US2507586A - Mattress - Google Patents

Description

May 16, 1950 B. BERKMAN MATTRESS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. l0, 1948 B BERKMAN MATTRESS May 16, 195o l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. l0, 1948 Patented May 16, 1950 UNITED STATES AENT OFFICE MATTRESS Application January 10, 1948, Serial No. 1,512

V 20 Claims.

My invention relates generally to mattresses and in particular to a novel mattress providing comfort in both warm weather and cold weather.

Attempts to produce such a mattress, quite frequently called a winter-summer mattress, have not been successful and in so far as I am aware there is no practical mattress now on the market wherein one side of the mattress preferably is used in the winter time and the other side of the mattress preferably is used in the summer time. Those who have developed the prior art mattresses of the so-called winter-summer type have overlooked certain fundamental principles relating to the general physical comfort of humans.

In the prior art mattresses it is customary to insulate one side of the mattress with one type of padding and to insulate or provide the other side of the mattress with another type of padding. This construction apparently is used regardless of whether the mattresses be of the stuffed or l springless or of the inner` spring type. Two of the most common paddings are hair felt, which is used on the summer" side of the mattress, and wool felt, which is applied to the winter side of the mattress. The thermal conductance of hair felt is 0.246 B. t. u. per hour and that of Wool felt is 0.363 `B. t. u. per hour. There is, therefore, only 0.117 B. t. u. per hour diiference in the thermal conductance of these two materials. Consequently, when a mattress is provided With Wool felt on one side and hair felt on the other side, there is very little, if any, diiference in the way the opposite sides of the mattress feel to the person reclining thereon.

My invention provides a novel mattress having on one side a material of extremely high thermal conductance and on the other side a material of extremely low thermal conductance and including other insulation to control the heat retained by or dissipated from the mattress.

The principle upon which my mattress affords t comfort in both cold and warm weather relates to the control of the rate of heat dissipation from the body and a proper utilization of such dissipated heat. If the body heat can be conserved inthe winter a person will feel warm, and if this heat can be dissipated very readily in the summer a person will feel considerably cooler and more comfortable.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel mattress adapted for use in both warm weather and cool or cold weather constructed so that a person reclining thereon Wllfeel comfortable regardless of the ambient temperature.

Another object is to provide a novel mattress having means for dissipating bodily heat and having other means for conserving bodily heat to obtain a comfortable feeling regardless of the ambient temperature.

Another object is to provide diierent materials for a mattress, one material having a very high thermal conductance and another having, a very low thermal conductance, and arranging these materials so that one side of the mattress is preferably usable in the summer and the other in the winter.

A further object is toV provide a novel mattress which can be provided with a cooling medium to assist in the dissipation of heat in warm weather.

And still another object is to provide a novel mattress which supports a person on topof the mattress when reclining on the summer side so as to prevent the body from sinking down into the center or deep into the mattress-padding.

Another object is to gain all of these advantages ior a mattress without departing very radically frorn conventional mattress construction but rather by adding certain relatively inexpensive elements to a conventional mattress.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View of an edge of an inner spring mattress incorporating one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a small perspective View, partially broken into section, showing the arrangement of the heat dissipating member;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view showing a different form of heat dissipating member;

Fig. 4 isa View similar to Fig. 3 showing a further modied form of heat dissipating member;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating a modified form of my invention; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 5 but showing still another modification of my invention.

Referring first to Fig. 1, my invention is l1- lustratedv as applied to an inner spring mattress indicated generally by the reference character I0, and having a plurality of individual inner springs or coils I2 which are of well known construction in this art. The springs I2 are secured to a spring frame I4, I5 and are enclosed in a casing I6. The springs are padded on either side by paddings of cotton or wool felt I8 rand 20', the pad I8 being located at the top of the mattress as seen in Fig. 1 and the pad 20 at the bottom 3 of the mattress as seen in Fig. 1. This assembly is covered with a mattress covering or ticking 22 and is finished at the edges with the customary edge roll 24 It is preferable that my novel mattress not be tufted.

Between the cover 22 and the pad I8 I place a member 2B having a very high thermal conductance. Preferably this member takes the form of a very fine wire screen or mesh or of a metallic Woven cloth. I have found that a copper wire s'creen is extremely effective, having a, thermal conductance of 2083 B. t. u. per hour. Another suitable screen is aluminum mesh as its thermal conductance is high, 1000.000 B. t. u. per hour. The screen 26 covers the entire surface of the pad I8 immediately beneath the mattress cover 22 and at the edges thereof is folded down as indicated at 28. The folded down edge of the screen 26 is brazed or soldered at 21 to a heat dissipating member 3D. In the modification of Fig. 1 the member 30 is in the form of a flat radiating plate which preferably, but not necessarily, extends around the mattress adjacent the inner springs I2.

