Patent Application
20210059420
The described embodiments relate to bedding products, and more particularly to a bed frame assembled from components that fit compactly inside the headboard of the bed frame.
Conventional beds in the United States typically include a bed frame that supports a box spring and a mattress. The bed frame can be a simple metal frame or a more substantial piece of furniture. Platform beds and other types of bedroom furniture are typically heavy and bulky and are difficult to move and assemble without professional assistance. Simple metal bed frames typically includes two side rails connected by a plurality of cross bars. The box spring typically rests on wooden slats that span between the side rails. While the cross bars may include multiple overlapping pieces, each side rail of a conventional metal frame is a single piece of metal about as long as the box spring and mattress that are to be supported in order to maintain stability. The side rails and cross bars are usually formed from elongated pieces of steel having an L-shaped cross-section (also called angle iron). A horizontal flange of each side rail supports the box spring, and a vertical flange prevents each side rail from bending under the weight of the box spring, the mattress and the occupants of the bed. Thick metal is used to provide structural integrity to the side rails, rending them heavy, long and awkward.
Moving and assembling conventional beds is cumbersome because multiple tools and many non-intuitive steps are typically involved. Another shortcoming of conventional beds is the relatively heavy weight of the wood of the furniture-type beds and of the thick steel of the metal bed frames. The heavy weight results in higher shipping costs and difficulty of assembly.
Thus, a bed is sought that overcomes the shortcomings of conventional beds, such as the long length of the side rails, the heavy weight of the wood and steel components and the complicated assembly that requires multiple tools. The bed should be compact, light weight and easily assembled.
An assemblable mattress support can be shipped in a compact state with all of its components compactly packed into the headboard. The mattress support includes a foldable longitudinal bar, a lateral bar, side panels, wooden slats, block legs and a footboard, all of which fit inside a compartment in the headboard. The headboard and footboard have leather coverings. The compartment is accessible through a flap in the leather covering, which is closed by a zipper. A first connector at one end of the longitudinal bar is adapted to attach to a third connector on the headboard. A second connector at the other end of the longitudinal bar is adapted to attach to a fourth connector on the footboard. In the assembled state of the mattress support, the first connector is attached to the third connector, and the second connector is attached to the fourth connector. A bracket at the middle of the lateral bar fits into a slot at the middle of the extended longitudinal bar. Support legs are pivotally attached to the longitudinal and lateral bars. The block legs are attached to the outer bottom side of the headboard and to the bottom side of the footboard. The wooden slats are attached to one another by fabric ribbons and are extended in parallel over the longitudinal bar and support ledges on the insides of the side panels. The wooden slats are approximately as long as the lateral bar. Various embodiments of the mattress support are designed to accommodate different sized mattresses.
A method of packing the assemblable mattress support includes folding the longitudinal bar before placing the longitudinal bar inside the compartment in the headboard. The lateral bar, footboard, wooden slats, block legs and side panels are also placed in the compartment. The compartment is closed by zipping a flap in the back side of the headboard closed. The first connector on the longitudinal bar is adapted to attach to a third connector on the outside of the headboard. And the second connector on the longitudinal bar is adapted to attach to a fourth connector on the footboard. The lateral bar is adapted to attach to the longitudinal bar at the middle of the lateral bar. The packed headboard is then placed inside a packing box.
Other embodiments and advantages are described in the detailed description below. This summary does not purport to define the invention. The invention is defined by the claims.
The accompanying drawings, where like numerals indicate like components, illustrate embodiments of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
All of the remaining components of mattress support 10 can be packed inside headboard 12 in a compact state of the mattress support that is suitable both for shipping from the manufacturer to wholesalers and retailers and for transporting from the place of purchase to the location where the customer will assemble his bed. Each side of mattress support 10 is divided into two side panels 14-15 and 16-17 because the full length of the mattress support (also the length of an associated mattress) would not fit inside headboard 12. All of the components, including the block legs 18-19 that attach to the bottom side of headboard 12 fit compactly inside a compartment that opens from the back side of the headboard. Thus, the packed headboard 12 fits efficiently into a rectangular shipping box.
