Bed with suspended platform

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6199552
  • Patent Number
    6,199,552
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, April 7, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 13, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Brown; Michael A.
    Agents
    • Sanchelima; J.
Abstract
An apparatus for facilitating sexual relations with minimum movement by suspending a partner at controllable parallel and spaced apart relationship with respect to another partner resting on a flat cushioned surface. A cable assembly with several cables are cooperatively tied at one end to the suspended platform supporting one of the partners and the other end wound by spool members included in a motorized spool assembly. The activation of the motorized spool assembly brings the platform up and down. A reciprocating movement is also applied to the suspended platform, and all of these movements are controlled by a circuit that includes hard-wired or remote inputs.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a bed with a suspended platform, and more particularly, to a bed that facilitates sexual intercourse by handicapped individuals.




2. Description of the Related Art




A number of devices has been designed in the past to help individuals engage in sexual intercourse. Some of these devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,385,154; 5,538,011 and 3,971,592. However none of them includes a suspended platform.




Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide an apparatus that facilitates engaging in sexual intercourse with a minimum of required movement of a user's body.




It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus that is ergonomically designed with characteristics that are compatible with the functions typically associated with sexual intercourse.




It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a device that is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain while retaining its effectiveness.




Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:





FIG. 1

represents an isometric view of the invention showing the different possible movements of the suspended platform.





FIG. 2

shows a front view of preferred embodiment with users in phantom.





FIG. 3



a


is a front view of motorized wheel with shaft in up and down positions.





FIG. 3



b


is a front view of motorized wheel with shaft in extreme left and right position.





FIG. 4

shows a front view of motorized spool assembly.





FIG. 5

is a bottom view of locking assembly for leg support member.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring now to the drawings, where the present invention is generally referred to with numeral


10


, it can be observed that it basically includes housing assembly


20


with platform assembly


60


suspended their by cable assemblies


80


and


90


that are wound and un wound in motorized spool assembly


85


. Motorized spool assembly


85


is controlled by electronic control unit


100


that includes A/C or battery supplies. The inputs to control unit


100


include hard wired and remote control units


101


and


102


.




Housing assembly


20


includes upright elongated structural members


21


;


22


;


23


and


24


defining the corner of a space with a rectangular projection. Bottom


30


includes a cushioned flat surface where one of the users rests. Double frame assembly


40


has a substantially rectangular shape similar to the rectangular shape of bottom


30


with members


41


;


41


′;


42


;


42


′;


43


;


43


′;


44


and


44


′.




Platform assembly


60


is suspended by cable assemblies


80


and


90


. Cable assembly


80


includes cable members


82


and


84


with ends


82


′ and


84


′ tied to locations on one side of platform assembly


60


, space apart from each other. The other ends,


82


″ and


84


″, are wound in motorized spool assembly


85


, as shown in

FIG. 1. A

number of pulley members


81


and


91


are used to direct cables


82


;


84


;


92


and


94


. Pulley member


121


directs cable


124


. Platform assembly


60


includes a flat portion


62


with through opening


64


cooperatively located to permit the user (upper) to come in partial contact with the other user (lower). At one end


61


assembly


60


, there is a central cutout to facilitate contact between the users in the genital area. Two leg support members


63


and


63


′ extend from end


61


and are ergonomically designed to confortably support the upper user's legs. The other end


67


of assembly


60


includes head roller


69


positioned at a spaced apart relationship with respect to end


67


. Head roller


69


is made out of a soft material. Leg support members


63


and


63


′ may include an adjusting mechanism such as the one shown in

FIG. 5

or other equivalent mechanism to enhance the confort of a user.




Motorized spool


85


includes five spool members


83


;


86


;


87


;


88


and


89


, as best seen in FIG.


4


. Spool members


83


and


86


take in cables


82


and


84


. Spool members


88


and


89


take in cables


92


and


94


. Spool members


83


;


86


;


87


;


88


and


89


have all the same diameters so that substantially the same length of cables


82


;


84


;


92


and


94


is taken in with a predetermined angular rotation.




Reciprocating movement assembly


120


is slidably mounted along upright guiding member


27


and


28


. Assembly


120


includes a motorized wheel


122


that imparts a reciprocating movements to shaft


124


. One end of shaft


124


is pivotally connected to motorized wheel


120


(at an off center location) while the other end is connected to end


67


of platform assembly


60


.




Either the upper or lower user can control the movement of platform assembly


60


through hard-wired control


101


or remote control


102


. The movement could be up or down and front or back.




The foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objectives and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus comprising:A) a substantially flat cushioned surface; B) a platform assembly suspended above said flat cushioned surface, said platform assembly including an ergonometric shape with an opening and a cutout to maximize contact between a first user resting on said flat cushioned surface and a second user resting on said platform assembly; and C) means for imparting movement to said platform assembly including control means for directing said movement wherein said means for imparting movement include a plurality of cables suspending said platform assembly and further including motorized spool means for taking in and unwinding said cables to raise and lower said platform.
  • 2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for imparting movement include motorized reciprocating means for delivering front to back movement to said suspended platform assembly.
  • 3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein said platform assembly includes two ends, and one of said ends includes two leg resting members outwardly and longitudinally extending therefrom.
  • 4. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein said platform assembly includes head support means mounted to the other end of platform assembly.
  • 5. The apparatus set forth in claim 4 wherein said leg resting members and said head support means include means for adjusting their positions.
  • 6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein said spool means includes four spool members and four cables that are wound and unwound from said spool members simultaneously.
  • 7. The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein said motorized reciprocating means includes a motorized wheel and a shaft with first and second ends, said first end pivotally mounted to said motorized wheel at an off center location and said second end pivotally mounted to said other end of said platform.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
3971572 Farley Jul 1976
5333334 Kassai Aug 1994
5385154 Fuhrman et al. Jan 1995
5453080 Mitchum Sep 1995
5456655 Morris Oct 1995
5507050 Welner Apr 1996
5538011 Craft et al. Jul 1996