Abstract:
A cushion for an air/water bed and the like includes several cushion segments. Pipes extend between the cushion segments and are inflated with a fluid from a reservoir. Interconnecting tubes provided fluid from a reservoir and allow the fluid to flow from one segment to another as a user is moving or shifting his body across the segments.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 62/281,034 filed Jan. 20, 2016 and incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A. Field of Invention 
       [0002]    A body support assembly such as a cushion for air/water bed, chairs and the like includes a plurality of pipes or conduits made of a flexible material and selectively coupled to a fluid source. The cushion is partitioned into several segments and each segment includes several elements such as pipes, hoses or conduits (herein after “pipes”) arranged so that as a user moves or turns on the cushion, the fluid flows between the pipes of different segments. 
       B. Description of the Prior Art 
       [0003]      FIG. 1  shows a side sectional view of a conventional bed  10  containing fluid (including either a gas, such as air, or a liquid, such as water)  11 . A user  12  is lying on top of the bed  10 . The arrows depicted in  FIG. 1  indicate the forces or pressure exerted on the inside walls of bed  10  by the fluid  11 . According to the laws of fluid dynamics, the forces applied to the inside walls are equal. Therefore, this type of bed has some significant drawbacks. For example, when any portion of the outside surface has an additional force exerted on it, such as when the user turns over from one side to another, the applied pressure propagates throughout the rest of the fluid, causing the other parts of the bed to bulge. This bulging will inevitably lead to sagging and deformation of the surface of the bed, leading to increased discomfort for the user. This is a problem well known in the art. In the article “Firm Mattress News” from the March 2004 issue of Reader&#39;s Digest, the author wrote “For years, we&#39;ve heard that firmer is better when it comes to the surface to sleep on. But a recent study found that people who slept on medium firm mattresses had fewer backaches than people who slept on a firm one. It should hug your body without sagging at all. It&#39;s too firm if there are gaps between any part of your body and the mattress. It&#39;s too soft if it sags, or if a second person in the bed causes you to dip toward the center.” The present invention solves the problems associated with existing waterbeds and more particularly, it solves the problem caused by the is uneven pressures developed in the fluid within a bed caused by the spontaneous movements of a person during sleeping. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    A cushion for a bed or the like (e.g. a mattress) includes a flat surface and a plurality of pipes. Fluid from a reservoir is provided through said pipes and the pipes are arranged so that fluid can flow between the pipes and the reservoir. 
         [0005]    Valves are provided to regulate the fluid flow to and from the pipes and a controller may be used to selectively control the operation of the valves. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a side sectional view of a conventional fluid bed; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a side sectional view of the present cushion partitioned into one or more compartments; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3A  shows a perspective view of a bed or other similar furniture including a cushion constructed in accordance with this invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3B  shows an enlarged perspective view of the holder of  FIG. 3A ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3C  shows a perspective view of the holder used in the bed of  FIG. 3A ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4A ,  FIG. 4B ,  FIG. 4C , and  FIG. 4D  show different embodiments of the protruded tubes; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the cushion of  FIGS. 2, 3A-3C  with the compartments being attached to various pipes for inflation; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a system controlling the movement of fluid within the bed; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  depict perspective views of the lower and upper sections of an alternative compartment. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B  depict alternative methods of connecting the tubes in each compartment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  shows a user  12  lying on the fluid bed  10 . As long as he does not move, pressures within fluid  11  of the bed are equalized.  FIG. 2  shows a sectional side of a cushion  20 , constructed in accordance with the invention, which eliminates the above mentioned drawbacks. The cushion or bed  20  is comprised of internal segregated compartments  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27  (See also  FIG. 5 ). Each compartment includes one or more protruded tubes  21  (hereinafter, simply “tubes”), which have the appearance of inverted test tubes. The tubes  21  are made of an elastic, squeezable material but not very stretchable, such as synthetic rubber. Each tube  21  is directly connected to a respective fluid reservoir,  22   r,    23   r,    24   r,    25   r ,  26   r,    27   r,  disposed under the tubes. Therefore, ‘directly connected’ here implies that the inverted tubes are nothing but upwardly bulging parts or extensions of the reservoirs  22   r .  . . , so that the fluid contained in the reservoirs can move freely into and out of the tubes. 
         [0017]    Another component shown here are tube holders  22   h,    23   h,    24   h,    25   h,    26   h ,  27   h,  that enforce the tubes and keep them vertical. (In the drawings, the letters h, p, t and r refer to a respective holder, tube, pipe and reservoir). These components are discussed in more detail below. 
