US20160128490A1

US20160128490A1 - Automatic inflatable cushion

Info

Publication number: US20160128490A1
Application number: US14/535,977
Authority: US
Inventors: Chien-chuan Cheng; Zheng-Xin HAN; Chien-Hsiung CHEN
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-11-07
Filing date: 2014-11-07
Publication date: 2016-05-12

Abstract

An automatic inflatable cushion includes a cushion body, at least two airbags installed in the cushion body and capable of adjusting height and saturation independently, and an elastic member having fine pores filled in each airbag, and a manual switch valve installed on an outer surface of each airbag, so that when the manual switch valve is pressed towards the inside from both sides, the elastic member in the airbag is expanded and inflated naturally to improve the convenience of adjusting the height and saturation of the cushion.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cushions such as pillows, seat cushions, backrests etc provided for users to lay or sit on, in particular to an automatic inflatable cushion whose height, saturation, and comfortability can be adjusted simply and easily.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cushions including pillows, seat cushions and backrests available in the market are provided for us to lay, sit or lean on. For example, an appropriate pillow usually has the effects of improving our sleeping quality significantly, overcoming the problem of cervical pains effectively, and providing good prevention and treatment to the cervical pains. A major factor for determining whether or not a pillow is appropriate depends on the height and softness of the pillow, and our living habits are different from one another, so that the definition of the appropriate height and softness of the pillow varies. However, most pillows available in the market are filled pillows, and the height and softness of such pillows are fixed and cannot be adjusted, so that it is not easy for users to select the pillows with appropriate height and softness of themselves. Pillows with inappropriate height and softness not just cause difficulty to cure cervical fatigue and pain only, but also affect sleeping quality and physical health. Similarly, the conventional filled seat cushions and backrests have the drawback of unable to adjust the height and softness flexibly or meet the requirement of each individual's need.
In view of the aforementioned common drawback of the conventional cushion including pillow, seat cushion, backrest, etc, an automatic inflatable was introduced into the market, and such cushion comprises an airbag installed in the cushion, an elastic member filled in the airbag and automatically expanded or compressed by external forces, and a manual air valve installed on a surface of the airbag and having a single press button installed at the top of the manual air valve. When a user presses the press button, the airbag and the elastic member in the cushion are expanded, so that the air in the airbag is squeezed out from the manual air valve. Now, if the user releases the press button, the air in the airbag will be stopped from discharging out from the manual air valve, and the cushion will remain at a compressed status with the airbag. If the user presses the press button again, the elastic member will be expanded automatically to pop up the uncompressed airbag and cushion, so that the outside air is sucked into the airbag from the manual air valve naturally. Now, if the user releases the press button, the air in the airbag will be stopped from discharging out from the manual air valve, and the cushion will remain at an expanded status with the airbag.
However, the drawback of such inflatable cushion resides on that the press button is pressed by a user in a direction from the top of the manual air valve towards the airbag, so that when the user presses the cushion, the action force pressing on the press button is also applied to the airbag to deform the cushion, distribute the user while adjusting the height and softness of the cushion, and cause inconvenience to shape the cushion.
In view of the aforementioned problems and drawbacks of the prior art, the inventor based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive researches and experiments, and finally designed and develop an automatic inflatable cushion in accordance with the present invention to overcome the problems and drawbacks of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide an automatic inflatable cushion, particularly the automatic inflatable cushion whose height and softness can be adjusted simply and easily to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art including the deformation of the cushion caused by pressing the press button from the top of the manual air valve towards the airbag, the interference to users to adjust the height and softness of the cushion, and the inconvenience of shaping the cushion.
To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the present invention provides an automatic inflatable cushion, comprising: a cushion body; at least two airbags, installed in the cushion and capable of adjusting the height and saturation; an elastic member, having fine pores filled in the airbag; and a manual switch valve, installed on a surface of the airbag, and including a valve body interconnecting the interior of the airbag to outside air, and two press buttons symmetrically installed on both side of the valve body and provided for selectively opening and shutting the valve body.
In the aforementioned structure, each press button may be pressed from both sides of the valve body such that the press buttons become closer to each other in order to reduce the height of the cushion body and allow the interior of the airbag to be interconnected to outside air. Now, if the user presses the cushion body again, the airbag and its fine pores and elastic member are compressed to discharge air from the valve body. After the cushion body is compressed to an appropriate height, the user may release each press button, and allow the press buttons to restore their original positions automatically to close the valve body, so that the interior of the airbag is isolated from the outside air. Such arrangement can maintain the height and softness of the cushion body as the airbag shrinks.
If it is necessary to increase the height of the cushion body, the user may press the press buttons again, so that the interior of the airbag is interconnected to the outside air. Since the two press buttons are disposed on both sides of the valve body respectively, the cushion body is not pressed when the force is applied to the press buttons, so that the airbag containing the elastic member with the fine pores is expanded naturally, and air enters from the valve body. After the airbag is inflated to an appropriate height, each press button is released, so that the cushion body can increase the saturation and maintain the height with the airbag.
