AU606331B2 - Apparatus for measurement of water conditions in a water mattress - Google Patents

Description

P

AU-AI-6898 9 8 7 PCT WORLD INTELLECTUAL PRI GAATI P INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER TE PA N O AT N TREATY (PCT) (51) International Patent Classification 4 GOIK 1/14 (11) International Publication Number: A (43) International Publication Date: WO 88/05527 28 July 1988 (28.07.88) (21) International Application Number: PCT/US87/00093 (22) International Filing Date: 14 January 1987 (14.01.87) (71X72) Applicant and Inventor: RICCHIO, Dominic, A.

[US/US]; 6021 56th Avenue, Kenosha, W1 53142 (US), (74) Agent: CHRYSTAL, John, Ladas Parry, 104 S.

Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603 (US).

(81) Designated States: AT (European patent), AU, BE (European patent), CH (European patent), DE (European patent), DK, Fl, FR (European patent), GB (European patent), IT (European patent), JP, LU (European patent), NL (European patent), NO, SE (European patent).

Published With international search report.

A.OJ.e 15 SEP 19 (54) Title: APPARATUS FOR MEASUREMENT OF WATER CONDITIONS IN A WATER MATTRESS (57) Abstract

I

k An apparatus for measuring water temperature includes a temperature measuring instrument (51) with a stem (52) that is introduced into a water-filled mattress (11) through a closure member (40) positioned ia the filler spout The cl.sure member (40) and the temperature measuring inst'ument (51) are secured in sealing relatiinship to the spout (i4) to form a blunt-ended cap terefor. The apparatus includes a cylindrical stopper (40) that fits closely around an inside wall (19) of the filler spout a quan tative measuring instrument (51) which inchies a sensing stern (52) and a crystal (54) fitting over the end of the stopper (40) and the filler spout (14) for observing the measurements sensed by the instrument (51), and an annular hold-down member (42) that nins around the crystal (54) and the filler spout (14) to secure the stopper in sealing relationship therewith.

This documnt contains the amendments made under Section 49 and is correct for printing.

2 that fits closely around an inside wall of the recessable filler spout of said water-filled mattress to maintain a cylindrical shape for the filler spout, wherein the stopper has an end that fits closely around the open end of the filler spout; a quantitative measuring instrument with a sensing stem extending through the cylindrical stopper and with a crystal disposed above the end of the stopper to permit observation outside the mattress of measurements sensed by said instrument, wherein the sansing stem extends to a depth where the sensing stem is in thermal contact with the water when the filler spout is in a recessed position; and an annular hold-down member that runs around the crystal and the filler spout; said .oo.s cylindrical stopper, measuring instrument crystal and annular hold-down member forming a blunt-ended cap with a profile that is non-interfering with use of the mattress when the recessable filler spout is moved to its recessed position.

The present invention also provides a cap assembly for mounting a quantitative measuring instrument that includes a crystal in an open-ended, recessable filler spout on a water-filled mattress, the cap assembly comprising: a cylindrical stopper that fits into the open end and closely around an inside wall of the recessable filler spout of said water-filled mattress to maintain a cylindrical shape for the filler spout; an annular hold-down member adapted to engage the periphery of the crystal and the filler spout to secure the stopper in sealing relationship with the filler spout; and means within the stopper for frictionally gripping the stopper and the quantitative measuring instrument to hold the quantitative measuring instrument within the cap assembly; said cylindrical stopper and said annular hold-down member forming a blunt ended cap with the crystal of the measuring instrument when said instrument is held for said stopper gripping means, said cap having a profile that is non-interfering with use of the mattress when the -3recessable filler spout is moved to itg recessed position.

The inventio'n provides a device that can be easily added to existing watermattresses, is low in cost, and is maintained in place on the mattress until the next time the water in the mattress is changed or treated.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the descriPLion that follows, and from the drawings, which are a part hereof and whicn illustrate the preferred embodiments of the see*.

e invention. These examples, however, are not to be *soos. understood as the only embodiments of the invention, because the scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which may also encompass other embodiments which are equivalents of those described therein.

fees In the drawings: Fig. 1. is a perspective, fragmentary view of a waterbed having a device that incorporates the invention sea installed near one corner of its mattress, Fig. 2 is an elevation view of the device seen in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 i! a SS top view of the d~evice seen in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is aI sectional view of the device of Fig. 1, taken in the place indicated by line 4-4 in Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a sectional 0 view of a second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 6 is an exploded view of the device of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the invent~ion.

