US007254853B1
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Kim
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,254,853 B1
`Aug. 14, 2007
`
`(54) AIR MATTRESS
`
`(76) Inventor: Worl Sung Kim, D-201 DoWn Villa, 95
`Samsung l-dong, Kangnam-gu, Seoul
`(KR)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. N0.: 11/430,426
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`May 8, 2006
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`(30)
`Apr. 13, 2006
`(KR) .................... .. 10-2006-0033510
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`A47C 27/10
`(52) US. Cl. ................................. .. 5/712; 5/710; 5/932
`(58) Field of Classi?cation Search .................. .. 5/712,
`5/711, 706, 710, 713, 644, 654, 932, 655.3
`See application ?le for complete search history.
`References Cited
`
`(56)
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`6/1936 Schaar ................. .. 139/384 R
`2,046,039 A *
`7/1952 Reed
`...... .. 5/710
`2,604,641 A *
`2,657,716 A * 11/1953 Ford ........................ .. 139/410
`2,703,770 A *
`3/1955 MelZer ........................ .. 5/710
`2,743,510 A *
`5/1956 Mauney et a1.
`428/12
`2,753,573 A *
`7/1956 Barker .................... .. 5/712
`2,872,690 A *
`2/1959 Neisler, Jr. et a1. .
`428/34.1
`
`3,008,213 A * 11/1961 Foster et a1. . . . . . . . .
`3,138,506 A *
`6/1964 Ross ......... ..
`3,205,106 A *
`9/1965 Cross ........ ..
`3,683,431 A *
`8/1972 Pennel et a1.
`4,409,271 A * 10/1983 Pehr .......... ..
`
`. . . . . .. 28/158
`156/147
`156/79
`5/712
`428/71
`
`. . . .. 114/345
`7/1984 McCrory . . . . .
`4,462,331 A *
`156/286
`7/1989 Hartel et a1. .
`4,846,917 A *
`5,152,018 A * 10/1992 Lea ............................. .. 5/420
`
`5,552,205 A *
`5,595,806 A *
`
`9/1996 Lea ........................... .. 428/74
`1/1997 Korfmacher
`.
`. 428/69
`
`5,598,593 A *
`
`2/1997 Wolfe . . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . . .. 5/710
`
`6,671,910 B2* 1/2004 Hsu et a1. . . . . . .
`6,701,559 B2 *
`3/2004 Boso et a1. .
`6,948,204 B2 *
`9/2005 Chae ........... ..
`6,973,690 B2* 12/2005 Muci et a1.
`6,996,867 B2* 2/2006 Boso et a1.
`7,165,283 B2* 1/2007 Boso et a1.
`2003/0024050 A1* 2/2003 Boso et a1.
`
`. . . . .. 5/710
`5/739
`5/709
`5/644
`.... .. 5/739
`.... .. 5/739
`.... .. 5/711
`
`. . . . .. 5/710
`2003/0101516 A1 *
`6/2003 Hsu et a1. . . . . . .
`5/644
`2004/0010853 A1* 1/2004 Muci et a1. .
`2004/0049856 A1 *
`3/2004 Chae ........................... .. 5/711
`2007/0044240 A1 *
`3/2007 Chen Han ................. .. 5/655.3
`2007/0044243 A1 *
`3/2007 MetZger ...................... .. 5/712
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary ExamineriRobert G. Santos
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or F irmiLadas & Parry LLP
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`An air mattress is disclosed, Which comprises an upper raW
`material member Which has a coating layer at an upper
`surface of the same; a loWer raW material Which is spaced
`and installed at a loWer side of the upper raW material
`member and has a coating layer at a loWer surface of the
`same; a plurality of ?ber threads Which vertically connect
`the upper and loWer raW material members and react With
`respect to an external pressure; a coated side raW material
`Which is ?xedly engaged to seal a surrounding portion
`between the upper and loWer raW material members; and an
`air injection valve engaged at one side of the side raW
`material. A force distribution function is excellently per
`formed When an external impact is applied to the air mattress
`according to the present invention, so that a distortion
`phenomenon of the product is prevented. It is possible to
`prevent the sides of the air mattress from being abnormally
`expanded by the side raW material bonded to the upper raW
`material member and the loWer raW material member.
