Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
Bed Covering Apparatus for Distributing Conditioned Air Into Zones of a Bed
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a bed covering apparatus for
distribution of a
flow of pressurized conditioned air into a zone around the body of a bed
occupant.
More specifically, the invention relates to an engineered layer of bedding
that
connects to a supply of pressurized conditioned air that evenly distributes
such
conditioned air to a single specific zone of the bed.
[0002] The invention additionally contemplates connection of two
independent supplies of conditioned air into the single layer of engineered
bedding
to evenly distribute such independent supplies into specific dual zone areas
about
the multiple bed occupants, thus providing independently conditioned zones
within
the bed for each occupant. The invention further avoids the feeling of foreign
and
unnatural apparatus in the bed to the occupants by providing for a bedding
texture
against the skin of ordinary cotton linens and comforters.
[0003] The body of the average person releases a substantial amount of
heat
through skin loss and moisture due to perspiration to the surrounding air. The
usual
practice of covering the body during sleeping has the effect of insulating the
body
from the surrounding room air and thereby holds such released heat and
moisture in
the air about the body.
[0004] In cold weather when the room temperature may be below 70 F.
heavy covering is frequently employed so as to minimize the exchange of air
about
the body with the surrounding room air and thus has the effect of increasing
the air
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
2
temperature and humidity about the body. In such instances a person will often
throw off the covering while asleep, which will then result in chilling.
[0005] In warm weather when the room temperature is above 70 F., a
lighter
covering is usually employed but the moisture which results from perspiration
is
still retained about the body by the insulating covering, causing personal
discomfort
and results in poor rest.
[0006] The obese and the bedridden are particularly troubled by these
conditions of the air environment about the body. Many home and hospital
patients
have body temperature conditions which ideally require controlled surrounding
air
and humidity conditions within the bed environment.
[0007] Room air conditioners which have heretofore been provided for
regulating the room air temperature and humidity conditions have the
disadvantages of handling large volumes of air, requiring special electrical
power,
and are relatively expensive for installation, operation and maintenance
costs. Even
with room air conditioners, the person usually employs some form of covering
which insulates the body from the surrounding air so there remains no suitable
means of exchanging the air between the body and the covering of the
occupant's
bed.
[0008] There are many causes of the various known sleep disorders. Of
these causes the physical comfort of the person attempting to sleep or rest is
paramount, for if a person's ambient surroundings are not conducive to their
personal comfort, sleep can become extremely difficult to achieve, if at all.
One
factor in the person's environment that has a bearing on their ability to
achieve sleep
is the ambient temperature. If the temperature of the surroundings of a person
is either too hot or too cold, restful sleep may be impossible. Of particular
concern is
the case where the surroundings are too hot, because in such cases the body's
ability
to control its internal temperature may be affected to the point where the
body
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
3
begins to sweat, and it is nearly impossible to achieve restful sleep while
sweating.
Thus, maintaining the ambient temperature at a level which is conducive to
sleep is
a key to enabling a person to sleep.
[0009] Means for controlling the ambient temperature in a person's
surroundings are known to include the provision of "air conditioning" in which
an
air conditioner utilizing the principles of Joule---Thomson cooling is
employed to
extract heat from a volume of air, such as a bedroom. While air conditioners
are
highly effective at coarsely controlling the temperature in a room, the
customary
preference for persons to sleep beneath one or more bed sheets, covers,
blankets,
etc., coupled with the body's tendency to liberate heat during its normal
operation
translates to the well---known situation in which the person restingbeneath
the
sheets cannot get comfortable because they are too hot, which is compounded by
the proposition that if they remove the covers or sheets from themselves then
they
become too cold.
[0010] Owing to variance between selected individual human subjects'
metabolism, genetics, etc. the method used in the fine-tuning control of one's
body
temperature becomes a matter of personal taste or preference, and many
individuals have typically been observed to develop their own personal habits
of
effecting such fine tuning, such as sleeping with more or less clothing,
permitting
part of the body to be exposed to the open air, etc. It is a common
observation that
two individuals sharing a bed may have widely different requirements of hot
and
cold within the ambient air of the bedding for comfortable sleep.
