Patent Application
20100175186
Any and all U.S. patents, U.S. patent applications, and other documents, hard copy or electronic, cited or referred to in this application are incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this application.
The words “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” and “including,” and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.
The word “rectangular” includes square.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,865,758; 6,925,666; and 7,155,762 disclose bed bases made from sheet metal and include side members connected at corners. One or more cross-rails span the width of the bed base, adding rigidity and support for a box spring and mattress. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/189,699, filed on Aug. 11, 2008 (herein Application), I disclose a bed base of simplified construction that reduces the cost of manufacture. Although an improvement in prior art bed bases, the bed base disclosed in the Application requires the use of a tool to assemble its parts. It and other bed bases also require using separate fasteners or connectors such as nuts or bolts that are tightened with a tool, and others may avoid using a tool but still require the use of a number of hand-tightened “wing” nuts or other non-integrated, separate fasteners.
This background discussion is not intended to be an admission of prior art.
My bed base and method of assembling a bed base without the use of tools has one or more of the features depicted in the embodiment discussed in the section entitled “DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT.” The claims that follow define my bed base and method of assembling a bed base without the use of tools, distinguishing them from the prior art. Without limiting the scope of my bed base and method as expressed by these claims in general terms, one or more, but not necessarily all, of their features are listed below not in any rank order; nor is this list intended to be exhaustive:
One, my bed base comprises parts adapted to be assembled together manually without the use of a tool and connection of the parts is achieved through connection means formed from and integral with the parts being assembled together. These parts include side members, corner connectors, and at least one a cross-rail assembly. Essentially all these parts may be formed from metal tubes and malleable metal sheet material and the connection means are stamped, bent, punched, or otherwise formed simultaneously as the individual parts are formed. In other words, the use of separate, individual fasteners or connectors is avoided.
Two, the side members are assembled into a rectangular support with a pair of side members opposed and adjacent side members forming corners of the rectangular support. The side members are substantially planar, and at least a sidewall of an individual side member is oriented vertically to enable upper exterior surface portions of the assembled side members to support a bed. There is an attachment member in a lower portion of each of the adjacent side members. These attachment members are configured and positioned to engage each other upon assembly of corresponding adjacent side members.
Three, the corner connectors are locked onto the adjacent side members at the corners. Each corner connector includes a pair of first linking elements. The adjacent side members each have a second linking element positioned so that, upon assembly, there is engagement between the first linking elements of individual corner connectors and the second linking elements of corresponding adjacent side members at individual corners. Each corner connector may have a plate member comprising a pair of arms substantially at a right angle to each other and in each arm includes one first linking element.
Four, the cross-rail assembly is connected to the opposed side members, and it has an elongated bar member and an orthogonal leg member extending therefrom and terminating in a first component of a two-component connector. Each opposed side member has a second component of the two-component connector. This second component is positioned so that, upon assembly, it engages the first component of the two-component connector of a corresponding aligned leg member.
Five, there is an upper planar support in each of the opposed side members having a guide structure for the bar member and the leg member. The guide structure includes an open notch. These open notches are configured and positioned so that, upon assembly, the notches in the opposed side members are aligned. When the cross-rail assembly is placed on the opposed side member, a portion of the bar member is seated in the aligned notches and each leg member extends through a corresponding notch and is positioned along an inside surface of a corresponding opposed side member. Each notch may be configured so an exterior surface of the elongated bar member is substantially flush with an exterior surface of the upper planar support member upon attaching the cross-rail assembly to the opposed side members.
Six, upon assembly, a locking mechanism at each corner engages to lock the corner connectors to the corners in a manner that prevents manual disassembly expect by use of a prying tool. In one embodiment, each corner connector may have a catch element and interlocks with an aperture in a side member. The catch element may be formed in a wall structure to project into a receptacle such as an aperture in an abutting wall structure of an adjacent part. The catch elements and apertures are at predetermined locations to attain an interlocking relationship when an individual corner connector is press fitted onto the upper portions of the adjacent side members.
Seven, the first and second linking elements may be configured to engage in a male and female mating relationship, the first and second components may be configured to engage in a male and female mating relationship, and the attachment members may be configured to engage in a male and female mating relationship.
