Heating and Cooling Sleeping System

Abstract

A sleeping system is described in which a control apparatus is provided for altering comfort conditions in a mattress assembly. The control apparatus permits one or more sleeping areas on the mattress assembly to be designated for alteration of the comfort conditions. The control device may include control elements that permit manual alteration of the comfort conditions, scheduling an alteration of the comfort conditions for a predetermined time and saving a preferred configuration for the comfort conditions. The comfort conditions may include temperature conditions, firmness conditions and elevation conditions, and the comfort conditions in the designated sleeping areas may be collectively or individually controlled.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sleeping system comprising:
 a mattress assembly defining at least a first sleeping area and a second sleeping area thereon;   an adjustment mechanism operable to alter at least one adjustable condition of at least one of the sleeping areas;   a control unit operably coupled to the adjustment mechanism to selectively transmit instructions to the adjustment mechanism to thereby adjust the condition of the first sleeping area; and   a control device provided to communicate with the control unit to thereby induce an alteration of the at least one adjustable condition, the control device providing a user interface permitting a user to individually designate the first sleeping area for alteration of the adjustable condition.   
     
     
         2 . The sleeping system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface of the control device is a touch screen that provides a control element for designating at least one of the first and second sleeping areas, and also provides a visual representation of the mattress assembly indicating which of the first and second sleeping areas is designated. 
     
     
         3 . The sleeping system of  claim 2 , wherein the user interface of the control device is a touch screen that provides a control element enabling a user to personalize the sleeping system by defining one of the first and second sleeping areas for an individual user. 
     
     
         4 . The sleeping system of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes at least one of:
 a heating and cooling system operable to alter a temperature condition of no more than a portion of the first sleeping area;   an elevation mechanism operable to alter an elevation condition of at least a portion of the first sleeping area; and   a firmness mechanism operable to alter a firmness condition of the first sleeping area.   
     
     
         5 . The sleeping system of  claim 4 , wherein the user interface of the control device provides a control element associated with an available adjustment mechanism that is visually distinct from a control element associated with an unavailable adjustment mechanism. 
     
     
         6 . The sleeping system of  claim 4 , wherein the control unit is operable distribute air flow between the heating and cooling system and the firmness mechanism to selectively alter the temperature condition and the firmness condition, respectively. 
     
     
         7 . The sleeping system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface of the control device is a touch screen that provides a graphical control element that may be manipulated to permit an increase or decrease of the adjustable condition, and wherein the user interface provides a numeric value that changes to indicate the relative value of the adjustable condition as the control element is manipulated. 
     
     
         8 . The sleeping system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface of the control device provides a calendar control element that permits a user pre-program an alteration of the adjustable condition to be performed at predetermined date and time. 
     
     
         9 . The sleeping system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface permits specifying and saving a preferred target configuration for the first sleeping area. 
     
     
         10 . The sleeping system of  claim 1 , wherein the control device comprises a wireless handheld device communicatively coupled to the control unit to facilitate transmission of wireless control signals to the control unit. 
     
     
         11 . The sleeping system of  claim 1 , wherein the mattress assembly comprises:
 a first mattress layer with the first and second sleeping areas characterizing the first mattress layer, each sleeping area having a perimeter;   a first air distribution mechanism disposed over the first mattress layer in one of the sleeping areas, the air first distribution mechanism having a perimeter that is less than the perimeter of the sleeping area in which it is disposed; and   a second air distribution mechanism disposed over the first mattress layer in the same sleeping areas as the first air distribution mechanism, the second air distribution mechanism spaced apart from the first air distribution mechanism and having a perimeter that is less than the perimeter of the sleeping area in which it is disposed,   wherein the control device is a wireless control device disposed to separately control an adjustable condition of the first and second air distribution members.   
     
     
         12 . A control apparatus for a sleeping system, the control apparatus comprising:
 a control unit positionable adjacent a mattress assembly defining at least a first sleeping area and a second sleeping area thereon, the control unit operable to selectively transmit instructions to an adjustment mechanism for altering an adjustable condition of at least the first and second sleeping areas; and   a wireless control device operable to communicate wirelessly with the control unit, the control device providing a touch screen and graphical user interface permitting a user to individually designate the first and second sleeping areas for alteration of the adjustable condition.   
     
     
         13 . The control apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the user interface permits designation of the first and second sleeping areas for control of the adjustable condition configuration on the first and second sleeping areas collectively. 
     
     
         14 . The control apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the control device includes a processor, a non-transitory computer readable medium operatively coupled to the processor, and software stored on the computer readable medium and executable by the processor to cause the control device to send control signals to the control unit. 
     
     
         15 . The control apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the software permits selection of a preferred configuration for at least the adjustable condition and saving the preferred configuration on the non-transitory computer readable medium. 
     
     
         16 . The control apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the software provides an indication of both available and unavailable adjustment mechanisms associated with the mattress assembly. 
     
     
         17 . The control apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the mattress assembly comprises:
 a first mattress layer with the first and second sleeping areas characterizing the first mattress layer, each sleeping area having a perimeter;   a first air distribution mechanism disposed over the first mattress layer in one of the sleeping areas, the air first distribution mechanism having a perimeter that is less than the perimeter of the sleeping area in which it is disposed; and   a second air distribution mechanism disposed over the first mattress layer in the same sleeping areas as the first air distribution mechanism, the second air distribution mechanism spaced apart from the first air distribution mechanism and having a perimeter that is less than the perimeter of the sleeping area in which it is disposed, and   wherein the wireless control device is disposed to separately control an adjustable condition of the first and second air distribution members.   
     
     
         18 . A method of controlling an adjustable condition of sleeping area defined on a mattress assembly of a sleeping system, the method comprising:
 designating, with a control device, at least the first sleeping area of the mattress assembly for alteration of the adjustable condition,   utilizing a touch screen associated with a graphical user interface to alter an adjustable condition of the mattress assembly;   communicating wireless instructions from the control device to an adjustment mechanism associated with the designated sleeping area or designated sleeping areas; and   operating the adjustment mechanism to thereby alter the adjustable condition within the designated sleeping area or sleeping areas in response to communicating the instructions.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising saving a preferred configuration for the adjustable condition with the control device 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising activating the adjustment mechanism to achieve the preferred configuration by selecting a control element on the control device associated with the preferred configuration. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising scheduling the alteration of the adjustable condition for a later predetermined time. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein altering the adjustable condition includes adjusting at least one of a temperature condition of at least a portion of the designated sleeping area, an elevation condition of at least a portion of the designated sleeping area and a firmness condition of at least abortion of the designated sleeping area.