Foam Spring Structure With Angled Holes for Cushioning Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing foam springs have holes that extend perpendicular to the outer surface, limiting their design flexibility and functionality in applications like pillows and mattresses, as they are manufactured using straight knives and lack the ability to create slits at an angle, restricting the geometric shape and performance of the foam spring.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a rotating cutting device with multiple cutting blades on a disk, cutting slits in a continuous foam layer at an angle, allowing the formation of a tubular resilient body with inwardly extending holes, enabling diamond-shaped holes by bending and gluing the foam strips, and allowing for adjustable angle and shape customization through disk diameter and cutting edge design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If straight knives with cutting motion perpendicular to the surface are used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the holes can only extend perpendicular to the outer surface, limiting design flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transitioning from a static straight knife with fixed perpendicular cutting motion to a rotating cutting device with multiple blades that can dynamically adjust cutting angles. The rotating disk mechanism enables variable hole angles while maintaining continuous cutting action, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying the cutting device from a single straight knife to a rotating disk with multiple blades positioned at different angles. This allows changing the cutting parameters (blade angle, rotation speed, disk diameter) to produce holes at various angles and shapes, thereby improving adaptability while keeping the manufacturing process straightforward.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a rotating cutting device with multiple blades is used, then design flexibility and hole angle variability are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the merging principle by combining multiple cutting blades onto a single rotating disk structure. This integration allows the device to perform multiple cutting functions simultaneously while occupying less space and requiring fewer separate components, thereby reducing overall device complexity despite the increased functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating cutting disk serves multiple functions: it cuts slits at various angles, creates holes of different shapes, and can be adjusted for different cutting parameters. This multi-functionality reduces the need for multiple separate cutting devices, ultimately simplifying the overall manufacturing system despite the increased complexity of the cutting device itself.
3Manufacturing precision
If slits are cut at an angle in continuous foam layer, then foam springs with improved properties and design flexibility are produced, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning multiple cutting blades at specific angles on the rotating disk before the cutting process begins. This pre-configuration allows precise hole angles to be achieved without complex real-time adjustments during manufacturing, maintaining manufacturing precision while reducing operational complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A foam spring (1) for use in pillows, cushions, mattresses or the like, the foam spring (1) having a tubular resilient body (2) made of foam with holes (3) extending inwardly from an outside surface (4) to an inside location (5), wherein the holes (3) extend at a non-perpendicular angle (A) relative to a line perpendicular to the outside surface of the spring (1) at the position of the hole (3). The foam spring (1) is manufactured by a method which comprises providing interrupted slits along lines extending in the longitudinal direction of a foam layer; cutting a transverse strip out of this foam layer; bending two opposite ends of the strip towards each other; and fixing the two opposite ends into a tubular shape to form the tubular resilient body (2); wherein the slits are made in a direction forming an angle with the direction perpendicular to the surface of the foamed layer.