Customizable mattress with multiple sleep zones to improve spinal alignment during sleep

Abstract

This invention includes a method to produce a customizable and user-configurable mattress foam core which comprises a plurality of transversely extended foam rods that were cut during the mattress production process. These transversely extended foam rods typically have a cross section of a convex shape, including triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, ovals and hexagons. These transversely extended foam rods can be replaced with foam rods of different firmness, creating more than 10 zones with varying firmness in each zone thus tailoring to the sleeper's needs, adjusting for their differences in height, weight, sleeping position, and comfort preference. Also, these zones together allow the user to configure the mattress for spinal alignment.

The transversely extended replacement foam rods typically have cross sections that are substantially the same shape as the pre-cut foam rods, but may also be of different shape. In one embodiment, the transversely extended replacement foam rods comprises foams of two or more different firmness in the transverse direction, thus allowing the mattress to be customized for multiple users with different sleeping needs.

Claims

1. A method for making a customizable, configurable, multi-zone mattress comprising mattress core is cut comprising a plurality of transversely extended pre-cut foam rods to be replaced with transversely extended replacement foam rods, creating zones of varying firmness in the longitudinal direction of the mattress, wherein the pre-cut foam rods and the replacement foam rods are configured to have cross sections of arbitrary shapes; and an horizontal slit is cut extending longitudinally at approximately the mid height of the pre- cut foam rods to provide the user access to the pre-cut foam rods.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising configuring one or more of longitudinally extended pre-cut foam rods which divide the mattress into two or more sectors.

3. (canceled)

4. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring the pre-cut foam rods and the replacement foam rods to have cross sections of polygons including triangles, squares, trapezoids, and circles.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring the pre-cut foam rods to have different cross sections at different locations in the mattress.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring the replacement foam rods to have different cross sections than the pre-cut foam rods.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring a plurality of replacement foam rods to have bigger sizes than the pre-cut foam rods, to create a taller height in the lumbar and in the knee regions.

8. (canceled)

9. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring the pre-cut foam rods to be in the top layer or in the bottom layer of the mattress.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring the pre-cut foam rods and the replacement foam rods to be in multiple layers of the mattress.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring the mattress layers and the replacement foam rods to be made from any combination of polyurethane, natural latex, polyethylene, polystyrene, woven fabric and foam gel.

12. (canceled)

13. (canceled)

14. The method of claim 1, the transversely extended replacement foam rods comprises foams of two or more different firmness in the transverse direction.

15. (canceled)

16. The method of claim 1, comprising configuring the replacement foam rods to be capable of being pre-heated or pre-cooled outside of the mattress.

17. (canceled)

18. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG. 1 is a side view of a user in a back sleeping position on a mattress comprising a plurality of pre-cut or replacement foam rods, which extends transversely across the width of the mattress. The transversely extended pre-cut foam rods are shown with a cross section of trapezoids with an even spacing.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a side view of a user in a side sleeping position on a mattress comprising a plurality of pre-cut or replacement foam rods, which extends transversely across the width of the mattress.

[0021] The pre-cut foam rods are shown with a cross section of ovals 22-24 and trapezoids 20, 21, 25-38, and have an un-even spacing.

[0022] FIG. 3a is a top view showing a tall user and a short user in a back-lying position on a mattress comprising a longitudinally extended trapezoid-shaped pre-cut foam rod. FIG. 3b is a side view of the mattress, looking from the foot-end to the head-end of the mattress.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a side view of a user in a back-lying position on a mattress assembly 41 with transversely extended replacement foam rods 42-50. Transversely extended replacement foam rod 45 has a different shape from the other replacement foam rods. Among the trapezoidal shaped replacement rods, 42-44 and 46-50 are of different sizes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Disclosed herein is an all-foam mattress, which comprises 1 or more foam layers, an outer cover with a zipper and a plurality of pre-cut transversely extended foam rods. When more than one layer is used, the layers may have different foam firmness and are typically glued together. During the mattress production process, transversely extended foam rods are cut, for example using a CNC contour cutter and other similar cutting process known to those skilled in the art. These transversely extended foam rods are cut at various locations in the longitudinal direction of the mattress. These transversely extended foam rods cover the neck, the shoulder, the lumbar, the sacrum and the tight regions of the body. Using body anthropometric data, the pre-cut foam rods are spaced by an average of about 2.5-3.5 inches apart, center- to-center. In general, the foam for the shoulder region should be of medium firmness to allow the shoulder to “sink” slightly into the mattress. Likewise, foam for the sacrum region should be firm to keep the body from hammocking.

