Pre-conditioned foam pad
AssigneeDreamwell, Ltd.
InventorsRichard F. Gladney, Michael S. DeFranks, Ronald M. Herrington, Hui Yang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Mattresses and methods for processing a flexible foam material for use in a mattress to provide a mattress foam material that has more consistent firmness over time and area. The methods include pre-conditioning the foam pad or mattress by applying a force across a substantial portion of a major surface of the mattress to compress or stretch the height of the foam, the length of the foam, and/or the width of the foam to break or open closed cells. In certain embodiments, the force is applied by repeatedly pressing a platen against the foam pad or placing the foam pad between one or more rollers.
Claims21
A method of manufacturing an aged mattress assembly, comprising:
- prior to packaging the aged mattress assembly, accelerating the aging of an unaged mattress assembly having a first unaged foam pad with an initial height and disposed over a new mattress core, wherein accelerating the aging comprises:
- stressing the first unaged foam pad by applying a force to at least a section of the first unaged foam pad sufficient to temporarily compress the initial height of the first unaged foam pad an amount selected to permanently alter a mechanical property of the first unaged foam pad representative of indentation force deflection;
- and
- finishing the aged mattress assembly by disposing the first aged foam pad over the new mattress core to provide at least a portion of a sleeping surface over the new mattress core;
- and
- providing the aged mattress assembly having a firmness that is different from the firmness of the unaged mattress assembly.
(canceled)
A method of manufacturing a mattress, comprising
- providing a first foam pad having an initial length and width,
- pre-conditioning the first foam pad by applying a force to at least a section of the foam pad sufficient to stretch at least one of the length and width of the foam pad an amount selected to alter a mechanical property of the first foam pad representative of indentation force deflection, and
- disposing the first foam pad over a mattress core to provide at least a portion of a sleeping surface over the mattress core.
A system for pre-conditioning cushioning articles, comprising
- at least a first pair of rollers including a first roller and a second roller;
- a first support frame and a second support frame;
- and
- a hinge system including at least one support spring,
- wherein
- the first roller is separated from the second roller by a first gap;
- the first roller is rotationally coupled to the first support frame and the second roller is rotationally coupled to the second support frame;
- the hinge system is adjustably coupled to the first support frame and the second support frame;
- the at least one support spring is attached to the first support frame and configured to exert a first force on the second support frame sufficient to maintain the first gap;
- and
- the first gap changes in response to adjustments in the hinge system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.