Pocket Spring Mattress Casings With Stretch Openings for Quiet Comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and noise issues associated with traditional pocket spring mattresses due to the use of extensive and expensive casing fabrics, which compromise comfort and manufacturing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a plurality of stretch openings in the casing fabric to reduce material usage, minimize rustling noise, and enhance individual resilience, allowing for the use of less expensive fabrics while maintaining comfort and reducing manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If extensive casing fabric is used to enclose each spring individually, then individual resilience and comfort are improved, but manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The casing fabric is segmented by introducing stretch openings that divide the continuous fabric into multiple sections. Each section can move independently to accommodate spring movement, maintaining individual resilience while reducing the total amount of fabric needed. The openings allow the casing to stretch and flex locally without requiring excessive material throughout the entire casing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The casing fabric is transformed into a porous structure by incorporating stretch openings. This porous design allows the casing to breathe and flex more easily, providing the necessary individual resilience for each spring while using less material. The openings create a semi-permeable structure that maintains functionality with reduced material consumption.
2Ease of manufacture
If less expensive casing fabric is used to reduce cost, then manufacturing cost decreases, but rustling noise increases causing user discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The stretch openings segment the casing fabric into independent sections that can move and flex separately. This segmentation prevents the fabric from creating rustling noises by allowing each section to accommodate spring movement independently, reducing friction and noise between fabric layers. This enables the use of less expensive fabrics without the rustling problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameters of the casing fabric are changed by introducing stretch openings, which alter its mechanical properties. The openings reduce the fabric's density and stiffness, allowing it to flex more quietly and reducing the rustling noise characteristic of cheaper fabrics. This parameter change enables cost-effective fabric choices without compromising comfort.
3Ease of manufacture
If the amount of casing fabric is reduced to lower cost, then manufacturing cost decreases, but the stretching characteristics of the casing deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The casing fabric is divided into multiple sections by stretch openings, allowing each section to stretch independently. This segmentation compensates for the reduced total fabric amount by enabling localized stretching where needed. Each segment can extend and flex to accommodate spring movement, maintaining adequate stretching characteristics with less overall material.
Solution Approach 2:
The stretch openings introduce dynamic flexibility to the casing structure. The openings allow the casing to adapt its shape and size dynamically as springs move, providing the necessary stretching characteristics. This dynamic design enables the casing to compensate for reduced material quantity through increased flexibility and adaptability.
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 solution achieves cost savings, improved comfort, and reduced noise by allowing for the use of less expensive fabrics while maintaining equivalent comfort and resilience, making the mattress easier and less expensive to manufacture.
Implementation Method 1
the stretch openings contributing to increased stretching characteristics of the casing material holding the spring
Implementation Method 2
the plurality of casing stretch openings contributes to reducing rustling noises during flexing of the casing along with the spring during load
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a spring mattress (1) comprising a plurality of strings (2) interconnected side by side, each string (2) comprising a plurality of continuous casings (3) and each casing (3) comprising a coil spring (4). Further, at least one of said casings (3) in at least one of said strings comprises a plurality of stretch openings (5) into the interior of said casing, wherein at least some of said stretch openings are displaced in relation to each other in a lengthwise direction of said spring. The present invention also relates to a method and a device for manufacturing of such a mattress, as well as to a bed adapted for such a mattress.