1. Technical Field.
The invention relates to a support for a human body, in particular a mattress for beds, day beds, sitting furniture and the like.
2. Prior Art.
Supports of the aforementioned type are known in a variety of forms.
The known supports prove to be disadvantageous in their lack of lying or sitting comfort in the case of supports which can be simply manufactured, or in the disproportionate amount of complexity required to achieve a high degree of lying or sitting comfort.
The object of the present invention is to provide a simple means for producing a support having a high degree of lying or sitting comfort.
The invention achieves this object with a support for a human body, in particular a mattress, for beds, day beds, sitting furniture and the like, characterized by at least one layer (11, 12) of elastic tubes (13) with a longitudinal extension parallel to a plane defined by the support. Accordingly, a support for the human body, in particular a mattress for beds, daybeds, sitting furniture and the like, is provided with at least one layer of elastic tubes, said elastic tubes being tubes with a longitudinal extension parallel to a plane defined by the support. Thus at least one layer forms preferably a core of the support.
The advantage offered by the invention is that a support or a core with at least one layer of elastic tubes can be manufactured quite simply, is lightweight and thus easy to transport, and at the same time offers a high degree of lying or sitting comfort.
The positioning of a plurality of such tubes, aligned parallel to each other and spaced apart from one another in the at least one layer of elastic tubes, results in an overall arrangement that is extremely flexible and permeable to air.
If the mattress or core encompass at least two layers of elastic tubes, the elasticity of the mattress is heightened as a whole. If the alignment of the elastic tubes of the first layer differs from the alignment of the elastic tubes of the second layer, with the tubes of the different layers preferably running crossways to each other, it is possible to influence the elasticity of the mattress in two directions, i.e. in the longitudinal and transverse direction, if the elastic tubes of the first layer are arranged essentially perpendicular to the elastic tubes of the second layer.
The crosswise layout of the different tube layers with respect to one another results in a point contact of the tubes of one layer to the tubes of the other layer. This produces a particularly soft spring deflection in the core that forms the support. Furthermore, the spring characteristic is not linear, thus creating a support which is particularly soft, especially upon initial reclining or resting, providing the person lying on the support an especially pleasant, in particular soft, lying comfort and which surpasses the lying comfort of more complex spring mattresses. Furthermore, the contact points allow for a simple connection of the tubes of different layers to each other.
If the individual elastic tubes are filled, or capable of being filled, with a damping medium, in particular a gaseous or liquid damping medium, in particular air or water, it is possible to set the damping characteristics of the support. If the filled or fillable elastic tubes are connected to each other, particularly as layers or segments, it is possible to achieve pressure equalization within the support, with the result that the damping medium escapes from the heavily loaded tubes and is distributed in the less loaded tubes. When the support is used as a mattress, this arrangement is capable of providing uniform support for the entire human body, since heavier parts of the body sink into the mattress until an equilibrium is achieved with equal support being provided to lighter parts of the body.
The dynamic behavior of such a support, in particular in such a mattress, can be influenced advantageously if the filled or fillable elastic tubes are connected to each other by means of pressure equalization means, in particular flow control means. Ideally, adjustable flow control valves are provided which allow for simple adjustability of the dynamic behavior of the mattress with the help of only one control element. An advantageous fixation of the overall installation can be achieved if the elastic tubes are completely or partially encompassed by an elastic material, e.g. cut polyurethane foam, or are embedded in an elastic material. At the same time, this makes it possible to achieve a bridged and, where appropriate, a flat surface area, thus improving the lying comfort even more.
When the elastic tubes of the first layer have a diameter that differs from the diameter of the elastic tubes of the second layer, it is possible, for example, to provide the outer side of the support with a layer of elastic tubes having a smaller diameter and thus with a greater total number of elastic tubes, and is thus capable of achieving even better and more uniform pressure equalization. The elastic tubes with a larger diameter at the interior of the mattress, on the other hand, provide fundamental damping and/or basic stability.
If the elastic tubes in the different layers are filled with different damping media, such as air as the damping medium in an outer layer and water as the damping medium in an inner layer, it is possible to take advantage of the characteristic insulating property of air for the top side of the support that faces the human body and the incompressibility of water in the interior of the support.
