JPH049108A - Air mat system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the generation of a sense of incompatibility by dividing the settable range of a set air pressure into a plurality of parts, by setting the settable ranges of respective divided ranges at equal spaces as softness felt by a human body through an organoleptic estimation and by conducting an air pressure display in these respective divided range units. CONSTITUTION:In a controller 20, pressing and pressure-reducing means are controlled according to the operation by a setting operation means 19 to regulate the air pressure within a mat body; after the stop of operation, the air pressure at the point of time of the operation is stored as a set air pressure; after the storage, a threshold value based on the set air pressure and the detected air pressure of pressure sensors 15a-15c are compared with each other; and the pressing and pressure-reducing means are controlled according to the result of this comparison to regulate the air pressure within the mat body. Then the settable ranges of respective divided ranges are set as softness felt by a human body through an organoleptic estimation so as to be arranged at equal spaces and an air pressure display is conducted in these respective divided range units by display means L1-L5. As a result, anybody does not feel a sense of incompatibility.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an air mat system for automatically controlling the air pressure of an air mat that is made elastic by being filled with air.

[Prior Art] Conventional air mats, as seen in Utility Model Application Publication Nos. 1 to 152558, have simply filled the mat body with pressurized air, but the user manually sets the desired air pressure. I couldn't.

Therefore, the present inventors have provided an air pump for pressurization, a solenoid valve for exhaust pressure reduction, a pressure sensor for detecting the air pressure inside the mat body, and a setting operation means for setting the air pressure. We have already proposed an air mat system that automatically controls air pumps and solenoid valves by comparing the air pressure detected by a pressure sensor with a threshold value based on the set air pressure so that the set air pressure is maintained.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In this air mattress system, air pressure is displayed numerically or analogously using a bar graph. However, the higher the pressure, the smaller the actual change in the softness of the mat body felt by the human body compared to the change in pressure, so even if the pressure display is updated every moment, the change in the softness felt by the human body is However, there is a problem of misalignment.

Another problem is that bar graph displays require a large number of display elements.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an air mat system in which changes in the softness felt by the human body match changes in the pressure display, and do not cause discomfort. It is in.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a mat main body,
A pressurizing means for sending pressurized air into the mat main body, a depressurizing means for exhausting and decompressing the air inside the mat main body, a pressure sensor for detecting the air pressure inside the mat main body, and a setting for setting and operating the air pressure inside the mat main body. The air pressure inside the mat body is adjusted by controlling the operating means and the pressurizing means or the depressurizing means according to the operation by the setting operating means, and after the operation is stopped, the air pressure at the time of the operation is stopped is stored as the set air pressure. An air mat comprising: a control means that compares a threshold value based on the set air pressure after memorization with the air pressure detected by the pressure sensor, and controls the pressurization means or the pressure reduction means based on the comparison result to adjust the air pressure within the mat body. In the system, the settable range of the above set air pressure is divided into multiple ranges, and the settable range of each divided range is set at equal intervals based on the softness felt by the human body through sensory evaluation, and the air pressure is displayed in units of these divided ranges. It is equipped with a display means for performing the following.

[Function] Therefore, the present invention divides the settable range of the set air pressure into a plurality of parts, and divides the settable range of each divided range -3==4 so that the softness felt by the human body is equally spaced by sensory evaluation. Since the device is equipped with a display means that displays the air pressure in units of these divided ranges, the display displayed by the display means can be seen as a change in softness, and when setting the air pressure, the air pressure is Even when the softness is changed, there is no sense of incongruity between the change in display and the change in softness felt by the human body.

[Example] The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples.

Figures 1 and 2 show an embodiment in which the air mat system of the present invention is used in a bed. Built into the bed base 3, the mat body 1 is installed on the bed base 3, and has three air tubes 4 corresponding to the shoulders, waist, and legs of the sleeper, respectively.
a to 4c are arranged side by side in a chip-molded urethane frame 8 whose upper and lower opening surfaces are covered with urethane plates 5 and 6, and covered with a quilted cover 7. Each air tube 4 is placed inside the frame 5.
Air flow pipes 14a to 14c are connected to the air flow pipes 14a to 4c.

