Mattress with adjustable firmness

1. A mattress system comprising:

a mattress comprising:

a fabric cover;

first and second layers of foam material positioned inside the fabric cover;

an adjustable air layer positioned inside the fabric cover between the first and second layers of foam material, the adjustable air layer comprising:

an air bladder; and

an open-cell foam material positioned inside the air bladder and configured to bias the air bladder to an inflated position when the open-cell foam material is exposed to atmospheric pressure; and

a valve system fluidically connected to the air bladder and configured to regulate the air bladder; the valve system comprising:

a valve configured to selectively expose the open-cell foam material to atmospheric pressure, the valve comprising a solenoid and a solenoid controller coupled to the valve and configured to engage the valve;

a pressure sensor;

a processing unit; and

a computer memory storing instructions that are executable by the processing unit;

wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that:

open the valve for a first period of time to establish a desired pressure;

close the valve after the first period of time;

wherein the mattress is configured to be folded upon itself in a shippable position to reduce a dimension of the mattress in at least one direction; and

packaging configured to compress and retain the mattress such that each of the air bladder, the open-cell foam material, and one or more layers of foam material are compressed.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mattress is folded with multiple hinges formed at elastic sections of material at a top surface of the fabric cover of the mattress.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the valve system allows air to be expelled from the air bladder while the mattress is being compressed.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the packaging comprises

a vacuum-sealed bag configured to surround the mattress and configured to compress the mattress from an uncompressed state in response to application of a vacuum; and

a cardboard box having a combined length and girth of 165 inches (about 419 centimeters) or less enclosing the vacuum-sealed bag and the mattress.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the mattress is compressed in a helical roll within the vacuum sealed bag.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the mattress is configured to be rolled with an elastic section along a bottom surface of the mattress toward an outside so that the elastic section stretches more than a top surface of the mattress.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the valve system comprises a mechanical valve comprising a disc, a biasing member, and an adjuster, wherein the biasing member biases the disc toward a closed position that substantially seals the mechanical valve and wherein the adjuster comprises a threaded dial that is adjustable to selectively increase and decrease biasing force exerted by the biasing member on the disc.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the valve system comprises an open position that allows fluid to enter and expand the air bladder until a pressure in the air bladder is equal to atmospheric pressure.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the valve system comprises a closed position that prevents fluid from entering or exiting the air bladder thereby setting a base firmness of the air bladder.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mattress is folded in the shippable position and placed in the packaging.

11. A mattress system comprising:

a mattress comprising:

one or more layers of foam material;

an adjustable air layer positioned adjacent at least one of the one or more layers of foam material, the adjustable air layer comprising:

an air bladder; and

an open-cell foam material positioned inside the air bladder and configured to bias the air bladder to an inflated position when the open-cell foam material is exposed to atmospheric pressure; and

a valve system fluidically connected to the air bladder and configured to regulate the air bladder; the valve system comprising:

a valve configured to selectively expose the open-cell foam material to atmospheric pressure, the valve comprising a solenoid and a solenoid controller coupled to the valve and configured to engage the valve;

a pressure sensor;

a processing unit; and

a computer memory storing instructions that are executable by the processing unit;

wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that:

open the valve for a first period of time to establish a desired pressure;

close the valve after the first period of time;

wherein the mattress is configured to be folded upon itself in a shippable position to reduce a dimension of the mattress in at least one direction; and

packaging configured to compress and retain the mattress such that each of the air bladder, the open-cell foam material, and the one or more layers of foam material are compressed;

wherein the mattress is folded with multiple hinges formed as elastic sections of material of a bottom surface of a cover of the mattress, the elastic sections have elastic properties that allow the elastic sections to stretch more than neighboring sections of the cover.

12. A mattress comprising:

one or more layers of foam material;

an adjustable air layer positioned adjacent at least one of the one or more layers of foam material, the adjustable air layer comprising:

an air bladder; and

an open-cell foam material positioned inside the air bladder and configured to bias the air bladder to an inflated position when the open-cell foam material is exposed to atmospheric pressure; and

a valve system fluidically connected to the air bladder and configured to regulate the air bladder, the valve system comprising:

a valve configured to selectively expose the open-cell foam material to atmospheric pressure, the valve comprising a solenoid and a solenoid controller coupled to the valve and configured to engage the valve;

a pressure sensor;

a processing unit; and

a computer memory storing instructions that are executable by the processing unit;

wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that:

open the valve for a first period of time in response to a detection of no user present on the mattress;

close the valve after the first period of time.

13. The mattress of claim 12 , wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that open the solenoid for a delayed amount of time in response to a detection of a user presence on the mattress before closing the solenoid.

14. The mattress of claim 12 , wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that delay opening the solenoid in response to a detection of a user exiting the mattress for an amount of time before opening the solenoid.

15. The mattress of claim 12 , wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that open the solenoid in response to a detection of a user exiting the mattress to achieve a first pressure equal to ambient air.

16. The mattress of claim 15 , wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that open and close the solenoid to achieve a second pressure set by the user in response to a detection of a user present on the mattress.

17. The mattress of claim 12 , wherein at least some of the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to issue commands that adjust the pressure in the air bladder based on a user's biometric signals.