RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 62/281,034 filed Jan. 20, 2016 and incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A. Field of Invention A body support assembly such as a cushion for air/water bed, chairs and the like includes a plurality of pipes or conduits made of a flexible material and selectively coupled to a fluid source. The cushion is partitioned into several segments and each segment includes several elements such as pipes, hoses or conduits (herein after “pipes”) arranged so that as a user moves or turns on the cushion, the fluid flows between the pipes of different segments.
B. Description of the Prior Art FIG. 1 shows a side sectional view of a conventional bed 10 containing fluid (including either a gas, such as air, or a liquid, such as water) 11. A user 12 is lying on top of the bed 10. The arrows depicted in FIG. 1 indicate the forces or pressure exerted on the inside walls of bed 10 by the fluid 11. According to the laws of fluid dynamics, the forces applied to the inside walls are equal. Therefore, this type of bed has some significant drawbacks. For example, when any portion of the outside surface has an additional force exerted on it, such as when the user turns over from one side to another, the applied pressure propagates throughout the rest of the fluid, causing the other parts of the bed to bulge. This bulging will inevitably lead to sagging and deformation of the surface of the bed, leading to increased discomfort for the user. This is a problem well known in the art. In the article “Firm Mattress News” from the March 2004 issue of Reader's Digest, the author wrote “For years, we've heard that firmer is better when it comes to the surface to sleep on. But a recent study found that people who slept on medium firm mattresses had fewer backaches than people who slept on a firm one. It should hug your body without sagging at all. It's too firm if there are gaps between any part of your body and the mattress. It's too soft if it sags, or if a second person in the bed causes you to dip toward the center.” The present invention solves the problems associated with existing waterbeds and more particularly, it solves the problem caused by the is uneven pressures developed in the fluid within a bed caused by the spontaneous movements of a person during sleeping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A cushion for a bed or the like (e.g. a mattress) includes a flat surface and a plurality of pipes. Fluid from a reservoir is provided through said pipes and the pipes are arranged so that fluid can flow between the pipes and the reservoir.
Valves are provided to regulate the fluid flow to and from the pipes and a controller may be used to selectively control the operation of the valves.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a conventional fluid bed;
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the present cushion partitioned into one or more compartments;
FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of a bed or other similar furniture including a cushion constructed in accordance with this invention;
FIG. 3B shows an enlarged perspective view of the holder of FIG. 3A;
FIG. 3C shows a perspective view of the holder used in the bed of FIG. 3A;
FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, and FIG. 4D show different embodiments of the protruded tubes;
FIG. 5 is a top view of the cushion of FIGS. 2, 3A-3C with the compartments being attached to various pipes for inflation;
FIG. 6 is a system controlling the movement of fluid within the bed;
FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B depict perspective views of the lower and upper sections of an alternative compartment.
FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B depict alternative methods of connecting the tubes in each compartment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a user 12 lying on the fluid bed 10. As long as he does not move, pressures within fluid 11 of the bed are equalized. FIG. 2 shows a sectional side of a cushion 20, constructed in accordance with the invention, which eliminates the above mentioned drawbacks. The cushion or bed 20 is comprised of internal segregated compartments 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 (See also FIG. 5). Each compartment includes one or more protruded tubes 21 (hereinafter, simply “tubes”), which have the appearance of inverted test tubes. The tubes 21 are made of an elastic, squeezable material but not very stretchable, such as synthetic rubber. Each tube 21 is directly connected to a respective fluid reservoir, 22r, 23r, 24r, 25r, 26r, 27r, disposed under the tubes. Therefore, ‘directly connected’ here implies that the inverted tubes are nothing but upwardly bulging parts or extensions of the reservoirs 22r . . . , so that the fluid contained in the reservoirs can move freely into and out of the tubes.
Another component shown here are tube holders 22h, 23h, 24h, 25h, 26h, 27h, that enforce the tubes and keep them vertical. (In the drawings, the letters h, p, t and r refer to a respective holder, tube, pipe and reservoir). These components are discussed in more detail below.
FIGS. 3A-3C show perspective views of compartment 23, for an example, one of the various compartments of the bed 20 (See also FIG. 5). The compartment 23 includes an upper hose 23hdefining a plurality of hollow cylindrical tubes 23t. Preferably, the tubes 23t are arranged in a two dimensional array or matrix, although they can be arranged in other configurations as well. Note that the respective reservoir 23r positioned directly beneath has t the same array of tubes 23t, because the tube holder 23h should be positioned so that the tubes 23t can pass through the holder 23h. The magnified view shown in FIG. 3B illustrates diagrammatically a tube 23t passing through and being supported by a respective holder 23h. Each tube 23t has a top portion 23t-top that extends initially above the respective tube holder 23t, and a pipe 23p is attached to the respective fluid reservoir 23r of this compartment 23.