`
`6 Claims, 7 Drawing Sheets
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Sheet 1 0f 7
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Sheet 3 0f 7
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Sheet 4 0f 7
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Sheet 7 0f 7
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`Fig. 6b
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`US 7,254,853 B1
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`1
`AIR MATTRESS
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to an air mattress, and in
`particular to an air mattress Which is capable of preventing
`a side portion of the same from being expanded by an air
`pressure.
`2. Description of the Background Art
`Generally, a mattress having a Wire spring therein has
`been largely used as a bed mattress. As the time of use of the
`above mattress increases, the electric force of the Wire spring
`may decrease, so that a recovering force may be lost. So, it
`is impossible to maintain an inherent shape of the mattress.
`When a user lies on the conventional mattress, an over
`pressure could be applied to the portions of the mattress
`contacting With a user’s body since the elastic force of the
`Wire spring installed in the interior of the mattress is not
`uniformly applied to the entire portions of a user’s body,
`namely, only certain portions of the user’s body are con
`tacted.
`Therefore, it is very hard for the user to maintain a proper
`posture, and the portions of the user’s body contacting With
`the mattress may have big stresses.
`So as to overcome the above problems, an air mattress is
`developed. HoWever, since the side portions of the conven
`tional air mattress may be abnormally expanded due to the
`air pressure, it is impossible to stably support the user’s
`body. In addition, the outer look of the conventional air
`mattress having expanded side portions is poor.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
`provide an air mattress Which is capable of preventing a side
`portion of an air mattress from being expanded due to an air
`pressure, While overcoming the problems encountered in the
`conventional art.
`To achieve the above objects, in an air mattress Which is
`elastically contracted or expanded based on a change of an
`air pressure injected into the interior of the air mattress, there
`is provided an air mattress Which comprises an upper raW
`material member Which has a coating layer at an upper
`surface of the same; a loWer raW material Which is spaced
`and installed at a loWer side of the upper raW material
`member and has a coating layer at a loWer surface of the
`same; a plurality of ?ber threads Which vertically connect
`the upper and loWer raW material members and react With
`respect to an external pressure; a coated side raW material
`Which is ?xedly engaged to seal a surrounding portion
`betWeen the upper and loWer raW material members; and an
`air injection valve engaged at one side of the side raW
`material.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The present invention Will become better understood With
`reference to the accompanying draWings Which are given
`only by Way of illustration and thus are not limitative of the
`present invention, Wherein;
`FIG. 1 is a partially cut-aWay perspective vieW illustrating
`part of an air mattress according to a ?rst embodiment of the
`present invention;
`FIG. 2 is a cross sectional vieW illustrating an air mattress
`of FIG. 1;
`
`2
`FIGS. 3A through 3E are cross sectional vieWs illustrating
`a sequential process of a manufacture of an air mattress of
`FIG. 1;
`FIG. 4 is a partially cut-aWay perspective vieW illustrating
`part of an air mattress according to a second embodiment of
`the present invention;
`FIG. 5 is a cross sectional vieW illustrating an air mattress
`of FIG. 4; and
`FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross sectional vieWs illustrating a
`sequential process of a manufacture of an air mattress of
`FIG. 4.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`The preferred embodiments of the present invention Will
`be described With reference to the accompanying draWings.
`FIG. 1 is a partially cut-aWay perspective vieW illustrating
`part of an air mattress according to a ?rst embodiment of the
`present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross sectional vieW
`illustrating an air mattress of FIG. 1.
`As shoWn therein, the air mattress according to the present
`invention comprises an upper raW material member 11 and
`a loWer raW material member 12.
`Here, the upper raW material member 11 and the loWer
`raW material member 12 are formed of a textile such as a
`non-Woven fabric, etc. A certain quantity of ?ber threads is
`vertically seWed betWeen the upper raW material member 11
`and the loWer raW material member 12 so as to effectively
`cope With pressure or transformation externally applied to
`the mattress.
`A mattress body 10 is formed so that a side raW material
`13 formed of a certain raW material is ?xedly provided at the
`opened side portions betWeen the upper raW material mem
`ber 11 and the loW raW material 12.
