Mattress material, mattress ticking, mattress cover, sheet and mattress provided with a cover

The invention relates to a mattress material, mattress ticking, mattress cover, sheet and mattress provided with a cover.

Mattress materials, mattress ticking, mattress covers and sheets are known.

Lack of sleep or a disturbance in sleep rhythm is a great problem. This is not only a matter of insomnia as a clinical phenomenon, but also one of a slight shortage of sleep occurring over quite a long period of time.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mattress material, mattress ticking, mattress cover or sheet that has a positive effect on the quality of sleep and the duration of sleep.

To this end, a mattress material, mattress ticking, mattress cover, sheet and mattress provided with a cover according to the invention is characterized in that the mattress material, mattress ticking, the sheet or the mattress cover or sheet is provided with wires containing a central, non-conducting supporting wire, around which a conducting wire is wound wherein the conducting wire comprises a conducting core surrounded by an insulating external layer.

Experiments indicate that the mattress material, mattress ticking, cover or sheet according to the invention has a positive influence on the sleep rhythm. It is pointed out, without any statement being binding, that this effect may be connected with the prevention of a build-up of static electricity and/or with the reduction of electromagnetic radiation in and/or around the bed.

It is important that the conducting wires do not themselves become a source of discomfort. Conducting wires are generally stiff wires and are coloured (black). Breakage of such a wire can produce loose wire parts. These loose wire parts reduce comfort and thereby disturb the sleep rhythm. They may irritate (prick) the sleeper and may also give the feeling of hairs being on and/or in the duvet cover or sheet, in other words that the mattress cover or sheet is not clean. The risk of breakage is relatively great, certainly in the wash. The risk of breakage is reduced by winding the conducting wires around a non-conducting supporting wire and, should breakage nevertheless occur, the conducting wires are generally held in place by the supporting wire around which the conducting wire concerned is wound. Furthermore, the conducting wires are less visible than conducting wires not wound around a central wire, since 50% of the conducting wires are situated on a side of the supporting wire facing away from the sleeper. Should breakage occur and a part of the conducting wire project, then the supporting wire ensures that the conducting wire cannot easily be pulled out of the mattress and, on the other hand, it makes it possible for the conducting wire to be pulled back again. The wires are preferably incorporated as a filler wire inside a double-knit fabric or woven fabric, so that they are not visible from the outside.

The conducting wire comprises a conducting core surrounded by an electrically insulating external layer.

The composition of the conducting wire the invention, with a conducting core and an insulating external layer, prevents static charge of the material, but - unlike conducting wires without an insulating external layer - a charge which has built up is less likely to be discharged towards the sleeper. The external layer also provides some protection of the conducting core from aggressive substances, such as detergents and perspiration. The external layer is preferably a flexible material, which reduces the risk of breakage.

The conducting core preferably has a lobate, for example trilobate, cross section. Such a structure has a positive influence on the antistatic effect of the wires.

The conducting wire is preferably made of organically conducting material, such as carbon-containing plastics.

The wires are preferably situated at a distance of no more than 2 cm from each other, preferably no more than 1 cm.

Too great a distance between the wires reduces the effect.

The distance between the wires is preferably more than 0.25 cm. If the distance is less than that, the conducting wires, although often not individually visible, can form a 'haze', which may also give rise to the impression that the sheet is not clean.

It is remarked that a fabric especially for a seat in particular for a car seat is known from German Offenlegungschrift DE 37 41 023 wherein a metal wire ("Metallfaden") is wound around a textile support wire ("textiler Trägerfaden) or alternatively a wires (Faden) are covered with metal covering ("Beschichtigung"). No mention is made, however, of conducting wires covered with an insulating external layer.

These and further aspects of the invention are further illustrated below by way of example with reference to the drawing, in which:

• Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a bed provided with a mattress cover according to the invention;
• Figure 2 shows a mattress cover according to the invention;
• Figure 3 shows a wire suitable for use in a mattress cover according to the invention;
• Figure 4 shows a preferred embodiment of a mattress cover according to the invention;
• Figure 5 shows in cross section a preferred conducting wire.