My method of assembling a bed base without the use of tools comprises the steps of:
(a) providing the following bed base parts:
side members adapted to be assembled into a rectangular support including adjacent side members forming corners of the rectangular support, each of the adjacent side members including a first locking element, and a pair of opposed side members, each opposed side member including a guide structure along an upper portion, said guide structure in the opposed side members being aligned upon assembly,
corner connectors adapted to be connected to upper portions of the adjacent side members at said corners of the rectangular support, each said corner connector including a second locking element,
a cross-rail assembly adapted to be connected to the opposed side members, said cross-rail assembly having an elongated bar member and a leg member extending therefrom and terminating in a first component of a two-component connector,
each opposed side member having a second component of the two-component connector positioned to engage upon assembly with said first component of the two-component connector of a corresponding aligned leg member,
said adjacent side members each having a second linking element positioned so that, upon assembly at each individual corner, one first linking element of the pair in each individual corner connector engages a corresponding second linking element in one of the corresponding adjacent side members and the other of the pair engages the second linking element in the other of the corresponding adjacent side members, and
an attachment member in a lower portion of each of the adjacent side members, said attachment members configured and positioned to engage with each other upon assembly,
(b) assembling the side members into a rectangular configuration by connecting together the attachment members in the lower portions of the adjacent side members so that said attachment members engage and the notches in the guide structures of the opposed side members are aligned,
(c) attaching the cross-rail assembly to the assembled opposed side members of step (b) by inserting the bar member into the aligned guide structures in the opposed side members and inserting the leg member through an individual guide structure to connect the corresponding two components of the individual two-component connectors, and
(d) press fitting individual corner connectors onto the corners at the upper portions of adjacent corresponding side members to engage the first and second locking elements and attain an interlocking relationship between each individual corner connector and corresponding adjacent side members.
The steps (a) through (d) may be in the listed sequence or steps may be in a different order. For example, step (d) may precede step (c).
One embodiment of my bed base is discussed in detail in connection with the accompanying drawing, which is for illustrative purposes only. This drawing includes the following figures (Figs.), with like numerals indicating like parts:
As illustrated in
In
The rectangular support assembly 16 includes the four generally rectangular side members 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d that are typically first assembled by connecting attachment members in lower portions of adjacent side members. The individual side members 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, are preferably made from roll formed sheet steel having a thickness of from about 16 to about 20 gauge. The sheet steel is bent into the desired configuration using conventional manufacturing equipment. The opposed side members 16b and 16d are of the same length of about 71 inches and they typically do not vary no matter what the size of the box-spring and mattress being supported. Depending on the size of the box-spring and mattress being supported, the opposed side members 16a and 16c have a length ranging from about 26 to about 63 inches. For any type of box-spring and mattress being supported, the opposed side members 16a and 16c are of the same length. For example, when a twin size box-spring and mattress is being supported, the length is 26 inches, when a full size box-spring and mattress is being supported, the length is 40 inches, when a king size box-spring and mattress is being supported, the length is 58 inches. All the side members 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d, are of the same width x ranging from about 5 to about 18 inches.
As best shown on
There extends outward in the same direction, respectively from each edge E1 and E2, an L-shaped shoulder support/stiffener 50 and 50a. The support stiffeners 50 and 50a face each other, with their feet 23a and 23b pointing at each other and their legs 25a and 25b oriented horizontally to form longitudinal, planar support members 22 and 22a. Each leg 25a or 25b is at a right angle to the planar portion C. The individual feet 23a and 23b extend from an outer tip OT of the leg 25a or 25b. Each longitudinal support member 22 and 22a, or leg 25a and 25b has substantially the same width W, typically from about ¾ to about 11/4 inches. The length of each individual leg 25a and 25b is usually the same as the length of the side member 16a, 16b, 16c, or 16d from which it extends.