In an embodiment, the valve body includes a valve chamber formed therein and interconnected to the interior of the airbag, a valve port formed separately on both sides of the valve body and interconnected to the valve chamber, a valve door movably installed in the valve port, and spring installed between the valve doors and provided for driving the valve door to open or shut the valve port, and each press button is installed on the respective valve door and exposed from the respective valve body through the respective valve port, and provided for being pressed from both sides of the valve body towards the center of the valve body to open the valve port.
In an embodiment, the valve body includes a flared ring disposed at the bottom of the valve body and capable of performing a high frequency wave sealing with the surface of the airbag surface, so that the ring can be soldered onto the valve body by high frequency wave sealing.
In an embodiment, the cushion body is a pillow, a seat cushion or a backrest.
In an embodiment, the two airbags are partially stacked, and the stacked position of the airbags has a smaller thickness.
In an embodiment, the cushion body has a first arc surface, and the airbag has a second arc surface corresponsive to the first arc surface.
Compared with the prior art, the present invention includes at least two two airbags installed in the cushion body for independently adjusting height and saturation, and an elastic member with fine pores filled in the airbag, and a manual switch valve installed on a surface of the airbag. When use, the cushion body is pressed from both sides of the manual switch valve towards the center, so as to prevent the pressing force from being applied onto the airbag or affecting the natural expansion or inflation of the elastic member, and improve the convenience of adjusting the height and saturation and comfortability of the cushion. The present invention can overcome the problem of causing a deformation of the cushion body when a force applied to the press button is exerted onto the airbag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention as depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective blowup view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a exploded bottom view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a using status as depicted in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an implementation mode as depicted in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a perspective bottom view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a cross0sectional view of a using status as depicted in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of two implementation modes adopted in a preferred embodiment of the present invention as depicted in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of this invention described in connection with the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and drawings disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 for an automatic inflatable cushion in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; the automatic inflatable cushion comprises a cushion body 100 made of a fabric material, at least two airbags 20 installed in the cushion body 100 and capable of independently adjusting height and saturation, and the two airbags 20 being partially stacked with a smaller thickness at the stacked position, and the airbags 20 being made of an airtight material such as plastic or leather. In this embodiment, the cushion body 100 is a pillow.
The airbag 20 includes an elastic member 30 with fine pores filled therein, and the elastic member 30 is made of a sponge or foam material, or particles or filaments are compressed and then filled into a breathable material or bag to make the elastic member 30.
The airbag 20 includes a manual switch valve 40 installed on a surface of the airbag 20, and the manual switch valve 40 includes a valve body 41 for selectively interconnecting the interior of the airbag 20 to outside air, and two press button 421 symmetrically installed on both sides of the valve body 41 for selectively opening and shutting the valve body 41. Each manual switch valve 40 is installed at a position opposite to an outer side of the cushion body 100 or installed at a thinness-wise position opposite to a side of the cushion body 100 without affecting the effect of serving as a cushion or pillow.
The valve body 41 of the manual switch valve 40 is exposed from an outer surface of the airbag 20 and an outer surface opposite to the top of the cushion body 100 or a thickness-wise position opposite to a side of the cushion body 100. In addition, an opening 11 is formed on both sides of the cushion body 100 and provided for exposing the valve body 41 of the manual switch valve 40. When the cushion body 100 is a pillow, the manual switch valve 40 should not be arranged at a position proximate to the center of the top or the bottom of the cushion body 100 to prevent the pillow from having a protrusion at the position in contact with a user's body or affecting the user's sleeping.
With reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 for another preferred embodiment, the valve body 41 includes a valve chamber 43 formed therein, and a through hole 21 is formed on a surface of the airbag 20 and at a position corresponsive to the bottom of the valve body 41 and interconnected to the interior of the airbag 20, and an air inlet 44 is formed at the bottom of the valve body 41 and interconnected to the valve chamber 43 and the through hole 21. A valve port 45 is formed separately on both sides of the valve body 41 and interconnected to the valve chamber 43, and a valve door 461 is movably installed in each valve port 45, and a spring 50 is installed between the valve doors 461, and the spring 50 may be a compression spring for driving each valve door 461 to shut the valve port 45. Each press button 421 is installed on the respective valve door 461, and exposed separately from both sides of the valve body 41 through the valve port 45. In the embodiment, the valve door 461 further includes an elastic airtight gasket 49 abutted against the periphery of the valve port 45, such that when the valve door 461 shuts the valve port 45, the airtight gasket 49 is attached and abutted against the periphery of the valve port 45 to provide an airtight effect.