`Here, coating layers 11a and 1211 are formed at the upper
`surface of the upper raW material member 11 and the loWer
`surface of the loWer raW material member 12 so that the air
`is not discharged from the mattress body 10 to the outside.
`The side raW material 13 is preferably coated.
`The coating layers 11a and 1211 are made of one among a
`PVC (polyvinyl chloride) coating, a PE (polyethylene) coat
`ing and a PU (polyurethane) coating.
`An air injection inlet (not shoWn) is formed at one side of
`the side raW material 13. The air injection inlet is engaged
`With an air injection valve 15 Which is adapted to inject air
`into the interior of the air mattress 10 or to discharge the air
`from the mattress body 10.
`The manufacture of the air mattress according to the
`present invention Will be described as folloWs.
`Namely, the upper raW material member 11 and the loWer
`raW material member 12 are arranged in parallel, and the
`?ber threads 14 are intensively seWed betWeen the upper raW
`material member 11 and the loWer raW material member 12
`for thereby connecting the upper raW material member 11
`and the loWer raW material member 12.
`Coating layers 11a and 12a formed of one among poly
`vinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polyurethane is formed at
`the upper surface of the upper raW material member 11 and
`the loWer surface of the loWer raW material member 12,
`respectively.
`A longitudinal band shaped side raW material 13 is
`bonded or seWed along the sides of the upper raW material
`member 11 and the loWer raW material member 12 like
`surrounding the same.
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`US 7,254,853 B1
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`3
`An air injection inlet is formed at part of the side raW
`material 13, and the air injection valve 15 is connected at the
`air injection inlet for thereby ?nishing manufacture of the air
`mattress.
`In the air mattress according to the present invention, a
`force distribution function is excellently performed When an
`external impact is applied to the air mattress according to the
`present invention, so that a distortion phenomenon of the
`product is prevented. In addition, it is possible to prevent the
`sides of the air mattress from being abnormally expanded by
`the side raW material bonded to the upper raW material
`member 11 and the loWer raW material member 12.
`FIG. 4 is a partially cut-aWay perspective vieW illustrating
`part of an air mattress according to a second embodiment of
`the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross sectional vieW
`illustrating an air mattress of FIG. 4.
`As shoWn therein, the air mattress according to the second
`embodiment of the present invention is formed in a three
`layer structure Whereas the air mattress according to the ?rst
`embodiment of the present invention is formed in one-layer
`structure.
`One mattress body 10 basically includes an upper raW
`material member 11 Which has a coating layer 11a on its
`upper surface, a loWer raW material member 12 Which is
`spaced and formed at a loWer side of the upper raW material
`member 11 and has a coating layer 1211 on its loWer surface,
`a plurality of ?ber threads 14 Which connect the upper raW
`material member 11 and the loWer raW material member 12,
`a side raW material 13 Which is sealingly bonded to a
`surrounding portion betWeen the upper raW material member
`11 and the loWer raW material member 12, With an outer
`surface of the side raW material being coated, and an air
`injection valve 15 Which is engaged at one side of the side
`raW material 13. The above mattress body 10 is stacked in
`a three-layer structure.
`Here, When the mattress body 10 is stacked in a multiple
`layer structure, since a part of the side portions of the stacked
`structure may be bent, the side portions may be transformed
`by a vertical load for thereby resulting in a poor outer look.
`So, When a plurality of mattress bodies 10 are stacked, a
`coated side cover 16 may be additionally attached to an outer
`surrounding portion of the stacked structure, so that the sides
`of each mattress body 10 can be more stably supported.
`Here, the side cover 16 has a function of surely preventing
`the discharge of the air and is preferably formed of a PVC
`tarpaulin so as to enhance touching and durability.
`In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 17 represents a
`coating layer With adhesive.
`As shoWn in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the mattress is manufac
`tured by stacking the air mattress up to a desired layer and
`bonding the same. (In the second embodiment of the present
`invention, the mattress is preferably stacked in a three-layer
`structure.
`A bonding layer 17 is formed at the mattress body 10 of
`each layer, so that the neighboring mattress bodies 10 are
`?xedly bonded With each other.