The plate 30 is retained in position by a plurality of hooks 32, each of which has one end looped as at 34 through a suitable hole formed in the lower edge of the plate 30 and has its Vother end 3B hooked around the wire frame I5. By this arrangement the plate 30 is secured between the upper and lower surface of the mattress and at the Side adjacent the inner springs I2. Furthermore, this construction insures that the wire mesh or metallic cloth 26 is held evenly between the pad I 8 and the mattress cover 22.

That side of the mattress which is at the top in Fig. 1 is the winter side for reasons which will appear immediately hereinafter.

The lower face or side of the mattress as seen in Fig. 1 is provided with the pad of cotton or wool felt 20. Immediately next to the mattress cover 22 there is a heat dissipating member 33 which may be similar to or identical with the wire mesh or woven metal cloth 25 on the other side of the mattress. Between the screen 38 and the cotton or wool felt pad 20 is placed a batt of milkweed iioss ber 40. This batt covers the entire lower face of the mattress and has side portions 42 which extend over and completely around the sides of the mattress. The batt of milkweed floss 40, if standing alone, would have the appearance of a rectangularly shaped shallow box with no cover or top.

The wire screen 38 is secured as by brazing to a heat dissipating plate 44 similar to the plate 30 but positioned between the milkweed floss batt 42 and that part 46 of the mattress cover 22 which encloses the sides of the mattress. The plate 44 is held in place by a plurality of hooks 38 which are connected to the upper spring yframe member I4, the construction also firmly securing the wire mesh or metallic cloth 38. The lower face of the mattress seen in Fig. 1 is for use in the summer or in warm weather.

In so far as I have been able to determine by `experimental data, the mattress of Fig. 1 construction operates in approximately the following manner to provide comfort in both warm and cold weather if the proper side of the mattress is used.

When a person reclines on top of the mattress as seen in Fig. 1, the winter side, the bodily heat warms the metallic member 2S and the heat is carried to the radiating plate 30 which is exposed to the air within the mattress.

As the mattress is insulated at 42 by the milkweed oss batt, heat given up by the plate 30 remains in the mattress. The batt of milkweed floss 40 also prevents the escape of heat downwardly from the mattress into the bed springs or box spring upon which the mattress I0 might be placed. Thus a very substantial part of the body heat is conserved and utilized to warm the mattress, giving a feeling of warmth to the person reclining on the mattress. If, however, the weather is warm, a person reclining on the summer side would lose body heat to the member 38 and to the atmosphere through the radiating plate 44. The mattress is not heated appreciably due to the insulating effect of the milkweed floss.

It should be noted that milkweed floss has a thermal conductance of 0.240 B. t. u. per hour for a batt one inch thick; this factor varies inversely with the thickness of the oss padding. Consequently the mattress is very completely insulated for the retention of heat applied to the winter side and against the retention of heat applied to the summer side.

I have found through an experiment conducted in an ambient temperature of 30 F. that if a heated body having a temperature of 125 F. were to be placed on the top of a conventional inner spring mattress, that the temperature within that mattress would be raised to approximately 49 or 50 at the end of one hour. With a mattress constructed according to the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the inside temperature under the same conditions will be raised to 60. This 10 difference in temperature is sufficiently substantial so that a person lying on the winter side of my novel mattress would be more comfortable than the same person lying on a conventional mattress. With my mattress turned over and the heat of 125 F. applied to the summer side under the same conditions and for the same period of time the temperature within the mattress is raised to only 45 F. Since in this experiment the same amount of heat was necessarily dissipated in each case, it is conclusively demonstrated that a major part of the heat applied to the summer side of the mattress was dissipated through the member 38 and radiating plate 44 to the ambient air and from the winter side of the mattress through the member 26 and plate 30 to the interior of the mattress. When heat is applied to the summer side it is prevented from substantially heating the interior of the mattress by the milkweed oss 40 which insulates the member 38 from the interior of the mattress and the plates from each other.

