Pneumatic mattress

Feb. 20, 1945.

2,369,736

V. H. HURT

PNEUMATIC MATTRESS

Filed Dec. 29, 1942

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INVENTOR.

m/dFd/T //. HUFT

-ATTORNEY

Patented Feb, 20,1945

2,369,736

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,369,736

PNEUMATIC MATTRESS

Victor H. Hurt, Cranston, B. I., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey

Application December 29,1942, Serial No. 470,461

Claims. (Cl. 5—348)

This invention relates to pneumatic mattresses adapted for use as light-weight sleeping equipment such as may be employed in camps.

Pneumatic mattresses of various types have been provided heretofore which are adapted to be 6 inflated for use and deflated and rolled up into a small package when not in use, but the problem of inflating such mattresses is troublesome.

The present invention contemplates a pneumatic mattress having associated therewith a pil- 10 low which is constructed to sepre also as a bellows for inflating the mattress.

Both the mattress and pillow may be variously formed, provided the construction of the pillow is such that it will become filled with air from the 15 atmosphere when fully extended, and will pump this air into the mattress as the pillow is forced to a collapsed position.

The above and other features of the invention will be more fully understood from the following 20 detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a pneumatic mattress having a pneumatic pillow such as contemplated by the present invention associated there- 25 with;

Fig. 2 is an end view, upon a larger scale, with parts in section of the construction shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing how 30 the mattress is inflated by collapsing the pillow; and

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4—4 of Fig. 2.

The manner in which the pneumatic mattress is constructed forms no essential part of the pres- 35 ent invention. This mattress as shown in the drawing is formed primarily of two relatively large sheets of fabric 10 and I I which have been treated with rubber or other coating material to render the fabric impervious to air. The mar- 40 ginal edges of these sheets 10 and 1! are secured together around the outside of the mattress by seams 12 which may be cemented or otherwise formed. The mattress preferably is divided longitudinally so as to form the tubular sections 13 ⁴⁵having secured between them the longitudinally extending fabric partition 14 which serves to limit the extent to which the mattressrmay expand laterally when Inflated. These partitions 14 may be cemented or stitched to the opposite 50 inner walls of the mattress as shown. The mattress preferably is large enough to form a comfortable bed for a person.

The primary feature of the present invention resides in a pneumatic mattress, such for exam- 65 pie as just described that has associated therewith a pillow in position to serve as a head rest for the person lying on the mattress, and which also serves as a bellows adapted to be manually operated to pump air into the mattress to inflate it.

In the construction shown the mattress has secured to the upper face thereof adjacent one end an approximately semi-cylindrical pillow IE which for the most part may be formed of an air impervious fabric similar to the fabric 10 and 99 above described.

The pillow IS comprises an air-tight receptacle formed of the approximately semi-cylindrical wall 16 that is tightly secured to the lower wall or floor Π. This floor 17 is sewed or adhesively secured to the tubular sections 13 of the mattress as shown. The pillow is provided with an air inlet 13 formed with a one-way valve whereby air may enter the pillow from the atmosphere through this opening but cannot escape from the pillow through this opening. The pillow is further provided with the air passage 19 leading from the pillow into the mattress and which is also formed with a one-way valve that permits air to pass from the pillow into the mattress but not in the reverse direction.

The purpose of the pillow 1$ as above stated is to form a headrest for a person lying on the mattress and also to form a bellows which may be manually operated to pump air into the mattress. These results could be secured by constructing the pillow of relatively stiff rubber that would return to its original shape, or by otherwise forming the pillow so that it would inherently return to its fully inflated condition when free from external pressure, and would serve to force the air confined therein into the mattress through the passage 19 when the pillow is collapsed. Such a construction however, would resist being compressed into a compact condition when the combined mattress and pillow are to be rolled up into a small package. Therefore, in the construction shown the pillow 15 will not automatically extend itself to the fully inflated condition in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but needs to be manually extended to this fully inflated condition.

In the construction shown the semi-cylindrical wall 16, floor 17 and end walls 20 may be formed of air impervious fabric such as used in the mattress, but if desired, the end walls 20 may be formed of a stiffer material. These end walls are foldingly secured to the top of the mattress by the hinge strips 21.

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Each of the ends 20 has secured to the outer face thereof a strap 22 adapted to be grasped by the hand as shown whereby the pillow may be filled with air from the atmosphere by pulling the pillow ends away from each other in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. This will cause air to enter the pillow from the atmosphere through the inlet 18, and the air thus confined in the pillow may be forced into the mattress by pressing downwardly on the pillow with the hands as shown in Fig. 3 to collapse the pillow and force the air into the mattress through the valve 18. The valve opening 18 may be provided with the protecting cap 21 attached to the pillow by the chain 24.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the pillow IB serves also as a bellows and that when the mattress is to be inflated all that is necessary is to manually extend the pillow as shown in Fig. 2 and then collapse it as shown in Fig. 3, and repeat these operations until the mattress is inflated to the desired degree.

The partitions 14 within the mattress may be made of porous material or may be provided with apertures through which air may pass from one tubular section to another. The pillow IB may be deflated by forcing the air therein into the mattress, and the mattress may be deflated by providing the same with a bleed valve 28 having a removable cap 28. When this cap 26 is removed the air will escape from the mattress to deflate it so that it may be rolled up into a small compact package which is easy to carry and handle.