The figures are drawn diagrammatically and not to scale.

Figure 1 shows a mattress 1. The mattress comprises an interior, not explicitly shown here, over which a mattress cover 2 is fitted. Figure 2 shows a mattress cover 2. The mattress cover comprises a woven or knitted material, not explicitly shown here, in which wires 3 are incorporated. A mattress cover is shown in the examples. It will be clear that mattress materials and mattress ticking and sheets also fall within the scope of the invention. The wires in this non-limiting example are situated at a distance d from each other, d preferably being no more than 2 cm, preferably no more than 1 cm. Figure 3 shows wires 3. The wires 3 comprise a non-conducting supporting wire 4, around which a conducting wire 5 is wound. The wires 3 were found in experiments to have a positive effect on sleeping comfort. Experiments, in which test subjects slept both on mattresses provided with mattress covers according to the invention and on dummy mattresses, were carried out, the test subjects not knowing on which of the mattresses they were sleeping. The test subjects indicated that, compared with the dummy mattresses, the mattresses according to the invention provided greater sleeping comfort. In this way it could be established that, measured subjectively, the mattress covers according to the invention provided better sleeping comfort. The same effect could be measured objectively. By measuring a number of sleep parameters, such as the time needed to fall asleep, the total sleeping time and how deep the sleep was, it could be established that on average the quality of sleep on a mattress with a mattress cover according to the invention is greater than that on a dummy mattress. Apart from the difference in mattress cover, the dummy mattress did not differ from the mattresses with a mattress cover according to the invention, and the test subjects could not distinguish between them. Both the subjective and the objective measuring data therefore indicate a positive effect of the mattress cover according to the invention on the quality of the sleep.

It is pointed out, without any statement being binding, that this effect may be connected with the prevention of a build-up of static electricity and/or with the reduction of electromagnetic radiation in and/or around the mattress.

The supporting wire 4 provides support for the conducting wire 5 and prevents said wire 5 from breaking, or reduces the risk of breakage, with the advantages already mentioned above.

The conducting wire preferably comprises an organic conducting material, such as carbon-containing plastics.

It will be clear that many variations are possible within the scope of the invention. The wires 3 can extend both in the vertical and in the horizontal direction. The wires 3 can be knitted or woven into the material of which the mattress cover is made. The mattress cover can also - and this constitutes a preferred embodiment - comprise a stacking of a number of layers of material, the wires 3 being incorporated between two of these layers. This embodiment is preferred because the supporting wires in this embodiment are always separated from the outside world by at least one layer of material. This reduces the risk of breakage of the conducting wire, reduces the visibility of the conducting wire, and reduces the risk of the conducting wire being able to stick through the mattress cover should said wire break. Figure 4 shows such an embodiment in perspective view. The mattress cover 2 comprises two layers of material 6 and 7, between which the wires 3 are incorporated. For the sake of clarity, the layers 6 and 7 are shown at some distance from each other in this figure. The mattress cover is preferably knitted or woven as a double-knit fabric or double-woven fabric with a filler yarn.

Figure 5 shows in cross section a preferred embodiment of the conducting wire. The conducting wire 5 comprises a conducting core 5b, surrounded by a non-conducting sheath 5a. This construction has the advantage that the sleeper does not come into direct contact with the conducting wire. The risk of discharge through the sleeper is therefore reduced. This type of conducting wire does not require earthing for a positive effect, while conducting wires without external sheath are preferably earthed. The conducting core can comprise carbon fibres, with a non-conducting external sheath of polyester or Teflon. A commercially available conducting wire of this type is the Negastat® wire sold by Du Pont.

As regards the embodiment of the invention in which the wires are laid between two layers, another factor is that the laying of a wire is a simpler and less expensive method than knitting or weaving a wire into the material at the time of its production, and the risk of breakage of the conducting wire is further reduced.

It will be clear that many variations are possible within the scope of the invention.