fill valve 20, FIGS. 3 and 4 may be provided.

It should be noted that the air-filled internal cavity structure 30 shown in FIG. 3 may also be used with the inflatable sleeping pad frame 12 shown and described in connection with the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as shown as sleeping pad 10B in FIG. 4 (note the inflatable internal structure 30 is not shown in FIG. 4 to show the top sheet 18 of the sleeping pad 10).

The Z-shaped internal frame also has the advantage of restriction the transfer of heat energy within the pad and thereby giving the pad a greater insulating effect. Many other designs for the internal structure are possible, such as attached spheres or cylinders, and should be considered within the scope of this design.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a novel and non-obvious foamless sleeping pad which is lightweight, and easy to deploy and store in a small and lightweight small package thus making such a sleeping pad ideal for hikers, backpackers, and campers.

Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is not to be limited except by the allowed claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A foamless sleeping pad, comprising: an air inflatable frame, fluidly coupled to a first air inlet/outlet valve, and configured for being inflated with air to form first and second sides and first and second ends of said foamless, sleeping pad, said first and second sides and first and second ends of said foamless, sleeping pad defining an internal sleeping pad central region, said air inflatable frame first and second sides and first and second ends forming an air inflatable frame top region and an air inflatable frame bottom region;a second air inlet/outlet valve, fluidly coupled to said internal sleeping pad central region;a bottom fabric layer, coupled to said bottom region of said air inflatable frame; anda top fabric layer, coupled to said top region of said air inflatable frame.

2. The foamless sleeping pad according to claim 1, further including an air-fillable internal cavity structure, disposed in said internal sleeping pad central region, wherein said air-fillable internal cavity structure is fluidly coupled to a third air inlet/outlet valve.

3. A foamless sleeping pad, comprising: a sleeping pad, configured for being inflated with air to form first and second sides and first and second ends of said foamless, sleeping pad, said first and second sides and said first and second ends of said foamless sleeping pad comprising a fabric material and defining an internal sleeping pad central region, said first and second sides and said first and second ends defining a sleeping pad top region and a sleeping pad bottom region;an air-fillable internal cavity structure, disposed in said internal sleeping pad central region;a first air inlet/outlet valve, fluidly coupled to said air-fillable internal cavity structure;a bottom fabric layer, coupled to said sleeping pad bottom region; anda top fabric layer, coupled to said sleeping pad top region.

4. The foamless sleeping pad according to claim 3, further including a second air inlet/outlet valve, fluidly coupled to said internal sleeping pad central region.

5. The foamless sleeping pad according to claim 3, further including an air inflatable frame, fluidly coupled to a third air inlet/outlet valve, and configured for being inflated with air to form first and second sides and first and second ends of said foamless, sleeping pad, said first and second sides and first and second ends of said foamless, sleeping pad defining an internal sleeping pad central region, said air inflatable frame first and second sides and first and second ends forming an air inflatable frame top region and an air inflatable frame bottom region.

6. The foamless sleeping pad according to claim 3, wherein said air-fillable internal cavity structure, disposed in said internal sleeping pad central region, is a Z-shaped structure having a plurality of cut out regions.