Structure for size-adjustable, breathe-through safety bedding

Abstract

A bedding apparatus to provide a soft, cushioned, foldable layer or layers that can be trimmed, folded, or otherwise adjusted precisely to the required size of the bedframe, and is breathe-through for users that may have turned face down. In another form, the user is further elevated by a breathe-through support-structure that is user-configurable as to length, width and height, and is modular and nesting for ease of compact storage and shipping.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a safety bedding apparatus, and more particularly to a structure for a size-adjustable, breathe-through safety bedding apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Studies of sleep safety, most particularly among infants and disabled people of all ages, implicate two design features of the sleep apparatus that are most hazardous. Firstly, an improper fit of the mattress within the frame of the bed can create entrapping gaps between the mattress edge and the bedframe. Such gaps may give rise to sleep positions that cause the mattress edge to compress the user's neck, leading to death. Secondly, mattresses that cannot be readily breathed through can lead to suffocation of users who are positioned face down and unable to extricate their noses and mouths.

One notable patent has specifically addressed the breathe-through property of a mattress. U.S. Pat. No. 8,607,390 B2 to Obriot and Andreae, dated Dec. 17, 2013, discloses what can be termed a “trampoline” style solution, whereby a breathe-through fabric layer of predetermined size is stretched on a folding frame which is itself attached to a rigid frame of predetermined size. The present invention, by contrast, teaches an alternative breathe-through arrangement of components that is not dependent on such a trampoline arrangement, or any arrangement of pre-determined size.

Unlike the present invention, the teachings of Obriot and Andreae do not include userconfigurable size adjustment. User-configurable size adjustment is a key feature of the present invention, conferring protection against hazardous gaps between the edge of the bedding apparatus and the frame of the crib, cot, or bed.

Accordingly, the prior art fails to disclose, or even to suggest, a bedding structure that simultaneously achieves both the breathe-through and the edge-gap-minimisation, i.e. sizeconfigurability, teachings of the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This section is not intended as a comprehensive disclosure of all features of the invention. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In one form the present disclosure illustrates a bedding apparatus to provide a soft, cushioned, foldable layer or layers that can be trimmed, folded, or otherwise adjusted precisely to the required size of the bedframe, and is breathe-through for users that may have turned face down. In another form, the user is further elevated by a breathe-through support-structure that is user-configurable as to length, width and height, and is modular and nesting for ease of compact storage and shipping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a size-configurable sleep surface, i.e. a breathe-through plain sheet or mattress case, being affixed to a size-configurable cushion;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sleep surface and cushion of FIG. 1 inverted over a size-adjustable support structure intended for a crib, cot, or bed, according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a magnified perspective view of one of the four hollow or vented pedestal structures of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of four pedestal structures of FIG. 2 placed respectively at the corners of a typical rectangular mattress base of a crib, cot, or bed;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of two bridging structures of FIG. 2 and a pedestal structure of FIG. 2, showing one means of attaching overlapping structures using a hair-pin cable tie.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views presented by the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. These example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be clearly understood and will fully convey the essence to those who are skilled in the art. While numerous specific details are set forth here, including examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of example embodiments of the present disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that not all possible variations and alternative forms have been cited. The alternative forms that have been included should not be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies have not been described in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer it may be directly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” or “directly engaged to,” or “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements of layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

With reference to FIGS. 1-5, an appropriately flame-retardant sleep surface 7 is provided which may be fully or partially wrapped around, or otherwise held snugly against, a cushion 10, and fixed to the cushion by an arrangement of cords 8 and hooks 9, or alternatively by insertion, or by alternative means. Both the sleep surface 7 and the cushion 10 may be trimmed or folded or otherwise adjusted to the required size by the user to ensure minimum gaps where the edges meet the frame of the crib, cot, or bed 11. The edge of the trimmed cushion 10 may be covered in breathe-through, hypoallergenic tape, or sealed by other means such as overlocked stitching or heat shrinkage. Alternative wrapping or covering methods of sleep surface 7 on cushion 10 may also be employed, and alternative fixing or bonding means such as elastic, Velcro, button, snap, clip, clamp, adhesive, weaving, magnet, zipper, or the like, may be employed, alone or in combination. The sleep surface 7 and cushion 10 assembly may be used in single or multiple layers to adjust the depth, alone or with other strata, to improve the overall permeability properties, particularly permeability to expelled air. The assembly may be rectangular or of another shape. Particular embodiments may also include a size-adjustable support-structure, which may consist of one or more hollow or vented pedestal structures 12 that may be nesting when stacked, and one or more open-mesh, slotted, perforated, or otherwise permeable bridging and/or extension and/or elevation structures 13, 14, 15. These bridging/extension/elevation structures 13, 14, and multiple additions 15, may be overlapping and may be of individual size, shape, orientation and potential fixing points to achieve a snug fit of the overall support-structure within the constraints of the crib, cot, or bed 11. The edge of the support-structure, regardless of final size, may be wrapped in or shielded by a breathe-through net, fabric, screen, card or alternative decorative component 16, which may be attached to the sleep surface 7 and cushion 10 assembly or may be separate from said assembly and held in position by appropriate fixing means.

