AN IMPROVED BODY SUPPORT ARRANGEMENT

Abstract: A body support arrangement comprising a pair of flexible elongate tubes (12) forming air spring located in spaced parallel relationship by members (14) which space and impart lateral stability to the tubes (12). A body support surface is formed by a series slats (20) extending transversely of and resting on the tubes (12). The slats (20) are fixedly attached, for example by adhesive, to a flexible sheet (22).

Description: This invention relates to a support arrangement for mattresses or cushions in beds, chairs, sofas, settees, stretchers and other body support appliances. Such support arrangements will be referred to hereinafter as "of the kind defined". The invention is particularly applicable to support arrangements of the kind defined in which a mattress or cushion rests on slats extending between supporting air springs as disclosed in my granted European Patent No. 038155 and pending European Application No. 83308034.4. The object of the present invention if to enable more economical manufacture of the support arrangement to be achieved. The present invention consists in a support arrangement of the type defined comprising a pair of flexible elongate tubes forming air springs located in spaced parallel relationship by members which effect the required spacing and impart lateral stability to said tubes and a body support surface formed by a series of members extending parallel to each other and transversely of said tubes, said body support members being fixedly attached to the underside of a sheet of flexible material extending over the whole body support surface, the body support members resting on the tubes without any connection thereto. In the accompanying drawing: - Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly in cut-away section, of a body support arrangement according to the present invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of a spacer and lateral stabiliser used in the arrangement shown in Figure 1. Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawing, a bed support arrangement 10 comprises a pair of elongate flexible tubes 12 forming air springs which are spaced apart in parallel with one another, a required predetermined distance by spacer members 14 positioned longitudinally along the tubes 12. As will be hereinafter described, in addition to spacing the tubes 12, the spacer members 14 also maintain lateral stability of the tubes whilst allowing vertical displacement. Each tube 12 is formed of heat welded sheet or extruded plastics material and the end of each tube is closed by heat welds 16 with an air pressure control valve 18 in the upper portion thereof. A series of independent, transversely extending mattress or body support members or slats 20 are fixed in closely spaced parallel relationship to the underside of a flexible foam or other sheet 22 by, for example, an adhesive or Velcro (RTM) material. Thus, although the sheet 22 is necessarily flexible, the slats 20 fixedly attached thereto, are held in parallel relationship and cannot turn or twist out of parallel. The end portions of the slats 20 lie on the spaced tubes 12, preferably with a vinyl wear strip 24 interposed therebetween. Conveniently the vinyl strips 24 may be attached by adhesive to the slats 20 after the latter have been fixed to the sheet 22. It will be appreciated that the showing of the slats 20 in the forward portion of Figure 1 have been omitted for the sake of clarity. The ends and sides of the assembly are formed respectively by elongated blocks of material 26 having a high impact load resistance i.e. they have a higher resistance to compressibility than the plastics foam material 22. Preferably the inner wall of the blocks 26 is bevelled as shown in Figure 1 to provide additional support for the tubes 12. The assembly is encapsulated in a cover 28 provided with an opening which extends along one side and both end blocks 26. It will be readily appreciated that the block 26 and cover 28 maintain the sheet 22 and attached slats 20 correctly positioned on the spaced tubes 12. The opening in the cover is closed by a sliding clasp fastener. As shown in Figure 2, each spacer member 14 comprises a single membrane 30 of sheet plastics material. The member 30 is of a length slightly greater than the overall spacing between the tubular bladders 12 and is provided with spaced apertures 32 whose axes correspond, with the respective axes of the tubes 12. The diameter of the apertures 32 is slightly less than the diameter of the tubes 12 to provide a gripping action when the spacer member is mounted thereon. The upper and lower edges of the membrane 30 are formed, respectively, with a chamber 34 each accommodating a rod 36 which extends from one end of the membrane 30 to the other. It will be readily appreciated that the spacer members 14 may take other forms. For example, it may be formed by an open-ended flattened tubular member of sheet plastics material with the rods 36 replaced by slats similar to the slats forming the support surface. With this arrangement, when positioned on the tubes 12, the spacer member cross-section is of rectangular configuration. The use of the members 14 as described above enables the tubes 12 to be maintained at the required spacing even though the members 14 are deformed vertically due to a load being applied on the slats 20 and, additionally, the rods 36 ensure lateral stability of the assembly. Any desired number of members 14 may be used but, in general, up to five or six single membrane units are sufficient to ensure lateral stability of the tubes 12 depending on the use and manufacturing design.

Claims: A support arrangement for body support appliances comprising a pair of flexible elongate tubes (12) forming air springs located in spaced parallel relationship by members (14) which effect the required spacing and impart lateral stability to said tubes (12) and a body support surface formed by a series of members (20) extending parallel to each other and transversely of said tubes (12), characterised in that said body support members (20) are fixedly attached to the underside of a sheet of flexible material (22) extending over the whole body support surface, the body support members (20) resting on the tubes (12) without any connection thereto. A support arrangement as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the tube spacing/stability members (14) extend parallel to the body support members (20) and each comprises a member (30) having spaced apertures (32) accommodating respectively, substantially without clearance, one of said tubes (12). A support arrangement as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that each tube spacing/stability member (14) comprises a single membrane (30) having rods (36) extending lengthwise, respectively, along its upper and lower portions. A support arrangement as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that each tube spacing/stability member (14) is tubular and has slats extending lengthwise, respectively, along its upper and lower portions so that, in use, the member (14) is of rectangular configuration. A support arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in the flexible material is foam material (22). A support arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that a strip of wear-resistant material (24) is interposed between said body support members (20) and said tubes. A support arrangement as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the ends and sides of the arrangement are provided with material (26) having a high impact load resistance which limits planar movement of the body support members (20) and flexible material (22) on the spaced tubes (12). A support arrangement as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the assembly is encapsulated in a cover (28) provided with an opening. A support arrangement as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the tubes (12) and spacer/stability members (14) are formed of plastics material.

Inventors: GRIFFIN, GORDON DOUGLAS
Applicants: GRIFFIN, GORDON DOUGLAS
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A47C23
IPC codes: A47C27, A47C23