[0011] In spite of these efforts, however, perfect control of the
temperature of
ambient surroundings of persons in a bed desiring to sleep has been fleeting,
with
particular difficulty for partners who share a bed with different sleep
temperature
preferences. This fact is evidenced by the myriad of schemes and contrivances
provided by workers in the prior art for effecting thermal control over a bed
or
region in which a person normally rests for sleep utilizing a pressurized flow
of air,
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
4
the following few of which are exemplary.
[0012] While there are conventional devices and methods that achieve
to a
greater or less extent their desired objectives, they are nevertheless lacking
features
which have heretofore prevented their widespread adoption by large numbers of
people. They fail to provide a bedding apparatus that can evenly distribute a
pressurized flow of air through a bed into both one or two independent zones,
while
not causing ballooning of bedding due to flow of air. Moreover, there are
conventional devices and methods that introduce either foreign textures or
objects
to the user in the bed, which is a highly undesirable feature.
[0013] Thus, there exists a need for an improved system for
distributing both
warm and ventilated or cool conditioned air throughout a bed into one or two
zones,
while not introducing elements or textures to the users that were previously
foreign
to the bed, while also avoiding giving rise to a ballooning effect of the
bedding while
delivering the pressurized air.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The foregoing and other problems are overcome, and other
advantages are realized, in accordance with the presently preferred
embodiments of
these teachings.
[0015] One aspect of the invention provides a top bedding blanket
assembly
interconnected with an external apparatus which supplies a pressurized flow of
conditioned air, such that the air can be evenly distributed within a zone of
a bed
and not provide the feeling of "rushing air" to the occupants.
[0016] Another aspect is the provision of a top bedding blanket
assembly
accepting two independent flows of conditioned air from external apparatus for
CA 3033294 2019-12-23
5
even distribution into two independent zones within the bed, thus
accommodating
two occupants' different bed temperature preferences while simultaneously
allowing a single top bedding blanket apparatus to cover both occupants
without
separation between the occupants.
[0017] Yet another aspect of the invention is the provision of
accepting both
heated, ambient and cooled air as a means of establishing multiple zones of
temperature within a bed
[0018] Yet another aspect of the invention is to avoid introducing
foreign
textures or surfaces in contact with the bed occupants other than those that
are
already commonly used in existing residential bedding such as cotton, cotton
blends, and synthetic microfiber materials.
[0019] A further aspect of the invention is to allow for sufficiently
pressurized airflow into the blanket apparatus to evenly distribute air
without a
large ballooning effect of the blanket or bedding
[0020] In accordance with one embodiment of the invention is a lower
layer
sheet comprised of a cotton, cotton blend, or synthetic microfiber, or other
similar
material commonly used in residential bedding that has some permeability to
air,
that is joined to an upper layer sheet of similar material but of tighter
weave with a
lower natural permeability to air. The joining of the two layers, such as with
thread
stitches, thus creates an interior space for the flow of air. The upper layer
is
arranged in a major surface area contacting relation with the lower layer. The
joining is preferably arranged in a substantially continuous closed path with
allowance for an inlet port for pressurized conditioned air. The lower layer
sheet
and upper layer sheet are preferably joined by a plurality of joining methods
within
the air flow area that enables contiguous connection to the air flow stream
while
preventing ballooning of the blanket apparatus while under natural pressure
from
the flow of pressurized air.
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
6
[0021] A differential in air permeability can be used advantageously to
promote airflow to desired regions of bedding. For instance, layers that are
joined
together to form regions of lower air permeability and regions of higher air
permeability can be sized to promote a desired effect to promote airflow.,
because
the airflow tends to migrate toward the regions of higher air permeability and
away
from regions of lower air permeability.
[0022] In accordance with the invention, therefore, it is preferable to
have
regions of bed covering that is further way from the foot of the bed (when the
bed
covering is laid upon a bed) to have higher air permeability than the region
closer to
the foot of the bed where air inlets are provided to allow for entry of forced
air into
the bed covering. One way to accomplish this result is to add a layer of woven
material to the region of the bed covering that is closer to the foot of the
bed that
does not extend to the region of the bed covering that is closer to the head
of the bed
when the bed covering is laid out over a bed. Another way is to make the weave
of the region closer to the head of the bed less tight or dense that the
region closer
to the foot of the bed.
