Patent ID: 9241577
Filing Date: 2016-01-26
CPC Classification: A47B,A47C,B66F

Claim Text:
1. A method of lifting up and then pressing down, an end portion of a mattress that is generally supported on a supporting surface, said method comprising: a) providing a lifting device, including a spring, and having an expanded position that is between 15 cm and 45 cm high, a compressed position that is up to 6 cm high, and an intermediate state, between said compressed and expanded positions, and wherein in said expanded position said spring urges said device to resist compression sufficiently so that the weight of the mattress does not compress said device, but in said compressed position said spring urges said device toward said intermediate state by a positive upward force small enough so that the weight of said mattress maintains said device in its compressed position and when in said intermediate state said spring urges said device toward its expanded position by a force that is greater than the weight of said mattress, said device being in its compressed state and underneath an end portion of said mattress, and being supported by said supporting surface, before subsequent steps of said method are performed; b) lifting up on said mattress end portion, thereby reducing the force exerted by the weight of said mattress to a level below the force urging said device toward said intermediate state, and thereby permitting said device to expand into said intermediate state, which thereby causes said device to expand into its expanded position, so that said device lifts said mattress end portion and supports it in an elevated position; and c) pressing down said mattress end portion with sufficient force that together with force exerted by the weight of said mattress, said device is compressed into its compressed state.