AU603917B2

AU603917B2 - Bedcloth

Info

Publication number: AU603917B2
Application number: AU20638/88A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Isamu Masuda
Original assignee: Nihon Kenkozoshin Kenkyukai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nihon Kenkozoshin Kenkyukai Co Ltd
Priority date: 1988-08-10
Filing date: 1988-08-10
Publication date: 1990-11-29
Anticipated expiration: 2008-08-10
Also published as: AU2063888A

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Form

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE 6 Q 0 Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: 41' -L1l is b4Yi 1".

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a cc a P C C: C CC cC C a as a a, Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: Related Art: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: NIHONKENKOZOSHINKENKYUKAI CO., LTD.

30-30, NAJIMA 1-CHOME, HIGASHI-KU, FUKUOKA-SHI FUKUOKA 813

JAPAN

Actual Inventor: Address for Service: GRIFFITH HACK CO., 601 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled:

BEDCLOTH

The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:-

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SPECIFICATION

TITLE OF THE INVENTION Bedcloth so Oo D oo o 00 0 0 0000~ FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bedcloth used for a mat or pillow, and specifically the present invention relates to a structure of a bedcloth realizing improvements of health and feeling for the user of the bedcloth.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In conventional mats and pillows, only soft feeling and satisfactory cushion have been thought important, and a structure has been mostly adopted wherein the whole of peripheral surface of a soft thick cushion member is covered with a cover cloth.

However, in the case of the bedcloth having such a structure, the human body is in the state of surface contact with the cushion member, and therefore air-passing action and moisture-releasing action cannot be performed smoothly, and thus a saIL-tary problem remains unsolved, and further radiation of the body heat is worse, resulting in penning up the heat. Particularly, in a pillow having the above-mentioned structure, the head which is a factor for attaining sound sleep cannot be kept at a comfortable temperature, and in a a

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_f :i mat having the above-mentioned structure, there is a problem of causing an injury by contacting a bed when the sick person uses the bed for a long period.

The present invention has been achieved to solve the above-mentioned problems, and purposes to provide a novel bedcloth capable of realizing comfortable feeling of sleep by devising the structure of the cushion member.

oo00 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 00 00 0 a In accordance with the present invention there °o is provided a cushion member for a mattress or a pillow, oooo .0o the cushion member having an uneven surface comprising a 0o0 plurality of protrusions and recesses, the protrusions BO' have a hardened tip.

In the case where the present invention is applied to a mat, the human body is not brought in surface contact with the cushion member, but is supported in the state of point contact by the protrusions of the uneven surface, and therefore a gap is formed between the human body and the cushion member, resulting in improvements of air-passing action and moisture-releasing action. Also, even when a sick person lies on the mat for a long period, an injury due to contact with the bed is hard to take place, and in addition, a finger-pressure-curing action is performed on the human body.

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iI by the hardened parts, and therefore this case is effective for improving his health.

Similarly, in the case where the present invention is applied to a pillow, the head, neck, shoulders and the like of the human body are not brought in surface contact with the cushion member, but are supported in the state of point S contact by the protrusions of the uneven surface, and thereoo 00 0 fore a gap is formed between each of the above-mentioned 0oo parts of the human body and the cushion member, and thereby #000 o 10 the air-passing property and the moisture-releasing property Sare improved, and a sound sleep can be realized by keeping the head at a comfortable temperature. Also, the above- 0 mentioned hardened part makes a finger-pressure-curing action on the head, neck, shoulders and the like of the human body, o oo a000 15 and therefore an excellent effect is exerted also on improving the health.

0000 0 ooo BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0 4 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mat partly broken off of one embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. i.

Fig. 3 is a magnified cross-sectional view showing a cushion member in a magnified fashion.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the mat showing an arrangement 3 -i 3 It _f i t k jI of magnet pieces.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a pillow partly broken off of one embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a pillow main body.

Fig. 8 is a front view of the pillow main body.

Fig. 9 is a magnified cross-sectional view showing a cushion member in a magnified fashion.

Fig. 10 is a side view showing the used state of the pillow.

THE BEST FORMS FOR EMBODYING THE PRESENT INVENTION Fig. 1 through Fig. 4 show a mat of one embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

The mat illustrated in the figures has a structure wherein two sheets of synthetic resin corrugated plates 1 and 1 are arranged in the direction of length with peaks of the both corrugated plates 1 aligned in the same direction, and semi-hard cushion mentbers 3 and 4 are superposed respectively on the top and bottom surfaces of the both corrugated plates 1, and the both cushion materials 3 and 4 are cemented at the peripheral edges thereof, and the whole is covered with a cover cloth 5. Each corrugated plate 1 is made of poly- 4

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ii vinylchloride resin, and a folding part 12 capable of folding is formed between the both corrugated plates 1 and i.

