Pocketed Spring Assembly
A pocketed spring assembly comprises a plurality of parallel strings of individually pocketed springs. Each string is joined to at least one adjacent string. Each string comprises one piece of fabric joined to itself to create first and second opposed plies on opposite side of coil springs. The plies are joined by transverse seams to form a plurality of pockets along a length of the string. At least one spring is positioned in each of the pockets. The piece of fabric is a non-woven ultrasonically weldable fabric made with fiber made with at least some used or recycled material or content.
This application is a Continuation of U.S. Pat. Application Serial No. 17/168,630 filed Feb. 5, 2021 (pending), which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. Application Serial No. 62/994,462 filed Mar. 25, 2020 (expired), the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to fabric for use in bedding and seating products and, more particularly, to fabric used in pocketed spring assemblies and comfort layers used in bedding and seating products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONMattress spring core construction over the years has been a continuously improving art with advancements in materials and machine technology. A well-known form of spring core construction is known as a Marshall spring construction wherein metal coil springs are encapsulated in individual pockets of fabric and formed as elongate or continuous strings of pocketed coil springs. In an earlier form, these strings of coil springs were manufactured by folding an elongate piece of fabric in half lengthwise to form two plies of fabric and stitching transverse and longitudinal seams to join the plies of fabric to define pockets within which the springs were enveloped.
Improvements in spring core constructions have involved the use of fabrics which are thermally or ultrasonically weldable to themselves. By using such welding techniques, these fabrics have been advantageously used to create strings of individually pocketed coil springs wherein transverse and longitudinal welds, instead of stitching, are used to form the pockets encapsulating the springs. A fabric which has been used and proven to ultrasonically weld to itself is a non-woven spun-bonded polypropylene fabric.
Due to its low cost, a single-layer of non-woven spun-bonded polypropylene fabric is the most common fabric used in the manufacture of strings of springs or other portions of pocketed spring assemblies. The weight of such a single layer of non-woven spun-bonded polypropylene fabric is commonly between 1-3 ounces per square yard. While single layer non-woven spun-bonded polypropylene fabric has been attractive to many pocketed spring core manufacturers because of its accessibility and low cost, many consumers may be willing to pay more for a “green” bedding or seating product advertised as a “green” product.
In today’s world many customers may prefer a bedding or seating product made with fabric having at least some fibers having at least some recycled or used material, even if the cost is slightly higher than the cost of a new bedding or seating product made entirely of “new” fabric containing no recycled or used material.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a pocketed spring assembly made, at least partially, with ultrasonically weldable fabric which has adequate strength for processing the fabric during manufacture of strings of springs and is made at least partially with fibers having at least some recycled or used content or material.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a pocketed spring comfort layer made, at least partially, with ultrasonically weldable fabric which has adequate strength for processing the fabric during manufacture of the comfort layer and is made at least partially with fibers having at least some recycled or used material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the present invention, a bedding or seating product incorporates a novel pocketed spring assembly. The pocketed spring assembly comprises a plurality of parallel strings of springs joined together. Each string is joined to at least one adjacent string, most of the time with adhesive. Each string comprises a plurality of aligned individually pocketed springs. Each string comprises an ultrasonically weldable fabric folded around multiple springs to create first and second opposed sides of fabric covering opposite surfaces of the springs. The ultrasonically weldable fabric is joined to itself along a longitudinal seam which may extend along one of the sides of the string of springs. Pockets are formed along the length of the string of springs by transverse or separating seams joining the first and second sides covering opposite surfaces of the springs, at least one spring being positioned in each pocket. The ultrasonically weldable fabric is made at least partially with fibers made with at least some recycled or used material. The recycled or used material is typically a polymer but may be any synthetic material.
The bedding or seating product may further comprise cushioning material and a covering encasing the pocketed spring assembly and cushioning materials.
In some embodiments, the fabric used to make at least one of the strings of springs comprises a non-woven fabric made at least partially with fibers having at least recycled or used material or content. In some embodiments, the fabric used to make at least one of the strings of springs comprises a non-woven spunlaced fabric made from fibers having made at least partially with recycled or used material. In still other embodiments, the fabric used to make at least one of the strings of springs comprises a non-woven needle-punched fabric made at least partially with recycled or used material.
In some embodiments, the recycled or used material is polyethylene terephthalate. In some embodiments, the ultrasonically weldable fabric has a weight of 0.75 to 4.0 ounces per square yard.
In most embodiments, the adhesive is a standard hotmelt adhesive. In some embodiments, regardless of the fabric material, the adhesive used to join adjacent strings may have at least some bio-based material. In other embodiments, the adhesive used to join adjacent strings may have at least some recycled material, regardless of the fabric.