         [0018]      FIGS. 3A-3C  show perspective views of compartment  23 , for an example, one of the various compartments of the bed  20  (See also  FIG. 5 ). The compartment  23  includes an upper hose  23   h defining a plurality of hollow cylindrical tubes  23   t . Preferably, the tubes  23   t  are arranged in a two dimensional array or matrix, although they can be arranged in other configurations as well. Note that the respective reservoir  23   r  positioned directly beneath has t the same array of tubes  23   t,  because the tube holder  23   h  should be positioned so that the tubes  23   t  can pass through the holder  23   h.  The magnified view shown in  FIG. 3B  illustrates diagrammatically a tube  23   t  passing through and being supported by a respective holder  23   h.  Each tube  23   t  has a top portion  23   t -top that extends initially above the respective tube holder  23   t,  and a pipe  23   p  is attached to the respective fluid reservoir  23   r  of this compartment  23 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 4A  shows a perspective view of the top portion of the tubes  21  (Refer to  FIG. 2 ), such as  23   t -top, which is protruded above the surface of tube holder discussed above. In  FIG. 4A  tube  21  is illustrated in its uncompressed state, and in  FIG. 4B  the tube  21  is shown compressed by a downward force F causing its top  21   t -top to collapse.  FIG. 4C  and  FIG. 4D  show other possible shapes of tops of tubes  21 . One may prefer to use tubes as depicted in  FIG. 4B , having a conical top with an increased bottom area that may result in a more stable and resilient configuration. Similarly, one may prefer tubes show in  FIG. 4D , as this tube shape would result in smaller gaps between the topmost surfaces of the tubes. It should be noted that regardless of the tube shapes, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) may be the preferred material for the tubes  21 , but other elastic materials may also be suitable. Whatever used, however, different materials may be used for different pipes and their reservoirs, or even some pipes may be made of a different material then reservoir connected thereto. In any event, the reservoirs could be made with respective circular openings on their tops, so that the respective tubes could be attached to the reservoirs by using an appropriate adhesive. 
         [0020]      FIG. 5  shows a top view of a cushion or bed  20  made in accordance with this invention. Each compartment  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  26 ,  27  is partitioned from the others, and designed to accommodate a different portion of the user&#39;s body. The various tubes  21  arranged in different patterns in this figure discussed above.  FIG. 5  further illustrates diagrammatically that the reservoirs  22   r .  . . are coupled by a plurality of connecting pipes  22   p,    23   p,    24   p,    25   p,    26   p,    27   p,  and a main fluid reservoir  30 . These connecting pipes  22   p .  . . can provide fluid selectively from the main fluid reservoir  30  to the compartments  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  26 ,  27 , and vice versa. 
         [0021]      FIG. 6  shows diagrammatically the pipes  23   p,    24   p,    26   p,    26   p,    27   p  and the main fluid reservoir  30 , as well as a fluid controller  31  and a composite valve  32 . Repeatedly, the valve mechanism  32  enables fluid to travel between the main fluid reservoir  30  and the compartments  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27 . The composite valve  32  is selectively opened or closed by the controller  31  to allow fluid to flow between the various compartments and the main reservoir  30 . An optional port  33  is provided as a means of injecting more fluid into the main reservoir  30 , or if necessary, to remove fluid from the reservoir. 
         [0022]    The function of the controller  31  is to open and close the composite valve  32  and thereby equalize the fluid pressure in all the compartments. This can be done, for example, in response to a command from a person (the user, or somebody else) and or at periodic, programmed intervals (for example, every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc). These intervals can be adjusted according the preferences of the user. In the closed position, the valve  32  prevents the flow of fluid between the compartments  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27  and the main reservoir  30 . In an alternate embodiment, the valve  32  is configured to open and close only some, not all of the compartments. 
         [0023]      FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  show perspective views of the tubes and the lower and upper parts, respectively, of a compartment when disjointed. In these alternative embodiments may be preferred for relatively smaller cushions, such as insole, sofa, chair or car driver&#39;s extra layer seat, rather than bulky sleeping beds. It is also noteworthy for manufacturers to observe that this embodiment may not need the respective individual tube holders  22   h,    23   h,    24   h,    25   h,    26   h,    27   h,  and/or respective reservoirs  22   r,    23   r,    24   r,    25   r,    26   r,    27   r  (but the main reservoir  30  is still necessary), because the respective reservoirs make the cushions more thicker and voluminous. 
         [0024]    Returning to  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B , these figures represent a compartment composed of tubes  21 , in a rectangular 4×5 arrangement. This is the arrangement found also in compartment  22  of  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 7A , showing the bottom part of a compartment having a base  42 , and a plurality of indentations  44 , each of which corresponds to the location of each tube  21 . The indentations are connected to one another by canals  45  allowing the fluid to and from the main reservoir  30  to the pipes  21  through a pipe  22   p  when the top and bottom parts of the compartment are joined. The top part of the compartment, represented by  FIG. 7B , is comprised of panel  41  containing a collection of tubes  21  arranged in the same matrix as the one in  FIG. 7A . The top and bottom part of the compartment are to be connected to one another using adhesive glues or by some other adhering method. The bottom section of the compartment may also have an additional segment  42  (depicted in  FIG. 7A ) to act as a shock absorber. This segment  42  may be made of a material that is more or less firm that the material comprising the pipes  21 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B  demonstrate an alternate method of connecting the tubes. More specifically,  FIG. 8A  shows a method of connecting the tubes by grouping them horizontally or vertically, with a single canal connecting all of the tubes of a given horizontal or vertical row to the main reservoir  30 .  FIG. 8B , on the other hand, shows an embodiment of the invention in which each tube is individually connected to the main reservoir  30  through a separate and distinct canal and a respective pipe. These alternative embodiments may be preferred for relatively smaller cushions, such as insole, sofa, chair or car seat, because they have not, most of all, a bulky or costly construction. In addition, for this embodiment, a controller  31  may be unnecessary, as it may be possible to operate the valves by hand when needed. 
         [0026]    Numerous modifications may be made to this invention as defined the appended claims.