Beds – Mattress – Having confined gas
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-15
2001-07-03
Trettel, Michael F. (Department: 3633)
Beds
Mattress
Having confined gas
C005S710000, C005S935000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253401
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
None.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to air mattresses generally, and more particularly, to an improved air mattress system with independently inflatable sections for providing improved support for a sleeper.
Air beds having independently inflatable mattresses for separate sleepers are known, but they could be improved. For example, currently available air mattresses may “bottom out” when the weight thereon is too high, resulting in an uncomfortable mattress. Single mattresses or pairs of independently inflatable mattresses connected together for separate sleepers may also create a rolling effect when one person lays down on the bed, resulting in the other person being jostled. Moreover, the support for the sleeper's body in many conventional air mattresses is not always satisfactory. Often, due to the sleeper's weight distribution, additional support is needed in the lumbar region. With conventional air mattresses, increasing the inflation pressure to provide the needed lumbar support results in a mattress which is then uncomfortable for the sleepers head and leg positions. Failure to provide adequate lumbar support may result in the sleeper sinking into a “valley” as the mattress compresses in the lumbar region and expand under the sleeper's head and feet due to the reduced weight distribution in those areas.
In many instances, air beds are intended to be deflated often (perhaps daily). For example, air beds used in camping or for temporary home use are deflated frequently. And in many foreign countries the bedding, whether an air bed or more conventional bed, is removed every day. Deflation of an air bed, however, is usually accomplished by letting the air escape through an air valve-sometimes assisted by the user sitting on the mattress as it deflates. Deflation under these circumstances is a fairly time-consuming process. It is, however, necessary to reduce the size of the air mattress for storage.
In those instances in which the air mattress is repeatedly deflated and inflated, it would also be desirable to reinflate the mattress to the same predetermined level each day so that a desired comfort (firmness) could be consistently achieved and easily identified. There are existing air mattresses with pressure gauges but those are not typically designed for the situation where the mattress is repeatedly inflated and deflated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Among the several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
The provision of an air mattress system with improved comfort and adjustability.
The provision of such an air mattress system which reduces the problem of “bottoming-out.”
The provision of such an air mattress system which is particularly useful in applications requiring frequent inflation and deflation.
In a first aspect of the present invention, an air mattress system includes a plurality of inflatable air chambers operatively connected to form an air mattress, a reversible air pump operatively connected to the air chambers, and a manually operable control operatively connected to the air pump for controlling the operation of the air pump. The manually operable control has at least a first setting for operating the air pump in a first direction for inflating the air chambers and at least a second setting for operating the air pump in a second direction for deflating the air chambers.
In a second aspect of the present invention, an air mattress system includes a plurality of inflatable air chambers operatively connected to form an air mattress, at least one inflatable air chamber disposed below at least one of the plurality of air chambers, and a gauge for measuring the air pressure in at least one of the air chambers. The gauge has a display for displaying the measured air pressure to a user.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention as well as presently preferred embodiments thereof will become more apparent from the reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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Donahue, III Dennis J. M.
Santos Robert G.
Thompson & Coburn LLP
Trettel Michael F.
Upchurch Gregory E.
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