In another test conducted with the same mattress where the initial temperature in the interior of the mattress was 65 F. and a body having a temperature of F. was placed upon the vmattress on the top as seen in Fig. 1, temperature readings were taken after thirty minutes and Aafter sixty minutes. After thirty minutes it was found that the temperature within the mattress was '77 F. to 78 F. depending upon the location of the thermal indicator, and the temperature on the inner plate 3G was 75 F. At the end of sixty minutes the temperatures were 78 F. to 791/2 F. and 77 F., respectively. A further portion of this test involved taking the same readings with the same heated body placed on the summer side of the mattress, that is, with the mattress turned over from the position shown in Fig. 1. After thirty minutes the temperature within the mattress was 72 F. to '73 F. and the temperature on the inner plate 30 Vwas 70 F. At the end of sixty minutes these temperatures were 73 F. to '74.1/2lo F., and. 71 respectively.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a modified formv of heat dissipating member. This heat dissipating member` 30a functions in the same manner as does the plate 30 of Fig. l but is more eiicient since it is provided with a plurality of heat radiating hns 50. These heat radiating fins 5!! may be in the form of long angular shaped members which have one flange welded as by spot welding to a base plate 52. Heat radiating element 44a corresponding to the plate lit may be constructed in the same manner.

In Fig. 4 I have shown still another form of heat radiating element disposed at the sides of the mattress. In this form the dissipati'ng element takes the shape oi a tubular member 36D which is connected by a hook 32h to the frame member I5, the hook 32e being brazed or welded as at 54 to the tubular member 3th. A similar tubular member 44h is connected by a similar hook 48h to the top wire frame I4. I prefer in some cases to use radiating'elements such as the tubes 30h and 44h, so that a cooling or heating medium can be circulated through these members if desired, the tubes being connected through openings in the mattress cover 22 to suitable sources of these cooling or heatingv mediums. In fact in the winter time a heated medium such as hot water, steamV or hot air could be circulated through the tube 30h so as tol warm the interior of the mattress and the member 26. Suitable thermostatically-controlled means would be pro vided to control the temperature and to prevent overheating, Conversely, the tube 44h being used for removing heat from the member 33 ywould be supplied with a cooling element such as cold or iced water or cold air. The milliweed iloss 42 between the two tubes eiectively minimizes loss of heat from one to the other.

As seen in Fig. 4, these tubes 3Ilb and Mb are of a flattened cross-sectional shape so that they take up substantially less room within the mattress than were they to be of any other coniiguration. However, if it is impractical to use a flattened tube such as I have shown, one of circular cross-section may be employed, and in such a case the tubes would be arranged so that one e would be above the other, that is, the tube Zilli) would be closer to the spring frame member i5 and the tube 44h would be closer to the spring frame member I4. These tubes and hib function in the same manner as do the heat dissipating plates 3l? and M. However, since they are particularly designed for the use of an added medium for withdrawing or imparting heat to the mattress, their effectiveness is much more apparent.

A further and somewhat simpler form of my invention is illustrated in cross-section in Fig. 5. This form of the invention is identical in all revspects with that shown in Fig. 1 with the exception that it is not provided with the heat dissipatingV member 26 and the plate 30 for the winter side of the mattress, this side of the mattress being left as in a conventional mattress. However. the heat lost from the body to the mattress will be retained in the mattress since the milkweed floss batt 40 covers the bottom and sides ofthe mattress (Fig. 5), no heat being able to escape either towards the bottom or out through the sides. This form of the mattress is provided with a "'surnmer side having the heat dissipating wire mesh or woven metallic cloth 38 and the dissipati'ng plate or elements it along the side of the mattress and next to the mattress cover 22.

Fig. 6 shows still another form of mattress which is similar to that seen in Fig. 5 but is provided with a wire mesh or woven metallic cloth member 56 which is placed between the milkweed iloss batt 40 and the cotton or wool felt pad 2l) on the bottom of the mattress (Fig. 6) which is the summer side. This mattress is provided with the screen 38 between the mattress cover 22 and the milkweed floss batt i6 which screen is secured to the plate le arranged at the side of the mattress. However, it is seen in Fig. 6 that the position of the plate M is fairly close to that side of the mattress covered by the wire screen 38, and that the hook 48e connecting the plate 44 to the wire frame member I4 is substantially longer than the hook it shown in Fig. l. The wire screen 55 is similarly thermally secured to a plate 58 similar to the plate 35i which is connected by a hook Iii! to the top wire frame member I4. The plate 58, however, is much closer to the top or winter side of the mattress than to the bottom of the mattress (Fig. 6). This oiset arrangement of the plates permits the application of a heating element adjacent or to the plate 58 from without the mattress so as to heat this plate, without being interfered with from the position of plate 44, as would be the case were the plates It and 53 arranged side by side as are the plates 44 and 30 in Fig. l. The heating element may be inserted into the maitress through suitable openings provided in the mattress covering 22. Similarly a cooling me... ber may be placed against the plate to assist in the withdrawal or dissipation of heat from the screen 38. The advantage of this construction is that the heating element (or cooling element) is separate from the plate 58 (or plate 4e) and there need be no electrical or plumbing or tube vconnections to the mattress structure.