In FIG. 6, the press buttons 421 may be pressed from both sides of the valve body 41 towards the center of the valve body 41 to open the valve port 45. In addition, the valve body 41 includes a flared ring 47 disposed at the bottom of the valve body 41 and capable of performing a high frequency wave sealing with a surface of the airbag 20, so that the flared ring 47 of the valve body 41 can be soldered with a surface of the airbag 20 directly by high frequency wave sealing.
The manufacturing procedure of the airbag 20 comprises the following steps:
1. Provide a fabric for making the airbag 20, and spread the fabric open, and solder the ring 47 of the manual switch valve 40 to a surface of the fabric directly by a high frequency wave method, so that a through hole 21 formed on a surface of the fabric is aligned precisely with an air inlet 44 formed at the bottom of the manual switch valve 40.
2. Wrap an elastic member 30 into the fabric, so that the manual switch valve 40 is disposed at an edge.
3. Apply a preload to the elastic member 30 to reduce the thickness of the elastic member 30, and then seal the periphery of the fabric by the high frequency wave sealing method to form the airbag 20, and the elastic member 30 wrapped in the airbag 20 always maintains an upwardly or downwardly expanded elastic force.
Another manufacturing procedure of the airbag 20 comprises the following steps:
1. Provide a fabric for making the airbag 20, and spread the fabric open, and solder the ring 47 of the manual switch valve 40 to a surface of the fabric directly by a high frequency wave method, so that a through hole 21 formed on a surface of the fabric is aligned precisely with an air inlet 44 formed at the bottom of the manual switch valve 40.
2. Seal the periphery of the fabric by the high frequency wave sealing method to form the airbag 20, and arrange the manual switch valve 40 at an edge of the airbag 20, and reserve a side pocket when sealing the periphery of the airbag 20.
3. Stuff the elastic member 30 into the airbag 20 from the side pocket, and then sealing the side pocket of the airbag 20 by the high frequency wave sealing method, and the elastic member 30 stuffed in the airbag 20 always maintains an upwardly or downwardly expanded elastic force.
With the aforementioned structure, each press button 421 may be pressed from both sides of the valve body 41 (as shown in FIG. 6) to overcome the elastic force of the spring 50 in order to reduce the height of the cushion body 100, so that the valve doors 461 become closer to each other with the press button 421 to open the valve ports 45 on both sides of the valve body 41, and the interior of the airbag 20 is interconnected to outside air through the through hole 21, the air inlet 44, the valve chamber 43 and the valve port 45. Now, if any airbag 20 in the cushion body 100 is pressed again, the airbag 20 and its fine pores and elastic member 30 will be compressed, and the air in the airbag 20 will be released from the valve ports 45 on both sides of the valve body 41 to the outside. After the cushion body 100 is compressed to an appropriate height, each press button 421 is released (as shown in FIG. 5) to drive the spring 50 to restore the valve doors 461 and the press button 421 to their original positions, and the valve doors 461 shut the valve ports 45 on both sides of the valve body 41 respectively, so that the interior of the airbag 20 is isolated from the outside air to form an aright status. Therefore the height and softness of the cushion body 100 are maintained as the airbag 20 shrinks.
If a user wants to increase the height of the cushion body 100, the user may press the press buttons 421 again to open the valve ports 45 on both sides of the valve body 41, so that the interior of the airbag 20 is interconnected to outside air through the valve ports 45. Since the two press buttons 421 are installed on both sides of the valve body 41 respectively, therefore the force applied to the press buttons 421 is not exerted onto the cushion body 100, and the elastic member 30 having the fine pores in the airbag 20 can be expanded naturally, and air enters from the valve ports 45 of the valve body 41. After the airbag 20 is inflated to an appropriate height, each press button 421 is release to shut the valve port 45, so that the cushion body 100 can improve the saturation and maintain the height with the airbag 20.
It is noteworthy that the elastic member 30 is made of a breathable material such as particles or filaments filled into a fabric or bag, so that when air flows into or out of the airbag 20, the fabric or bag can block the impact force of the air current exerted onto the particles or filaments and prevent them from sticking onto the valve door 461 and prevent an air leakage of the valve door 461.
With reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 for another preferred embodiment, two symmetrical axial connecting portions 48 are disposed on an inner wall of the valve chamber 43, and an axial sleeve 463 is formed at an end of the valve door 462 and pivotally coupled to the axial connecting portion 48, so that an end of the valve door 462 is pivotally coupled to the inner wall of the valve chamber 43, and each press button 422 is installed on the respective valve door 462, and exposed from both sides of the valve body 41 through the valve port 45. In FIG. 10, when the user presses the press buttons 422 on both sides of the valve body 41, the valve doors 462 are driven by the press buttons 422 to rotate to a tilted status to open the valve port 45. The remaining components and implementation method are the same as the foregoing embodiments, and thus will not be repeated.
In FIG. 7, an elastic ring 12 may be installed at the periphery of the opening 11 for sheathing the flared ring 47 of the manual switch valve 40 and preventing the exposed manual switch valve 40 from being separated from the opening 11 due to the movement of the cushion body 100.
With reference to FIG. 11 for another feasible embodiment, the cushion body 101, 102 may be a seat cushion or a backrest. If the cushion body 102 is a backrest, the cushion body 102 may have a first arc surface 13, and the airbag 20 may have a second arc surface 22 corresponsive to the first arc surface 13, so that the seat cushion and the backrest may be used as an automobile seat cushion and backrest as well.
In summation, the present invention with the design of being pressed from both sides of the manual switch valve 40 towards the interior to prevent the pressing force from being exerted onto the airbag 20, so that the natural inflation of the elastic member 30 will not be affected, and the convenience of adjusting the height and saturation and comfortability of the cushion can be improved. The invention can overcome the problem of the prior art having a deformation of the cushion body easily due to the forces applied to the conventional press button being exerted onto the airbag.

