Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
TIThE
II~ROVED COIL SPRING UNIT AND HASE SUPPORT
INTRODUCTION
This invention relates to an improved bed and,
more particularly, to a bsd coil spring unit and a base
or mattress support.
BACKGROUND OF T8E INVENTION
There has been a long and continuing search for
the optimum sleeping mattress. The search has taken many
forms but, generally, it can be said that a principal
comfort factor contributing to a coil spring type is the
support which the coil spring unit used in the mattress
may give to the user. If the support is comfortable and
maintains the body in a condition which applies no
unusual force, it will enhance the rest required by the
user.
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 2 -
Elasticity of the bed coil spring unit is
important. This is so since with greater elasticity,
more constant support over the area of the body of the
user being supported is obtained. To obtain such
elasticity, rigid elements comprising the bad coil spring
unit should be minimized.
Yet a further comfort factor is the symmetry of
the bed coil spring unit. The prior art discloses
various configurations of bed coil spring units. A
typical one of such configurations is illustrated and
disclosed in United States Patent 4,960,267 entitled
EDGE-REINFORCED SPRING BEDDING PRODUCT (Scott). Scott
teaches a plurality of helicoils which extend
transversely to the body of the user and which are
separated a predetermined distance. The helicoils are
used to connect adjacent cell units which together
comprise the bed coil spring unit. So-called "long legs"
extend transverse to the helicoils and define the
opposite legs of the individual cell. A pair of coil
springs are positioned within the cell with the
circumference of each of the coil springs contacting and
_joined with the helicoils.
A problem with the bed coil spring unit
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 3 -
according to the aforementioned Scott reference is that
there is no symmetry in the bed coil spring unit within
the individual cells. The coil springs are each located
closer to one long leg thereby creating an upwardly
directed force which acts on one side of the center axis
and tends to create a moment acting outside the cell and
on the body of a user. This moment has a tendency to
move the user toward the side of the bed coil spring unit
opposed from the side on which the coil springs are
located which is not a comfort contributing factor.
SL1~ARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention, there
is provided a bed coil spring unit having ends and sides
for use with the reclining body of a user, said bed coil
spring unit having a generally longitudinal axis
extending between the ends of said unit and being
equidistant from said sides of said unit, a plurality of
helicoil members spaced a predetermined distance apart, a
plurality of long lags extending between said helicoils
and being generally parallel to said longitudinal axis of
said bed coil spring unit and a plurality of coil springs
positioned between said long legs and said helicoils,
each of said coil springs having an axis and being
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
_ q _
positioned between said long legs and said helicoils to
form a combination spring cell unit, each of said spring
cell units having a central axis extending generally
perpendicular to said helicoils and said long legs, said
coil springs being located symmetrically about said
central axis.
According to a further aspect of the invention,
there is provided a method of constructing a bed coil
spring unit comprising forming a generally rectangular
spring call unit and interconnecting said spring cell
units to form said bed coil spring unit, each of said
spring cell units comprising a generally vertical central
axis and a plurality of coil springs, said coil springs
being positioned symmetrically about said central axis.
According to yet a further aspect of the
invention, thee is provided a mattress or base support
having a longitudinal axis, said base support comprising
a support frame having a pair of side slat supports, a
plurality of parallel slats extending between said slat
supports and extending transverse to said longitudinal
axis, one of said pair of slat supports on each end of
each of said plurality of parallel slats, connectors to
connect said parallel slats, a central slat support
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCTICA98/00216
- 5 -
positioned generally between said side slat supports and
at least one intermediate slat support arranged between
one of said pair of side slat supports and said central
slat support.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAZnTINGS
A specific embodiment of the invention will now
be described, by way of example only, with the use of
drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a partial plan view of one corner
of the bed coil spring unit illustrating a plurality of
spring cell units;
Figure 2 is a partial side view of the bed coil
spring unit of Figure 1 taken along II-II of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a diagrammatic side view of a
mattress supported by the base according to the present
invention;
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic isometric view of
the base support according to the invention with the
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98100216
- 6 -
slats removed and particularly illustrating the side,
central and intermediate slat supports with springs
positioned thereon;
Figure 5 is a diagrammatic isometric view of
the base support particularly illustrating the plurality
of slats extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of
the bed according to the invention;
Figure 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of the
central and intermediate slat supports in a first
configuration according to the present invention;
Figure 7A is a side view of the slats used in
the base with the woven connection according to the
present invention;
Figure 7B is a plan view of the slats of Figure
7A:
Figure 7C is a side view of a further
embodiment of the invention illustrating the slats
removed from within various of the woven connectors
thereby to vary the supporting force on the user; and
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
Figure 8 is a diagrammatic plan view of a
double bed incorporating the teachings according to the
present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC E1~ODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, a bed coil
spring unit intended to be incorporated within a sleeping
mattress is illustrated generally at 10 in Figure 1. It
comprises s plurality of spring cell units, conveniently
six(6), which are illustrated in their entirety, each
cell being generally illustrated at 11. The spring cell
units 11 extend between the sides 12 and ends 13 of the
bed coil spring unit 10, it being understood Figure 1 is
a partial view of the bed coil spring unit only. Each of
the opposed sides 12, only one of which is shown, is
defined by a plurality of wire elements, commonly called
"long legs" 14, which are joined together using a
plurality of wire formed helicoils 20, which helicoils 20
are interwoven with the coil springs 21 as will be
described. The helicoils 20 extend across the bed coil
spring unit 10 between the sides 12 a predeteratined
distance apart and are intended to be generally
perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 25 of the coil
spring bedding unit 10, it being further understood that
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
_ g _
the bad coil spring unit 10 illustrated in Figure 1 is a
mirror image about the longitudinal axis 25.
