Air-over-foam mattress

A mattress structure having longitudinally spaced-apart ends and transversely spaced-apart sides, the mattress structure comprising:

• a plurality of foam blocks arranged in side-by-side relation between the ends of the mattress structure, each foam block extending transversely between the sides of the mattress structure,
• a layer of material underlying the foam blocks, the layer of material extending between the sides of the mattress structure and between the ends of the mattress structure,
• a plurality of inflatable air bladders overlying and being supported by the foam blocks, the air bladders being arranged in side-by-side relation between the ends of the mattress structure, each air bladder extending transversely between the sides of the mattress structure, and
• a plurality of tethers, each tether connecting a respective one of the air bladders to the layer of material, and each tether including a portion positioned to lie between a respective pair of adjacent foam blocks.

A modular mattress system comprising:

• a mattress including a first air bladder and a second air bladder,
• a compressor having an outlet,
• a manifold including a main passage having an inlet coupled to the outlet of the compressor and a vent coupled to the atmosphere at a vent port, a first passage fluidly coupled to the first air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a first port, and a second passage fluidly coupled to the second air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a second port,
• a first valve normally closing the first port and movable to open the first port,
• a second valve normally closing the second port and movable to open the second port,
• a vent valve normally closing the vent port and movable to open the vent port,
• a first actuator coupled to the first valve and actuatable to move the first valve,
• a second actuator coupled to the second valve and actuatable to move the second valve,
• a vent actuator coupled to the vent valve and actuatable to move the vent valve,
• a first pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the first air bladder,
• a second pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the second air bladder, and
• a microprocessor coupled to the first and second pressure sensors to receive input signals therefrom, coupled to the first, second, and vent actuators to send output signals thereto, and coupled to the compressor to send control signals thereto, the microprocessor being configured to alternately respond to the input signals from the first and second pressure sensors, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open the first port and run the compressor if the input signal from the first pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the first air bladder is below a first predetermined level so that the first air bladder is further pressurized, the second port remaining closed by the second valve while the first port is opened, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open both the first port and the vent port and turn off the compressor if the input signal from the first pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the first air bladder is above the first predetermined level so that air flows from the first air bladder to the atmosphere, the second port remaining closed by the second valve while the first port and the vent port are opened, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open the second port and run the compressor if the input signal from the second pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the second air bladder is below a second predetermined level so that the second air bladder is further pressurized, the first port remaining closed by the first valve while the second port is opened, the microprocessor sending output and control signals to open both the second port and the vent port and to turn off the compressor if the input signal from the second pressure sensor indicates that pressure in the second air bladder is above the second predetermined level so that air flows from the second air bladder to the atmosphere, the first port remaining closed by the first valve while the second port and the vent port are opened.

A modular mattress system comprising:

• a mattress including a first air bladder and a second air bladder,
• a compressor having an outlet,
• a manifold including a main passage having an inlet coupled to the outlet of the compressor and a vent coupled to the atmosphere at a vent port, a first passage fluidly coupled to the first air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a first port, and a second passage fluidly coupled to the second air bladder and fluidly coupled to the main passage at a second port, the first passage includes a first tube and the second passage includes a second tube and said first and second tube are contiguously connected over a substantial length of the first and second tubes to form a tube ribbon,
• a first valve normally closing the first port and movable to open the first port,
• a second valve normally closing the second port and movable to open the second port,
• a vent valve normally closing the vent port and movable to open the vent port,
• a first actuator coupled to the first valve and actuatable to move the first valve,
• a second actuator coupled to the second valve and actuatable to move the second valve,
• a vent actuator coupled to the vent valve and actuatable to move the vent valve,
• a first pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the first air bladder, and
• a second pressure sensor configured to sense pressure in the second air bladder.

A connector apparatus configured to couple a mattress including a plurality of inflatable air bladders to an air bladder inflation system including an air supply, the connector apparatus comprising:

• a first set of connectors coupled to the air supply, the first set of connectors being coupled to a first body portion;
• a plurality of air supply tubes, at least one air supply tube being coupled to each of the plurality of air bladders;
• and
• a second set of connectors coupled to the air supply tubes, the second set of connectors being coupled to a second body portion, the first and second sets of connectors being in alignment with each other to permit substantially simultaneous coupling of the first and second sets of connectors,
• a plurality of pressure sensors, each pressure sensor being responsive to the pressure in an associated air bladder, and wherein the connector apparatus includes a third set of connectors coupled to the pressure sensors, the first and third sets of connectors being coupled to the first body portion, a plurality of pressure tubes, at least one pressure tube being coupled to each of the plurality of air bladders, and a fourth set of connectors coupled to the pressure tubes, the second and fourth sets of connectors being coupled to the second body portion, the third and fourth sets of connectors also being in alignment with each other to permit substantially simultaneous coupling of both the first set of connectors with the second set of connectors and the third set of connectors with the forth set of connectors.