`In a state that the mattress bodies are stacked in a
`multiple-layer structure, a side cover 16 is additionally
`bonded to the side portions of the mattress bodies for thereby
`supporting the entire structure.
`In the air mattress according to the present invention,
`since the mattress body 10 is stacked in a multiple-layer
`structure, it is possible to freely control the air pressure of
`each layer, so that the height and elastic force of the air
`mattress can be adjusted. Even When the load is concentrated
`at the upper side of the air mattress, the entire stacked
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`structure is not transformed, so that it is possible to maintain
`a parallel and uniform structure of the air mattress.
`In addition, even When one among the air mattresses is
`damaged by an external impact, since the entire air injected
`in the stacked air mattresses is not discharged, any incon
`venience or accident may be prevented during the use of the
`same.
`As described above, the air mattress according to the
`present invention has the folloWing advantages.
`First, an impact absorbing effect is maximiZed based on a
`force distribution function When an external impact is
`applied. In addition, it is possible to prevent a side portion
`of an air mattress from being abnormally expanded, Which
`problem occurs by a side raW material bonded to the upper
`raW material member and the loWer raW material member.
`Second, in the present invention, the air mattresses may
`be stacked in a multiple-layer structure. With this structure,
`the air pressure of each layer can be freely adjusted. The
`heights and elastic force of the air mattress can be adjusted.
`It is possible to prevent the mattress from being transformed
`even When an external load is concentrated at the upper side
`of the air mattress, so that the upper surface of the air
`mattress can be alWays maintain in a horiZontal state.
`Third, in the case that the air mattresses are stacked in a
`multiple-layer structure, even When one layer of the mul
`tiple-layer mattresses is damaged by an external impact,
`since the air is not discharged from the entire stacked air
`mattresses, any conveniences or accidents may be pre
`vented.
`As the present invention may be embodied in several
`forms Without departing from the spirit or essential charac
`teristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above
`described examples are not limited by any of the details of
`the foregoing description, unless otherWise speci?ed, but
`rather should be construed broadly Within its spirit and scope
`as de?ned in the appended claims, and therefore all changes
`and modi?cations that fall Within the meets and bounds of
`the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are
`therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
`What is claimed is:
`1. An air mattress, comprising:
`a plurality of mattress bodies;
`Wherein each mattress body is elastically contracted or
`expanded based on a change of air pressure injected
`into an interior of the mattress body and comprises an
`upper raW material member and a loWer raW material
`member,
`the upper raW material member has a coating layer at an
`upper surface of the mattress body and the loWer raW
`material member is spaced from and installed beloW
`a loWer side of the upper raW material member and
`has a coating layer at a loWer surface of the mattress
`body,
`a plurality of ?ber threads vertically connect the upper
`and loWer raW material members;
`a coated side raW material Which is ?xedly engaged to
`seal a surrounding portion betWeen the upper and
`loWer raW material members;
`said coating layer is one coating selected among poly
`vinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polyurethane coat
`ings;
`said upper and loWer raW material members are formed
`of a non-Woven fabric, respectively; and
`an air injection valve engaged at one side of the side
`raW material,
`Wherein said plurality of said mattress bodies are stacked
`in a multiple-layer structure, each upper raW material
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`5
`member of one said mattress body being adjacent to the
`lower raW material member of another adjacent and
`higher said mattress body, if any,
`a side cover ?xedly engaged to surround the entire
`surrounding portions of the side portions of the stacked 5
`mattress bodies.
`2. The air mattress according to claim 1 Wherein each
`upper raW material member of one said mattress body is
`bonded to the loWer raW material member of another adja
`cent and higher said mattress body, if any.
`3. The air mattress according to claim 1 further compris
`ing a bonding layer disposed betWeen each upper raW
`
`6
`material member of one said mattress body and the loWer
`raW material member of another adjacent and higher said
`mattress body.
`4. The air mattress according to claim 1 comprising three
`such mattress bodies.
`5. The air mattress according to claim 1 Wherein said side
`cover is formed of a PVC tarpaulin.
`6. The air mattress according to claim 1 Wherein the side
`cover has apertures formed therein for permitting access to
`10 the air injection Valves of each mattress body.
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`*
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