Beds – Mattress – Having confined gas
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-29
2004-06-29
Shackelford, Heather (Department: 3673)
Beds
Mattress
Having confined gas
C005S706000, C005S655300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06754926
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an inflatable bed, more particularly to an inflatable bed that can be produced at a relatively low cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a conventional inflatable bed
200
is shown to comprise upper and lower mattress portions
7
which are heat-sealed to each other. Each mattress portion
7
has top and bottom sheets
71
,
72
, and an upstanding peripheral wall
74
that is bonded to peripheral portions of the top and bottom sheets
71
,
72
by heat-sealing process so as to define an air inflatable chamber. Each mattress portion
7
includes a plurality of tensile members
73
heat-sealed to the top and bottom sheets
71
,
72
. Two annular sheets
75
are heat-sealed to the lower mattress portion
7
so as to form a first auxiliary air chamber
201
that surrounds a bottom end of the upper mattress portion
7
, thereby positioning the mattress portions
7
relative to each other. Two opposite sides of the lower mattress portion
7
are heat-sealed respectively with a pair of lateral sheets
76
so as to form second auxiliary air chambers
202
, thereby increasing the contact area of the lower mattress portion
7
relative to a ground surface, and thereby consequently positioning the conventional inflatable bed
200
on the ground surface.
However, the manufacturing cost of the conventional inflatable bed
200
is relatively high since aside from the materials used for producing the two mattress portions
7
, additional material is required for the annular sheets
75
and the lateral sheets
76
as well. Furthermore, the conventional inflatable bed
200
is difficult to fabricate.
Referring to
FIGS. 3 and 4
, another conventional inflatable bed
200
′ is shown to include a top sheet
71
′, a bottom sheet
72
′, upper and lower rows of tensile members
73
′, a surrounding sheet
74
′, upper and lower lateral sheets
76
′, and a middle sheet
77
′. The surrounding sheet
74
′ has a top end that is heat-sealed to a periphery of the top sheet
71
′, and a bottom end that is heat-sealed to a periphery of the bottom sheet
72
′ . The middle sheet
77
′ is disposed between the top and bottom sheets
71
′,
72
′, and has a periphery that is heat-sealed to the surrounding sheet
74
′ so as to define upper and lower chambers in the bed
200
′. The upper lateral sheets
76
′ are heat-sealed respectively to two opposite sides of the lower end of the surrounding sheet
74
′, while the lower lateral sheets
76
′ are heat-sealed to two opposite sides of the bottom sheet
72
′ so as to define an air chamber
202
′ between each adjacent pair of the upper and lower lateral sheets
76
′. The upper row of tensile members
73
′ are heat-sealed to the top sheet
71
′ and the middle sheet
77
′. The lower row of tensile members
73
′ are heat-sealed to the middle sheet
771
and the bottom sheet
72
′. Although the material requirement for the bed
200
′ is less than that for the bed
200
(see FIGS.
1
and
2
), it is still difficult to manufacture the bed
200
′ because the upper and lower rows of the tensile members
73
′ are heat-sealed to the middle sheet
77
′ in a staggered arrangement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable bed that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the present invention, an inflatable bed is disposed on a support surface, and includes a plastic top sheet that has a top surface, a bottom surface, and an outer periphery. A plastic bottom sheet is disposed under the top sheet, and has a lower end that is adapted to be disposed on the support surface, and an outer periphery. A plastic partition is interposed between the top and bottom sheets, and has an outer periphery that is spaced apart from and that is disposed between the outer peripheries of the top and bottom sheets so as to be adapted to define a concave air bag among the bottom sheet, the partition, and the support surface. A plastic pull band unit is used to connect fixedly the bottom surface of the top sheet to an assembly of the bottom sheet and the partition. A plastic annular surrounding sheet is disposed around the top sheet, the bottom sheet, and the partition, and is connected fixedly to the outer peripheries of the top sheet, the bottom sheet, and the partition. An upper air chamber is defined among the top sheet, the partition, and the surrounding sheet, and is disposed above the concave air bag. An annular lower peripheral air chamber is defined among the partition, the surrounding sheet, and the bottom sheet, and is disposed around the concave air bag. An inflatable unit is operable so as to introduce air into the upper air chamber and the annular lower peripheral air chamber. As such, when a person moves onto the top surface of the top sheet, air is ejected from the concave air bag via a space between the bottom sheet and the support surface so that the bed acts as a suction cup, thereby fixing the bed relative to the support surface.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6015471 (2000-01-01), Rimington et al.
Jones Allston L.
Saldano Lisa M
Shackelford Heather
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