Methods of manufacturing, compressing, rolling, folding and packaging mattresses

Abstract

A method of manufacturing and packaging a mattress includes compressing a finished mattress to flatten the finished matter and rolling said finished mattress into a cylinder. The method includes placing the compressed and rolled mattress into a bag, and sealing the bag to form a sealed bag containing the compressed and rolled finished mattress. The method includes providing an elongated container having a closed bottom end and an open upper end, and passing the sealed bag containing the compressed and rolled finished mattress through the open upper end and into the elongated container. A cap is placed over the open upper end of the elongated container.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing and packaging a mattress comprising:
 providing a finished mattress;   compressing said finished mattress;   after compressing said mattress, rolling said mattress into a cylinder;   placing said compressed and rolled mattress into a bag;   sealing said bag.   
     
     
         2 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing an elongated container;   after sealing said bag with said compressed and rolled mattress inside said sealed bag, inserting said sealed bag with said compressed and rolled mattress into said elongated container.   
     
     
         3 . The method as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein said elongated container has a closed bottom end and an open upper end, and wherein the inserting step comprises passing said sealed bag with said compressed and rolled mattress through said open upper end and into said elongated container. 
     
     
         4 . The method as claimed in  claim 3 , further comprising placing a removable cap over said open upper end of said elongated container. 
     
     
         5 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said finished mattress is selected from the group consisting of coil mattresses, memory foam mattresses, and mattress toppers. 
     
     
         6 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising folding said mattress in half so that a head of said mattress is aligned with a foot of said mattress. 
     
     
         7 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the folding step occurs prior to the rolling step. 
     
     
         8 . The method as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the rolling step comprises rolling said mattress from one lateral edge of said mattress to an opposite lateral edge of said mattress. 
     
     
         9 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the rolling step comprises rolling said mattress from one lateral edge of said mattress to an opposite lateral edge of said mattress. 
     
     
         10 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the rolling step comprises rolling said mattress around a core. 
     
     
         11 . The method as claimed in  claim 10 , further comprising applying tape to said rolled mattress to maintain said rolled mattress in the cylinder. 
     
     
         12 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the sealing said bag step comprises forming an air-tight seal, a vacuum seal, or a hermetic seal. 
     
     
         13 . The method as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein said elongated container comprises an elongated tube made of paper, cardboard or cellulose, and said cap is made of plastic, cellulose or metal. 
     
     
         14 . The method as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein said elongated tube has a cylindrical shape and a circular cross-section. 
     
     
         15 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the providing a finished mattress step comprises:
 disposing a coil layer between a first foam substrate and a second foam substrate;   joining a first major surface of said coil layer to a major surface of said first foam layer and a second major surface of said coil layer to a major surface of said second foam layer to form a first mattress subassembly;   inserting said first mattress subassembly into a fire resistant cover to form a second mattress subassembly;   inserting said second mattress subassembly into a mattress cover to form said finished mattress.   
     
     
         16 . The method as claimed in  claim 15 , further comprising applying adhesive or glue to said first and second major surfaces of said coil layer during the joining step. 
     
     
         17 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the compressing step comprises flattening said finished mattress. 
     
     
         18 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the rolling step comprises further compressing said finished mattress as said finished mattress is rolled into the cylinder. 
     
     
         19 . A method of manufacturing and packaging a mattress comprising:
 compressing a finished mattress to flatten said finished matter;   after the compressing step, rolling said finished mattress into a cylinder;   placing said compressed and rolled finished mattress into a bag;   sealing said bag to form a sealed bag containing said compressed and rolled finished mattress;   providing an elongated container having a closed bottom end and an open upper end;   passing said sealed bag containing said compressed and rolled finished mattress through said open upper end and into said elongated container;   covering said open upper end of said elongated container with a cap.   
     
     
         20 . The method as claimed in  claim 19 , further comprising:
 prior to the rolling step, folding said finished mattress so that a head of said finished mattress is aligned with a foot of said finished mattress; and   after the folding step, rolling said finished mattress from one lateral edge to an opposite lateral edge of said finished mattress.