Inflatable bed

Abstract

An inflatable bed having an inflatable top mattress portion and an inflatable support structure portion having at least one ring section. Each ring section of the support structure portion includes a peripheral tubular member defining an exterior periphery and a reinforcing member connected thereto.

Description

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to inflatable beds. Inflatable beds are well known in the art. However, despite the multitude of inflatable bed designs, there remains a need for a stable and comfortable inflatable bed that minimizes material used to manufacture the bed, which not only reduces the weight of the inflatable bed, but also reduces the space required to store the bed when it is deflated and folded.

SUMMARY

An inflatable bed having an inflatable top mattress portion and an inflatable support structure portion. The top mattress portion may be any type of inflatable mattress. The support structure portion preferably includes at least one ring section, but may include multiple ring sections depending on the desired height of the top mattress portion. Each ring section comprises a peripheral tubular member defining an exterior periphery. Each ring section also includes at least one reinforcing member.

Preferably, although not required, at least one internal air passageway fluidly connects the top mattress portion with the peripheral tubular member of the adjacent ring section of the support structure portion such that the top mattress portion and support structure portion can be inflated and deflated together.

The reinforcing member is preferably at least partially connected to opposing sides of the peripheral tubular member, whether in the longitudinal or transverse directions, or diagonally or in any other direction. Preferably, although not required, the reinforcing member is fluidly connected to the peripheral tubular member of the ring section such that the reinforcing member and the peripheral tubular member of the ring section can be inflated and deflated together.

Preferably, the adjacently disposed peripheral members are connected only along short spaced lengths so that a portion the top mattress can be lifted up from the support structure portion to enable sheets to be tucked therebetween.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the inflatable bed of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the inflatable bed of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the inflatable bed of FIG. 1 in which the top mattress portion is shown slightly raised to illustrate how a sheet can be tucked between the top mattress portion and the support structure portion below.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the inflatable bed of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a left side elevation view of the inflatable bed of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the inflatable bed of FIG. 1 as viewed along lines 6-6 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the inflatable bed of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the inflatable bed of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 9 is a bottom plan view of an alternative embodiment of the inflatable bed of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of yet another alternative embodiment of the inflatable bed of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in drawing FIGS. 1-8, the preferred embodiment of the inflatable bed of the present invention is designated generally by reference numeral (20) and comprises a top mattress portion (1) and a support structure portion (40). In the preferred embodiment of the bed (20) as shown in FIGS. 1-8, both the top mattress portion (1) and the support structure portion (40) have a substantially rectangular shape and have substantially the same outer periphery. However, it should be understood that the top mattress portion (1) and the support structure portion (40) may be any desired size, shape or configuration.

In the preferred embodiment, a set of conventional controls (2) for inflating and deflating the inflatable bed (20) is preferably located on the top mattress portions (1) for ease of access, but it should be appreciated that the controls (2) may be located in any other location on the inflatable bed (20) as desired.

In the preferred embodiment, the support structure portion (40) includes two ring sections (42, 44). Each ring section (42, 44) preferably includes a peripheral tubular member (3, 4) that defines an outer periphery that is preferably substantially the same as the top mattress portion (1). The stacked peripheral tubular members (3, 4) are preferably connected along their lengths in any conventional manner. Additionally, the upper peripheral tubular member (3) is preferably at least partially connected to the top mattress portion (1) as described in detail later. The result is a highly stable, comfortable “ring” structure that provides considerable advantages compared to convention inflatable air beds, particularly with regard to savings in the material used to manufacture the inflatable bed (20), the saving in space once the bed (20) is folded up and the reduced weight of the bed (20) itself, which makes it easier to handle, especially when folded.

It should be appreciated that the support structure portion (40) may comprise one, two, three or any other number of ring sections depending on the desired height of the inflatable bed (20) and the height or diameter of the peripheral tubular members comprising the ring sections.

The preferred embodiment of the support structure portion (40) is best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6. As previously identified, the preferred support structure portion (40) includes two ring sections (42, 44) each having a peripheral tubular member (3, 4) that defines the outer periphery of the support structure portion (40). Also, as best illustrated in FIG. 6, for greater stability, a reinforcing member (5, 6) (discussed in more detail later) is preferably fluidly connected to the peripheral tubular member (3, 4) of the respective ring sections (42, 44).