FIG. 3 shows the fluid circuit of the embodiment, and the pneumatic control device 2 includes an air pump 9 and solenoid valves 10a to 10 inserted into air flow passages connecting the air pump 9 and each air tube 4a to 4c. ．． the exhaust solenoid valve 11, the air filter 12 attached to the air pump 9, the silencer 13 attached to the exhaust solenoid valve 1], and the solenoid valves 10a to 1.
0c, air tubes 4a to 4c and solenoid valve 1
pressure sensors 15a to 15c for detecting the pressure in the air flow passages connecting the air flow passages 0a to 10c to detect the air pressure in the corresponding air tubes 4a to 4c; Connectors 16a~
Connectors 18a to 18c provided at the ends of air flow pipes 17a to 17c from the electromagnetic valves 108 to 10c, respectively, are detachably connected to the connectors 1.6c.

FIG. 4 shows a basic schematic circuit configuration diagram of the pneumatic pressure control device 2 of the embodiment, and includes setting operation means and each set pneumatic pressure P for individually setting the pneumatic pressure in each of the air tubes 4a to 4c. During the setting operation by the setting operation means of this hand operation section, the solenoid valves 10a to 10c, 11,
It outputs a control signal to control the air pump 9 to adjust the pressure, and also controls the display on the display means of the hand operation unit 19 to correspond to the air pressure P1 detected by the pressure sensors 15a to 15c, and when the setting operation is stopped, the display at the stop point is The air pressure P detected by the pressure sensors 15a to 15c is stored as a set air pressure P0, and the difference is detected by comparing a threshold based on the set air pressure P0 of the hindlimbs with the air pressure P detected by the pressure sensors 15a to 15c, Based on the difference, the solenoid valve 10aNlO
c.

11. A control section 20 that outputs a control signal for controlling the air pump 9 and controls the display of the display means of the hand operation section 19 based on the set air pressure P0;
0, the solenoid valves 10a to 10c, 11
．． A drive section 2 that drives the air pump 9] and a power supply section 2 that supplies power to each section based on important signals from the control section 20.
It consists of 2.

The hand operation unit 19 serves as an operation means for each air tube 4a.
- Set air pressure P corresponding to 4C. Pressure push buttons 23a1 to 23c+ for up/down, X pressure push button 2
3a2 to 23C2 are provided, and as a display means, the settable range of air pressure is divided into five groups and the set air pressure P is displayed. Alternatively, there are five display elements that display which range the detected air pressure P1 belongs to, and ~Ls is made to correspond to each of the air tubes 4a to 4b, and pressurization push buttons 23a+ to
23cl and decompression push buttons 23a2 to 23C2, the operation signals of each push button 22a+, 22a2 to 22c22c2 are sent to the control section 20, and the display signal from the control section 20 is sent to the hand operation section 19 through a cable 24, respectively. It is now sent out.

In addition, the hand operation unit 19 is provided with an operation button 26 for instructing whether the main power supply is important, and a display element L0 for displaying the important state of the power supply.Similarly to the above, the operation signal and the display signal are transmitted through the cable. The information is exchanged between the control units 20 through 24. 25 is a connector for connecting between the hand operation section 19 and the control section 20.

The control unit 20 is actually composed of a one-chip microcomputer, and its functional circuit block is the fifth
As shown in the figure, A/D converters 27a to 27c convert analog electrical signals corresponding to the detected air pressures P from each pressure sensor 15a to 15c into digital signals, and the push buttons 23a+, 23az to 23a of the hand operation unit 19. 23c+, 23c
Operation signal input unit 2 that receives operation signals from z and operation buttons 26
8, a signal processing section 34, a control signal output section 35 that sends out the #1# signal created by the signal processing section 34, and a display signal output section that sends out the display signal created by the signal processing section 34 to the outside. 36, and the dead width data described below,
It includes a memory 37 such as a ROM that stores programs for computation and control operations of the signal processing section 34, and a memory 29 such as a RAM used for reading and writing set air pressure data and the like.

The signal processing section 34 controls the power supply section 22 according to the operation of the operation button 26.
Create a control signal or press 2 buttons 23a23a2-23C
Air pump 9, solenoid valve 10 according to the operation of 1, 23C2
an operation control signal creation function 33 that creates control signals for controlling a to 10b and 11; and the push buttons 23a+ and 23a2 to
When the operation of 23c+ and 23c2 is stopped, the air pressure P of the pressure sensors 15a to 15c at that time is set as the set air pressure P0 to the memory 2 corresponding to each of the air tubes 4a to 4C.
The memory control function 30 writes the important status of the power supply unit 22 into the storage area of 9 and the memory 29, and the set air pressure P written in the memory 29 after setting is completed.
A control signal that compares the detected air pressure P converted by the A/D converters 26a to 26c with the threshold value based on 0 and creates a control signal for controlling the air pump 9 and the solenoid valves 10a to 10b and 11 based on the difference. A creation function 31, a display signal according to the importance of the power supply section 22, and a set air pressure P. and detected air pressure P,
It is equipped with a display control function 32 that creates a display signal such as a display signal according to.

