Patent Application
20060123553
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to an underlay for the human body with at least one mattress of foam plastic or with at least one mattress of foam plastic and an underspringing arrangement. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing an underlay for the human body, the underlay being formed by at least one mattress of foam plastic and an underspringing arrangement.
2. Prior Art
Underlays of the type referred to here are used in the case of beds and furniture for sitting and lying on. The underlays are intended to offer sleeping, lying and sitting comfort appropriate for the requirements.
In the simplest case, such an underlay comprises a mattress, which rests directly on a framework, for example a bed. Such underlays have minimal sleeping, lying and sitting comfort. High-grade underlays have in addition to the mattress an underspringing arrangement, which offers a resiliently compliant, elastic support for the mattress. Known underspringing arrangements of this type require a complex construction, making the underlays expensive.
The invention is based on the object of providing a simple, inexpensive underlay, which nevertheless offers a high degree of sleeping, lying and/or sitting comfort for the human body. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the simple and inexpensive production of an underlay for the human body.
An underlay serving to achieve this object comprises at least one mattress of foam plastic, characterized in that supplementarily consolidated regions are assigned to the mattress. Accordingly, the mattress is assigned supplementarily consolidated regions of its foam plastic. These supplementarily consolidated regions harden or stabilize the material of the mattress at selected locations. As a result, the underspringing arrangement can be virtually integrated in the mattress.
Another underspringing arrangement for achieving the stated object comprises at least one mattress of foam plastic and an underspringing arrangement, characterized in that supplementarily consolidated regions are assigned to the underspringing arrangement. Accordingly, the underspringing of the mattress is assigned supplementarily consolidated regions. Such a separate underspringing arrangement is simple to manufacture.
The supplementarily consolidated, in particular supplementarily crosslinked, regions form selectively hardened parts of the mattress or of a layer of plastic supporting the latter, which obviates the need for a complex underspringing arrangement. The hardened regions can be easily formed by supplementary consolidation from the material of the mattress or an additional layer of plastic. As a result, an underlay which is equivalent to a mattress lying on a complex underspringing arrangement with regard to the sleeping, lying and sitting comfort is obtained in an inexpensive way.
If the regions selectively hardened by supplementary crosslinking are formed from a separate layer of plastic, this may be a foam plastic sheet or else a sheet of unfoamed plastic, in particular an elastomer sheet. An underspringing arrangement for the mattress can be formed from this very easily by simple supplementary crosslinking of the plastic, whereby the selectively hardened regions for supporting the mattress are created. A curable polymer also comes into consideration in particular as the plastic for the plastic foam.
In the case of a preferred form of the invention, the underlay has supporting elements. The supporting elements are assigned to the mattress, to be precise in such a way that they are located in the mattress or under the mattress. The supporting elements form an additional support for the mattress.
According to a further refinement of the invention, the supporting elements are assigned to the selectively hardened or supplementarily consolidated regions of the mattress or its integrated underspringing arrangement or a separate underspringing arrangement. In this case, the selectively hardened, in particular supplementarily hardened or supplementarily crosslinked, regions serve as supporting locations or load distributors, in that they introduce the load of the person resting on the mattress via the foam plastic of the mattress into the supplementarily consolidated regions and from there into the supporting elements. In this way, the supplementarily hardened regions form an underspringing arrangement together with the supporting elements.
According to a preferred refinement of the invention, the underspringing arrangement formed by the supplementarily hardened or supplementarily consolidated regions and the supporting elements, but also, if appropriate, just by the supplementarily consolidated regions, is an integral part of the mattress. In particular when no supporting elements are provided, the underlay according to the invention substantially comprises only the mattress with its supplementarily consolidated regions. It is also conceivable to form the underspringing arrangement separately. Then the elastic underspringing arrangement forms the underlay together with the mattress, the underspringing arrangement supporting the mattress.
According to a preferred refinement of the invention, the selectively hardened regions of the mattress or of the underspringing arrangement are connected to the supporting elements. This connection preferably takes place with positive engagement, but may also be additionally or alternatively created by adhesive bonding, welding or the like. The connection of the supporting elements to the supplementarily consolidated or supplementarily crosslinked regions leads to the supporting elements and the supplementarily consolidated or reinforced regions forming a functional unit which is effective altogether as an underspringing arrangement, to be precise independently of whether this underspringing arrangement is arranged separately under the mattress or is an integral part of the same.
The selectively hardened, in particular supplementarily consolidated, regions are formed as punctiform and/or elongated or strip-like three-dimensional structures. The punctiform structures may be formed as mushroom- or dome-like structures, while the elongated structures are formed in a strand-like manner. The strand-like structures preferably extend continuously over the entire length or width of the underlay, in particular of the mattress. The strand-like structures then form a continuous reinforcement of the mattress or of the underspringing arrangement lying under it. On account of the strand-like structures, it may be possible to dispense with additional supporting elements. In the latter case, the underlay in its simplest form merely comprises the mattress, in that the selectively supplementarily hardened regions, in particular the strand-shaped structures, are an integral part of the same. Such an underlay can be produced particularly easily and inexpensively.
