Beds – Mattress – Having innerspring-type core
Reexamination Certificate
2003-03-04
2004-11-09
Trettel, Michael F. (Department: 3673)
Beds
Mattress
Having innerspring-type core
C005S716000, C005S719000, C005S727000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06813791
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to pocketed spring assemblies for mattresses, cushions and other bedding or seating products and, more particularly, to a posturized pocketed coil spring assembly and associated method of manufacturing such an assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A well known type of bedding or seating product comprises a spring assembly which includes a number of discrete coil springs, each of which is enclosed in a fabric pocket in a length of folded fabric material. Longitudinal axes of the coil springs are generally parallel with one another so that the top and bottom end turns of the coil springs define top and bottom faces of the spring assembly. A row of such pocketed springs is known in the industry as a string of pocketed springs. A bedding or seating product can be fabricated from such strings of pocketed springs by binding or adhering the individual rows or strings of pocketed springs together to form a spring assembly which may be padded and encased in an upholstered covering. U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,122, which is fully incorporated herein, discloses one such method of adhesively bonding strings of pocketed springs together to form a spring assembly.
This type of spring assembly is commonly referred to as a pocketed spring assembly due to the fact that each spring is contained within an individual pocket of fabric material. The construction of strings of pocketed coil springs in each pocket is well known in the art and, for example, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,977 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The system disclosed in that patent includes a spring coiler which forms a coil spring which is subsequently compressed and inserted between the plies of folded pocketing fabric material. Other systems for manufacturing pocketed coil spring assemblies are disclosed in PCT Patent Application No. WO 94/18116 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,697, each of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Pocketed spring assemblies are generally recognized to have a unique and particular luxurious feel to them and mattresses manufactured of such pocketed spring assemblies provide a feeling of softness without lacking spring resilience or support. Mattresses and similar articles constructed of pocketed spring assemblies are often considered a high-end type of product because of the added benefits and features of the pocketed coil springs. Mattresses and the like of this type can be more costly to manufacture and assemble as a result of the considerable amount of time and labor which is involved in their manufacture, together with the fact that the method of fabrication and assembly of such pocketed spring assemblies can be complicated, particularly in an automated process.
One particular aspect of pocketed spring assemblies and the associated mattresses or the like is that the resulting product may have a “hard” feel due to the fact that all of the coil springs are identical and compressed to the same degree in individual pockets. Usually, the firmness of such a product is uniform across the width and along the length of the product.
Additionally, while pocketed spring assemblies desirably provide a combination of softness and support, the ability to economically posturize a spring assembly or mattress of pocketed spring coils has heretofore been difficult. Posturization provides multiple zones or sections of differing firmnesses within a product such as a mattress. For example, the middle regions of the mattress, which typically support a person's torso, often require a firmer more resilient support while other areas of the mattress which support the feet and head of a person require a softer feel.
One known method of posturizing a pocketed spring unit has been to incorporate springs made of different gauge wire into the strings of springs. For example, the springs incorporated into the strings of springs within certain sections or zones of the spring assembly are made of a larger gauge wire than the springs incorporated into the strings of springs of the other sections or zones of the spring assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,464 discloses this concept, albeit with continuous bands of springs as opposed to individual springs.
Another method of posturizing a spring assembly made of conventional coil springs, as opposed to pocketed coil springs incorporated into strings of pocketed springs, is to place filler material such as urethane foam on top of the shorter springs of the spring assembly. Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,952, incorporated by reference herein, discloses a bedding or seating product made in such a manner. However, this method has heretofore been used only with unpocketed coil springs.
Therefore, there is a need for a posturized pocketed spring assembly and associated method of manufacture which offers the advantages of posturization of the pocketed spring assembly without the higher manufacturing costs, production difficulties and inefficiencies associated with known posturized pocketed spring assemblies.
There is further a need to provide a posturized bedding or seating product utilizing strings of pocketed springs of differing heights so as to impart differing degrees of firmness to different sections of the product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention of this application comprises a pocketed bedding or seating product and associated method of manufacture. The bedding or seating product comprises a pocketed spring assembly, filler materials, one or more pads and an upholstered covering surrounding the pocketed spring assembly, filler material and pads.
The pocketed spring assembly comprises a plurality of parallel strings of springs joined together. Each of the strings of springs comprises a plurality of interconnected pocketed coil springs. Each of the pocketed coil springs comprises a spring surrounded with a pocket of fabric, as is conventional. The springs are typically coil springs, but may be other types of springs. Each of the coil springs has an upper end turn, a lower end turn and a plurality of central convolutions between the end turns.
Preferably, each string of springs is made of one piece of fabric folded and welded into a plurality of pockets, each of the pockets containing a coil spring. Opposed plies of fabric of the string of springs may be joined together by sewing, gluing or sonic welding, as known in the art. Adjacent pockets within a string of springs are separated by one or more generally vertically oriented lines of attachment or seams of the opposed plies to each other. The height of the pocket is determined by the distance between the bottom of the pocket and one longitudinal segment of attachment or seam of the opposed plies to each other. Alternatively, the height of the pocket may be determined by the distance between top and bottom seams of the pocket.
The bedding or seating product typically has a longitudinal dimension and a transverse dimension, the longitudinal dimension being greater than the transverse dimension. However, the longitudinal dimension and transverse dimension may be identical in a square bedding or seating product. In the invention of the present application, the strings of springs may extend longitudinally or transversely, depending upon the desired effect.
Adjacent strings of springs of the bedding or seating product are preferably glued together but may be otherwise secured to each other. At least one border wire may extend around the perimeter of the pocketed spring assembly of the bedding or seating product and be secured to select outermost pocketed coil springs. A first or lower border wire may be secured to the lower end turns of the coil springs of the outermost strings. A second or upper border wire may be secured to the upper end turns of the coil springs of the outermost strings or, alternatively, either border wire may be secured to intermediate convolutions of the coil springs of the outermost strings of springs.
In each embodiment of the present invention, the bedding or seating product is posturized such that certain regi
Mossbeck Niels S.
Wells Thomas J.
L&P Property Management Company
Trettel Michael F.
Wood Herron & Evans L.L.P.
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