US 8,181,290 · Granted 2012-05-22

The Smart Bed That Heats and Cools While You Sleep

This patent describes a bed that can warm up or cool down the area where you're lying by pumping temperature-controlled air through tubes built into the mattress. Think of it like a blanket that knows exactly how hot or cold you want to be, and adjusts on its own.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a bed structure with passageways running through its core that allow fluid (air or water) to flow through it. What's protected here is the specific combination of a comfort layer on top, a fluid distribution system underneath, passageways connecting them, and a separate machine (the fluid module) that controls the temperature of whatever flows through those tubes. Someone copying this exact setup—especially the way the distribution member sits above the core and feeds temperature-controlled fluid through it—would infringe.

Why it matters

Temperature control in beds is a growing consumer category, and this patent gives Amerigon exclusive rights to a core approach: using a separate thermoelectric device to condition air or fluid, then distributing it through the mattress itself. Rather than just heating or cooling the whole room, this targets personal comfort at night, which affects sleep quality and could appeal to people who sleep hot or cold or have different preferences than their partner.

Real-world use

When you lie down on a climate-controlled bed like this, you're resting on a layer that's being actively warmed or cooled from inside, adjusting your body temperature throughout the night without cranking the thermostat.

Original USPTO abstract

According to certain arrangements, a climate controlled bed includes an upper portion comprising a core with a top core surface and a bottom core surface. The core includes at least one passageway extending from the top core surface to the bottom core surface. The upper portion of the bed further includes at least one fluid distribution member positioned above the core, wherein the fluid distribution member is in fluid communication with at least one passageway of the core. The fluid distribution member is configured to at least partially distribute fluid within said fluid distribution member. The upper portion of the bed further comprises at least one comfort layer positioned adjacent to the fluid distribution member. The bed also includes a lower portion configured to support the upper portion and at least one fluid module configured to selectively transfer air to or from the fluid distribution member of the upper portion. In some arrangements, the fluid module includes a fluid transfer device and a thermoelectric device for selectively thermally conditioning fluids being transferred by the fluid transfer device.

Patent details

Publication number: US 8,181,290
Filing date: 2009-07-17
Grant date: 2012-05-22
Assignee: Amerigon Incorporated
Inventor(s): BRYKALSKI MICHAEL J., TERECH JOHN, PETROVSKI DUSKO
CPC class: A47C21/044

View original record on Google Patents →

Want to file your own patent?

Thinking of designing the next generation of sleep tech? Search our database to see what bedding and furniture patents are already staked out in your space.

Free patentability scan