The supporting elements are preferably formed as strips, in particular spring strips, extending continuously over the entire width or length of the mattress. As a result, good stabilization of the mattress is brought about. If all or some of the supporting elements are formed as spring strips, they form part of a resilient supporting structure, in particular an underspringing arrangement, of the mattress, to be precise even when the underspringing arrangement is integrated in the mattress with the strips and/or spring strips and also the supplementarily consolidated regions.
If the underspringing arrangement is formed as an integral part of the mattress, the supplementarily hardened regions and/or the supporting elements, to be precise strips or spring strips, are arranged in the region of the underside of the mattress. As a result, the mattress is supported in a way similar to how it is supported by a separate underspringing arrangement. In this case, the supplementarily hardened regions expediently extend from the underside of the mattress. The supporting elements, that is to say the strips and/or spring strips, are also inserted or pushed from the side into corresponding recesses in the underside of the mattress, which extend through the supplementarily hardened punctiform or elongated structures.
A method for achieving the object mentioned at the beginning has the measures of the underlay being formed by at least one mattress of foam plastic and an underspringing arrangement, characterized in that the underspringing arrangement is formed by at least one layer of plastic or foam plastic, and regions of the layer of plastic or foam plastic are supplementarily consolidated by subsequent selected crosslinking. Accordingly, the underspringing arrangement integrated in the mattress or separate underspringing arrangement is formed from a layer of plastic or foam plastic, regions of the at least one layer of plastic or foam plastic being supplementarily consolidated by subsequent crosslinking. This allows the underspringing arrangement to be formed in the simplest way by the supplementary crosslinking and accompanying curing of selected regions of the layer of plastic or foam plastic. As a result of the invention, structural changes or additional parts are not required to form the underspringing arrangement.
A particularly simple underlay is obtained if the underspringing arrangement is formed from a part, in particular a lower part, of the foam material of the mattress. The underspringing arrangement then does not even require an additional plastic material, because the foam plastic that is required in any case to form the mattress is used to form the supplementarily consolidated regions.
The subsequent crosslinking of the foam plastic of the mattress or of an additional layer of plastic to form a separate underspringing arrangement takes place thermally. For this purpose, electron beams, infrared beams or ultraviolet light may be used. These allow a targeted effect to be produced on the plastic, in particular foam plastic, in certain regions, so that punctiform or strand-like supplementarily consolidated structures are selectively created at the intended locations, but supplementary consolidation is not carried out on the entire mattress or the entire additional layer of plastic, as a result of which the supplementarily consolidated regions do not appreciably influence, in particular do not significantly reduce, the elasticity of the mattress or of the additional layer of plastic. These structures are either sufficient on their own to form the underspringing arrangement or they are supported on additional supporting elements such as elongated strips, in particular spring strips, the supplementarily consolidated regions or structures having the effect that the force exerted on the mattress by the person lying on it is introduced into the supporting elements over a large surface area.
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the underspringing arrangement according to the invention and of the method for producing the same are explained in more detail below on the basis of the drawing, in which:
The figures show parts of various underlays for furniture for sleeping, lying or sitting on. The respective underlay is supported by a frame of the furniture, for example a bed frame. The underlay receives a person, who lies on it in the case of a bed or lounger or sits on it in the case of a chair or armchair. To increase the sleeping, lying or sitting comfort, the underlay is intrinsically elastic and/or elastically deformable, in that it at least partially bends.
In the case of the exemplary embodiment shown, the separate underspringing arrangement 12 of the underlay 10 is formed in a special way according to the invention. The underspringing arrangement 12 has a number of supporting elements, which are formed here as strips, to be precise in particular as spring strips 14. A number of identical spring strips 14 are arranged such that they run parallel to one another with a spacing. The spring strips 14 extend continuously along under the mattress 11 in a transversely directed manner. Furthermore, the underspringing arrangement 12 has a layer of plastic, which is preferably formed as a plastic sheet 15. The plastic sheet 15 may be formed from foam plastic or else from compact plastic, in particular an elastomer. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the plastic sheet 15 has a contour undulating in the longitudinal direction of the underlay 10, thereby creating successive curvatures 16 and 17, which are continuously profiled along the spring strips 14, so that they have approximately the same cross section along the spring strips 14. The plastic sheet may, however, also be curved in the transverse direction of the mattress 11. One type of curvature 16 extends over each spring strip 14, while the other type of curvature 17 is located between two adjacent spring strips 14. The upper vertices 18 of the curvatures 16 and 17 lie against the underside 13 of the mattress 11. Between successive curvatures 16 and 17, the plastic sheet 15 has double-layer, approximately U-like connecting regions 19, which lie against opposite sides of the spring strips 14.
