Patent Application
20110094039
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The present invention pertains generally to support structures for sleeping, and more specifically to adaptable support structures that can be easily replaced with alternate upper support layers containing different insert materials with varying support characteristics.
Devices for supporting the human body while sleeping have evolved generally from pads, to pads in combination with or supported by springs such as the common mattress, and further in combination with stiffer springs such as in mattress foundations or box springs. In a conventional mattress, springs or coils are interconnected in a matrix array, and covered on each side with layers of padding and fabric. Much of the innovation in mattresses and box springs is in the area of spring design, seeking configurations which provide optimal support of the body, in combination with the padding layers. There are certain design constraints on mattress innersprings, such as the gauge of wire of the coils, the diameter, height, and number of coils in the array.
There is greater design flexibility in the material layers which cover the springs, particularly in the foam layers. The upper layers or “toppers” are conventionally made up of one or more layers of non-woven insulation material over the terminal ends of the coils, one or more layers of polymer foam, and a padded upholstery material or “tick” layer.
In recent years, a significant portion of the additional mattress padding has been placed in the so-called pillowtop, i.e., an enclosed panel containing multiple layers of various foams and fiber batting which is sewn or otherwise fixedly attached to both sides of the mattress innerspring. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,532. For permanent attachment to the mattress innerspring upholstery, in one type of construction a gusset is formed to extend from the underside of the pillowtop, which is sewn to a mating gusset of the mattress upholstery material, along a tape edge of the pillowtop. Placing most of the comfort forming material (specifically, the fibrous materials) in a permanently attached pillowtop is made increasingly difficult by greater numbers of layers of material, and by the sheer size and weight of the mattress. The approach also necessitates that equal numbers of compressible material layers be included on both sides of the innerspring, adding significantly to the cost of the mattress.
A large number of layers of material in the pillowtop, including high density foam, natural and man made fiber batts, in combination with other padded or quilted upholstery, has made pillowtops very bulky and rounded at the edges. High bulk material layers, such as thick layers of high density foam, directly affect the height of the mattress, and the total height when combined with a foundation and bed frame. As a result, a pillowtop border section is used, requiring two tape edge perimeters to be sewn on each side of the pillowtop. It is a difficult assembly to sew together around the periphery with a tape edge, requiring expert operation of a large sewing machine mounted at an oblique angle to the mattress. The sewing head must of course traverse the entire perimeter of the mattress. In the case of mattresses with bordered pillowtops, this sewing process is required four to six times, to create two tape seams for each pillowtop (both sides) and two tape seams for both sides of the mattress.
The present invention provides a sleep system including a foundation unit, a support unit or innerspring and a convertible topper. The foundation unit may be of conventional design and construction and contain flexible grid over the top surface of the foundation unit or may be constructed entirely of wood. The support unit or innerspring sits atop the foundation unit and provides support for the sleep surface of the mattress. It may contain the conventional interconnected spring coil array or may contain a high performance high support factor foam core structure. The comfort unit sits atop the support unit and may contain a variety of support and cushioning materials. Attachment means are installed on the sides of the support unit that attach to corresponding attachment means installed at the left and right sides of the comfort unit. The attachment means prevent lateral or sliding motion of the comfort unit relative to the support unit.
The support unit 20 is dimensioned to fit upon the foundation surface 50 and be fully supported thereby. The support unit or innerspring 20 may be of conventional design, containing a plurality of interconnected spring coils 60. The support unit 20 may alternatively be a high performance foam core structure without any internal wire or spring elements. The support surface 70 has relatively few layers of material which cover the innerspring 20, such as one or two more layers of mat or foam or other sheet-like fabric or non-woven material. The primary purpose of layers is to provide a smooth surface over the ends of the coils of the innerspring 20.
The comfort unit 30 or pillowtop is dimensioned to fit upon the support unit 20. It has a generally horizontal top and bottom and generally vertical sides extending between the top and bottom to define a central space containing supporting and cushioning components. The comfort unit contains the majority of compressible, conformable internal layers of materials in the sleep system. As shown in
The comfort unit 30 is releasably attached to the support unit 20 via a suitable attachment device. In a preferred embodiment, the comfort unit 30 is attached to the support unit 20 by Velcro™ hook tabs 22 attached to the upper edge or perimeter of the left and right sides of the support unit 20 and preferably sewn into and integrally attached to the tape edge 35, which extend upward and attach to Velcro™ loop tabs 32 located on the left and right sides of the comfort unit 30. Attaching the Velcro™ hook tabs 22 to the support unit 20 beneath the tape edge 35, as shown in
In a preferred embodiment, as shown in
All of the layers of the comfort unit 30 are encapsulated in woven upholstery which may have a backing layer and be sewn with stitches in a quilted pattern. The panels of upholstery are joined at the edges of the comfort unit by tape edge 35.
The ease of replacement and the wide variety of different types of internal layers which can be used in the comfort unit 30 make the sleep system highly versatile. The entire feel and function of the sleep system 100 can be altered by simply and easily exchanging the comfort unit with a different comfort unit having significantly different support and functional characteristics.
The foregoing embodiments of the present invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. These descriptions and embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principle of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in its various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the invention be defined by the following claims.