The invention is embodied in a gauge 10 in Fig.

1, which is installei in one corner of a water-f.ill/d mattress 11.. The mattress 3.1 is a membraneous WO 88/05527 PCT/US87/00093 4 envelope of water-impervious material, typically polyvinylchloride (PVC). The mattress 11 is supported by a base and frame assembly 12 having sidewalls extending along and containing the expansion of the membraneous sides of the mattress 11.

As seen in Fig. 2, the gauge 10 is attached to a spout 14 which is used in filling the mattress 11 with water. The convenience provided by the invention will, be better understood by considering the construction of the filler spout 14 in some detail.

The filler spout 14 is generally cylindrical in shape, and is made of soft, flexible plastic, which is relatively thinner and more flexiblt' in a portion forming a diaphragm 15 seen in Figs. 2 and 4. The diaphragm 15 has a lower, bubble-like portion and an upper neck portion which meet along a crease 16. The neck portion of the diaphragm 15 and the upper end of the spout 14 are of smaller diameter than the bubble-like portion, so that the upper end of the spout 14 can be pushed downward into the middle of the bubble-like portion to place the spout in the recessed position seen in Fig. 2. The spout 14 is attached to the mattress 11 along a flange 17 around the bottom of the diaphragm, as seen in Fig. 4, and when the spout 14 is in its recessed position, the spout 14 sits below this flange as seen in Fig. 2.

The diaphragm 15 has a smaller interior flange 13, (the thickness of which has been exaggerated in the drawing for a better view), to which an inlet tube 18 is bonded to extend the neck of the spout 14. A passageway 19 extends upwardly through the inlet tube 18 to an opening at the top. Around the outside of the upper end of the inlet tube 18, a spiralling groove forms a female thread 20 to engage a spiralling ridge that forms a male thread 21 on th, gauge I WO) 88/05527! PCT/US87/00093 The gauge 10 is seen mounted around, and inside of, the spout inlet tube 18 in Fig. 2. 'The gaiige acts as both a closure for the spout and a mechanism for mounting a measuring instrument--in this case, a thermometer assembly for measuring water temperature--in a position where the thermometer is effective, is easily installed and does not interfere with normal usage of the watermattress.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the thermometer assembly includes a temperature indicator that is pro- B vided by a round dial face 22 with an arcuately disposed scale and a needle 23 pivotably mounted at the center of the dial face 22 formovement over the range of the scale.

The needle 23 is coupled through a temperature responsive movement to a temperature sensing stem 24 seen in Fig. 2.

The thermometer assembly is contained within a hollow cap, except for the temperature sensing stem 24, which extends downwardly, beyond the bottom of the spout inlet tube 18.

When the mattress 11 is filled and when the spout 14 is pushed down into its recessed position as seen in Fig. 2, a lower portion of the stem 24, long enough to sense temperature, is submerged beneath the waterline The details of the cap are seen best in Fig. 4, where a cup-shaped base portion 25 extends down into the passageway 19 like a plug, to close the tube 18 and prevent water from escaping from the mattress 11. This base portion 25 also helps maintain the round shape of the flexible inlet tube 18 as the cap is attached to it.

Although it is preferred that the base portion 25 extend into the passageway 19 to accomplish these functions, the invention would still be operable in other embodiments with the closing portion of the cap merely extending over the opening into the top of the spout 14. For added support of its outer wall, the base portion 25 may include radially disposed webs 26 as seen in Fig. 4.

The base portion 25 extends across the top rim of the i' I i- lir WO 88/015517_7 PCT/US87/00093 spout to meet an annular (ring-shaped) portion 27 encircling the inlet tube 18.

