US 8,191,187 · Granted 2012-06-05

The Heated Mattress Topper Patent That Turns Your Bed Into a Spa

Imagine a thin mattress pad that pumps warm or cool fluid through hidden channels to heat or chill your entire bed. Fluids flow in through a tube, spread out evenly across the pad through special spacing material, and exit through tiny holes on top — giving you total control over your sleeping temperature.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a conditioner mat (a topper pad) that sits on top of your bed and uses a two-layer design with an interior chamber. What's protected here is the specific structure: a perforated upper layer, a waterproof bottom layer, internal spacer material that spreads fluid evenly, and a connection system that lets you pump heated or cooled liquid in through an inlet and out through the top holes. Anyone manufacturing a competing pad with this exact fluid-distribution architecture without a license would be infringing.

Why it matters

This patent represents a practical approach to temperature-controlled sleeping without replacing your entire mattress. Rather than building heating elements into the mattress itself, Amerigon's design lets you add climate control as a removable topper, making it more affordable and flexible for consumers. The spacer-material innovation ensures fluid distributes evenly so you don't get hot spots or cold zones — a key engineering challenge in thermal bedding systems.

Real-world use

When you lie in bed on a winter night and flip a dial to warm up your sleeping surface, the fluid quietly circulates through this patented pad, warming you from below without raising your whole bedroom temperature.

Original USPTO abstract

According to certain arrangements, a conditioner mat for use with a bed assembly includes an upper layer comprising a plurality of openings, a lower layer being substantially fluid impermeable, at least one interior chamber defined by the upper layer and the lower layer and a spacer material positioned within the interior chamber. In one embodiment, the spacer material is configured to maintain a shape of the interior chamber and to help with the passage of fluids within a portion of interior chamber. The conditioner mat additionally includes an inlet in fluid communication with the interior chamber, at least one fluid module comprising a fluid transfer device and a conduit placing an outlet of the at least one fluid module in fluid communication with the inlet. In some arrangements, the fluid module selectively delivers fluids to the interior chamber through the conduit and the inlet. In one embodiment, fluids entering the chamber through the inlet are generally distributed within the chamber by the spacer material before exiting through the plurality of openings along the upper layer. The conditioner mat can be configured to releasably secure to a top of a bed assembly.

Patent details

Publication number: US 8,191,187
Filing date: 2011-07-14
Grant date: 2012-06-05
Assignee: Amerigon Incorporated
Inventor(s): BRYKALSKI MICHAEL J., MARQUETTE DAVID, TERECH JOHN, VIDOJEVSKI ROBERT
CPC class: A47C21/044

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