In addition to the long legs 14 on the sides 12
of the bed coil spring unit 10, there are also "internal"
long legs 22 formed on each side of the spring cell units
11 Which internal long legs 22 are parallel to the side
long legs 14. These internal long lags 22 together with
the associated helicoils 20 generally form the
rectangular spring cell unit 11.
Each spring cell unit 11 therefore includes two
opposed long legs 22 and two opposed helicoils 20. The
long legs 22 in adjacent spring cell units 11 run
parallel to longitudinal axis 25 and are separated a
predetermined distance, which distance may be calculated
so as to conveniently maintain the overall size of the
bed coil spring unit 10 and, as well, to increase or
decrease the stiffness or elasticity of the unit 10
depending on the application. Also included within each
spring cell unit 11 are four(4) coil springs 21. Each
coil spring 21 is formed from the wire making up the
adjacent and respective long leg 14, 22. For example,
and with reference to spring cell unit 24 illustrated in
Figure l, the loner lefthand coil 23 is formed from the
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00Z16
_ g _
wire making up long 1~g 14. The upper lefthand coil 30
is formed from the wire making up the long leg 22 forming
the upper ~dge 31 of the cell 24 and the coils 32, 33 are
formed from the wire making up the long legs 14, 22,
respectively, the latter long leg 22 being the upper edge
31 of the cell 24, it being understood that the terms
lower, upper, left hand, right hand, etc., are with
reference to the figure being viewed and not with
reference to the position of the bed coil spring unit 10
which is generally located in a horizontal position.
Each spring cell unit 11 has a centrally
located axis 40 which extends generally perpendicular to
the plane of Figure 1, i.~., vertically when the coil
spring bedding unit 10 is in its operating or horizontal
position. The coil springs 21 are symmetrical about axis
40; that is, each spring axis 42 of each coil 21 in cell
41, for example, is equidistant from axis 40 of cell 41.
Thus, the coil spring bedding unit 10 comprises a
plurality of generally symmetrical spring cell units 11
which are connected together using helicoils 20 and which
extend the length and width of th~ bed coil spring unit
10.
To provide support for the spring cell units
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 10 -
24, 41 on the end 13 of the bed coil spring unit 10, a
frame generally illustrated at 43 is located. Frame 43
comprises steel upper end member 13, which is formed with
a corner 50, the member 13 extending to and joining with
the long leg 14 which makes up spring cell unit 24. The
upper end member 13 is connected to long leg 14 using a
tubular section 51 which is positioned over member 13 and
the respective long leg 14 and then crimped with an
appropriate tool to provide suitable connecting force.
A plurality of wire formed coils 52 extend
downwardly from upper end member 13 and the end of the
wire forming coils 52 is coiled about end member 13 as is
illustrated, the wire also extending through the helicoil
20. The wire extending from the bottom of coil spring 52
forms a lower long leg 46 (Figure 2) in the same
configuration as member 13 and joins the lower heiicoil
54 lying approximately one-half the distance between the
upper helicoils 20 when viewed in plan.
With reference to Figure 2, it will be seen
that the coils 21, 23, 32 and 52 are interconnected to
provide strength as at positions 60, 61. the coils 21,
23, 32 and 52 connect with the lower helicoils 54 and
extend into long 1~gs 45 in a manner consistent With the
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 11 -
configuration of the upper surface of the bed coil spring
unit 10 illustrated in Figure 1.
OPERATION
In operation, it will be seen that the
formation of each spring cell unit 11 is symmetrical
about its axis 40; that is, there are no moments created
by the force on the coil springs 21 which extend outside
the spring cell unit 11. Thus, there is no tendency to
move the body of the user towards or away from the
position wherein the body is positioned on the coil
spring bedding unit 10. Likewise, it will be seen that
the elasticity of the individual coils 21 is enhanced
since the coil springs within each spring call unit 11
are not attached to each other and more or less
independently operate given the necessary restraints due
to manufacturing considerations. Thus, the force exerted
by the coils 21 depends on the doamwardly directed force
applied to the coils 21 by the body of the user
positioned on the bed coil spring unit 10. Such
elasticity provides enhanced support for the user and a
more comfortable reclining position.
