Beds – Mattress – Having confined gas
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-05
2004-01-06
Santos, Robert G. (Department: 3673)
Beds
Mattress
Having confined gas
C005S711000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06671910
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflatable bed, and more particularly, to a combination of an air mattress, an air box spring, and stabilizing tubes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Air mattresses have enjoyed wide popularity for a number of reasons. When not in use, the air mattress is capable of being deflated to a substantially two-dimensional geometry which can be folded compactly and stored and transported quite easily. When inflated, air mattresses provide the user with a generally high level of comfort as the user is literally supported upon a cushion of air isolating the user from what would be an otherwise uncomfortable sleeping surface such as natural terrain encountered on a typical camping excursion.
However, there are several disadvantages to the use of conventional inflatable air mattresses. Such mattresses situate users in undesirably close proximity to the ground surface and often do not provide a sufficiently comfortable sleeping surface. In conventional bedding, a box spring is placed underneath a mattress to support the mattress and provide additional comfort and insulation to the user. Without a box spring, a sleeping surface provided only by a mattress may be uncomfortably firm and the coldness retained by the ground surface underneath is transferred to the user via the mattress. Since air mattresses provide much less insulation than conventional mattresses from cold, hard surfaces, such as a campground, an additional layer would be required for both insulation and comfort.
Another disadvantage of conventional air mattresses is that there is insufficient height for the mattress to act as a suitable sitting surface and a sleeping surface for elderly individuals. Conventional bedding, which includes a mattress and a box spring, is of adequate height to provide a comfortable sitting surface and facilitates the process for elderly individuals to get in and out of bed. To utilize conventional air mattresses as a sitting surface, the user must expend much more energy in lowering and raising his body. For the elderly, a greater and taxing effort of getting into and out of bed is required.
To compensate for these disadvantages, prior art has suggested the use of separate but attached chambers to increase the height. However, increased height in inflatable bedding results in instability when weight is applied to the periphery of the top surface of the bedding. If a user sits on one corner of the air mattress, the air mattress is likely to tilt up and unsettle any objects and the user off of the mattress. Therefore, there is a need for an inflatable bed that conveniently provides a raised and stable sleeping surface. There is also a need for an inflatable bed that allows the user to attach an inflatable mattress to a base by means such as hook and loop means should the user choose to do so.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an inflatable bed that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inflatable bed which characteristically creates a generally stable, comfortable and raised sleeping surface.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an inflatable bed that reduces heat loss by the user to the ground surface by reducing the surface contact area of the bottom surface of the bed with the ground surface.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an inflatable bed that is easily and quickly inflated and deflated, and able to be stored conveniently.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an inflatable bed that is aesthetically pleasing, secure, and comfortable to use.
An object of an alternative embodiment of the present invention is to provide an inflatable bed that allows the user to determine the height and firmness of the sleeping surface.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, an inflatable bed comprises an inflatable mattress with a top layer sealed to a bottom layer through a wall, wherein the bottom and top layers and the wall define an outer frame of the inflatable mattress; an inflatable box spring with a top layer sealed to a bottom layer through a wall, wherein the bottom and top layers and the wall define an outer frame of the inflatable box spring; and a stabilizing tube attached around a periphery of an outer frame of the bottom layer of the inflatable box spring to provide further stability.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the bottom layer of the inflatable mattress is the same as the top layer of the air box spring.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of I-beam sealing structures are longitudinally disposed between and are attached to a bottom surface of the top layer and a top surface of the bottom layer of the inflatable mattress. In addition, a plurality of I-beam sealing structures are longitudinally disposed between and are attached to a bottom surface of the top layer and a top surface of the bottom layer of the inflatable box spring.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an outer periphery of the stabilizing tube is larger than an outer periphery of the inflatable box spring to provide stability.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, an inflatable bed comprises an inflatable mattress with a top layer sealed to a bottom layer through a wall, wherein the bottom and top layers and the wall define an outer frame of the inflatable mattress; an inflatable box spring with a top layer sealed to a bottom layer through a wall, wherein the bottom and top layers and the wall define an outer frame of the inflatable box spring; a first stabilizing tube attached to the periphery of an outer surface of the top layer of the inflatable box spring to provide stability to the inflatable mattress disposed on the inflatable box spring; and a second stabilizing tube attached to a periphery of an outer surface of the bottom layer of the air box spring to provide further stability. Preferably, the inflatable mattress is detachable from the inflatable box spring.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the inflatable mattress includes loop fasteners disposed on the bottom surface of the inflatable mattress. The inflatable box spring further includes hook and loop fasteners and corresponding straps disposed on the top surface of the box spring so as to fasten to the corresponding loop fasteners disposed on the bottom surface of the inflatable mattress.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an outer periphery of the second stabilizing tube is larger than an outer periphery of the inflatable box spring to provide stability.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide a further explanation of the invention as claimed.
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patent: 572984
Hsu Yaw-Yuan
Pan Chin-Hsiang
Intex Recreation Corp.
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
Santos Robert G.
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