Massaging mattresses or pillows

Abstract: A massaging mattress or pillow comprises a resilient or compressible interior 6 and a covering 5 thereover, and, between the resilient interior and the covering, an array of wooden beads 2 alternating with magnets 1. A cord interconnects the beads and magnets of the array to form a network layer which is adhered to the resilient interior 6 by a suitable glue 4. Each wooden bead has a curved surface such that, between them is held a certain amount of air, and the beads and magnets themselves also roll slightly, so as to have a feel like being massaged by a thousand hands. Additionally, owing to the effect of the magnetic field of the magnets, it is considered waist pain and back soreness will be relieved, blood circulation facilitated and metabolism promoted, weary muscles relaxed as well. The mattress can be used both in winter and summer, and can be convenient for storage and transport. Manufacturing processes and technique can be simple and thus manufacturing costs relatively low.

Description: The invention relates to personal and domestic articles, particularly to mattresses and pillows which have a massaging function. Prior art mattresses conventionally comprise a resilient interior of, for example, fibre, e.g. coconut fibre, foam, interior springing, with a cover thereover. Although this kind of mattress is generally comfortable for sleep, it has little or no therapeutic function, and tends to be uncomfortable in hot summer weather. Chinese Patent CN2032055U discloses a kind of magnetic-therapeutic spring mattress, in which there are provided magnetic therapeutic lumps with various field intensities arranged according to the degree of magnetic endurance of different parts of the human body. However the therapeutic function of the mattress described in Chinese Patent CN2032055U only affects a person's neck and waist, and no ventilation is provided, thus making the mattress unsuitable for use in hot summer weather. Another Chinese Patent CN2045599U discloses a mattress which has ventilation and cooling functions and CN2044145U discloses a mattress suitable for use in both summer and winter. Although both these kinds of mattresses are suitable for summer use, neither of them has any magnetic-therapeutic function and their structures are relatively complex. GB-A-2,224,434, the source of the preamble of claim 1, discloses a number of mattresses having arrays of beads designed to apply pressure to specific body points of a person lying on the mattress. In one embodiment, disk-shaped magnets are also incorporated into the mattress for the purpose of supplying theraputic magnetic fluxes. The disks are oriented with their flat surfaces parallel to the surface of the mattress and are positioned below the support surfaces of the beads; they play no part in supporting or massaging the body of the person lying on the mattress. According to the present invention, there is provided a mattress or pillow comprising a compressible interior and supported thereby an array of non-resilient beads of barrel shape and of magnets, characterised in that each magnet is of at least generally cylindrical shape. Conveniently the interior and array are overlain by a flexible covering (e.g. of gauze and/or cloth). The mattress or pillow according to the present invention can be of simple structure and has magnetic therapeutic and therapeutic massage functions. Also ventilation is preferably provided, making the mattress or pillow suitable and comfortable for use in summer. Preferably the compressible interior is in the form of a resilient interior. For example the resilient interior may be of a plastics foam material, a sprung interior or even a liquid-filled or gas-filled, e.g. air-filled, interior. Suitably the beads and magnets in the array are interconnected by one or more cords threaded therethrough to form an interconnected layer, which layer can be adhered to the compressible interior. The arrangement of the beads and magnets in the array, in particular the number of beads provided between magnets, is chosen according to the desired effect. The beads used are most suitably wooden beads although beads of plastics or other materials could be used. Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is sectional view of a mattress according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan of the array of wooden beads and magnets of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a mattress according to a second embodiment of the invention, in which the traditional combination of spring coil matrix and plastics foam are used as a resilient mattress interior; Figure 4 is a detailed drawing of a wooden bead used according to the present invention; Figure 5 is a detailed drawing of a magnet used according to the present invention; and Figure 6 is a sectional view of a pillow having a curved surface according to a third embodiment of the invention. With reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, the mattress comprises a resilient interior 6 and a covering 5, between which is an array of wooden beads 2 and magnets 1. The array of wooden beads 2 and magnets 1 is connected by cords 3 to form a network layer, which is adhered to the resilient interior 6 by means of glue 4. The resilient interior 6 can be entirely made of a sponge or of plastics foam 8, or of a combination of spring matrix 7, e.g. coil spring matrix, and plastics foam 8 as shown in Figure 3. Alternatively it is possible for the interior of the mattress to be in the form of an air-filled or liquid-filled inner mattress. As shown in Figure 4, the wooden beads are of substantially barrel shape, the maximum diameter and the axial length of the beads being approximately the same, typically approximately 16 mm. Each bead has an axially extending hole through its centre. The beads can be made of hard woods, such as maple wood, mulberry wood or northeast China ash wood. As shown in Figure 5, the magnets are of generally cylindrical form with bevelled ends with the cylinder diameter and axial length of the magnet being substantially the same, typically approximately 16 mm. Also each magnet has an axially extending hole through its centre. The magnet can be made of permanently magnetic ferrite, alnico, permanently magnetic rare-earths-cobalt or a processable permanent magnet and has a surface field-intensity of from 500 to 2,000 Gauss. The cord 3 can be of nylon, polyamide fibre, waxed cotton thread or silk thread. The glue 4 can suitably be a glue conventionally used for indoor decoration. With reference to Figure 6, there is shown a pillow comprising a resilient interior having a curved surface and an array of wooden beads 2 and magnets 1 such that two wooden beads may be set between two magnets. The pillow can include a covering (partially shown in dashed lines at 5) which can comprise a layer of gauze of relatively large mesh and a layer of cotton cloth wrapped over the gauze. In a mattress according to the invention, the array of wooden beads 2 and magnets 1, which array is near the surface layer of the mattress, is suitably such that there is provided one magnet every three to every five wooden beads apart, and that the distance between the magnets is from 7 to 12 cm. The magnets and the wooden beads are strung together by means of cords to form a large network whose dimensions meets the mattress standard, and which can bear 600 kg pressure without getting loose. Each wooden bead has a curved surface so that a certain amount of air is held in the crevices between them. When the mattress is pressed or moved slightly, air will flow through these crevices and the beads and magnets themselves will also roll slightly, so as to give anyone lying on the mattress the feeling of being massaged by hands. In addition to the massaging therapy function, the magnetic field of the magnets will also affect the body while the body touches the mattress so that waist pain and back soreness may be relieved and blood circulation facilitated and metabolism promoted, in this way to assist relaxation of weary muscles. Since wooden beads and magnets in the array have curved surfaces to permit air flow, the mattress according to the invention is not hot to lie on even in hot summer weather. Further the mattress is believed to have certain curing effects over rheumatism and skin diseases. Compared with various famous brand mattresses now available in the market, the mattress according to the present invention is not only an article for daily use but also provides medical treatment. Also, it can be used comfortably not only in autumn, winter and spring, but also in hot summer in places where no air conditioning is available, and is comfortable for all types of rest. Further the mattress according to the invention can be suitable for rolling into a bundle and to be tied up, or spread on an uneven surface without damaging its function. It is therefore convenient for storage or transport, can be nearly 3\4 lighter in weight than other products, and very suitable for travel purposes. Moreover, manufacturing processes and techniques required according to the invention may be simple, and thus manufacturing costs may be reduced. After being used by certain group of individuals including medical personnel, it was considered that the mattress and pillow according to the invention not only make sleeping comfortable and increase energy after the sleep, but also lower the blood pressure, release pain, diminish inflammation, quieten the nervous system, cure rheumatism and promote body health. Although the invention has been primarily described in relation to a mattress having a resilient interior, the invention may also be applied to pillows having resilient interiors or to pillows having interiors which, although compressible, may not be truly resilient, e.g. pillows filled with feathers or the like. Although the array of beads and magnets are primarily intended to be incorporated within a mattress or pillow at the manufacturing stage, it will be appreciated that a flexible array of linked together beads and magnets could be positioned on top of an existing mattress or pillow. In this event the array could be covered by a sheet or pillow case or the like. The array could be allowed to rest on top of the mattress or pillow or could be secured, e.g. tied, thereto.