Next, the operation of the entire air mattress system of the present invention will be explained.

First, when using it for the first time, connect the power supply part 2 to the power outlet.
In the power down state when plug 2 is not inserted, the RAM
No set air pressure data is stored in the memory 29 such as . Now insert the plug into the power outlet,
The control unit 20 is energized through the power supply unit 22, and the control unit 20 resets each unit to an initial state.

In this state, the display signal is sent to the hand operation unit 19 from the signal processing unit 3.
Since the light is not sent from the display control function unit 32 of No. 4, the display elements L0 and each ~L are in an off state.

When the operation button 26 of the hand-held operation section 19 is operated, the operation signal input circuit 27 of the control section 20 receives the operation signal and writes the data of the power supply section into the memory 29. In this state, the display control function 32 sends a display signal for lighting the display element L6 to the hand operation unit 19, and the power supply unit is displayed by lighting the display element L0, and the device enters a standby state. In this state, each of the solenoid valves 10a to 10c and 11 is in a closed state.

Since the pressure inside each air tube 4a to 4c of the air mat 1 is in a non-pressure state, the user presses the push button 23a + on each pressure side.
23c, it is necessary to apply a pressurizing operation signal to the control unit 20.

First, for example, when the push button 23a1 is operated, the control unit 20 starts operating based on the manual operation routine shown in FIG. The control unit 20 determines whether the air pump is for pressurization or depressurization, and the control unit 20 that determines that it is for pressurization generates a control signal for the air pump 9 and a control signal for opening the solenoid valve 10a, that is, a control signal for opening the solenoid valve 10a, based on the operation control signal generation function 33. A control signal for driving the means is given to the drive unit 21, and at the same time the air pump 9 starts operating through the drive unit 21, the solenoid valve 1 is activated.
Open 0a. Therefore, pressurized air is sent into the air tube 4a, increasing the internal pressure of the air tube 4a.

The internal pressure of the air tube 4a is continuously detected by the pressure sensor 15a, and based on the detected air pressure P, the display control function 32 of the control section 20 uses a display element provided corresponding to the air tube 4a.

A display signal of ~L9 is sent to the hand-held operation unit 18 to display the range to which the detected air pressure P belongs by lighting. The user pressurizes the mat body 1 until the desired air pressure is reached based on this display and the feeling when the user places his or her body on the mat main body 1.

Here, the display element, the display of ~L5 is the display of Ll, and the display of 5~
20 glen2, and 21g/Ll and L2 display
c 2~35g/c1112, L1~L, 3
6g/CllI2 to 50g/cI62, expressed as L1 to L4, 51. g/cw12~70g7cm2, Ll
~L, 71g/Cm'~120g/cI112
As shown above, the pressure sensor 1.5 a
Based on the detected air pressure P, the control section 20 sequentially lights up the display elements L1, -L5.

The width of this range setting is not evenly allocated, but is set to be equally spaced to give the softness that people feel.

Now, when the desired air pressure is obtained and the push button 23a1 is released, the operation control signal generation function 33 of the control section 20 is activated to stop outputting the control signal of the air pump 9 and stop the operation of the air pump 9. At the same time, the electromagnetic valve 10a is stopped and closed to maintain the air pressure in the air tube 4a. At the same time, the control section 20 writes and stores the air pressure P'+ detected by the pressure sensor 15a as the set air pressure P in the corresponding area of the memory 29.

Furthermore, if you feel that the air pressure is too high and too hard, you can operate the pressure reduction push button 23a2. In this case, the control unit 20 sends a control signal to the solenoid valves 10a and 11 as a pressure reduction means in response to the operation of the push button 23a2. is sent to the drive unit 21 to open the solenoid valves 10a and 11, and this opening exhausts the air in the air tube 4a to reduce the pressure. In addition, depending on this pressure reduction, the display elements L1 to L are controlled to turn off, and the data of the set air pressure P0 stored in the two memories is input by pressing the button 2.
When the push operation of 3a2 is released, the air pressure is rewritten to the air pressure at that time. In this way, the air pressure of each air tube 4a to 4c is sequentially set to the desired hardness corresponding to the shoulder value, waist value, and leg value, and the respective Kendenraku air pressure P is set to the set air pressure P0. be memorized as

After setting the air pressure of each of the air tubes 11a to 4c so as to obtain the desired hardness in this manner, control shifts to an automatic pressure adjustment routine.