In the individual side members 16b and 16d there are three cut out notches N (
The attachment members may be in the form of an individual cylindrical post P4 (
As best illustrated in
The open lower end 325 of each leg member 320 is one component of a two-component connector. The other component of each two-component connector is a cylindrical post P3 along the planar support member 22a that is positioned to engage the open lower end 325 of a corresponding leg member upon assembly. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Only one corner connector 12 is used at each corner of my bed base 10 to securely connect and lock together the adjoining, adjacent ends of side members forming a corner. For example, as shown in
As best shown in
The posts P1 and P2 of each corner connector 12 are vertically aligned respectively with the cut out holes CH1 and CH2 in the adjacent side members, for example, side member 16a and 16b as depicted in
In the embodiment disclosed and as illustrated best in
The connection linkage and locking structure of my bed base 10 is designed to avoid the use of tools or separate fasteners. The connection linkage includes, for example, linking elements such as the posts P1 and P2 and the opening CH1 and CH2, the two components (the post P3 and the open leg member end 325) of a two-component connector, the attachment members such as the post P4 and a corresponding hole CH3 in the adjacent side members and the locking structure which may include the catch elements 402 in the corner connectors 12 and apertures 404 in adjacent side members. The connection linkage may be through a male-female connection mechanism. For example, the first and second linking elements may be configured to engage in a male and female mating relationship; the first and second components may be configured to engage in a male and female mating relationship; and the attachment members of adjacent lower planar support members may be configured to engage in a male and female mating relationship. For example, there is a first linking element in each arm of the plate member of each corner connector and a second linking element in each of the upper planar support members. The first and second linking elements may be positioned so that, upon assembly, the first linking elements and second linking elements engage upon attaching an individual corner connector at an individual corner. The leg members 320 may each terminate in a first component of the two-component connector and each lower planar support member may have a second component of the two-component connector. The second component is positioned to engage the first component in a corresponding aligned leg member upon assembly. In this embodiment, the first component is an open end 325 of the hollow interior of a corresponding leg member 320 and the second component is an inwardly projecting cylindrical post P3 with a flared tip 400 along the lower planar support member of the opposed side members. The flared tip 400 fits snug within the open end upon assembly.
There is an attachment member at or near an end in each lower planar support member 22a of the adjacent side members. The lower planar support members 22a of the adjacent side members are configured to overlap upon assembly so the attachment members in each end of corresponding adjacent lower planar support members engage upon assembly. One attachment member may be a cut out hole CH3 in an end of the lower planar support member 22a of one of the adjacent side members forming a corner and the other attachment member may be an inwardly projecting post P3 that fits snugly with a corresponding opening or hole CH3 in a corresponding adjacent side member.
The locking structure prevents manual disassembly of my bed base 10 and is designed to lock each individual corner connector 12 to corresponding adjacent side members forming a corner. This locking structure is engaged upon assembly of individual corner connectors 12 and corresponding adjacent side members. In other words, when an individual corner connector is attached to a corner, it cannot be detached except by using a tool.
To assemble the bed base 10, the installer first connects the side members 16a through 16d together by inserting the inward projecting cylindrical attachment member or post P4 into the circular opening attachment member or hole CH3 at each corner, orienting the side members vertically with the lower planar support members 22a resting horizontally on a floor and the upper planar support members 22 exposed to enable the box-spring mattress 18 to be placed thereon. Next, each cross-rail assembly 14 is attached by placing each bar member 310 of each cross-rail assembly 14 in the aligned notches N in the opposed side members 16b and 16d. Concurrently, each leg member 320 is pushed through a corresponding notch N and the components of the two-component connector are coupled together. In this embodiment, flared tip 400 of the cylindrical member or post P3 is forced into the open end 325 of a corresponding leg member 320.
Finally as shown in
My bed base 10 does not use any separate connectors to fasten the parts together. Rather the means for connecting the parts together are formed from and integral therewith to provide linkage of parts upon assembly exclusively by such integrated connectors. This avoids using any tools to assemble the bed base parts and any separate, non-integrated fasteners or connectors to connect these parts.
The above presents a description of the best mode I contemplate of carrying out my bed base, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use my bed base. My bed base is, however, susceptible to modifications and alternate constructions from the illustrative embodiment discussed above which are fully equivalent. Consequently, it is not the intention to limit my bed base to the particular embodiment disclosed. On the contrary, my intention is to cover all modifications and alternate constructions coming within the spirit and scope of my bed base as generally expressed by the following claims, which particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter of my invention:
