Abstract:
The invention is an inflatable, wedge-shaped incline mattress that uses internal air baffles to present an inclined sleep surface of uniforms gradient to help relieve Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to inflatable mattresses, more specifically inclined mattresses having internal air baffles and supports and the construction of the same. 
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     GERD, or Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disease, is a backflow of acid and undigested material from the stomach into the swallowing tube or esophagus. In most patients this is due to a transient relaxation of the “gate” or lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that keeps the lower end of the esophagus closed when a person is not swallowing food or liquids. The esophagus is not able to cope with acid as well as the stomach and is easily injured. This acid can irritate and sometimes damage the lining on the inside of the esophagus. In some cases, untreated GERD can facilitate the occurrence of Esophageal Cancer. 
     GERD has a pronounced recurrent character and it generates symptoms such as heartburn, throat inflammation and soreness, difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing. Obviously, anything that puts pressure on the abdomen, such as tight belts or girdles, can worsen the problem and GERD can be aggravated by a number of factors, including alcohol, tobacco, medications containing aspirin, obesity and stress. When a person lies down to sleep or in particular lies down right after eating, it is easier for food and acid to come back into the esophagus and throat. 
     Chronic laryngitis, hoarseness, sleep apnea, laryngospasm, wheezing, chronic cough, frequent throat clearing, and snoring are all likely to occur if a person suffers from night-time reflux (GERD), labeled more accurately as Sleep-time Reflux. When lying flat on the back, the stomach is above the esophagus, which, as a result, allows acidic stomach contents to flow more easily through a weakened LES into the esophagus and on to the pharynx where it may also follow a path of least resistance to the trachea and sinus cavities. The end result is some or all of the above mentioned symptoms of GERD. 
     According to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services (National Institutes of Health, NIH Publication #94-1447), 1 in 33 or 3.00% or 8.2 million people in the United States alone suffer from Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and 60% of babies born every year in the United States are born with GERD. The most common immediate recommendation by doctors in the U.S. for adults with GERD is to elevate the head of the bed 6 to 8 inches. 
     The most common recommendation by pediatricians to parents with newborns suffering from GERD is to keep the infant in an upright sitting position at all times—including sleep time. This often means that these newborns spend almost all of their time being held by an adult or in a car seat or carrier because of the incline position of these devices. Adults also attempt to combat GERD by stacking pillows under their heads and upper bodies or by using a short, shoulder supporting foam wedge under these same areas. But this propping does not work because the feet are still not lower than the stomach and GERD symptoms can be worse when the body bends at the waist. With these approaches, the stomach contents can be trapped above the LES and the symptoms continue or worsen. Also, in the propped up from the waist position, the person may only sleep in one position—on the back—and the short wedge or the mountain of pillows must be stored during the day as the bed cannot be made with them in place. 
     Most or all relevant devices are ineffective primarily because they only serve to elevate the head while not lowering the feet relative to the stomach, and/or limit sleeping to only the back position throughout the sleeping period. It is desirable to have an inflatable incline mattress that is inexpensive, portable, allows the bed to be made as it remains in place, or, alternatively, easily stored and even transported for use elsewhere. Further it is beneficial for individuals to sleep in many positions, and effectively relive GERD by elevating the head without causing the user&#39;s body to bend at the waist. It was for this reason that the present inventor, Minson, filed for and obtained U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,185 directed to such an inflatable, inclined air mattress. 
     Because the relative body elevations are critical to combating GERDS using such a mattress, prior internal air bladder and air baffle designs proved inadequate. Providing an inclined sleep surface without bulges or voids proved important to avoiding dips in the mattress in the area of the user&#39;s hips. If the user&#39;s hips sink into the mattress, as can happen with larger users or when some of the air leaks out of the mattress, then the user can bend at the waist while sleeping. Accordingly, a new air baffle and support design was needed to combat this problem, even when the inclined mattress is accommodating two users in the same bed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inflatable incline mattress having internal air bladder and air baffle configuration design to provide a uniform inclined sleeping surface. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an air mattress design to maximize its durability and ability to hold air and maintain its form. 
     In satisfaction of these and related objects, the present invention is an inflatable incline mattress that is inexpensive, portable, easily inflated or deflated, allows for sleep in many positions, and effectively relives GERD in adults or infants. The subject invention, however, in other embodiments, need not achieve all these objectives and the claims hereof should not be limited to structures or methods capable of achieving these objectives. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  shows a side view of an inflated king size (78 inches wide by 80 inches tall) version of the present invention in a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a superior view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 2  illustrates the construction and placement of the air baffles within the mattress of the present invention in hidden line. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2  showing the construction and placement of the longitudinally-extending internal air baffles within the mattress of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5   a  is a frontal view of one variant of a horizontally-extending air baffle of a preferred embodiment of the invention and  FIG. 5   b  is a frontal view of a second variant of a horizontally-extending air baffle of a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a representational view of the air flow within king-sized variant of a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. If only one embodiment is described herein, the claims hereof are not to be limited to that embodiment. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover, the claims hereof are not to be read restrictively unless there is clear and convincing evidence manifesting a certain exclusion, restriction, or disclaimer. 