For the cushion members 3 and 4, a material is used which has a cushioning property like semiurethane foam and a moderate hardness, and also has an air-passing property, and, for example, Rubber Tan H (Trade name, manufactured by Toyo 0Rubber Chemical Industry, Co., Ltd.) whose main materials are polyether, rubber and the like is suitable. An uneven surface 6 is formed on the surface of each of the cushion members 3 and 4, and a recess part 7 is formed on the rear surface thereof, respectively. The above-mentioned corrugated plates 1 are housed in the recess parts 7 and 7 of the both cushion members 3 and 4 which are superposed on each other. As shown in Fig. 3, on the uneven surfaces 6 of the above-mentioned cushion members 3 and 4, a hardened part 11 is formed at the tip of each protrusion 8. This hardened part 11 is formed in a manner that a rubber series liquid is impregnated into the tip of the protrusion 8, and thereafter the rubber series liquid is vulcanized and solidified by heating at about 1000C.

As shown in Fig. 4, on the surface of the top side cushion member 3, permanent magnet pieces 9 of about 740 860 gauss are attached to the positions where the shoulders, back, waist and legs contact the magnet pieces when a person lies on the back on the mat, and a magnetic curing effect is

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obtained by making the lines of magnetic force thereof act on each portion of the human body. In the illustrated example, each magnet piece 9 is fitted into a recess 10 on the surface of the cushion member 3, and is cemented in a fixed fashion with an adhesive.

Fig. 5 through Fig. 10 show an example in the case where the present invention is applied to a pillow, and a plurality of magnets 26 are disposed on the surface of a pillow main S body 21 composed of a cushion core member 22, a tile-shaped ceramic plate 23 and a cushion member 24, and the whole of the pillow main body 21 is covered with a cover cloth Above-mentioned cushion core member 22 is formed with urethane foam or the like, and comprises a flat part 22a having a constant thickness and a protrusion part 22b formed continuously on the front side of this flat part 22a. This protrusion part 22b is formed in a manner of protruding the top surface across the whole width thereof, and the gently curved surface from the flat part 22a to the protrusion part 22b is adapted to the shape from the back of the head A to the neck B, and the curved surface of the front end surface of the protrusion part 22b is adapted to the shape from the neck B to the shoulders C of the human body as shown in Fig.

On the top surface of the flat part 22a of this cushion core member 22, a plurality of (three sheets in this embodi- -6i iJ ment) tile-shaped ceramic plates 23 are disposed in a transverse line, and these tile-shaped ceramic plates 23 function to cool the head.

The cushion member 24 encloses the above-mentioned cushion core member 22 and tile-shaped ceramic plate 23, and a material which has a cushioning action and a moderate hardness like semi-hard polyurethane foam or the like and has an air-passing property is used for it, and it is suitable to form it, for example, with Rubber Tan H (trade name, 10 manufactured by Toyo Rubber Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) whose main materials are polyether, rubber and the like.

This cushion member 24 is provided with an uneven surface 29 having a large number of protrusion 27 and recesses 28 on the rear surface thereof, and as shown in Fig. 9, a hardened part 30 if formed on the tip of each protrusion 27 of this uneven surface 29. This hardened part 30 is formed in a manner that a rubber series liquid is impregnated into the tip of the protrusion 27, and thereafter the rubber series liquid is vulcanized and solidified by heating at about 100 C.

Also, as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, on the uneven surface 29 of the above-mentioned cushion member 24, a plurality of permanent magnets 26 of about 740 860 gauss are attached respectively to the top surface of the flat part 22a corresponding to the position of the back of the head, to the top surface of the protrusion part 22b corresponding to -7- 0 01 J$2 -1 7 the position *2f the neck, and to the front surface of protrusion part 22b corresponding to the position of the shoulders of the human body, and the lines of magnetic force generated by these magnets act on each portion such as the above-mentioned head, neck, shoulders and the like, and thereby magnetic curing effects such as relief of stiffness in the shoulders, improvement of blood circulation and recovery from fatigue. In the illustrated example, for the permanent magnet 26, a permanent magnet such as ferrite is used which is made in a manner that a powdered material is compression-moulded, thereafter being sintered and magnetized. This permanent magnet 26 is fitted into the recess 28 on the surface of the cushion member 24, and is cemented in a fixed fashion with an adhesive.