According to the invention, the plastic sheet 15 is partly supplementarily crosslinked and thereby cured. As a result, the plastic sheet 15 has supplementarily consolidated regions 20. These are illustrated in
In the production of the underspringing arrangement 12, the following procedure is adopted: the foamed or unfoamed plastic sheet 15, made preferably of a curable polymer, is firstly placed in a wave-like manner over the spring strips 14 and subsequently thermally consolidated in certain regions, that is in a targeted manner, in that the supplementarily consolidated regions 20 are specifically exposed to energy beams. This causes a partial, that is local, supplementary crosslinking of the plastic, whereby the latter cures in the irradiated, supplementarily consolidated regions 20. The selective thermal treatment of the plastic sheet 15 may take place by electron beams, infrared beams or else ultraviolet light. For this purpose, the light or the beams is/are selectively directed only onto the regions 20 that are to be supplementarily consolidated or supplementarily crosslinked. The spring strips 14 are preferably formed from a plastic which is not cured or supplementarily crosslinked under the influence of the thermal treatment of the plastic sheet 15, so that it remains excluded from the thermal treatment or supplementary crosslinking of the regions 20. Those regions of the plastic sheet 15 which are not to be supplementarily consolidated are not subjected to supplementary thermal treatment. These are, in particular, the curvatures 17, in the region of which the plastic sheet 15 substantially retains its original strength and elasticity. This strength is less than in the supplementarily consolidated regions 20. The elasticity of the plastic sheet 15 outside the supplementarily consolidated regions 20 is also greater than in the supplementarily consolidated regions 20. The supplementary consolidation by supplementary crosslinking may be performed to such a degree that, in the supplementarily consolidated regions 20, the plastic sheet 15 then only has a very small residual elasticity or substantially no elasticity at all.
Alternatively, it is conceivable for the plastic film 15 to be thermally supplementarily crosslinked and cured before it is placed onto the spring strip 14, to be precise only in those regions of the plastic sheet 15 which correspond to the supplementarily consolidated regions 20 above the spring strips 14 running transversely in relation to the longitudinal direction of the underlay 10.
In
In addition to the mattress 22, the underlay 21 has supporting elements. The supporting elements are formed by strips, these being spring strips 23 in the exemplary embodiment shown. The spring strips 23, running parallel with a spacing, are assigned to the underside 24 of the mattress 22. In the present case, the spring strips 23 lie in the mattress 22, to be precise in such a way that they are surrounded by the mattress 22 apart from a partial region of their underside. The spring strips 23 may, however, also be completely embedded in the mattress 22, so that they are entirely surrounded by the foam plastic of the mattress 22. In this way, the spring strips 23 extending transversely in relation to the longitudinal direction of the mattress 22, continuously over the entire width of the same, are for the most part embedded in the mattress 22, to be precise in such a way that they lie within the outlines of the mattress 22. However, it is also conceivable for the spring strips 23 to lie only partially within the mattress 22 or to be located completely under the underside 24 of the mattress 22.
The mattress 22 is formed completely from foam plastic. Partial regions of the foam plastic are made harder by thermal supplementary crosslinking than the original remaining part of the foam plastic of the mattress 22. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the supplementarily consolidated regions 25 created by thermal supplementary consolidation are assigned to the spring strips 23. For this purpose, the supplementarily consolidated regions 25 extend over those parts of the mattress 22 which surround the respective spring strip 23 in cross section (
The supplementarily consolidated regions 25 are three-dimensionally formed. The supplementarily consolidated regions 25 shown in
The production of the underlay according to FIGS. 2 to 4 takes place by a mat corresponding to the shape of the mattress 22 being cut out from a block of foam plastic. Transversely directed, continuous grooves, which are large enough to receive the spring strips 23, if provided, are then cut into the underside 24 of the foam plastic mat at locations where the spring strips 23 are later to be accommodated, to form the mattress 22. The spring strips 23 are then placed into these grooves and supplementary consolidation of the originally relatively soft foam plastic is subsequently performed selectively where the supplementarily consolidated regions 25 and 26 are intended. For this purpose, the foam plastic of the mattress 22 is partially and selectively cured, in that it is thermally supplementarily crosslinked, to be precise in the way described in detail in connection with the exemplary embodiment of
Alternatively, it is conceivable to perform the supplementary crosslinking of the plastic foam of the mattress 22 before the placement of the spring strips 23 into the grooves cut into the underside 24 of the mattress 22, and thereby form the punctiform supplementarily consolidated regions 25 or the strip-shaped supplementarily consolidated regions 26. Subsequently, the spring strips 23 are pushed or pressed or clamped into the downwardly open grooves remaining in the regions 25 and 26 even after the supplementary consolidation. In addition, adhesive bonding and/or welding of the spring strips 23 to the mattress 22, in particular the supplementarily consolidated regions 25 and 26, may take place.
The invention is also suitable for underlays (not shown) which do not have supporting elements, so that the spring strips 14 or 23 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are entirely absent or else only partly absent. The separate underspringing arrangement, or underspringing arrangement integrated in the mattress, is then formed just by the supplementarily consolidated regions 25 or 26 or the plastic sheet 15 with supplementarily consolidated regions 20. In this case, the supplementarily consolidated regions 20 of the plastic sheet 15 need not run continuously in a strand-like manner to form the underspringing arrangement; they may also be present in a punctiform manner (as in the case of the exemplary embodiment of
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE 10 2004 059 80 | Dec 2004 | DE | national |
