US 4,829,616 · Granted 1989-05-16
The Patent That Made Air Beds Actually Adjustable
Imagine a bed made entirely of inflatable air mattresses where you can dial up or down how firm it feels—just like adjusting the bass on a speaker. This patent covers the whole control system: pumps, valves, and hand controls that let you add air or let it out to get the perfect comfort level.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers an air supply and control system for air beds that includes an air pump, hand-operated valves, and electrical solenoids that regulate air flow into and out of air mattresses. What's protected here is the specific combination of a pump, dual-coil solenoids that hold valves open with reduced power, hand controls with switches, and the method of using these components together to let users inflate or deflate mattresses to adjust firmness. Someone copying this exact setup—especially the two-coil solenoid logic—would infringe.
Why it matters
In the late 1980s, adjustable air beds were a niche luxury product, and most early designs had clunky, unreliable inflation systems. This patent's innovation—using dual-coil solenoids to hold valves open while drawing less electrical power—made the systems more reliable and responsive to user input. It helped establish the category of electronically adjustable sleep surfaces, which eventually became a multi-billion-dollar market dominated by brands like Select Comfort and Sleep Number. The sofa bed integration shown in the patent also hints at early crossover furniture design.
Real-world use
Every time someone presses the remote on a modern adjustable air bed to firm it up or soften it down, they're using technology descended from this patent's valve control system.
Original USPTO abstract
An air supply and control apparatus has an air pump to supply air under pressure to air mattresses of an air bed. A hand control having a pair of valves functions to control the operation of the air pump to supply air to the air mattresses and vent air from the air mattresses. A second embodiment of the air supply and control apparatus has a motor driven impeller for supplying air under pressure to air mattresses. Solenoids having two coils operate valves to allow air to flow to the air mattress or vent air from the air mattress to adjust the firmness of the mattresses. A normally closed switch is opened when the solenoid opens the valve. The switch turns off one coil of the solenoid. The other coil remains energized to hold the valve open. Hand controls having switches are electrically coupled to the motor and solenoids to control the operation thereof. A third embodiment of the air control apparatus has air pump and valve assembly operable with a hand control to selectively direct air under pressure to an air mattress and vent air from the air mattress. The air mattress and air control apparatus is incorporated into a sofa bed.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,829,616
- Filing date
- 1987-09-14
- Grant date
- 1989-05-16
- Assignee
- Walker Robert A
- Inventor(s)
- WALKER; ROBERT A.
- CPC class
- A47C27/10
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