Patent Application
20130025049
Family members and friends often wish to stay with their loved ones as they recover from surgeries, births, and other medical procedures in hospitals and other care centers. Most hospital rooms aren't large enough to accommodate separate beds for visitors, so the visitors often must sleep on chairs or even on the floor. Some hospital rooms are equipped with folding beds, pull-out couches, and other similar types of furniture, but known versions of these devices occupy almost as much floor space as conventional beds and are difficult to install and operate. Many of these devices are also unstable and uncomfortable.
The present invention solves the above-described problems by providing a foldable bed that occupies less space than many prior art beds, is simple to install and operate, and is more stable, secure, and comfortable than many prior art beds.
An embodiment of the foldable bed of the present invention broadly comprises an upstanding cabinet; a bed frame assembly for supporting a mattress; and a pair of shifting mechanisms for pivotally supporting the bed frame assembly to the cabinet so the bed frame assembly can be shifted between a raised, closed position and a lowered, open position. The shifting mechanisms cooperate with other components of the bed to permit the bed frame assembly to occupy as little floor space as possible when opened and when being shifted between its closed and opened positions. The shifting mechanisms and other components of the bed also direct substantially all the weight of the bed to the bed's legs rather than to an adjacent wall so that the bed can be used virtually anywhere and does not have to be bolted or otherwise anchored to the studs in a wall.
In one embodiment, each of the shifting mechanisms comprises a hinge plate and a piston mechanism. Each hinge plate is pivotally connected to the cabinet and is integrally formed with a portion of the bed frame assembly. Each piston mechanism is coupled between its hinge plate and the cabinet for assisting with the lowering and raising of the bed and is oriented to maintain the stability of the bed
The bed also includes a novel bed frame assembly design that supports more weight than conventional fold-out beds while also providing a more stable and comfortable base for a mattress. One embodiment of the bed frame assembly broadly comprises a tray; a metal frame positioned on top of and attached to the tray; and a plurality of metal legs positioned below and attached to the tray and the metal frame.
An embodiment of the tray is formed of synthetic resin material and comprises a plurality of spaced-apart, raised, air-filled cushions for supporting a mattress. The cushions firmly support the mattress and provide a cushioning effect similar to that of a box spring. The tray also comprises a plurality of raised, elongated ridges positioned between the cushions for coupling with the metal frame and a raised outer edge for securing the mattress within the tray.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention.
The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention references the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separate references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” in this description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are also not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For example, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment may also be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus, the present technology can include a variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.
Turning now to the drawing figures, and initially
The cabinet 12 is provided for enclosing and partially concealing the bed frame assembly 14 when it is in its raised, closed position and for helping to support and stabilize the entire bed 10 while the bed frame assembly 14 is being raised and lowered. The cabinet 12 may be of any size and shape, and in one embodiment comprises a metal frame 20; and a plurality of panels 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 that attach to and partially cover the frame.
As best illustrated in
The panels 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 attach to and partially cover the metal frame 20 as best shown in
The bed frame assembly 14 supports a mattress as shown in dashed lines in
The tray 68 may be formed of plastic or other synthetic resin materials and may be formed in a blow mold process. An embodiment of the tray 68 is best shown in
The tray 68 also includes recessed front corners 86, 88 and recessed rear corners 90, 92 for accommodating components of the metal frame as described below. Openings 94, 96, 98 are formed through the front corners and near the center of the front edge of the tray for use in attaching the legs 72,74, 76 as described below.
The metal frame 70 adds strength to the bed frame assembly 14 and allows it to support 500 pounds or more. An embodiment of the metal frame 70 is best shown in
An embodiment of the rear corner plates 100, 102 are planar and square or rectangular-shaped and are integrally formed with a component of the shifting mechanisms 16, 18 as described in more detail below. As best shown in
The frame 70 also includes a plurality of inner rails 116 parallel to and spaced between the left side rail 108 and the right side rail 110 and a central rail 118 parallel to and spaced between the front rail 114 and the rear rail 112. The rails 108-118 are positioned over and attached to the elongated ridges 82 in the tray as shown. The rails may be formed of U-shaped or L-shaped aluminum or steel channels and may be welded, bolted, or otherwise fastened together.
The metal legs 72, 74, 76 fit within similar recessed regions on the opposite side of the tray and are bolted or otherwise fastened to the front corner plates 104, 106 and the front rail 114 through the openings 94, 96, 98 in the tray. The legs may fold inwardly when the bed frame assembly 14 is closed as depicted in
The shifting mechanisms 16, 18 assist in the lowering and raising of the bed frame assembly 14 and mattress as described above and cooperate with other components of the bed to permit the bed frame assembly 14 to occupy as little floor space as possible. The shifting mechanisms 16, 18 and other components of the bed also direct all of the weight of the bed to the legs positioned on the cabinet and the bed frame assembly, rather than to an adjacent wall, so the bed can be used virtually anywhere without requiring that it be bolted or otherwise anchored to wall studs or other structural supports.
In one embodiment, each of the shifting mechanisms comprises a hinge plate 120, 122 and a piston mechanism 127, 129. Each hinge plate 120, 122 is pivotally connected to one of the brackets 42, 46 of the cabinet frame by a bushing 124, 126 or similar pivot and includes an angled leg 128, 130 for attachment to one of the pistons. As best illustrated in
When the bed is in its raised, closed position as shown in
Although the invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims. For example, the principles of the present invention are not limited to the illustrated central pivot irrigation systems but may be implemented in any type of irrigation system including linear move irrigation systems.
