Patent Publication Number: US-2023132601-A1

Title: Side-embossed inflatable product

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This Application claims priority from Chinese Application CN 202122622919.2, filed Oct. 29, 2021 in China, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Apparatuses and methods consistent with example embodiments relate to a side-embossed inflatable product. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     An inflatable product, such as an inflatable bed and an inflatable sofa, has overcome the defect of bulkiness of traditional furniture, may be freely placed indoors and outdoors, and is popular to consumers due to its firmness in support, softness in bearing and convenience in storage. 
     Generally, the surface, which is in contact with a human body, of the inflatable product such as the inflatable bed and the inflatable sofa may be embossed to form patterns, such that the surface of the inflatable product is more aesthetic and comfortable. The side surfaces of some inflatable products may also be embossed. In an existing design, a side-embossed inflatable bed, as shown in  FIG.  1   , is provided with an outer confining sheet  4 , and an inflatable chamber of the inflatable bed is internally provided with a first inner confining sheet  5  and a second inner confining sheet  6 , where the second inner confining sheet  6  is located between the first inner confining sheet  5  and the outer confining sheet  4 ; and a middle portion of the second inner confining sheet  6  is connected to a middle portion of the first inner confining sheet  5 , and an upper portion and a lower portion of the second inner confining sheet  6  are respectively connected to the outer confining sheet  4  and are embossed. According to the process of side embossment, the first inner confining sheet  5  and the second inner confining sheet  6  need to be connected in the inflatable chamber, and therefore, the manufacturing process is complex, the processing difficulty is great, and the production cost is high. 
     SUMMARY 
     Example embodiments may address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, example embodiments are not required to overcome the disadvantages described above, and may not overcome any of the problems described above. 
     According to an aspect of an example embodiment, an inflatable product comprises: a top sheet, a bottom sheet, and a lateral confining sheet comprising an upper edge connected to a peripheral edge of the top sheet and a lower edge connected to a peripheral edge of the bottom sheet, such that an inflatable chamber is defined between the top sheet and the bottom sheet; an internal connecting sheet disposed in the inflatable chamber, the internal connecting sheet comprising: an upper edge connected to the top sheet, a lower edge connected to the bottom sheet, and a connecting part, located between the upper edge and the lower edge of the internal connecting sheet; and at least one welding seam connecting the connecting part of the internal connecting sheet to the lateral confining sheet. 
     The upper edge of the internal connecting sheet may be connected to a portion of the top sheet inside the peripheral edge of the top sheet, and the lower edge of the internal connecting sheet may be connected to a portion of the bottom sheet inside the peripheral edge of the bottom sheet. 
     The internal connecting sheet may be a closed annular sheet. 
     The internal connecting sheet may comprise a plurality of mutually independent internal connecting sheet sections. 
     The inflatable product may further comprise a plurality of notches are formed in the internal connecting sheet. 
     The internal connecting sheet may comprise a plurality of corner portions, and a notch located at each of the plurality of corner portions. 
     The at least one welding seam may have a shape of one of a wavy line, a “Z” shape, a “W” shape, lattice circles, intersecting circles, intersecting arcs, and a rhomboid. 
     The inflatable product may further comprise a tensioning member disposed in the inflatable chamber and connecting the top sheet to the bottom sheet, wherein the tensioning member comprises one of a Y-shaped tensioning member, an X-shaped tensioning member, a straight tensioning member, a columnar tensioning member, and a tensioning member with circular apertures therein. 