Next, the operation of this automatic pressure adjustment routine will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in the control unit 20, the set air pressure P0 stored in two memories is set in the five ranges mentioned above (level 1 (=1□-n)).
The detected air pressure P1 is sampled at fixed time intervals (20 minutes in the embodiment) and stored in the memory 29. , calculate the pressure difference, and determine whether it is within the dead width bPi, which is a threshold value set in advance and stored in the ROM 30.
When the dead width ΔPi is exceeded, the pressure is adjusted by performing pressure reduction or pressure control. If not, it is determined whether a new pressure setting has been made by the manual operation routine described above, and if there is no new setting, the above-mentioned comparative determination is successively performed.

Here, the dead width ΔPi is the increase in air pressure due to temperature rise,
In addition to preventing air pressure control from being performed frequently in response to changes in air pressure due to fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, the mat itself
In order to prevent air pressure control in response to changes in air pressure caused by changes in load due to people getting on and off the top, it is set within a range in which the human body does not feel any difference in stiffness in sensory evaluation, and the dead width ΔPi is based on the set air pressure. The above 5 divided variable range of P0
The + side and - side are set as shown in the table below, corresponding to each level i.

The above-mentioned comparative judgment is made based on this table, so each detected air pressure P of the pressure sensors 1.5a to 15c is sampled (sampling timing is indicated by a black dot).
The control unit determines whether the air pressure at that time exceeds the upper limit of the + side dead width ΔPi+ corresponding to the set air pressure P0 stored in the memory 29, or is below the lower limit of the side dead width ΔPi2. 20 performs the comparison and determination as described above and performs the pressure control described above. Of course, each air tube 4a to 4c is controlled separately.

In order to prevent excessive fluctuations, the above-mentioned automatic pressure adjustment may be performed only when the determination result exceeds the dead width ΔPi three times in a row as shown in FIG.

In this case, when the detected air pressure P1 is outside the dead width ΔPi, 1 is added to the data in the predetermined area in the two memories, and when it is within the dead width ΔPi, the data in the predetermined area is returned to O, thereby counting. .

In addition, when you sit on a bed, you usually sit on your feet or the center, so it is rare that you sit on your lower back and shoulders for more than 30 minutes at the same time, and it is better to sit on the air tube 4a ~ In view of the fact that the pressure inside 4C tends to be high, the above sampling interval is set so that air pressure control is not performed in such a seat, and the air tubes 4a and 4b in the shoulder and waist areas are set. The automatic pressure adjustment may be performed by outputting a control signal as described above only when the pressure P1 within the pressure range exceeds the dead width ΔPi three times in a row.

Now, in the above automatic pressure adjustment, when a control signal for pressure reduction is output, the solenoid valve 1 is opened and the solenoid valve 1 corresponding to the air tubes 4a to 4C to be depressurized is opened.
When opening 1a to llc and starting depressurization, the M control section 20
continuously takes in the detected air pressure P1 of the pressure sensors 15a to 15c corresponding to the pressure reduction, and connects the corresponding air tube 4a.
The air pressure within ~4c is below the above upper limit and reaches a constant value (38
/cm2), the output of the control signal is stopped and the solenoid valve 11 and the corresponding solenoid valves 10a to 1°C are closed.

Similarly, in the case of pressurization, the air pump 9 is driven, and when the solenoid valves 11a to 11c corresponding to the air tubes 4a to 4c to be depressurized are opened to start pressurization, the control section 20 continues. Pressure sensor 15a~ corresponding to pressurization
15c is taken in, and when the air pressure in the corresponding air duplexes 4a to 4c rises by a certain value (3 g/am2) beyond the above lower limit, the output of the control signal is stopped and the operation of the air pump 9 is stopped. At the same time, the corresponding solenoid valves 10a to 10c are closed.

In this way, it is judged based on the above conditions whether the upper limit of the dead width ΔPi is exceeded or the lower limit of the dead width ΔP2 is lower than the lower limit, and when the conditions are met, pressure reduction or pressurization control is performed to control the air tube. Set the air pressure in 4a to 4C as air pressure P. It is maintained within a dead width ΔPi set around . Of course, set air pressure P when adjusting the pressure above. Control may be performed to return it to .

The display element during the control operation of this automatic pressure adjustment,
The display of L2 is the set air pressure P. Even if the actual air pressure inside the air tubes 4a to 4c is the set air pressure P, the display corresponding to the above is maintained as it is. The display does not change even if the value exceeds or falls below the range to which it belongs.