     In the preferred embodiment of the invention, inclined mattress  10  is sized to coordinate with standard bed sizes. For example, in order to maximize the ability to use existing sheets, blankets and bed covers, the inclined mattress of the present invention will be provided in at least king, queen, double, twin, and infant crib sizes. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the mattress at the top or head of the mattress adjacent the top seam  15  is much thicker in cross section than at the opposite end of the mattress, commonly called the bottom or foot of the mattress, adjacent the bottom seam  16 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the inclined mattress  10  is about 10 inches in height from the bottom surface  12  to the top surface  11  (in the area adjacent top seam  15 ), and about 3 inches in height measuring from the bottom surface  12  to the top surface  11  at the foot bottom edge) (foot or bottom of the mattress). These dimensions provide for an optimal uniform gradient of about 30 degrees from top to bottom. For a king sized mattress, the mattress  10  is about 78 inches from side to side and about 80 inches from head to foot. 
     The height of the mattress of the preferred embodiment thus varies by about 7 inches in total height differential from head to foot, providing a substantially uniform gradient from the foot of the mattress to the head of the mattress. Of course, in much smaller mattresses, such as those found in baby cribs, the difference in thickness is much less given the smaller size of the crib mattress. This incline lowers the feet, but raises the head, relative to the stomach of a person laying on the mattress (a loaded condition), and uses gravity to help keep the contents of the stomach moving in a normal downward direction without causing the body to bend at the waist. Ideally, the incline gradient should be such that the sleeper&#39;s head (not shown) is elevated between about 5 or 6 inches, and the sleeper&#39;s stomach (not shown) is elevated above the user&#39;s feet and below the upper body. The resultant configuration is an elongated wedge shape. 
     In the preferred embodiment of the invention, an electric, motor-driven, two-way, air in/air out pump (not shown) can be housed within the mattress  10  in side wall  13  of mattress  10 , or attached to an air inlet/outlet plug  20  in that same area of the mattress. That pump can be battery powered or plug into a standard building power supply. The pump can be used to force air into mattress  10  or to remove air from that mattress to facilitate rapid deflation. 
     The body (chamber) of the inclined sleep surface air mattress  10  of the present invention is constructed of, for example, fabric laminated poly-vinyl chloride (PVC). As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , mattress  10  is constructed of four separate panels, top  11 , bottom  12 , right side panel  13  (in which the air inlet/outlet port  20  is installed), and left-side panel  14 . In the presently preferred embodiment, each of these four panels are constructed of fabric laminated PVC. The top panel  11  and the bottom panel  12  are fasten together at the top seam  15  and bottom seam  16  to create an open loop shape using known connection methods. In the preferred embodiment, these connections are made by sonic weld. Similarly, side panels  13  and  14  are connected to top panel  11  and bottom panel  12  to enclose an internal volume in mattress  10  into which air can be inserted to inflate the mattress or removed to deflate that mattress. Sonic welding is the preferred connection method for each of these connections. 
     Turning to the internal construction of the preferred embodiment of mattress  10 , four longitudinally-extending air baffles  17   a  through  17   d  are used to divide mattress  10  interior into 6 longitudinally-extending air channels  30 ,  31 ,  32   a - c  and  33 , two horizontally-extending air channels  34  and  35 , which serve as air headers at the top and bottom of the mattress, as best shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 . In the king-sized mattress of the preferred embodiment, all four of these longitudinally-extending air baffles extend to within approximately 3 inches of the bottom weld  16  between the upper panel  11  and lower panel  12  and to within approximately 10 inches of the top weld  15  between those same two panels. Each of these longitudinally-extending air baffles are preferably constructed of a pliable PVC material which is sonically welded to both the top panel  11  and the bottom panel  12  so as to form a barrier to the horizontal movement of air within mattress  10  except through in the areas adjacent the top-most and bottom-most portions of mattress  10  near top seam  15  and bottom seam  16 . With longitudinal baffles  17   a  through  17   d  in place, air entering mattress  10  will be directed towards the top and bottom portions of mattress  10 , with those portions of mattress  10  serving as headers for distributing air throughout the remaining parts of mattress  10 . The route taken by the incoming air is shown best in  FIG. 6 . 
