Bed system with pressure adjustment features

Abstract

A system can include a bed that includes a mattress and a controller. The controller can be configured to receive data indicating pressure changes in the mattress, aggregate the received data, determine an air-change-value based on the aggregated data to represent a change in mass, and generate instructions that, when executed, cause a pressure adjustment to the mattress based on the air-change-value that represents the change in mass.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A bed system comprising:
 a mattress;   at least one sensor configured to measure pressure readings in the mattress; and   a controller in communication with the at least one sensor, the controller configured to:
 receive, from the at least one sensor, sensor data indicating pressure readings of the mattress; 
 generate instructions to cause a pump to perform periodic pressure adjustments to account for pressure changes due to temperature changes; 
 aggregate data reflecting the periodic pressure adjustments; 
 determine an air-change-value, based on the aggregate data reflecting the periodic pressure adjustments; and 
 generate instructions to cause the pump to execute a corrective pressure adjustment to the mattress based on the air-change-value. 
   
     
     
         2 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein the air-change-value is determined at only one time after the controller stops operating to cause a temperature adjustment to a microclimate of the bed system. 
     
     
         3 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein the pump executes the corrective pressure adjustment to the mattress at a single time only once after the controller stops operating to cause a temperature adjustment to a microclimate of the bed system. 
     
     
         4 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature changes are caused by the controller generating instructions to cause a temperature adjustment to a microclimate of the bed system. 
     
     
         5 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein the data reflecting the periodic pressure adjustments includes pressure adjustments made during a temperature adjustment routine and also pressure adjustments made after the temperature adjustment routine. 
     
     
         6 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein generating the instructions to cause the pump to execute the corrective pressure adjustment further comprises:
 determining when the bed system is unoccupied; and   instructing the pump to execute the corrective pressure adjustment a threshold amount of time after determining that the bed system is unoccupied.   
     
     
         7 . The bed system of  claim 6 , wherein determining when the bed system is unoccupied comprises detecting a bed-exit event by a user of the bed system. 
     
     
         8 . The bed system of  claim 6 , wherein determining when the bed system is unoccupied comprises determining that the controller is no longer operating to cause a temperature adjustment to a microclimate of the bed system. 
     
     
         9 . The bed system of  claim 6 , wherein determining when the bed system is unoccupied is based on temperature changes that are detected, by a temperature sensor, in the mattress. 
     
     
         10 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein aggregating the data is performed, by the controller, after detection of a bed-exit event by a user of the bed system. 
     
     
         11 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein the data reflecting the periodic pressure adjustments reflects a total mass of air added or removed during the periodic pressure adjustments. 
     
     
         12 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein generating the instructions to cause the pump to execute the corrective pressure adjustment further comprises generating instructions that cause the pump to return a total mass of air in at least one air chamber of the mattress to be substantially equal to a mass of air that was in the at least one air chamber before the controller generated instructions to cause the pump to perform the periodic pressure adjustments. 
     
     
         13 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein generating the instructions to cause the pump to execute the corrective pressure adjustment further comprises increasing pressure in one or more air chambers to a pressure value that is greater than an initial pressure value prior to the temperature changes. 
     
     
         14 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein the periodic pressure adjustments are responsive to at least one of (i) an increase in pressure in one or more air chambers resulting from blowing warm air through a layer of the mattress or (ii) a decrease in pressure in the one or more air chambers resulting from blowing or drawing cooling air through the mattress. 
     
     
         15 . The bed system of  claim 14 , wherein the controller drives the pump to increase or decrease pressure in one or more air chambers of the mattress to a user-desired firmness level while the controller also drives a temperature system to cause the temperature changes. 
     
     
         16 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure readings are captured, by the at least one sensor, whenever a pressure adjustment is made to the mattress responsive to the controller operating to cause the temperature changes. 
     
     
         17 . The bed system of  claim 1 , wherein a difference in pressure is determined as a total amount of pressure that was added to or removed from the mattress during the periodic pressure adjustments. 
     
     
         18 . A system comprising:
 a bed including a mattress; and   a controller configured to:
 receive data indicating pressure changes in the mattress; 
 aggregate the received data; 
 determine an air-change-value based on the aggregated data to represent a change in mass; and 
 generate instructions that, when executed, cause a pressure adjustment to the mattress based on the air-change-value that represents the change in mass. 
   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the data indicating the pressure changes are received as the pressure changes are detected in the mattress. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the pressure changes in the mattress are made, by the controller, responsive to the controller operating to cause a temperature adjustment at the system.