[0023] With respect to lower and upper layers of the bed covering
(between
which airflow is introduced), it is preferably to make the upper layer less
air
permeable than the lower so as to promote substantially more of the airflow to
be
directed toward the occupants who are beneath the lower layer in the bed.
Doing
so also has the added advantage of avoiding the need for an unsightly
appearance
from arising because of the presence of any holes, apertures or other venting
means
or textures in the lower and upper layers which would not normally be present
in
conventional bedding sheets or comforters. If both of the upper and lower
layers are
permeable to air, such a condition increases the occupants' comfort to a more
natural bedding experience during times when pressurized air is not supplied.
[0024] In accordance with another embodiment of the invention another
feature of the apparatus is a limited flow zone area, where the pressurized
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
7
conditioned air is directed to only half or some portion of a bed, while the
blanket
apparatus still covers the entire bed area. As another option, a dual zone
flow area,
is provided for which one flow area is sealed from the other and both have
independent inlets for pressurized conditioned air, thus creating a two zone
conditioning system for the bed.
[0025] In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention,
multiple
inlets in different locations are provided to accommodate different style
beds. For
example beds with footboards may not be easy to plug the air supply in at the
foot of
the bed. By providing for multiple locations for the inlet ports to
accommodate
different beds, the air supply may be plugged in from either of the sides or
from the
foot of the bed. The inlet ports are sealable if not used.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference
is made
to the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scope of the
invention is set forth in the appended claims.
[0027] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exterior view of a blanket
in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention that distributes conditioned
air
into zones of a bed.
[0028] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exterior view of an
uninflated
blanket in accordance with a dual zone embodiment of the invention that
distributes
conditioned air into zones of a bed.
[0029] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an interior view of an internal
layer of
the dual zone embodiment in accordance with the dual zone embodiment of Fig.
2.
[0030] Fig. 3A is a schematic diagram showing and end view of layers of
the
bed covering stacked one over another.
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
8
[0031] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an exterior view of a non---
inflated
blanket in accordance with a single zone embodiment of the invention that
distributes conditioned air into zones of a bed.
[0032] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an interior view of an internal
layer of
the single embodiment in accordance with the single zone embodiment of Fig. 4.
[0033] Fig. 6 is an isometric view of a hose seal in an open position
accordance with the invention to show snaps about an opening.
[0034] Fig. 7 is an isometric view of a hose seal in the open position
accordance with Fig. 6 but turned in a manner to reveal an elastic band.
[0035] Fig. 8 is an isometric view of a hose seal in a closed position
in which
the elastic seal and snaps are hidden from view.
[0036] Fig. 9 is an isometric view of the further blanket of Figs. 2
and 3 after
inflation of the blanket.
[0037] Figs. 10 and 11 show a blanket before and after inflation,
respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0038] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a pictorial illustration
of a bed
covering in accordance with the invention. There is an unsealed area 1 between
upper and lower sheets where a pressurized airflow can be supplied by a hose
or
other means into the flow area. However, there is a sealed edge 4 between the
upper and lower layer sheets. As a consequence of the sealed edge 4, the
sealed
upper and lower sheets form a flow area 7. A thermal layer may be sewn onto
either of the upper and lower sheets to provide a greater thermal insulating
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
9
characteristic to the bed covering than from just the upper and lower sheets.
In so
doing, the bed covering can be considered to be a blanket.
[0039] There are plurality of thread stitches 2 between the upper and
lower
layer sheets allows open flow paths, but prevents a ballooning effect of the
joined
sheets from arising when under pressurized airflow. Such a ballooning effect
is
avoided in accordance with the construction of the bed covering or blanket in
accordance with the invention because of the placement of the thread stitches
2 in a
uniform manner in the central region of the bed covering or blanket. Instead
of the
thread stitches 2, glue or mechanical fasteners or any form of joining means
may be
used to join together the upper and lower sheets. The thread stitches 2 may be
tack
stitches.