In other words, the upper air pressure appears to be unchanged, so that the user is not confused by the change in display.

By the way, a lower limit value (5 g/am2) is set for each of the air pressures of the air tubes 4a to 4b, and when the air pressure drops to this lower limit value, the same control as the above-mentioned pressurization control is performed to lower the air pressure to 5 g. /am2. In other words, the set air pressure P for level 1. Even if the range of insensitivity width ΔPi2 for ΔPi2 includes values below the lower limit value, the lower limit value is always maintained when the lower limit value is exceeded.

There is an upper limit to the pressurizing operation in the manual adjustment or automatic pressure adjustment, and when the air pressure reaches 120 g7 cm2, the control section 20 automatically stops outputting the control signal to the air pump 9 and stops the operation.

In addition, if the operation time continues for a certain period of time (for example, 30 minutes) by counting the time from the start of the pressurization/depressurization operation, the main power supply is turned off and the operation of the solenoid valves 10a to 10c and the air pump 9 is stopped. The control unit 20 is configured to send a flicker display signal to the hand operation unit 19 to stop the operation of the display device 11 and to blink the display element L0.

Now, after setting the air pressure corresponding to the desired hardness as described above, if the power is cut off, the air tube 4a~
4b is maintained by the closed state of the solenoid valves 10a to 10b, so when the power is turned on again, the control unit 20 controls the air pressure in the air tubes 4a to 4b detected by the pressure sensors 15a to 15c at this time. The air pressure P, is written in two memories as the set air pressure P0, and thereafter the control state is entered by the above-mentioned automatic pressure adjustment routine.

[Effects of the Invention] In the air mat system configured as described above, the present invention divides the settable range of the set air pressure into a plurality of parts, and divides the settable range of each divided range into equal intervals based on the softness felt by the human body through sensory evaluation. Since it is equipped with a display means that displays the air pressure in each of these divided ranges, the display displayed on the display means can be seen as a change in softness, and when setting the air pressure, Even when the air pressure is changed, there is no discomfort between the change in the display and the change in the softness felt by the human body, and the number of elements in the display means is also lower than when the change in air pressure is directly shown. This has the effect of requiring less effort.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the mat main body of the above, Fig. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of the same, and Fig. 4 is a fluid circuit diagram of the same. , Fig. 5 is a conceptual circuit configuration diagram of the control section of the above, Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the manual operation routine of the above, Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the automatic pressure adjustment routine of the above, and Fig. 8 is a sampling diagram of the same as above. FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram for explaining operation. 1 is a mat main body, 2 is an air pressure control device, 4a to 4c are air tubes, 9 is an air pump, 1.0 a to 10c are solenoid valves, 11 is an exhaust solenoid valve, 15a to 15c are pressure sensors, 1-9 are The hand operation unit, 2o, is a control unit, and L1 to L5 are display elements. Agent: Patent Attorney Ishi 1) Voluntary amendment to the 7th procedure) June 7, 1990, 1990 Patent Application No. 114355 2, Name of the invention Air Mat System 3, Relationship with the case by the person making the amendment Patent applicant residence Address: 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Name (58
B) Matsushita Electric Works Co., Ltd. Representative Toshio Miyoshi 4 Agent postal code 530 Address 1-12-17-5 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka City Date of amendment order Voluntary order 6 Number of claims increased by amendment None 7. Drawings subject to correction

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A mat main body, a pressurizing means for sending pressurized air into the mat main body, a decompression means for exhausting and reducing the pressure of the air within the mat main body, a pressure sensor that detects the air pressure within the mat main body, and a mat main body. a setting operation means for setting and operating the air pressure inside the mat body, and adjusting the air pressure inside the mat body by controlling the pressurizing means or the pressure reducing means according to the operation by the setting operation means,
After the operation is stopped, the air pressure at the time of the operation stop is stored as the set air pressure, and after this storage, a threshold value based on the set air pressure is compared with the detected air pressure of the pressure sensor, and the pressure increasing means or the pressure reducing means is activated based on the result of this comparison. In an air mat system equipped with a control means that controls and adjusts the air pressure inside the mat body, the settable range of the air pressure is divided into multiple ranges, and the settable range of each divided range is determined by sensory evaluation to determine the softness felt by the human body. An air mattress system characterized by being equipped with a display means for displaying air pressure in units of each divided range, with the air pressure set at equal intervals.