Tt is contemplated that the various dimensions
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 12 -
between the long legs 14, 22, the helicoils 20, the long
legs 22 in adjacent spring cell units 11, the coil
springs 21 and the bed coil spring unit 10 are, of
course, variable according to the various uses or
applications to which the bed coil spring unit 10 may be
particularly directed. These dimensions, including the
diameter of the coil springs 21 and the distance of the
axes 42 of the coil springs 21 from the central axis 40
of the spring cell units 11 can be optimized for the
particular application.
A combination mattress and mattress or base
support is generally illustrated at 100 in Figure 3 and
is commonly referred to as a bed. The combination 100
includes a mattress 101 and a base or mattress support
102. It will be appreciated that the base or mattress
support 102 of Figure 3 has had the side rails removed to
better assist in illustrating aspects of the base or
mattress support 102.
The mattress support 102 is illustrated in
greater detail in Figure 4. It comprises end rails 103,
104 and side rails 120, 121. The side rails 120, 121 act
to support side longitudinal wooden slat support members
122, 123, one located on each inner side of the side
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 13 -
rails 120, 121, respectiv~ly. Side slat support members
122, 123 extend parallel to the side rails 120, 121.
Each of the side slat support members 122, 123 on each of
the side rails 120, 121 supports a plurality of
compression springs 124 which are individually positioned
on the support members 122 and which, if desired, may be
rmnoved, individually or collectively, from the side slat
support members 122, 123.
The side slat support members 122, 123 also
serve to support transverse support members 130.
Transverse support members 130 are used to support
intermediate slat support members 131, 132, 133, 134.
Intermediate slat support members 131, 132, 133, 134 also
support a plurality of compression springs 124 which may
be individually removed from the intermediate slat
support members 131, 132, I33, I34 as desired. The
intermediate slat support members 131, 132, 133, 134 may
be moved longitudinally in the direction of the
longitudinal axis of the base 102 and sidewise in a
direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the
base 102. Intermediate slat support members 131, 132,
x.33, 134 may also be rotated as illustrated in Figure 6
about a vertical axis such that they may be angularly
oriented relative to the longitudinal axis of the base
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 14 -
102. Thus, the intermediate slat support members 131,
132, I33, 134 may be positioned in a variety of
configurations depending on the particular user.
Likewise, the compression springs 124 on the intermediate
slat support members 131, 132, 133, 134 may be
individually removed or added depending on whether
greater or lesser force on the mattress 101 is desired.
A central slat support member 136 is supported
by the end rails 103, 104. It likewise serves to hold a
plurality of compression springs 124 acting on the slats
140 (Figure 5).
The slats 140 are positioned on top of the slat
support members 123, 123, 131, 132, 133. The individual
slats 140, therefore, biased by the compression springs
124 on the slat support members of Figure 4. The slats
140 are conveniently single slats woven together using
non-stretch, non-rip woven connectors 141, shown more
clearly in Figures ?A, ?8 and ?C. Figure ?A illustrates
two slats 140 within each connector 141 which encompasses
the slats 140. Conveniently, however, only one slat 140
is required and the use of an additional slat is made in
further adjustment of the force which is exerted on the
bottom of the mattress 101 by the slats 140.
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 15 -
Figure 7C illustrates a further embodiment of
the invention. In this embodiment, a slat 140 has been
removed from the woven connector 141 and is placed
underneath the woven connector 141. Since the connector
141 is initially under tension due to the slats 140 being
within the connector 141 such as is illustrated with
slats 140 of Figure 7A, it is apparent that by removing
one or both of the slats 140 from the non-stretch, non-
rip woven connector webbing 141, it will allow the force
acting upwardly on the mattress 101 to be reduced while
still offering support for the mattress 101. Thus,
adding to or removing the slats 140 from the woven
connector 141 allows further force adjustment to be made
in the base I02 which force is exerted on the mattress
101. The slats 140 may therefore move up and down, side
to side and with a rocking motion with one side moving
vertically relatively to the opposite side.
The base support 102 which has been described
is particularly applicable to a single bed. In the event
the teaching of the invention are to be applied to a
double bed, reference is made to Figure 8 in which a
double bed is generally illustrated at 150 with only a
few of the slats 140 illustrated for sass of explanation.
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 16 -
In Figure 8, there are positioned two central
slat supports 151, 152, one for each individual intended
to sleep in the bed 150. Each of the central slat
supports 151, 152 has a plurality of compression springs
153 positioned thereon which may be added or removed as
required for the individual user. The intermediate slat
supports 154, 155 are angled for each user according to
the support requirements of that user and the number of
compression springs 153 on each of the intermediate slat
supports 154, 155 may likewise be varied. The slats 140
will extend across the entire bed 150 and be supported by
the support members (not illustrated) of the side rails
160, 161. Thus, each user has a,substantially
independent support system which is tailored to the
particular shape and weight of the user.
While compression springs 124 on the side slat
support members 122, 123 are described, it is also
contemplated that the springs 124 could be replaced with
rubber material used to support the slats 140.
While specific embodiments of the invention
have been described, many modifications will readily
occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention
relates and the embodiments should be taken as
CA 02306057 2000-04-11
WO 98/41127 PCT/CA98/00216
- 17 -
illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting
its scope as defined in accordance with the accompanying
claims.