The top mattress portion (1) is preferably connected in any conventional manner to the support structure portion (40). In a preferred embodiment, the top mattress is intermittently connected at spaced locations (7, 8) disposed a sufficient distance from any ends, sides or corners of the bed so that the top mattress portion (1) can be lifted away from the support structure portion (40) as shown in FIG. 3, to enable a sheet to be tucked between the top mattress (1) and the support structure (40) when making the bed.

As identified above, each ring section (42, 44) may include one or more reinforcing members. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the reinforcing members (5, 6) of the respective ring sections (42, 44) are disposed longitudinally and in parallel relation to the peripheral tubular members (3, 4). Additionally, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the reinforcing members (5, 6) are preferably connected to opposing sides of the peripheral tubular members (3, 4) and are preferably in fluid communication therewith. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the reinforcement members (5, 6) may extend transversely, as shown in FIG. 10, the reinforcement members (5, 6) may extend diagonally from one corner of the peripheral tubular members (3, 4) of the respective ring sections (42, 44) to the opposite corner of the peripheral tubular member (3, 4) of the ring section (42, 44).

As illustrated in FIG. 8, a plurality of internal passageways (50) are preferably provided to communicate air between the top mattress portion (1) and the peripheral tubular member (3) of the first ring section (42) of the support structure portion (40). Additionally, a plurality of internally passageways (50) are preferably provided to communicate air between the peripheral tubular members (3, 4) of the ring sections (42, 44) of the support structure portion (40) to enable the inflatable bed (20) to inflate and deflate together.

The material used to manufacture the inflatable bed (20) may vary, provided it is elastic, lightweight and can be folded. The preferred materials may include PVC plastic or similar textiles with plastic coatings, rubber materials or others recognized by those skilled in the art.

An inflatable bed made in accordance herewith provides considerable advantages compared to the state of the art, including the reduction of the amount of material required to manufacture the inflatable bed compared to currently known inflatable beds consisting of various similar parts one on top of the other, and the considerable reduction in weight and space taken up, which is particularly important when the bed is folded up for storage and shipping, etc.

Although only certain exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. An inflatable bed, comprising:

an inflatable top mattress portion having an exterior periphery;

an inflatable support structure portion having at least one ring section, each ring section having at least one peripheral tubular member defining an exterior periphery, each ring section further having at least one reinforcing member.

2. The inflatable bed of claim 1 further comprising at least one internal air passage fluidly connecting the top mattress portion with the peripheral tubular member of the adjacent ring section of the support structure portion such that the top mattress portion and support structure portion can be inflated and deflated together.

3. The inflatable bed of claim 1 wherein the exterior periphery of the top mattress portion is substantially the same as the exterior periphery of the support structure portion.

4. The inflatable bed of claim 3 wherein the exterior periphery of the top mattress portion and the exterior periphery of the support structure portion is substantially rectangular such that the peripheral tubular members of the support structure have substantially parallel opposing shorter sides and substantially parallel opposing longer sides.

5. The inflatable bed of claim 1, wherein the top mattress portion is at least partially connected to the support structure portion.

6. The inflatable bed of claim 5, wherein the top mattress portion is connected at intermittent spaced lengths disposed a distance from an end of the top mattress portion so that the top mattress portion can be lifted away from the support structure portion to enable sheets to be tucked therebetween.

7. The inflatable bed of claim 1 wherein the at least one reinforcing member has a first end and a second end, with each end at least partially connected to opposing sides of the peripheral tubular member of the ring section of the support structure portion.

8. The inflatable bed of claim 7 wherein the at least one reinforcing member is in fluid communication with the peripheral tubular member of the ring section of the support structure portion, such that the reinforcing member is inflatable and deflatable together with the peripheral tubular member of the ring section.

9. The inflatable bed of claim 1 wherein the support structure portion includes at least two ring sections and wherein each of the ring sections includes at least one internal air passage fluidly connecting the peripheral tubular member of the adjacent ring section such that the at least two ring sections can be inflated and deflated together.