By enabling the user to assemble the components of mattress support 10 after the packing box has been transported to the location where the bed will be assembled, damage to stair wells, elevators and doorways can be avoided. The long and heavy side rails of a conventional metal bed frame, and even the packing box containing the rails, are difficult to maneuver without damaging stair wells, elevators and doorways. Bedroom furniture, such as a platform bed, is also difficult to move. The packing box containing the components of mattress support 10 can be more easily maneuvered up stairs, into apartment elevators and around corners. In addition, the packing box containing the components of mattress support 10 is light and compact enough to fit in a typical sports utility vehicle and, therefore, can be sold in mass-market, general merchandise retail stores (discount department stores) that do not provide furniture delivery. Thus, mattress support 10 can be sold in discount department stores without customer assistance, whereas conventional metal bed frames and bedroom furniture can be sold only at specialty stores that offer assistance (personnel or special carts) for transporting the metal frames and platform beds to the check-out counter and to the customer's vehicle. Mattress support 10 can also be sold online and delivered by a standard shipper.
Longitudinal bar 22 is shown in
In a step 50, support legs 30-31 are folded in, and longitudinal bar 22 is folded together as shown in
In step 52, footboard 13 is placed inside compartment 25. Longitudinal bar 22 has second connector 29 that is adapted to attach to fourth connector 44 on footboard 13. In step 53, wooden slats 11 are placed in compartment 25. Wooden slats are attached to one another by fabric ribbons 26.
In step 54, lateral bar 23 is placed in compartment 25. Lateral bar 23 has bracket 42 that is adapted to fit into socket 35 such that lateral bar 23 attaches at its middle to longitudinal bar 22. Lateral bar 23 is approximately as long as are wooden slats 11. The side panels 14-17 and block legs 18-21 are also placed in compartment 25. Flap 23 is then zipped closed.
In step 55, packed headboard 12 is placed in a packing box whose length is about six inches longer than the width of the mattress that is to be supported.
In step 56, instructions are placed in the packing box that instruct a purchaser of assemblable mattress support 10 on how to assemble the mattress support and to place a mattress on top of the assembled mattress support.
Although certain specific exemplary embodiments are described above in order to illustrate the invention, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments. Accordingly, various modifications, adaptations, and combinations of various features of the described embodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.
This application is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 from, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/824,570 entitled “An Assemblable Mattress Support Whose Side Panels, Headboard and Footboard Fit Inside A Single Packing Box,” filed on Mar. 19, 2020. Application Ser. No. 16/824,570, in turn, is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 from, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/553,140 entitled “An Assemblable Mattress Support Whose Side Panels, Headboard and Footboard Fit Inside A Single Packing Box,” filed on Aug. 27, 2019. Application Ser. No. 16/553,140, in turn, is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 from, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/263,374 entitled “Assemblable Mattress Support Whose Components Fit Inside The Headboard,” filed on Sep. 13, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,626. Application Ser. No. 15/263,374, in turn, is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 from, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/570,124 entitled “Assemblable Mattress Support Whose Components Fit Inside The Headboard,” filed on Dec. 15, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,474,382. Application Ser. No. 14/570,124, in turn, is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/037,322 entitled “Assemblable Mattress Support Whose Components Fit Inside The Headboard,” filed on Sep. 25, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,931,123. The subject matter of each of the aforementioned patent documents is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16824570 | Mar 2020 | US |
| Child | 17098288 | US | |
| Parent | 16553140 | Aug 2019 | US |
| Child | 16824570 | US | |
| Parent | 15263374 | Sep 2016 | US |
| Child | 16553140 | US | |
| Parent | 14570124 | Dec 2014 | US |
| Child | 15263374 | US | |
| Parent | 14037322 | Sep 2013 | US |
| Child | 14570124 | US |