[0025] About ⅔ of the population prefers to sleep on the side, while there is no single recommendation from the medical professionals on whether any one sleeping position is best for the body. Some people switch from one position to another, reflecting a change in personal preference. A mattress based on this invention will typically have more than 10, preferably 12 or more, transversely extended pre- cut foam rods. This number of transversely extended pre-cut foam rods will cover a length of 30 inches to more than 42 inches in the longitudinal direction of the mattress and should be able to accommodate the typical user, male or female, whose height ranges from 2.5 percentile to 97.5 percentile.

[0026] In this invention, the transversely extended foam rods are pre-cut, but are left in the mattress and shipped to the user. The pre-cut foam rods may have a cross section of any shape. In one embodiment, the pre-cut foam rods have a cross section of a convex shape, including but not limited to triangle, square, rectangle, circle, oval, and trapezoid. The convex-shape cross section has the benefit of easy to cut on a CNC cutter, easy to remove from the mattress and easy to re-install the similar-shape replacement foam rods. The cross section of the pre-cut foam rods is chosen to ensure that the pre-cut foam rods will stay in place after the mattress is compressed, shipped to the user and allowed to expand. By taking out the pre-cut foam rods and inserting the replacement foam rods, the user can adjust the firmness at various locations tailoring to his/her personal preference on comfort, support and ventilation.

[0027] FIG. 1 depicts a back-sleeping user on a mattress 1 comprising a plurality of transversely extended pre-cut or replacement foam rods 2-18, which have a trapezoid-shape cross section. In this example, the pre-cut or replacement foam rods are evenly space in the longitudinal direction of the mattress. The spacing between the pre-cut foam rods may be non-uniform and can be adjusted to narrower or wider spacing for a particular region of the body. For example, in the thigh regions where the pressure tends to be low, the pre-cut foam rod spacing can be made wider.

[0028] FIG. 2 depicts a side-sleeping user on a mattress 19 comprising a plurality of transversely extended pre-cut or replacement foam rods, including pre-cut or replacement foam rods 22-24 which have an oval-shape cross section and pre-cut or replacement foam rods 20, 21, 25-38 which have a trapezoid- shape cross section.

[0029] In another embodiment, there are two users and a pre-cut longitudinally extended pre-cut foam rod was included. FIG. 3a depicts a tall user and a short user in a back-lying position on a mattress 39 which comprises a longitudinally extended pre-cut or replacement foam rod 40, which divides the mattress into two halves. FIG. 3b depicts a side view, looking from the foot-end of the mattress.

[0030] In another embodiment, the user can periodically replace the worn-out foam rods with new ones, thus in essence extending the useful life of the mattress.

[0031] In another embodiment, the replacement foam rods may be bigger than the pre-cut foam rods, thereby rising above the t top surface of the mattress. FIG. 4 depicts a back-lying user on a mattress 41 comprising replacement foam rods 42-46, which supports the shoulder region of the body and replacement foam rods 47-50, which supports the butt region of the body. For clarity, some pre-cut and replacement foam rods are not shown. Note that the replacement foam rods 42-50, all transversely extended, are different either in cross section shape or in size.

[0032] In still another embodiment, the replacement foam rods may be smaller than the pre-cut foam rods. By having a smaller cross section, these smaller-than-pre-cut replacement foam rods create additional softening effect.

[0033] In another embodiment, the replacement foam rods are pre-heated, for example in a microwave, or pre-cooled, for example in a freezer or refrigerator, prior to sleep. Given that the replacement foam rods are small in dimensions relative to the whole mattress, it is energy-efficient to adjust the replacement foam rod temperature outside of the mattress. As an illustration, the replacement foam rod can be wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed inside the microwave or refrigerator, for a short time before use, to achieve the target temperature.

[0034] The pre-cut foam rods can be located in any layer in the mattress. In a preferred embodiment, the pre-cut foam rods are located in the top layer of the mattress, where the benefits of adjusting for sleeper's comfort and support are felt more directly. To access the pre-cut foam rods, the user will unzip the cover and lift off the top half of the said layer, and lift a particular pre-cut foam rod off substantially vertically. To replace the foam rods, the user will lay the replacement foam rods substantially flat on its designated position and push it in by applying a downward force with his/her fingers.

[0035] In one embodiment, the pre-cut foam rods are located in both the top layer and the bottom layer of the mattress, essentially doubling the impact of adjusting the firmness in each zone. The locations of the pre-cut foam rods in the top layer may be but are not limited to be a mirror image of the locations of the pre-cut foam rods in the bottom layer. Also, the dimensions and the depths of the pre-cut foam rods in the top layer can be but are not limited to be a mirror image of the dimensions and depths of the pre-cut foam rods in the bottom layer.

[0036] In the invention, it is contemplated that the foam mattress may be an all-foam mattress or a hybrid mattress. The mattress and the replacement foam rods can be made with polyurethane, latex, polyethylene, polystyrene, gel or other foam plastic.