The sleep surface 7, the cushion 10, the pedestal structures 12, and the bridging/extension/elevation structures 13, 14, and multiple additions 15 may be permeable to fluids, may dissipate heat, and may facilitate the free through-flow of air, particularly expelled air, and may, alone or in combination, contribute to comfortable skin contact. These properties may be inherent or achievable via ad hoc adjustment by the user.

A number of fabrics and fabric-like materials with these properties are available for the sleep surface 7, including, for example, Lyocell, polyester, and “spacer” fabrics, and similar three-dimensional, warp-knitted or open-weave products. These or alternative materials and fabrics may be used in single or multiple layers, alone or in combination, to produce the aforementioned desired effects.

Likewise, a number of conformable materials with the desired properties are available for the cushion 10, including polyester spacer fabric SF0815 made by Quanzhou Wellcool Cushion Technology Co, Ltd located in Quanzhou ,Fujian, China. This or alternative materials and fabrics may be used in single or multiple layers, alone or in combination, to produce the desired effects.

Similarly, a number of rigid and semi-rigid cut-to-size materials with the desired properties are available for the bridging/extension/elevation structures 13, 14, and multiple additions 15, including 3D spacer-mesh, warp-knitted, polyester fabric SF0808 made by Quanzhou Wellcool Cushion Technology Co, Ltd located in Quanzhou ,Fujian, China.

Each hollow or vented pedestal structure 12 may have a flat or profile-enhanced top 18 that is open mesh, slotted, perforated, or otherwise permeable to fluids, and includes one or more vents 17 through the side wall. All open or permeable components 17 and 18 may be of any size and geometric shape, or of adjustable sizes and shapes, to achieve adequate ventilation and dispersion of expelled air. The overall height of each pedestal structure may be adjustable using internal or external brackets 19 or alternative means. The support-structure may be adjusted or inclined, as required for the additional safety and/or comfort of the user. The positioning of the pedestal structures 12 on the crib, cot, or bed is amenable to the special requirements of each case, but the typical positioning for rectangular furniture may include the corners, the periphery, and as much of the remaining space as possible. This common solution does not preclude the design of pedestal structures 12, as well as bridging/extension/elevation structures 13, 14, and 15, of various sizes which are not themselves rectangular, and which may be designed with profiles to fit specific curved furniture. Pedestal structures 12 that are positioned fully or partly adjacent to other such structures, or to the frame of the crib, cot, or bed, may be joined to said structures or to said frame with clips and/or with other joining means.

Bridging/extension/elevation structures 13, 14, and multiple additions 15 may be separate from, or integral to, the pedestal structures 12. In cases where said bridging/extension/elevation structures 13, 14, and multiple additions 15 require fixing to one or more pedestal structures 12 the fixing may be achieved by any appropriate means. One preferred option may be a hair-pin cable tie 20 that can be inserted through aligned openings in two or more stacked structures and then raised to snag overlapping cross members. By this means separate components of the support-structure may be mutually secured working only from the top, after the overall size of the support-structure has been optimized in situ on the crib, cot, or bed.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A mattress comprising a removable, foldable, washable, fluid-permeable, breathe-through, size-and-depth adjustable sleep surface; and a removable, foldable, washable, fluid-permeable, breathe-through, size-and-depth adjustable cushion; wherein said sleep surface is positioned over the upper surface, or multiple surfaces, of said cushion and held to said cushion by wrapping, envelopment, or insertion, and/or by fixing or bonding means.

2. The invention of claim 1 further comprising a user-assembled, user-configured, removable, washable, fluid-permeable, breathe-through, support structure.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said support structure is length- and width-adjustable by the user.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said support structure disassembles into nesting, modular units for easier shipping and storage.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said support structure is height-adjustable by the user.