Shaped body made from a foam and springs as well as uses thereof
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mattress constructions with springs and foams fail to synchronize the dynamic responses of these materials under load, leading to static and non-responsive behavior due to independent movement of foam and springs, which affects user comfort and comfort perception.
Innovation Solution
The foam and spring sections are mechanically attached through top and bottom plates to ensure parallel behavior, synchronizing their responses to compression and decompression, allowing for a harmonized reaction to load and release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If foam and springs are placed in serial construction without attachment, then manufacturing is simplified, but dynamic response synchronization is lost leading to static behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the foam section and spring section into a single integrated shaped body where the foam is inserted within the spring structure. This combination allows the materials to work together synergistically, with the foam providing initial comfort and the springs providing support, while their integrated structure enables synchronized dynamic response to user load.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary connection mechanism between the foam and spring sections, where the foam is positioned to interact with the spring coils. This intermediary arrangement allows force transfer and coordination between the two materials, enabling them to respond dynamically together rather than independently.
2Ease of operation
If foam extends above coil spring, then foam reacts first under load providing comfort, but foam and spring move independently without synchronization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent nests the foam section within the spring structure, with the foam inserted inside the coil spring assembly. This nested configuration allows the foam to be contained and supported by the spring structure while still providing its comfort function, and the spring structure provides lateral support to prevent foam from moving independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the flexible foam material as a shell-like structure that conforms to the spring assembly. The foam's flexibility allows it to deform with the spring movement while maintaining contact, creating a unified responsive system where both materials move together in response to load.
3Stability of the object's composition
If foam is squeezed between spring wires under load, then structural stability increases, but dynamic responsiveness is lost becoming very firm and static
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by having the foam primarily contact and interact with specific portions of the spring structure (the coil wires) rather than being uniformly constrained. This localized interaction allows the foam to provide comfort where needed while maintaining structural stability through strategic contact points, without being completely squeezed and losing all dynamic response.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The synchronized foam and spring combination provides a visco-elastic behavior with rapid firmness adjustments, enhancing user comfort by maintaining responsiveness and reducing the influence of body temperature on firmness.
Implementation Method 1
the memory foam conforms to the shape of a user when the user exerts pressure onto the foam, thereby minimizing pressure points from the user's body. The memory foam then returns to its original shape when the user and associated pressure on the memory foam is removed. However, the return to the original shape of the memory foam is a relatively slow process because of the viscoelastic cellular structure of these types of foams.
Implementation Method 2
The shaped body comprises at least one spring and at least one foam section... The uppermost section of the foam section is attached by affixation through a top plate to the uppermost section of the at least one spring, and the lowest section of the foam section is attached by affixation through a bottom plate to the lowest section of the least one spring.
Data Source
AI summary
A shaped body includes at least one spring and at least one foam section. An uppermost section of the foam section is attached to an uppermost section of the at least one spring and a lowest section of the foam section is attached to the lowest section of the at least one spring. The uppermost section is attached by affixation through a top plate to the at least one spring and the lowest section is attached by affixation through a bottom plate to the at least one spring. The at least one spring is arranged adjacent to the at least one foam section. The top plate and the bottom plate are sufficiently mechanically firm to generate parallel behavior of the at least one spring and the at least one foam section.