APPLICABILITY IN INDUSTRIES In the case where a person lies on the mat of the first embodiment, the top-side cushion member 3 has a light cushion action on the human body, and the protrusion 8 on the surface presses each portion of the human body, and performs a finger-pressing action thereon. On the other hand, the lines of magnetic force issuing from the magnet pieces 9 act on the human body, thereby quicken the blood circulation and recover fatigue.

The center portion of the corrugated plate 1 is bent 8 -w downward to some extent due to the load of the human body, but the corrugated plate 1 supports the human body in a natural shape of body so that the human body does not sink in an unnatural shape. Also, the peak parts 2 of the corrugated plate 1 sink to some extent due to the load, but the restoring force thereof act on the cushion member 3 and bring the protrusions 8 of the cushion member 3 and the magnet pieces 9 oo oo 2o in close contact with the human body, and therefore the o a0 finger-pressing action and the magnetic action work more O 10 effectively.

Furthermore, the top-side cushion member 3 is provided with the hardened parts 11 at the protrusions 8 on the uneven 0 0 surface 6, and therefore each protrusion 8 is never broken by 0 0° o the load, and the human body is supported in the state of 0 0 o 15 point contact by the hardened part 11 of each protrusion 8.

Consequently, a gap is formed between the human body and the cushion member 3, resulting in an improvement of the airpassing property. Also, since the human body is not brought in surface contact with the cushion member 3, an injury due to the contact with the bed is hard to take place even when a sick person lies on the mat for a long period. In addition, the bottom-side cushion member 4 absorbs a deflection of the corrugated plate 1 by the elasticity thereof, and catches the whole load.

Next, in the case where the head is put on the pillow of -9- 3 4P the second embodiment, the cushion member 24 has a light cushioning action on the head and the neck, and the protrusions 27 on the surface have a finger-pressing action on each portion of the human body such as the back of the head, neck and shoulders by pressing them. On the other hand, the lines of magnetic force issuing from the permanent magnets 26 act on the human body, quicken blood circulation, relieve stiffness of the shoulders and recover fatigue, and additionally the tile-shaped ceramic plate 28 cools the head.

Furthermore, the hardened parts are installed in the protrusions 27 on the uneven surface 29 of the cushion member 24, and therefore each protrusion 27 of the cushion member 24 is never broken by the load, and the head and the neck are supported in the state of point contact by the hardened part 30 of each protrusion 27. Consequently, a gap is formed between the head and neck and the cushion member 24, and this gap improves the air-passing property and the moisturereleasing property, and combined with the head-cooling function of the tile-shaped ceramic plate 23, the head can be kept at a comfortable temperature, and thus the state of sound sleep can be maintained. Furthermore, by installing the hardened parts 30 in the protrusions 27 of the uneven surface 29 of the cushion member 24, the finger-pressing action on each portion such as the head, neck and the shoulders is performed more effectively. In addition, the 10 Li i L I i bottom-side uneven surface 29 of the cushion member 24 acts as a stopper for preventing the pillow from sliding on the mat.

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Claims

1. A cushion member for a mattress or a pillow, the cushion member having an uneven surface comprising a plurality of protrusions and recesses, the protrusions having a hardened tip.

2. A cushion member according to claim 1 wherein I the hardened tip is formed by impregnating the tip of f the protrusion with a vulcanizable liquid rubber and thereafter vulcanizing the rubber by heating.

3. A cushion member according to either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the cushion member has a plurality of permanent magnet pieces attached to the uneven surface in the recesses thereof. (i

4. A mattress comprising a cushion member according to any one of claims 1 to 3 encased in a cover cloth.

A mattress according claim 4 wherein the cushion i.1 member has a corrugated plate made from a synthetic !j resin disposed therein.

6. A pillow comprising a cushion member according to any one of claims 1 to 3 encased in a cover cloth.

7. A pillow according to claim 6 wherein the cushion member has a tile-shaped ceramic plate disposed therein.

8. A cushion member for a mattress or a pillow substantially as hereinbefore described with respect to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 23rd day of May, 1990 I NIHONKENKOZQSHINKENKYUKAI CO., LTD. By its Patent Attorneys .GRIFFITH HACK CO. Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia -12 I r"i.'