Claims: A mattress or pillow comprising a compressible interior (6) and supported thereby an array of non-resilient beads (2) of barrel shape and of magnets (1), characterised in that each magnet (1) is of at least generally cylindrical shape. A mattress or pillow according to claim 1, characterised in that the magnets (1) are of permanently magnetic ferrite, alnico, permanently magnetic rare-earth-cobalt or processable permanent magnet material. A mattress or pillow according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the magnets (1) have a surface field-intensity from 500 to 2,000 Gauss. A mattress or pillow according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the beads (2) and magnets (1) in the array are interconnected by cord (3) to form a layer, which layer is adhered to the compressible interior (6). A mattress or pillow according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the maximum diameter of each bead (2) and the axial length of each bead are approximately the same, and each bead has an axially extending hole through its centre. A mattress or pillow according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the beads (2) are of wood, such as maple wood, mulberry wood or northeast China ash wood. A mattress or pillow according to any preceding claim, characterised in that each magnet (1) has an approximately equal diameter and axial length and has an axially extending hole through its centre. A mattress or pillow according to claim 4, characterised in that the cord (3) is of nylon, polyamide fibre, waxed cotton thread or silk thread. A mattress or pillow according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said compressible interior (6) is resilient. A mattress or pillow according to any preceding claim, characterised in that a flexible covering (5) is provided over the compressible interior (6) and array of beads (2) and magnets (1). A mattress according to any preceding claim, characterised in that in the array there is provided one magnet (1) every three to every five beads (2) and the distance between the magnets (1) is from a few to some dozen centimetres. A mattress according to any preceding claim, which comprises a resilient interior (6), characterised in that the interior (6) is a combination of a spring matrix (7) and foam (8). A pillow according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that it has a curved surface and two beads (2) are provided between each magnet (1) pair.

Inventors: CHAN HOI CHAU, CHAN, HOI CHAU
Applicants: CHAN HOI CHAU, CHAN, HOI CHAU
Application year: 1991
Main classification: A47C27
IPC codes: A61N2, A47C27