The annular portion 27 of the cap extends both upwardly and downwardly from the opening into the spout 14. In an upper portion, a cavity 28 is formed to hold the dial face 22 and needle 23. A transparent convex protective cover 30, similar to a watch crystal, snaps into the cavity 28 through an opening 29 in the top of the cap. Just below a lip that runs around the opening 29, a seal 31 is formed by a water-proof adhesive or another materal suitable for sealing around the edge of the cover 30. The cover 30 thus completes an enclosure around the dial face 22 and needle 23.

The annular portion 27 of the cap is spaced outwardly from the base portion 25 of the cap to form an annular recess 32 that receives the upper end of the spout inlet tcbe 18. A male thread 21 projects radially inward from the cap to engage the female 'thread 20 on the spout 14. The gauge is installed simply by screwing the unit onto the end of the spout 14. A knurl may be provided by ridges 33 formed on the cap parallel to its axis of rotation. This provides for a better grip on the cap when turning it. Other well-known systems of securing a cap to an open-ended spout could also be employed.

The invention is also incorporated in a second embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. the closure member is a cylindrical stopper 40 of hard plastic that is inserted into the tubular end portion of the spout 14 and fits closely along the inside wall around passageway 19. Because the filler spout 14 is made of a soft, flexible plastic, the stopper 40 maintains the cylindrical shape of the upper portion of the spout 14. The stopper 40 has a lip 41 that fits over the top rim of the spout 14, and when held down, the lip 41 seals around the edge of the opening into the spout 14. The WO 88/05527 PCT/US87/00093 stopper 4 D is heid ao .n by an annular cap rmember 42, which is turned onto the upper end portion of the spout 14 so that a female thr ad 43 on the inside of the cap member 42 engages the male thread 20 on the spout 14.

The cap member 42 has a lip 44 that bears down on the lip 41 to hold. the stopper 40 in its sealing position.

Referring to Fig. 6, the stopper 40 has a vertical. bore 45 from the top and also a vertical bore 46 from the bottom which are separated by an inner wall 47 formed therebetween. The inner wall 47 has a hole 48 through it, An O-rin4 49 of resilient material is sized relative to the bore 45 sQ that it becomes seated when pressed into the bottom of the bore 45. The bore leads upward to an outwardly tapered opening, which leads fUrther to a ledge 50 just inside the top entrance into the stopper A temperature measuring invtrumen't 51 hr's a sensing stem 52 that slides through the open center of the sealing 0-ring 49 and through the hole 48 in wall 47 and finally, through the lower bore 46 from which it extends from the stopper 42 into the water when the filler spovt 14 is in its recesses position. The lower bore 46 is wider in diameter than stem 52 to allow water to contact t greater lengthwise portion of the stem 52 than woo.1d otherwise be possible with the stopper 40 not having the bore 46. Besides sealing around the stem 52 *nd the hole 48, the 0-ring 49 is press fitted in the bore 46 and frictionally grips the stem 52 of the ternper-ature measuring instrument 51 to prevent the stem 52 from sliding axially. The temperature measuring instrument 51 is of the dial-face type in which the temperature, indicator is Oealed in a metal case 53 with a plastic-transparent crystal 54 over, its top for viewing the temperature indicator. A hex nut 55 for calibration adjustment enoircles the stem 52 below the i -c-ii WO 88/05527 PCT/US87/00093 8case 53.

The temperature measuring instrument 51 in Figs. 5 and 6 can be inserted either before or after t annular cap member 42 is attached to the spout 14 to hold down the stopper 40. This is made possible by the retention feature of the sealing O-ring 49. When the instrument is in place, an outer rim 56 of the metal case 53 is seated on the ledge 50 and the lip 44 of the annular cap 42 closes around the casing, but allows the instrument 51 to be moved upwardly through the middle open portion of the cap 42. As seen in Fig. 5, with the cap 42 securing the stopper 40, the crystal 54 rises only a slight amount above the cap 42 and provides a blunt-ended cap assembly for the spout 14. The diameter of the crystal 54 is about the same size as the spout opening to permit the largest possible dial-face for the temperature jndicator.