Claims

1. An automatic inflatable cushion, comprising:

a cushion body;

at least two airbags, installed in the cushion and capable of adjusting the height and saturation;

an elastic member, having fine pores filled in the airbag; and

a manual switch valve, installed on a surface of the airbag, and including a valve body interconnecting the interior of the airbag to outside air, and two press buttons symmetrically installed on both side of the valve body and provided for selectively opening and shutting the valve body.

2. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 1, wherein the valve body includes a valve chamber formed therein and interconnected to the interior of the airbag, a valve port formed separately on both sides of the valve body and interconnected to the valve chamber, a valve door movably installed in the valve port, and spring installed between the valve doors and provided for driving the valve door to open or shut the valve port, and each press button is installed on the respective valve door and exposed from the respective valve body through the respective valve port, and provided for being pressed from both sides of the valve body towards the center of the valve body to open the valve port.

3. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 2, wherein the valve door includes an elastic airtight gasket installed thereon and abutting against the periphery of the valve port.

4. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 2, wherein the valve door has an end pivotally coupled to the valve body and the valve door is driven by the press button to swing to a tilted status to open the valve port.

5. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 1, wherein the cushion body has an opening formed on a surface of the cushion body and provided for exposing the manual switch valve.

6. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 5, wherein the opening has a ring sheathed on the manual switch valve.

7. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 1, wherein the valve body includes a flared ring disposed at the bottom of the valve body and capable of performing a high frequency wave sealing with the surface of the airbag surface.

8. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 1, wherein the two airbags are partially stacked, and the stacked position of the airbags has a smaller thickness.

9. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 1, wherein the cushion body has a first arc surface, and the airbag has a second arc surface corresponsive to the first arc surface.

10. The automatic inflatable cushion of claim 1, wherein each manual switch valve is installed at a position opposite to an outer side of the cushion body or at a thickness-wise position opposite to a side of the cushion body.