Abstract:
An inflatable mattress topper including an inflatable chamber which may be formed out of polyvinyl chloride with or without lamination or flocking. The inflatable chamber is designed to rest upon a support system, namely a bed without additional securing devices or may be integrated within a conventional mattress. The inflatable chamber being inflated by air to an adjustable level to provide the desired support for its user through plastic tubing connected between a pump and an air inlet sealed to the polyvinyl chloride chamber. The inflatable mattress topper is easily set-up for continual use or removed for occasional use.

Description:
This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/150,217, entitled “Inflatable Mattress Pad” filed Nov. 14, 2001 and still pending. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to bed mattresses, and more particularly to an inflatable mattress topper assembly for a mattress which may be inflated with air to provide variable support. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A conventional bed assembly usually includes a bed frame, support mechanism sometimes incorporating springs and a mattress. The bed frame supports the box springs which in turn supports the mattress. Most mattresses are formed in such a manner that they can be reversed and/or inverted in order to counteract mattress sagging from the continued weight of users in a single position. 
     Mattress toppers have been used in the prior art to provide additional comfort and to extend the useful life of a mattress. The prior art mattress topper usually has been thinner than the mattress they cover and consists of a cushioned pad coextensive with the length and width of a mattress and located at the top surface of the mattress. The cushioning material is often foam, feather, fiber fill or combinations thereof. The mattress topper thereby provides additional cushioning on the mattress while simultaneously protecting the mattress from soiling. 
     Known art mattress toppers may be attached to either the upper or lower surface of the mattress using hook and loop fasteners, zippers, elastic straps or the like. These fasteners can be provided at the seam or on both sides of the mattress toppers so that the mattress topper could be attached or reattached after inverting the mattress. 
     Another function of the prior art mattress topper assembly is to provide additional cushioning and support to a user. In this way a consumer could purchase either a thin or thick mattress topper, depending upon the amount of support and cushioning desired. 
     There is a need in the art to provide a variable, adjustable support within a mattress topper for everyday personal use. There is another need in the art for a mattress topper that can be used on a mattress or like without the need for attachment devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an inflatable mattress topper that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     An object of the present invention is to enhance comfort on any standard mattress, sofa bed, futon, rollaway or cot for home or travel use. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide either temporary or permanent attachment of an inflatable mattress topper to any existing mattress. 
     Another object of the invention is to re-invigorate an old mattress by adding a layer of air or softness to mattresses, sofa beds, rollaways and futons. 
     Yet another object is to provide an inflatable mattress topper that is easily adjustable to a desirable level of comfort. 
     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 objects and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is an inflatable mattress topper in the range of 1.5 inches to 4.0 inches thick, utilizing an internal Quadra coil or other coil construction. A multiplicity of coils are used in the inflatable mattress topper to provide support and strength to the mattress topper. The topper is inflated by a touch control pump to a desired air pressure thereby providing the desired support. The pressure within the inflatable mattress topper is controllable through the use of a one touch control wand to inflate and deflate the inflatable mattress topper. The attached pump is connected to the inflatable mattress topper through PVC tubes and PVC connectors. 
     An extra deep conventional mattress topper and extra deep fitted sheets on top of the inflatable mattress topper are used to secure the inflatable mattress topper to the supporting mattress. The one-touch control wand is designed to fit into a holder which may be clipped to the sheet to allow the wand to be within easy reach of a user. 
     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 further explanation of the invention as claimed. For example, dual chambers and dual controls are only exemplary and could be replaced by a single chamber having a single control. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inflatable mattress topper being used on a standard bed consisting of a frame, box spring and mattress. 
     FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the internal structure of a mattress embodiment of the present invention also illustrating the Quadra Coil construction. 
     FIG. 3 is a front planar view of the inflatable mattress topper embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a rear planar view of the inflatable mattress topper embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a side planar view of the inflatable mattress topper embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a top planar view of a queen size inflatable mattress topper embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 shows a fitted sheet partially covering the inflatable mattress topper. 
     FIG. 8 is a detailed drawing of the connection between the inflatable mattress topper and the tubing leading to the pump. 
     FIG. 9 is a view showing the control wand and holder used for inflating the mattress topper. 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the male air fill connector used in the inflatable mattress topper and a jig for welding the male connector to form the mattress chamber. 
     FIG. 11 shows the positioning of the male connector to the inflatable mattress topper. 
     FIG. 12 shows the male connector in alignment to be sealed to the inflatable chamber. 
     FIG. 13 shows the welding die used for attaching the male air fill connector to the mattress chamber. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     The inflatable mattress topper  10  is shown in FIG. 1 on top of conventional bed including a frame  12 , a box spring  14 , and a mattress  16 . The inflatable mattress topper  10  includes two chambers  20  and  30  which are separately inflatable by a pump  40  through inflation tubes  42  and  44 . The pump is controlled through control wands  46  and  48  which operate on the separate inflatable mattress topper chambers  20  and  30 , respectively. 
     The mattress topper shown in FIG. 1 is designed for a queen size bed and is shown having two chambers. Likewise, a king size bed could have two chambers whereas a twin or full size conventional bed may have a single inflation chamber. As an option, only a single chamber having a single control wand can be used for either the queen or king size beds. In typical use, the pump is placed at the head of the bed as close to the tubing connectors as possible. 