     Horizontally-extending air baffles are also employed in the mattress of the preferred embodiment. As shown in hidden line in  FIG. 2  and in cross-section in  FIG. 4 , a plurality of horizontally-extending air baffles are employed to create two separate horizontally-extending zones of sleep support in the case of a king-size mattress. As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the king-sized bed depicted employs approximately 40 air baffles  18   a  through  18   an . In the preferred embodiment of the king-sized mattress, these air baffles divide the bed into two sets of 21 horizontally-extending support zones. These horizontally-extending baffles are placed approximately 3 to 4 inches apart and each one is sonically welded to both the top panel  11  and the bottom panel  12 . The distal ends of each horizontal air baffle  18   a  through  18   t  of the preferred embodiment of the present invention extend to within approximately one half an inch of the most adjacent pair of longitudinally-extending air baffles, air baffles  17   a  and  17   b  with the other set of horizontally-extending air baffles  18   u  through  18   an  sharing the same spacing with longitudinally-extending air baffles  17   c  and  17   d . This air baffle placement is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     Along with longitudinally extending air baffles  17   a - 17   d , horizontal air baffles  18   a - 18   t  and  18   u - 18   an  create support for the inclined sleep surface formed by top panel  11  and restrict movement of air within the mattress in order to maintain a uniform gradient inclined sleep surface. As noted above, to effectively combat GERDS, the user&#39;s head should be at an elevation higher than the stomach, and the stomach should be at a higher elevation that the feet. The optimal incline of the preferred embodiment is 30 degrees from the horizon. Because it is important to avoid bending at the user&#39;s waist, the maintenance of a uniform gradient is important. The present invention seeks to maintain the uniformity of that gradient when the mattress is in use by restricting the movement of air within the mattress. 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b , each of the horizontally-extending air baffles are solid PVC panels. As shown in  FIG. 5   a , half of the horizontally-extending air baffles, for example air baffle  18   a  shown, has one central opening  36   a  through which air can move. Horizontally-extending air baffle  18   u  includes a single centrally-located opening  36   b . As shown in  FIG. 5   b , the other half of the horizontally-extending air baffles, for example air baffle  18   b  shown in hidden lines in  FIG. 3  and in  FIG. 5   b , have two spaced openings,  37   a  and  37   b , through which air can move. It is through these openings, as well as the approximately one-half inch wide air channels created by the placement of the horizontally-extending air baffles  18   a - 18   an  relative to the longitudinally-extending air baffles  17   a ,  17   b ,  17   c  and  17   d , that air can pass to facilitate inflation and deflation of mattress  10 . The air movement that occurs within mattress  10  during inflation is depicted in  FIG. 6  (with inflation air circulation depicted by arrows). 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate how the two types of horizontally-extending air baffles are alternately employed in the preferred embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 3 , horizontally-extending air baffles  18   a  and  18   u  are shown in place within mattress  10 . These two air baffles include centrally-located air passages  36   a  and  36   b , respectively. Shown behind, in hidden lines, are the air passages  37   a - 37   d , of the next horizontally-extending air baffles,  18   b  and  18   v , respectively. The alternate arrangement of horizontally-extending air baffles is also shown in  FIG. 4 . Given the inclined sleep surface of the invention, the horizontally-extending air baffles vary in height, with the shortest baffles  18   t  and  18   an  being placed closest to the bottom of the bed and the tallest baffles  18   a  and  18   u  being placed closest to the top of the bed. The changing height of the air baffles is shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The provision of multiple horizontally-extending air baffles  18   a - 18   t  and  18   u - 18   an  and the restrictions to air flow within mattress  10  contribute to ensuring the desired uniform gradient of the sleep surface. The movement of air from a support zone under greater pressure from the user results in the movement of air from the area under the user&#39;s greatest weight causing higher pressure in the immediate sleep support zone, along with tension on the horizontally-extending air baffles most adjacent the area where the user&#39;s weight causes the most displacement. Although each horizontally-extending air baffle increases production costs and product weight, these air baffles are placed approximately 3 to 4 inches apart in the preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to support the user&#39;s body (not shown) and minimizing bulges and depressions in mattress  10  which can cause the user&#39;s body to bend at the waist. In the king-sized version of the preferred embodiment, this spacing results in the use of 20 horizontally extending air baffles on each side of the king-sized bed. Of course, beds of other sizes have differing dimensions, with smaller beds, such as twin-sized beds, having only a single sleep support zone. 
     Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limited sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the inventions will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon the reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention. 
     Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having”, and “with” as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments. Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims. 
     In addition, any amendment presented during the prosecution of the patent application for this patent is not a disclaimer of any claim element presented in the application as filed: those skilled in the art cannot reasonably be expected to draft a claim that would literally encompass all possible equivalents, many equivalents will be unforeseeable at the time of the amendment and are beyond a fair interpretation of what is to be surrendered (if anything), the rationale underlying the amendment may bear no more than a tangential relation to many equivalents, and/or there are many other reasons the applicant cannot be expected to describe certain insubstantial substitutes for any claim element amended.