The invention also provides at least some elastic tubes with a fire-retardant or fireproof medium. The tubes employed are filled entirely or partially with the fire-retardant or fireproof medium. This medium can at the same time serve as the damping medium. Preferably, only some, in particular all, elastic tubes of a top layer are filled at least partially with a fire-retardant and/or fireproof medium. A typical fire-retardant and/or fireproof medium can be an extinguishing agent such as water or a liquid used in fire extinguishers. But this medium can also be an additive that is mixed with a damping medium.
The elastic tubes are formed in a particularly advantageous manner by means of welding and, if necessary, the punching out of two foils. Alternatively, the elastic tubes are hose-like, in particular flexible tubes.
A plurality of support of the type described above can be combined to form a mattress if they are arranged adjacent to or above one another. When the pressure of the damping medium in the elastic tubes of a first such support can be adjusted independently of the pressure of the damping medium in the elastic tubes of a second such support, it is possible, for example, to adjust the damping characteristics of a head and/or foot region of a mattress differently than the characteristics of a middle section for the torso. The damping characteristics of the individual supports combined to form a mattress can be advantageously determined when each support is filled or fillable with different damping media.
The advantage of the invention and its embodiments is that, in particular, the support is especially suitable for use in situations requiring a low-weight solution that offers superior comfort, i.e. in the area of what is known as “mobile sleeping arrangements”. The support is characterized by its competitive manufacturing costs and its high long-term stability. Furthermore, the height of mattresses formed by such supports can be increased by adding further layers of the elastic tubes.
Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
In the following, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in more detail on the basis of the drawing. Components or elements which correspond to one another are designated in all figures with the same reference number. The figures show:
a shows a mattress with two layers of elastic tubes such that the elasticity of the mattress for the longitudinal and transverse direction can be set independently.
b shows a mattress with two layer of elastic tubes, with one layer encompassing a plurality of segments of elastic tubes, making it possible to set the elasticity of the mattress for the longitudinal and transverse direction and for each individual segment independently of each another.
c shows a mattress with two layer of elastic tubes, with each layer encompassing a plurality of segments of elastic tubes, making it possible to set the elasticity of the mattress for the longitudinal and transverse direction and for each individual segment independently of each another.
The elastic tubes 13 have preferably a circular cross-section, although other sectional profiles are suitable for implementing the invention, for example, cross-sections having an oval, elliptical or polygonal profile. The height of the core 10 of the support is determined by the diameter of the individual elastic tubes 13 and the number of the layers 11, 12. The centerline of all elastic tubes 13 in each layer 11, 12 of elastic tubes 13 defines a plane. The support encompassing the core 10 rests on a piece of reclining or sitting furniture (not shown) such that the core 10 and its aforementioned plane is arranged parallel to one or more support surfaces of the reclining or sitting furniture. Each one of the elastic tubes 13 has a longitudinal extension parallel to the plane defined by the support. The elastic tubes 13 of each layer 11, 12 are aligned parallel to each other and spaced apart from one another, with the parallel centerlines of all tubes 13 of one layer 11 intersecting the centerlines of the tubes 13 of the other layer 12, preferably at an angle of 90°. Shown in
The individual elastic tubes 13 are preferably filled, or fillable, with a damping medium (not shown) especially with a gaseous or liquid damping medium, in particular air or water. Furthermore, the elastic tubes 13 can likewise be filled, either partially or completely, with a fire-retardant and/or fireproof medium (not shown). At the same time, this medium can serve as the damping medium, particularly when the damping medium is water or another liquid possessing fire-retardant or fire-extinguishing properties and which thus serves as an extinguishing agent. But it is also conceivable to mix the damping means with additives which impart fire-retardant and/or fire-extinguishing properties to the damping medium, if appropriate, to a gaseous damping medium as well.
a,
9
b and 9c now show different ways of influencing the elasticity of a mattress formed by supports of the described kind in the longitudinal and transverse direction.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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203 04 011.2 | Mar 2003 | DE | national |
203 05 023.1 | Mar 2003 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP04/02403 | 3/9/2004 | WO | 9/9/2005 |