The mattress shown in Fig. 6 is more eiTective than that shown in either Fig. l or Fig. 5, because the inner screen 55 provides a further means of retaining and/or adding heat in the mattress when the mattress is used on the winter side, that is, when it is placed upon the bed in the position shown in Fig. 6. The mattress of Fig. 6 has the advantage over that mattress of Fig. 1

o1' Fig. 5 in that it is capable of being provided pair of screens or woven cloth members 3s and 5t provide a substantial support for a person reclining on the mattress so as to prevent that 4person from sinking too deeply into the mattress,

which is undesirable in the summer because the deeper one reclines within the mattress the more of the bcdyris encompassed by the mattress and Ithe less chance there is for the body to dissipate heat to the ambient air. This added support does not in any way detract from the comfort which the mattress possesses.

The mattress of my invention needs no tufting and in fact has a very pleasing appearance being perfectly smooth on both sides. It is economical to manufacture and the simpler forms oi the invention, that is, without the heat radiating ins of Fig. 3 or the tubular members of Fig. 4, require no expensive material and very little eXtra in the way of'manufacturing operations. In fact there need be no change in the equipment now needed in the manufacture of mattresses to manufacture my improved mattress which is adapted for comfortable use in both the summer and winter.

Further, it will be seen that this mattress accomplishes all of the objectives which are claimed for it in the opening paragraphs of this specification.

While I have shown an inner spring mattress in the drawings and have described my invention with respect thereto, this illustration is by way of example only, and I do not thereby wish to be limited to the inner spring type mattress as my invention can be applied to the other known forms of mattresses. I have shown only three forms of my invention and different radiating members, but numerous other modifications will suggest themselves readily to persons skilled in the art. For example, it is clear that any of the illustrated forms of the radiating members may be used in any of the three basic constructions. Diierent combinations can be made including the addition of the screen 56 and plates 58 to the mattress of Fig. 1. And it is obvious that the radiation area of the plates 30, 44, 58 could be increased by corrugating these plates. Therefore, I wish only to be limited by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members on the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of insulating material having a very low thermal conductance overlying one side of one of said padded members and the four edges of said padded members and said inner section, a member having a very high thermal conductance overlying the major portion or" said batt having a relatively low thermal conductance, and a mattress cover enclosing all of the aforesaid elements.

2. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members overlying the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of insulating material having a thermal cond-uctance not greater than 0.240 B. t. u. per hour overlying one side of one of said padded members and the four edges of said inner section, and a member having a thermal conductance of at least 1000 B. t. u. overlying the major portion of said batt of low thermal conductance.

3. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members overlying the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of milkweed floss overlying one side of one of said padded members and the four edges of said inner section, and a metallic wire mesh overlying the major portion of said millrweed floss batt.

4. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members overlying the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of insulating material having a thermal conductance not greater than 0.240 B. t. u. per hour overlying one side of one of said padded members and the four edges of said padded members and said inner section, a meshlike member having a thermal conductance of at least 1000 B. t. u. overlying the major portion of said batt, and heat dissipating means thermally secured to said meshlike member and arranged so as to lose heat to the ambient air.

5. A mattress as claimed in claim 4 wherein said heat dissipating means comprises a finned metallic element.

6. A mattress as claimed in claim 4 wherein said heat dissipating means comprises a tubular element.

7. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members overlying the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of insulating material having a very low thermal conductance overlying one side of one of said padded members and said inner section, a mattress cover enclosing said inner section and said batt of insulating material, a meshlike member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between said mattress cover and said batt, and a second meshlike member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between said batt and the adjacent one of said padded members.

8. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members overlying the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of insulating material having a low thermal conductance overlying one side of one of said padded members and the four edges of said padded members and said inner section, a mattress cover enclosing said inner section and said batt of insulating material, a meshlike member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between said mattress cover and said batt, radiating means thermally connected to said meshlike member for dissipation of heat from the mattress, a second meshlilre member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between said batt and the adjacent one of said padded members, and second radiating means thermally connected to said second meshlilre member and positioned adjacent said inner section.

9. A mattress as claimed in claim 8 wherein both said radiating means are insulated from each other by said batt of insulating material.