     A detailed construction of the inflatable mattress topper is shown in FIG. 2 wherein polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used to construct an inflatable bladder  200  which has internal coils  202  and an air inflation inlet comprising a male connector  204 . The gauge of the PVC used must be sufficient to withstand the repeated weight of a typical user. Other air tight materials, such as vulcanized rubber can be used to form the inflatable mattress topper. The multiplicity of coils  202  determine the strength and ultimate support that can be achieved by the inflatable mattress topper. The mattress topper could be formed without coils or could be formed with a channel construction. It is expected that the gauge of the PVC used for the mattress topper and coils would be in the range of 14-20 gauge. A PVC of approximately 16 gauge has been selected to provide sufficient strength. The coils may be of a quadra coil design or other design. 
     A front view of the inflatable mattress topper shown in FIG. 3 wherein tubes  42  and  44  are connected to pump  40 . Pump  40  is powered by household electricity through plug  50 . As shown chambers  20  and  30  lie upon a mattress  16  which is in turn supported by a box spring  14  and a frame  12 . The frame box  12 , support spring  14  and mattress  16  form a conventional queen size bed. Ultimately, the inflatable mattress topper may be used on any standard mattress, sofa bed, rollaway bed, futon or even used directly on a floor. The chamber  20  and  30  are formed as an integral unit to cover a queen size bed while allowing separate control of each chamber to two users. Alternatively, the chambers could be formed separately. 
     A rear view of the inflatable mattress topper is shown in FIG. 4, while a side view is shown in FIG.  5 . The inflatable mattress topper is designed to lie co-extensively with the underlying mattress for a good fit and use of standard sheets. Alternatively, the inflatable mattress topper may be integrated as a part of mattress. A pocket or sleeve may be formed as part of a conventional mattress for receiving an inflatable mattress topper. 
     From the top the inflatable mattress topper shown in FIG. 6, it can be seen that the inflatable mattress topper has a contour design formed by the quadra coils  602 . 
     The inflatable mattress topper may have a surface laminated with cotton or other material on its exterior surfaces to provide the look and feel of cloth and to assist in preventing the inflatable mattress topper from sliding. The inflatable bladder  200  shown in FIG. 2 is laminated with a fabric material. Although no surface texture is required for the present invention, as an alternative to cotton, rayon or nylon flocking, may be used on the inflatable mattress topper. 
     In FIG. 7 there is shown the attachment of the inflatable mattress topper to a standard bed. A conventional deep-fitting mattress pad  702  may be placed upon the inflatable mattress topper  10  to protect the inflatable mattress topper  10  from soiling and to securely fasten it to the conventional mattress  16 . A conventional size deep-fitted sheet  704  then can be used to cover the conventional mattress pad  702 . 
     Shown in FIG. 10 is the male connector  204  made of PVC. The connector is specially made to allow a weld jig  1002  to fit inside the connector  204  during welding of the connector to the PVC of the bed. The welding jig  1002  fits inside the connector  204  to support it during the welding process and allow heat dissipation from the male connector  204 . In FIG. 11 the PVC material of the bed  1102  is shown folded back to show the connector  204  as it is aligned for welding to the inflatable mattress topper. As seen in FIG. 12, once the male connector  204  is aligned with the edges  1202  forming the inflatable mattress, a die consisting of U-shaped portions  1302  and  1304  shown in FIG. 13 is used to weld the male connector  204  into place. Once the connector is welded in place, the welding jig  1002  is removed from the connector  204 . The male air inlet connector may be glued instead of welded to form an air tight seal. 
     Shown in FIG. 8, the pump is connected to the inflatable mattress topper through tubing  42  having a female connector  804  connecting to the male PVC connection  204  to the inflatable mattress chamber  20 . As an alternative to screw type connections shown, quick disconnect type couplings or other means may be used to connect the pump to the inflatable mattress topper. The male connection  204  is straight out of the bed, while the female connection may be bent at an angle preferably in the range of approximately 110 degrees to ease any stress on the inflatable mattress topper and to allow a sheet to fit over the inflatable mattress topper. The female connector may be bent or straight at its connection at the pump connections as well. 
     A control wand  902  is shown in FIG.  9 . The inflation control wand  902  is designed to operate to inflate the bed by activation of switch  904  and to deflate the bed by activation of switch  906 . This feature is called a one-touch control of the bed which can variably adjust the firmness of the inflatable mattress topper chamber to the desired support. The inflation control wand  902  is designed to fit into holder  908  having a clip  910  which can be clipped to a conventional bed sheet to place the wand  902  within easy reach of a user. 
     The pump  40  can be a standard air pump, the electronics for both inflation and deflation through solenoid valves and is capable of having two chambers for inflating queen size and king size inflatable mattress toppers. O-ring seals are provided within the female connectors which connect plastic tubing to the pump and to the inflatable mattress toppers to provide an air-tight seal. Self regulation within the pump can prevent over inflation of the inflatable mattress topper to prevent rupture. Ideally, the pump will inflate each chamber to approximately 0.6 PSI above atmospheric pressure. The air pressure will determine the firmness of the inflatable mattress topper. It can be varied to be higher or lower. The pump may be thermally fused to prevent burn-out. Selenoids may be used for multiple chamber inflation via a single pump. 
     The inflatable mattress topper can be deflated for storage by disconnecting the female connector(s) from the inflatable chambers and applying light pressure to the chamber to force out any air. Folding the inflatable mattress topper will help dispel air from the chambers. Alternatively the mattress topper can be deflated through the pump via the control wand. 
     The inflatable mattress topper and assembly set forth above the present invention provides an adjustable support system that yields increased comfort, stability, and structural integrity as well as simplicity of attachment over the prior art. The inflatable mattress topper may be used on a continual basis or easily set-up and removed on an occasional basis. 
     While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.