     According to an aspect of another example embodiment, an inflatable product comprises: a top sheet, a bottom sheet, and a lateral confining sheet having an annular shape and comprising an upper edge connected to a peripheral edge of the top sheet and a lower edge connected to a peripheral edge of the bottom sheet, such that an inflatable chamber is defined between the top sheet and the bottom sheet and bounded by the lateral confining sheet; at least one internal connecting sheet comprising: an upper edge connected to the top sheet along an upper welding seam substantially parallel to the peripheral edge of the top sheet, a lower edge connected to the bottom sheet along a lower welding seam substantially parallel to the peripheral edge of the bottom sheet, and a connecting part connected to the lateral confining sheet along at least one lateral welding seam. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of example embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a side section of an inflatable product according to related art; 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of an inflatable product according to an example embodiment; 
         FIG.  3    is an enlarged schematic diagram of part A of  FIG.  2   ; 
         FIG.  4    is an exploded schematic diagram of the inflatable product as shown in  FIG.  2   ; 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic diagram of an inflatable product according to another example embodiment; 
         FIG.  6    is an exploded schematic diagram of the inflatable product as shown in  FIG.  5   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the example embodiments may have different forms and may not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. 
     It will be understood that the terms “include,” “including”, “comprise, and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     It will be further understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections may not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. 
     As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. 
     Various terms are used to refer to particular system components. Different companies may refer to a component by different names—this document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. 
     Matters of these example embodiments that are obvious to those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which these example embodiments pertain may not be described here in detail. 
     As would be understood by one of skill in the art, any of the various example features and aspects of example embodiments shown and described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings may be combined with the features and/or aspects of any other of the example embodiments. 
       FIG.  2    to  FIG.  4    illustrate an inflatable bed  100 , according to an example embodiment. The inflatable bed  100  is provided with side embossment. As shown in the exploded schematic diagram of  FIG.  4   , the inflatable bed  100  may include at least a top sheet  101 , a bottom sheet  102 , and a lateral confining sheet  103 , where an edge  1011  of the top sheet  101  (e.g. an outer circumferential edge) is connected to an upper edge  1031  of the lateral confining sheet  103 , and an edge  1021  of the bottom sheet  102  (e.g. an outer circumferential edge) is connected to a lower edge  1032  of the lateral confining sheet  103 , forming an inflatable chamber  110  therewithin. The lateral confining sheet may have a closed annular shape which may have a substantially circular cross-section, or may be a substantially square annulus, a substantially rectangular annulus, or may have another annular shape, as would be understood by one of skill in the art 
     The inflatable bed  100  further includes an internal connecting sheet  120  located in the inflatable chamber  110 . The internal connecting sheet  120  is has an upper edge  1201  connected to the top sheet  101 , a lower edge  1202  connected to the bottom sheet  102 , and a connecting part  1203  located between the upper edge  1201  and the lower edge  1202 . The connecting part  1203  is connected to the lateral confining sheet  103  via at least one welding seam R, and the at least one welding seam R may form one or more side embossments of the inflatable bed  100 . 
     Specifically, the upper edge  1201  of the internal connecting sheet  120  is connected to the top sheet  101  inside the edge  1011  of the top sheet  101 . For example, the upper edge  1201  of the internal connecting sheet  120  may be connected to the top sheet  101  by a welding seam P. The lower edge  1202  of the internal connecting sheet  120  is connected to the bottom sheet  102  inside the edge  1021  of the top sheet  101 . For example, the lower edge  1202  of the internal connecting sheet  120  may be connected to the bottom sheet  102  by a welding seam Q. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , the internal connecting sheet  120  may be connected to the lateral confining sheet  103  by one or more welding seams R. An area of the internal confining sheet above the welding seam(s) R is a first portion  121 , which includes the upper edge  1201  of the internal confining sheet which is connected to the top sheet  101 . An area of the internal confining sheet below the welding seam(s) R is a second portion  122 , which includes the lower edge  1202  of the internal confining sheet which is connected to the bottom sheet  102 . The first portion  121  is an upper oblique tensioning sheet connecting the top sheet  101  to the lateral confining sheet  103  in the inflatable chamber  110 , and the second portion  122  is a lower oblique tensioning sheet connecting the bottom sheet  102  to the lateral confining sheet  103 . The upper oblique tensioning sheet and the lower oblique tensioning sheet each serve as an internal tensioning member for shaping the inflatable chamber  110 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  4   , the internal connecting sheet  120  may be a closed annular sheet. The closed annular sheet may have a substantially circular cross-section, or may be a substantially square annulus, a substantially rectangular annulus, or may have another annular shape, as would be understood by one of skill in the art. According to an example aspect, the first portion  121  and the second portion  122  of the internal connecting sheet  120  may have different heights; in other words, a distance between the one or more welding seam(s) and the upper edge  1201  may be different than a distance between the one or more welding seam(s) and the lower edge  1202 . Likewise, according to an example aspect, a length of the first portion  121  and a length of the second portion  122  may differ; in other words, there may be an upper welding seam R, defining a lower edge of the first portion  121  and a second welding seam R defining an upper edge of the second portion, and the lengths of the upper welding seam R and the lower welding seam R may differ. According to another example aspect, the heights of the first portion  121  and the second portion  122  may each vary; in other words, the one or more welding seams R defining the lower edge of the first portion  121  and the upper edge of the second portion  122  may be wavy (as shown in  FIG.  4   ) or zig-zag, or may otherwise define varying distances from the upper edge  1201  and the lower edge  1202  along the length of the welding seam(s). Further optionally, the inclination angle of the upper oblique tensioning sheet relative to the top sheet  101  can be the same as or different from the inclination angle of the lower oblique tensioning sheet relative to the bottom sheet  102 . 
     With further reference to  FIG.  2    to  FIG.  4   , the welding seam R transversely extends through at least a distance of greater than half a transverse length of the internal connecting sheet  120 . That is, along a circumference of the lateral confining sheet  103 , the internal connecting sheet  120  is connected to the lateral confining sheet  103  along a distance of greater than half of the length or along an entire length of the internal connecting sheet  120 . Accordingly, the internal connecting sheet  120  is connected to the lateral confining sheet  103 , and may form both the side embossment and the internal tensioning member. 
     According to one or more example embodiments, the internal connecting sheet  120  which is a closed annular sheet is not only compatible for use in a rectangular or square inflatable bed, but also compatible for use in a circular or otherwise rounded inflatable bed. For an inflatable bed with corners, for example, a rectangular inflatable bed or a square inflatable bed, as shown in  FIG.  4   , notches  123  may be formed in the internal connecting sheet  120  which is configured to be a closed annular sheet, such that the internal connecting sheet  120  and the lateral confining sheet  103  fit better in a welding process, thereby providing a better aesthetic, and also reducing a weight of the inflatable product. For an inflatable bed with corners, the internal connecting sheet  120  may be correspondingly provided with corner portions, and the notches  123  may be located at the corner portions of the internal connecting sheet  120 . For example, the notches  123  may be formed in two corner portions in a diagonal relationship, or the notches  123  may be formed in all corner portions of the internal connecting sheet  120 . It should be noted that for the internal connecting sheet  120  which is configured to be a closed annular sheet, the notches  123  may be formed without splitting the internal connecting sheet  120 . For a circular inflatable bed, the notches may be formed in the internal connecting sheet  120  at intervals, or the internal connecting sheet  120  may be an annular sheet without notches. 
     For a closed annular internal connecting sheet  120 , the internal connecting sheet of the inflatable product may be selectively welded with the lateral confining sheet, and the welding may form embossment on part of a side surface of the inflatable product. According to an example aspect, the welding of the internal connecting sheet with the lateral confining sheet may be only in a substantially horizontal direction of the inflatable bed, and not in a substantially vertical direction thereof. Alternately, the welding may be in any direction. 
     An inflatable bed  200  according to another example embodiment is shown in  FIG.  5    and  FIG.  6   , and a difference between the inflatable bed  200  and the inflatable bed  100  shown in  FIG.  2    to  FIG.  4    may be the structures of the internal connecting sheets  220 . According to this example embodiment, multiple mutually independent internal connecting sheets  220  are provided. Accordingly, in this example embodiment, the welding seams between the internal connecting sheets  220  and the top sheet are discontinuous welding seams S, and welding seams between the internal connecting sheets  220  and the bottom sheet are discontinuous welding seams T. 