[0040] An optional sealing line 3 between the upper and lower layers
may be
provided to further distinguish a smaller zone in the bed that will not need
to be
inflated. An additional optional sealing line 5 between the upper and lower
layers
may be provided to create an independent dual zone flow area. The sealing
lines 3, 5
may be in the form of a sealing mechanism such as a conventional hook and loop
fastener strip that fastens the hooks and loops to each other in a releasable
manner,
or ordinary thread stitching.
[0041] An additional unsealed area 6 between the upper and lower sheets
may be provided for a second independent conditioned flow of air to support
the
dual zone airflow nature of the apparatus. The unsealed areas 1, 6 constitute
ports
or access areas for accommodating insertion of ends of air hoses that
discharge
pressurized conditioned air from a source into the flow area 7.
[0042] Turning to the dual zone embodiment of Figs. 2 and 3 and the
single
zone embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5, the bed covering or blanket 10 has upper and
lower sheet layers 11 with an interior (or middle) layer 12 between and
optionally
a thermal layer 13 (as shown in FIG. 3A) sewn to one of the upper or lower
sheet
layers 11 to provide a higher thermal insulating characteristic than is
afforded just
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
10
by the upper and lower sheet layers 11 and the interior layer 12. The interior
layer
12 is shorter than the upper and lower sheet layers 11 and may be sewn onto a
bottom portion and topside of the lower one of the sheet layers 11 to form a
double
layer section. This double layer section serves to create two different zones
of air
permeability to force more air to exit towards the top of the sheet. The
interior
layer 12 is also preferably sewn to side and bottom sheet seams and may be
anchored to a row of tack stitches 2 at the locations indicated in Figs. 3 and
5. As an
alternative and not shown in the drawings, the interior layer 12 could be sewn
instead to the bottom portion and underside of the upper sheet layer 11.
[0043] The upper one of the sheet layers 11 is preferably a downproof
sateen
and the lower one of the sheet layers 11 as well as the interior layer 12 are
preferably of percale. The lower one of the sheet layers 11 is more air
permeable
than the upper one of the sheet layers 11. The upper portion of the lower
sheet
layer is more air permeable than the lower portion of the lower sheet layer
due to
the double layer. As a result, blowing air into the flow area 7 between the
upper
and lower sheet layers 11 will result in most of the blown air permeating
through
upper regions of lower sheet layer 11 that are away from the lower regions
where
the interior layer 12 is present.
[0044] There are two sealing lines 5A, 5B in Figs. 2 and 3 that extend
centrally from an optional sealing line 3 to the bottom edge of the upper and
lower
sheets 11. The sealing lines 3, 5A, 5B may be in the form of a stitching
thread or a
conventional hook and loop fastener strip that fastens the hooks and loops to
each
other in a releasable manner. Thus, one may convert the bed covering or
blanket
of Figs. 2 and 3 having dual zones into one having a single zone in the manner
of that of Figs. 4 and 5, except there would still be the two openings 14A,
14B at the
bottom as in Figs. 2 and 3 as opposed to just a single bottom opening 14 as in
Figs.
4 and 5.
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
11
[0045] Additional sealing lines 15A, 15B are provided that extend from
the
bottom edge of each of the side openings 13A, 13B in a direction inwardly and
then
turn to run adjacent to respective sides of the bottom openings 14A, 14B. In
addition, there is an additional sealing line 15C that run from the remaining
sides of
the bottom openings 14A, 14B inwardly and the across as shown. The purpose is
to
shrink the total flow area of the sheet system to only those areas of the bed
where
flow is desired.
[0046] In the case of the bed covering or blanket 10 being for king
size, there
are five tack stitches per row on each side joining top and bottom layers,
evenly
spaced apart from each other starting at the center seam. In the case of the
bed
covering or blanket 10 being for a queen size, there are four tack stitches
per row on
each side instead of five. In the case of the bed covering or blanket 10 being
for
double size, there may be three track stitches per row on each side instead of
four for
the queen size and instead of five for the king size.
[0047] Since the dual zone embodiment of Figs. 2 and 3 has dual zones,
each
of the zones is provided with its own set of side and bottom openings 13A,
13B, and
14A, 14B. Since the single zone embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5 has a single zone,
there
are side openings 13A, 13B, but only a single centrally located bottom opening
14.