10. A mattress as claimed in claim 8 wherein said first and second radiating means are offset relative to each other so that a heating element can be applied to said second radiating means without interference from said rst radiating means.

11. A mattress as claimed in claim 10 wherein said rst and second radiating means are insulated from each other by said batt of insulating material.

l2. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members overlying the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of insulating material having a very low thermal conductance overlying one of said padded members and the four edges of said padded members and said inner section, a mattress cover enclosing said inner section and said batt of insulating material, a meshlike member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between said mattress cover and said batt, and a second mesh-like member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between the other of said padded members and .said mattress cover.

13. A mattress of the type described comprising in combination an inner section, padded members overlying the opposite sides of said inner section, a batt of insulating material having a very low thermal conductance overlying one of said members and the four edges of said padded members and said inner section, a mattress cover enclosing said inner section and said batt of insulating material, a meshlike member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between said mattress cover and said batt, radiating means thermally connected to said meshlike member for dissipating heat to the ambient air, a second meshlike member having a very high thermal conductance positioned between the other of said padded members and said mattress cover, and a second radiating means thermally connected to said second meshlike member and positioned adjacent said inner section.

14. A mattress comprising in combination an inner structure padded on opposite sides thereof, a batt of milkweed floss covering one side of said inner structure, a mattress cover enclosing said inner structure and said batt of milkweed floss, and a sheet-like metallic member having a very high thermal conductance interposed between said batt of milkweed floss and said mattress cover.

15. A mattress comprising in combination an inner structure padded on opposite sides thereof, a batt of milkweed floss covering one side of said structure, a mattress cover enclosing said inner structure and said batt of milkweed oss, a sheetlike metallic member having a very high thermal conductance interposed between said batt of milkweed floss and said mattress cover, and a second sheet-like metallic member having a very high thermal conductance interposed between said batt of milkwced floss and said inner structure.

16. A mattress comprising in combination an inner structure padded on opposite sides thereof, a batt of milkweed oss covering one side of said inner structure, a mattress cover enclosing said inner structure and said batt of milkweed floss, a sheet-like metallic member having a very high thermal conductance interposed between said batt of milkweed floss and said mattress cover, and a second sheet-like metallic member having a very high thermal conductance interpo-sed between said inner structure and said mattress cover on the opposite side from said milkweed floss batt.

17. A mattress comprising in combination an inner mattress structure padded on opposite sides thereof, a batt of milkweed floss covering one face of said inner structure, a mattress cover enclosing said inner structure and said batt of milkweed floss, and a pliable sheet-like heat dissipating means having a very high thermal conductance interposed between said batt of milkweed floss and said mattress cover.

18. A mattress comprising in combination an inner mattress structure padded on opposite sides thereof, a batt of insulating material having a thermal conductance not greater than 0.240 B. t. u. per hour covering one side of said inner structure, a mattress cover enclosing said inner structure and said batt of insulating material and a pliable sheet-like heat dissipating means having a thermal conductance of not less than 1000.000 B. t. u. per hour interposed between said batt of insulating material and said mattress cover.

19. A mattress of the class described comprising in combination a mattress inner structure having padded top and bottom sides and having four edges, a batt of milkweed floss covering one of said sides and the four edges of said inner structure, a mattress cover enclosing said inner structure and said batt of milkweed floss, a woven copper sheet interposed between said batt of milkweed floss and said mattress cover, and heat dissipating plates arranged at the edges of the mattress between said batt of milkweed oss and said mattress cover and thermally connected to said woven copper sheet.

20. A mattress of the class described comprising in combination a mattress inner structure having padded top and bottom sides and having four edges, a batt of milkweed floss covering one of said edges and the four sides of said inner structure, a mattress cover enclosing said inner structure and said batt of milkweed floss, a woven copper sheet interposed between said batt of milkweed floss and said mattress cover, heat dissipating plates arranged at the edges of said mattress between said batt of milkweed iloss and said mattress cover and thermally connected to said woven copper sheet, a second woven copper sheet interposed between said batt of milkweed floss and said inner structure, and heat dissipating plates positioned in the edges of the mattress between said batt of milkweed floss and said inner structure and thermally connected to said second woven copper sheet.

BORIS BERKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 568,240 Dahlerup Sept. 22, 1896 1,873,212 Ostroff Aug. 23, 1932 2,103,553 Reynolds Dec. 28, 1937 2,193,410 Schubert Mar. 12, 1940 2,446,775 Marsack Aug. 10, 1948

Images