     Taking a rectangular inflatable bed as an example, a lateral confining sheet of the inflatable bed forms a plurality of side surfaces of the inflatable product, and four side surfaces are shown in  FIG.  6   . In this example embodiment, the multiple internal connecting sheets  220 , which are each independent of each other, may comprise a plurality of disconnected sheets in a number corresponding to a number of the side surfaces of the inflatable bed. Accordingly, in the example embodiment shown in  FIGS.  5 , and  6   , there are four internal connecting sheets  220 , comprising four disconnected sheets  221 . The dimensions of each of the four disconnected sheets  221  may be the same as the dimensions of the respectively corresponding side surfaces or may be different. As desired, according to another example aspect, a number of the disconnected sheets  221  may be less than the number of the side surfaces of the inflatable product. The disconnected sheets  221  and the lateral confining sheet may be connected by welding seams of same or different structures. In other words, the disconnected sheets  221  can be welded with the lateral confining sheet to form side embossments of the same and/or different shape structures. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2    and  FIG.  4   , the structures of the welding seams R, connecting the internal connecting sheets and the lateral confining sheet, may be closed wavy lines, such that a closed wavy side embossment is formed. However, it should be noted that the shape(s) of the welding seams are not limited to this implementation. The welding seams can be arranged transversely, longitudinally or obliquely with respect to the inflatable product, and may be in the shape of, but not limited to, a wavy line, a “Z”, a “W”, lattice circles, intersecting circles, intersecting arcs or a rhomboid. The welding seams may be closed or discontinuous. For example, the welding seams as shown in  FIG.  2    to  FIG.  4    are closed wavy structures, and a lattice-circle structure is one of a number of various discontinuous shape structures. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  4   , an inflatable bed  100 , according to one or more example embodiments, may further include a tensioning member  104  which is located in the inflatable chamber  110  and connects the top sheet  101  to the bottom sheet  102 . The tensioning member  104  may comprise one or more Y-shaped tensioning member(s) (as shown in  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  6   ), one or more X-shaped tensioning member(s), one or more straight tensioning member(s), one or more a tensioning member(s) with circular apertures, one or more tensioning member(s) with a columnar tensioning member, or one or more tensioning member(s) having any of various other shapes, as would be understood by one of skill in the art. As shown in  FIG.  2   , the tensioning member  104  comprises a plurality of tensioning members, each connected to the top sheet  101  and to the bottom sheet  102  of the inflatable bed  100 , forming embossments on the top sheet  101  and bottom sheet  102 . For example, the embossments may comprise a plurality of parallel lines on the top sheet  101  and the bottom sheet  102 . 
     As compared with side embossments of related art, an inflatable product according to one or more example embodiments described herein have a simple structure, excellent aesthetics, and good support, and a process of making embossments according to one or more example embodiments may be optimized. 
     According to one or more example embodiments, an inflatable product may be any one of an inflatable bed, as shown in the figures, an inflatable cushion, an inflatable sofa, an inflatable toy (for example, an inflatable castle), an inflatable pool, and any of various other inflatable products, as would be understood by one of skill in the art.  FIG.  2    to  FIG.  6    illustrate internal connecting sheets  120 / 220  of a same height. According to one or more of the example embodiments, internal connecting sheets forming the side embossment may have variable heights. For example, for an inflatable bed with a backrest, an internal connecting sheet corresponding to the backrest of the inflatable bed may have a height greater than that of other internal connecting sheets so as to be connected with a lateral confining sheet of the backrest to form a side embossment on the backrest. 
     It may be understood that the example embodiments described herein may be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each example embodiment may be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other example embodiments. 
     While example embodiments have been described with reference to the figures, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope as defined by the following claims.