FIG. 4A shows a perspective view of the top portion of the tubes 21 (Refer to FIG. 2), such as 23t-top, which is protruded above the surface of tube holder discussed above. In FIG. 4A tube 21 is illustrated in its uncompressed state, and in FIG. 4B the tube 21 is shown compressed by a downward force F causing its top 21t-top to collapse. FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D show other possible shapes of tops of tubes 21. One may prefer to use tubes as depicted in FIG. 4B, having a conical top with an increased bottom area that may result in a more stable and resilient configuration. Similarly, one may prefer tubes show in FIG. 4D, as this tube shape would result in smaller gaps between the topmost surfaces of the tubes. It should be noted that regardless of the tube shapes, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) may be the preferred material for the tubes 21, but other elastic materials may also be suitable. Whatever used, however, different materials may be used for different pipes and their reservoirs, or even some pipes may be made of a different material then reservoir connected thereto. In any event, the reservoirs could be made with respective circular openings on their tops, so that the respective tubes could be attached to the reservoirs by using an appropriate adhesive.
FIG. 5 shows a top view of a cushion or bed 20 made in accordance with this invention. Each compartment 22, 23, 24, 26, 26, 27 is partitioned from the others, and designed to accommodate a different portion of the user's body. The various tubes 21 arranged in different patterns in this figure discussed above. FIG. 5 further illustrates diagrammatically that the reservoirs 22r . . . are coupled by a plurality of connecting pipes 22p, 23p, 24p, 25p, 26p, 27p, and a main fluid reservoir 30. These connecting pipes 22p . . . can provide fluid selectively from the main fluid reservoir 30 to the compartments 22, 23, 24, 26, 26, 27, and vice versa.
FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically the pipes 23p, 24p, 26p, 26p, 27p and the main fluid reservoir 30, as well as a fluid controller 31 and a composite valve 32. Repeatedly, the valve mechanism 32 enables fluid to travel between the main fluid reservoir 30 and the compartments 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27. The composite valve 32 is selectively opened or closed by the controller 31 to allow fluid to flow between the various compartments and the main reservoir 30. An optional port 33 is provided as a means of injecting more fluid into the main reservoir 30, or if necessary, to remove fluid from the reservoir.
The function of the controller 31 is to open and close the composite valve 32 and thereby equalize the fluid pressure in all the compartments. This can be done, for example, in response to a command from a person (the user, or somebody else) and or at periodic, programmed intervals (for example, every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc). These intervals can be adjusted according the preferences of the user. In the closed position, the valve 32 prevents the flow of fluid between the compartments 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and the main reservoir 30. In an alternate embodiment, the valve 32 is configured to open and close only some, not all of the compartments.
FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show perspective views of the tubes and the lower and upper parts, respectively, of a compartment when disjointed. In these alternative embodiments may be preferred for relatively smaller cushions, such as insole, sofa, chair or car driver's extra layer seat, rather than bulky sleeping beds. It is also noteworthy for manufacturers to observe that this embodiment may not need the respective individual tube holders 22h, 23h, 24h, 25h, 26h, 27h, and/or respective reservoirs 22r, 23r, 24r, 25r, 26r, 27r (but the main reservoir 30 is still necessary), because the respective reservoirs make the cushions more thicker and voluminous.
Returning to FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, these figures represent a compartment composed of tubes 21, in a rectangular 4×5 arrangement. This is the arrangement found also in compartment 22 of FIG. 5. FIG. 7A, showing the bottom part of a compartment having a base 42, and a plurality of indentations 44, each of which corresponds to the location of each tube 21. The indentations are connected to one another by canals 45 allowing the fluid to and from the main reservoir 30 to the pipes 21 through a pipe 22p when the top and bottom parts of the compartment are joined. The top part of the compartment, represented by FIG. 7B, is comprised of panel 41 containing a collection of tubes 21 arranged in the same matrix as the one in FIG. 7A. The top and bottom part of the compartment are to be connected to one another using adhesive glues or by some other adhering method. The bottom section of the compartment may also have an additional segment 42 (depicted in FIG. 7A) to act as a shock absorber. This segment 42 may be made of a material that is more or less firm that the material comprising the pipes 21.
FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B demonstrate an alternate method of connecting the tubes. More specifically, FIG. 8A shows a method of connecting the tubes by grouping them horizontally or vertically, with a single canal connecting all of the tubes of a given horizontal or vertical row to the main reservoir 30. FIG. 8B, on the other hand, shows an embodiment of the invention in which each tube is individually connected to the main reservoir 30 through a separate and distinct canal and a respective pipe. These alternative embodiments may be preferred for relatively smaller cushions, such as insole, sofa, chair or car seat, because they have not, most of all, a bulky or costly construction. In addition, for this embodiment, a controller 31 may be unnecessary, as it may be possible to operate the valves by hand when needed.
Numerous modifications may be made to this invention as defined the appended claims.