According to another aspect of the invention, a pocketed spring assembly for use in a bedding or seating product comprises a plurality of parallel strings of springs joined. Each string is joined to at least one adjacent string. Each string comprises a plurality of aligned individually pocketed springs. Each string is formed from a piece of non-woven ultrasonically weldable fabric having at least some fibers made at least partially with recycled polymer. The piece of fabric is joined to itself along a longitudinal seam and has first and second opposed sides of fabric covering opposite surfaces of the springs. A plurality of pockets is formed along a length of the string by transverse seams joining the first and second sides of the fabric, at least one spring being positioned in each of the pockets. The longitudinal seam and each of the transverse seams joins the piece of non-woven ultrasonically weldable fabric to itself.
According to another aspect of the invention, the non-woven ultrasonically weldable fabric used to make a string of springs is made at least partially of fibers made at least partially of recycled or used material. In some embodiments, non-woven ultrasonically weldable fabric is made at least partially of fibers at least partially made with recycled polymers. In some embodiments, the ultrasonically weldable fabric has a weight of between 0.75 to 4.0 ounces per square yard. The recycled polymer may be made of polyethylene terephthalate or any other desired material. The recycled polymer may comprise any desired percentage of the fibers. In some embodiments, the fabric may be a mixture of non-woven stitchbond ultrasonically weldable fibers made at least partially of recycled or used material and non-ultrasonically weldable fibers.
According to another aspect, a string of springs for use in a bedding or seating product comprises a plurality of individually pocketed springs. The string of springs comprises an ultrasonically weldable fabric joined to itself along a longitudinal seam to create first and second opposed plies of the ultrasonically weldable fabric on opposite sides of the springs. A plurality of pockets is formed along a length of the string by transverse seams joining the first and second plies of the ultrasonically weldable fabric. At least one spring is positioned in each of the pockets. The ultrasonically weldable fabric comprises non-woven fabric made with at least some fibers made at least partially with recycled synthetic material. The fibers of the non-woven fabric may be made entirely of recycled synthetic material.
According to another aspect, a comfort layer or blanket adapted to cover a spring core of a bedding or seating cushion product comprises a matrix of interconnected pocketed mini coil springs. Each mini coil spring is contained within a pocket of non-woven fabric between top and bottom plies of ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric. The top and bottom plies of non-woven fabric are joined by seams around the pockets. At least one of the plies comprises an ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric having at least some fibers made at least partially with recycled material such as a polymer. At least one of the plies may comprise non-woven fabric. The seams of the pockets may be circular or straight seams.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the summary of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the drawings given below, explain the principles of the present invention.
Referring first to
Pocketed spring assembly 12 resides upon a base 18 and all components enclosed within an upholstered covering material 20. The base 18 and border 17 are known in the industry as a “bucket” into which a pocketed spring assembly 12 is inserted before the “bucket” is covered with one or more padding or cushioning layers. The base 18 may be foam, a scrim sheet, a substrate, plastic, wood or any other known material.
As shown in
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Strings of pocketed springs 26, 26a and any other strings of springs described or shown herein, may be connected in side-by-side relationship as, for example, by gluing the sides of the strings together in an assembly machine, to create an assembly or matrix of springs having multiple rows and columns of pocketed springs bound together as by gluing, welding or any other conventional assembly process commonly used to create pocketed spring cores or assemblies.
Referring to
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An ultrasonically weldable fabric 70 is used to create the string of pocketed springs 26. The ultrasonically weldable fabric 70 is permeable to airflow through the fabric itself due to the nature of the fabric 70. Air moves between adjacent fabric pockets 38 and into and out of the string 26 through the ultrasonically weldable fabric 70.
As is known in the art, ultrasonically weldable fabric 70 is folded over onto itself around multiple coil springs 40. As best shown in
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Although the weld segments in the embodiments shown are illustrated as being heat-welded spaced rectangular-shaped segments, any of the seam segments may be other shapes, such as spaced dots, ovals or triangles of any desired sizes.
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In some embodiments, the ultrasonically weldable fabric comprises fibers containing at least thirty (30) percent recycled material. In another embodiment, the ultrasonically weldable fabric comprises fibers containing one hundred (100) percent recycled or used material. Most of the time, at least some of the recycled or used content of the fibers is made of a polymer.
In other embodiments, the ultrasonically weldable fabric may be a non-woven spunlaced fabric made with fibers containing at least some recycled material or content. In yet other embodiments, the ultrasonically weldable fabric may be a non-woven needle-punched fabric made with at least some fibers made from at least some recycled material. In some embodiments the fabric has a weight of between 0.75 and 4.0 ounces per square yard. However, any of the fabrics may have any desired weight. At least some of the fibers may contain at least some recycled or used polymer material.
Although
The adhesive 15 may have at least some bio-based material therein or at least some recycled material therein or any combination thereof, regardless of the fabrics joined by the adhesive.
Any of the fabrics described herein having at least some fibers containing at least some recycled polymer material may be used in any comfort layer described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,943,173; 9,968,202 and 10,405,665, each one of which is incorporated by reference herein.