Multiple inlet openings are provided into the same flow area to provide
flexibility to
the user to determine air inlet location most suitable to their bed setup or
preference.
[0048] The flow areas 7 throughout the bed covering or blanket 10
become
inflated around the thread stitches 2. Even though the bottom portion of the
bed
covering or blanket 10 lacks tack stitches 2, the enhanced reduction in air
permeability afforded by the interior layer 12 in effect causes the air to
flow or
migrate under pressure to the portion of exterior layer 11 that has greater
air
permeability. The net effect is to allow inlet of air from the lower portion
of the bed
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
12
covering where the feet would commonly be located, and to have much of this
air
bypassed to the area of the bed covering where the torso would be located.
[0049] In the case of the single zone embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5, the
number
of tack stitches per row on each "side" is the same as for the dual zone
embodiment
of Figs. 2 and 3, except there is an additional tack stitch provided at the
center
between the two "sides", where arises the central divider space 15 for the
dual zone
embodiment of Figs. 2 and 3. Also, the sealing lines 15A, 15B each extend from
respective areas adjacent the lower sides of the side openings 13A, 13B
inwardly
until turning to run adjacent respective sides of the single centrally located
bottom
opening 14. The sealing lines 15A, 15B (Figs. 2 and 4) and the sealing line
15C (Fig.
2) may each in the form of common thread stitching.
[0050] The unsealed area 1 and 6 of Fig. 1, the side openings 13A, 13B
of Figs.
2---5, the bottom openings 14A, 14B of Figs. 2 and 3 and the bottom opening 14
of
Figs. 4---5 each constitute an "access area" when open for the introduction of
pressurized conditioned air via an air hose from a source of such pressurized
conditioned air. The open position of the access area is shown in Figs. 6 and
7 and
the closed position of the access area is shown in Fig. 8.
[0051] That is, the "access area" is opened to form an opening 21 by
unsnapping snaps 22 to gain access to the flow areas 7 of Figs. 1---5. An air
discharge
end of an air hose may be inserted into the opening 21. An elastic band 23,
which is
secured to the bed covering or blanket about the periphery of the opening 21,
may
be stretched about the hose to help retain and create a seal around the air
hose in its
inserted position for discharging air into the flow areas 7.
[0052] The opening 21 may be closed by snapping closed the snaps 22.
Once
the snaps 22 are closed, the snaps 22 and the elastic band 23 act such that
they
cannot be seen exteriorly as depicted in Fig. 8. Instead, all that can be seen
is a fold
line 25 that forms from the blanket fabric as a result of the closed snaps.
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
13
[0053] Indeed, the user is given a choice of using either a side
opening (1, 6,
13A, 13B of Figs. 1---5 as applicable) or a bottom opening (14, 14A, 14B o f
Figs. 2---5 as
applicable) for the air hose. The side or bottom openings that are not used
for the
air hose, therefore, may be closed by snapping closed the snaps 22, thereby
hiding
the elastic band 23 and the snaps 22 from view in the manner of Fig. 8. This
hidden
opening appearance is strongly preferred for the multiple redundant access
areas
that may not be used. The result from inflation of the bed covering or blanket
is
shown in Fig. 9. As can appreciated, the location of the tack stitches 2 in a
uniform
manner prevents giving rise to a ballooning effect.
[0054] Turning to Figs. 10 and 11, a simple sheet assembly with an
interior
air cavity is shown before and after its inflation, respectively. Indeed, the
bed
covering in figure 11 could be even more "balloony" than shown. Unlike the
embodiments of the invention, there are no uniformly spaced apart joining
means,
such as thread stitches, to join together the plurality of sheets that
comprising the
bed covering. The presence of the thread stitches 2 of Figs.1---5 and 9
arranged in the
uniform manner throughout the central region of the bed covering prevents the
full ballooning effect of Fig. 11 from arising. The absence of such thread
stitches, as
in the bed covering of Figs. 10 and 11, enables the ballooning effect to arise
upon
inflation of the internal airflow cavity. In practice this ballooning could
result in a
vertical inflation of more than 18 inches, which is very undesirable.
[0055] While the foregoing description and drawings represent the
preferred
embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various
changes
and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention.
CA 3033294 2019-02-08