Fig. 7 shows a third embodiment of the invention where a temperature measuring instrument 51: has a temperature indicator, a plastic transparent crystal 54', a metal case 53' and a calibration hex nut 55' which are similar to those of the instrument 51 in Figs. 5 and 6. The sensing stem 52' however, terminates in a flatbottomed disk 57 which houses a coil. The disk 57 is enclosed by the bottom end of a hollow cylindrical stopper 58 of a shape similar to the stopper 40 in Figs.

and 6. The stopper 58 also has an upper lip 59 to seal arournd the spout opening. The annular cap member in this embodiment has a wider lip 61 extending a greater distance laterally inward from the upper rim of the cap member 60, so that it will bear on the outer rim 56' of the instrnent case 53' which in turn bears on the lip 59 to st the spout opening 14 when the cap member is screwed down onto the spout 14. With the flatbottomed sensing element 57, the instrument 51' is able to sense water temperature without directly contacting Iv 4 WO 88/05527 PCT/US87/00093 -9 the water, so long as the lower end of the stopper 58 is submerged when the filler spout is in its recessed position.

It should be apparent that certain modifications could be made without departing from the principle invention. For example, although a "clock-face" or analog type instrument is disclosed, digital readout devices are also contemplated. And, while the preferred embodiment has described a temperature-sensing gauge, gauges for taking measurements of other fluid qualities are also contemplated. It should also be apparent that there are thermometer assemblies and other commercially available instruments that could be combined with the cap of the present invention, and the invention applies to both the cap itself and the cap in conjunction with such an instrument.

I I i 4f

Claims (8)

1. A gauge for quantitative measurement within a water-filled mattress of the -type having an open-ended, recessable filler spout, the gauge com- prising: a cylindrical stopper that fits closely around an inside wall of the recessable filler spout of said water-filled mattress to maintain a cylindrical shape for the filler spout, wherein the stopper has an end that fits closely around the open end of the filler spout; a quantitative measuring instrument with a sensing stem extending through the cylindrical stopper and with a crystal disposed above the end of the stopper to permit observation outside the mattress of measurements sensed by said instrument, wherein the sensing stem extends to a depth where the sensing stem is in thermal contact with the water when the fi:ller spout is in a recessed position; and an annular hold-down member that runs around the crystal and the filler spout to secure the 9topper in sealing relationship with the filler spout; said cylindrical stopper, measuring instrument crystal and annular hold-down member forming a blunt-ended cap with a profile that is non-interfering with use of the mattress when the recessable filler spout is moved to its recessed position.

2. The gauge of claim 1, further comprising means seated in the stopper for gripping the sensing stem anid providing a seal between the sensing stem and the stopper.

3. The gauge of claim 2, wherein the means retained in the stopper is an 0-ring of resilient material.

4. The gaugye o~f claim 1, wherein the annular holding member mounts the crystal for the quantitative measuring instrument.

The gauge of claim 1, wherein the annular hold-down member bears down on a portion of the quanti- tative measuring instrument that bears on the stopper to secure the stopper in sealing relationship within the filler spout. 0000 0 00 0 0 0 0 00 0000 0, S 00 0 6S 00 0 00 00 0 0006

6. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the quantitative measuring instrument; has a crystal with a diameter about the same as that of the opening into the filler spout to permit observation of measurements made by said instrument.

7. A cap assembly for mounting a quantitative measuring instrument that includes a crystal in an open-ended, recessable filler spout on a water-filled mattress, the cap assembly comprising: a cylindrical stopper that fits into the open end and closely around an inside wall of the recessable filler spout of said water-filled mattress to maintain a cylindrical shape for the filler spout; an annular hold-down member adapted to engage the periphery of the crystal and the filler spout to secure the stopper in sealing relationship with the filler spout; and means within the stopper for frictionally gripping the stopper and the quantitative measuring instrument to hold the quantitative measuring instrument within the cap assembly; said cylindrical stopper and said annular hold-down member forming a blunt ended cap with the crystal of the measuring instrument when said instrument is held by said stopper gripping means, said cap having a profile that is non-interfering with use of the mattress when the recessable filler spout is moved to its recessed position.

8. The cap assembly of claim 7, wherein the quantitative measuring instrument has a stem and wherein the stopper gripping means comprises an 0-ring of resilient material adapted to hold the measuring instrument stem within the cap assembly, o* 0 *S 0 o*o o. o 0 00o 0 ooI