During the welding process, the mini coil springs 76 may be at least partially compressed before pocket 84 is closed and thereafter. If desired, resilient members other than mini coil springs, such as foam or plastic or gel or a combination thereof, may be used. Each of the resilient members may return to its original configuration after a load is removed from the pockets in which the resilient members are located.
The size of the curved segments 82 of weld seams 80 are not intended to be limited by the illustrations; they may be any desired size depending upon the airflow desired inside the comfort layer. Similarly, the size, i.e., diameter of the illustrated weld seams 80, is not intended to be limiting. The placement of the weld seams 80 shown in the drawings is not intended to be limiting either. For example, the weld seams 80 may be organized into aligned rows and columns, as shown in
As best illustrated in
The weld segments may assume shapes other than the curved weld segments illustrated. For example, the weld seams may be circular around mini coil springs, but the weld segments may assume other shapes, such as triangles or circles or ovals of the desired size and pattern to obtain the desired airflow between adjacent pockets inside the comfort layer and into or out of the perimeter of the comfort layer.
At least one of the two plies of fabric 72, 74 of comfort layer 71 is made of an ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric made at least partially of fibers made from at least some recycled polymer material. The fabric may be stitchbond, spunlaced or needle-punched. In some embodiments both plies of fabric 72, 74 of comfort layer 71 are made of an ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric made at least partially of fibers having at least some recycled content. In some embodiments, at least some of the fibers have at least some polymer material.
At least one of the two plies of fabric 72, 74 of comfort layer 71' is made of an ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric made at least some fibers containing at least some recycled or used content or material. The fabric may be stitchbond, spunlaced or needle-punched. In some embodiments both plies of fabric 72, 74 of comfort layer 71' are made of an ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric made at least partially of fibers containing at least some recycled material such as polymer material.
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At least one of the two plies of fabric 91, 93 of comfort layer 30 is made of an ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric made at least partially of fibers containing at least some recycled polymer material. The fabric may be stitchbond, spunlaced or needle-punched. In some embodiments both plies of fabric 91, 93 of comfort layer 30 are made of an ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric made at least partially of fibers having at least some recycled polymer content.
It is within the contemplation of the present invention that only some of the strings of a pocketed spring assembly be made in accordance with the present invention. For example, every other string may be made of conventional fabric. It is further within the scope of the present invention that the different strings shown and described herein may be used together.
The various embodiments of the invention shown and described are merely for illustrative purposes only, as the drawings and the description are not intended to restrict or limit in any way the scope of the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate various changes, modifications, and improvements which can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details and representative apparatus and methods shown and described. Departures may therefore be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept. The invention resides in each individual feature described herein, alone, and in all combinations of those features. Accordingly, the scope of the invention shall be limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A fabric for use in a bedding or seating product, said fabric comprising:
- at least one layer made of a mixture of non-woven ultrasonically weldable synthetic fibers and non-ultrasonically weldable fibers, at least some of the fibers containing at least some recycled material.
2. The fabric of claim 1 wherein the ultrasonically weldable synthetic fibers comprise at least thirty percent of the fibers.
3. A string of springs for use in a pocketed spring assembly, the string of springs comprising:
- a plurality of individually pocketed springs, said string of springs comprising a piece of single layer ultrasonically weldable fabric joined to itself along a longitudinal seam, first and second opposed plies of the ultrasonically weldable fabric being on opposite sides of the springs, a plurality of pockets being formed along a length of the string by transverse seams joining the first and second plies of the ultrasonically weldable fabric, at least one spring being positioned in each of the pockets, wherein the piece of single layer ultrasonically weldable fabric comprises non-woven fabric made with at least some fibers made from at least partially recycled material.
4. The string of springs of claim 3 wherein the non-woven fabric is made entirely of fibers made from at least partially with recycled material.
5. The string of springs of claim 3 wherein the recycled material is polyethylene terephthalate.
6. A comfort layer for a bedding or seating cushion product, said comfort layer comprising:
- a matrix of interconnected pocketed springs, each spring of which is contained within a pocket between top and bottom pieces of ultrasonically weldable non-woven fabric, the ultrasonically weldable top and bottom pieces being joined by a seam around the pocket, wherein the ultrasonically weldable fabric has at least some fibers made at least partially with recycled material.
7. The comfort layer of claim 6 wherein at least one of the top and bottom pieces comprises non-woven fabric.
8. The comfort layer of claim 7 wherein the non-woven fabric is made entirely of fibers made at least partially with recycled material.
9. The comfort layer of claim 6 wherein the seams of the pockets are circular.
10. The comfort layer of claim 6 wherein the seams of the pockets are straight.
11. The comfort layer of claim 6 wherein the recycled material is a polymer.
12. The comfort layer of claim 6 wherein the recycled material is polyethylene terephthalate.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 23, 2022
Publication Date: Mar 23, 2023
Inventors: Jason V. Jewett (Carthage, MO), Austin G. Long (Sarcoxie, MO)
Application Number: 18/058,412