Body supporting system with adjustable firmness and related method and firmness adjusting device

Abstract

The present disclosure in general relates to body supporting systems and devices such as mattress, chair, car seat, etc., and their operating methods, and in particular to body supporting systems and devices with adjustable firmness, and related operating methods and firmness adjusting devices.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for adjusting the firmness or height or sag of a body support device, comprising:
 obtaining, at a time t 1 , a baseline pressure or compression/decompression or sag profile of the body support device when a body is being supported by the body support device; and   adjusting, at a later time t 2 , the firmness or height or sag of at least a portion of the body support device based on the baseline pressure or compression/decompression or sag profile obtained at the time t 1 .   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , the firmness or height or sag of at least a portion of the body support is adjusted to increase comfort. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , the firmness or height or sag of at least a portion of the body support is adjusted to make sure that the body's backbone is straight or in its natural form. 
     
     
         4 . An adjusting device for adjusting the firmness or height or sag of a body support device, comprising:
 a motor configured to adjust the firmness or height or sag of the body support device, and   a reduction gear that adjusts the rotation by the motor.   
     
     
         5 . The adjusting device according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a pulley that is driven by the motor, and   a movable piece that is semi-stiff and is driven by the motor via a string,   wherein the reduction gear is configured to adjust the rotation of the pulley by the motor, and wherein the motor, the pulley, and the reduction gear are arranged at one side of at least one layers of the body support device, while the movable piece is arranged on the other side of the at least one layers, and wherein the string passes through the at least one layers, and is attached to the movable piece and is configured to be released from or wound on the pulley in order to adjust the firmness or height or sag of the body support device.   
     
     
         6 . An adjusting device for compressing or decompressing one or multiple layers of a body support device, comprising:
 a first part attached to the top of the one or multiple layers, the first part comprising multiple magnets and/or electromagnets, and   a second part attached to the bottom of the one or multiple layers, the second part comprising multiple magnets and/or electromagnets, wherein one or more magnets and/or electromagnets from the first part overlap one or more magnets and/or electromagnets from the second part,   wherein when the one or multiple layers is compressed by magnetic force, a larger number of the magnets or electromagnets from the first and second parts overlap each other, thereby producing a greater magnetic force to compress the one or multiple layers.   
     
     
         7 . An adjusting device for compressing or decompressing at least one layers of a body support device, comprising:
 a force distributing member arranged on top of the at least one layers;   an actuator arranged underneath the at least one layers; and   a string passing through the at least one layers, one end of the string being attached to the force distributing member while the other end of the string being attached to the actuator,   wherein the actuator is configured to drive the string to move the force distributing member so as to compress or decompress the at least one layers.   
     
     
         8 . The adjusting device according to  claim 7 , wherein the force distributing member is a pad arranged on top of the at least one layers. 
     
     
         9 . The adjusting device according to  claim 7 , wherein a fabric or plastic layer is arranged on top of the at least one layers, and wherein the force distributing member is a portion of the fabric or plastic layer. 
     
     
         10 . The adjusting device according to  claim 7 , wherein the actuator comprises:
 a motor,   a pulley that is driven by the motor, and   a reduction gear that adjusts the rotation of the pulley by the motor,   wherein the string is configured to be released from or wound on the pulley by the motor in order to compress or decompress the at least one layers.   
     
     
         11 . A method for alternating the pressure points experienced by a person located on a body support device, comprising:
 determining the pressure points applied by the body support device to the person;   increasing the sag of the body support device at the locations of the pressure points, thereby moving the pressure points to different locations; and   repeating the steps of determining and of increasing, so as to alternate the pressure points.   
     
     
         12 . A method for adjusting the pressure applied by a body support device to a person on the body support device, comprising:
 determining location(s) of the person's particular body part(s) based on a pressure profile of the person's body or of the body support device;   increasing the sag of the body support device at area(s) around the location(s) of the particular body part(s), thereby decreasing the pressure applied by the body support device to area(s) of the particular body part(s) of the person.