1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electric apparatus, and more specifically to an actuating device for an electric apparatus, which enables the electric apparatus to perform a two-stage movement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, most bed frames are designed for a user to lay flat while sleeping, and a typical bed frame includes four legs and supports. However, due to the stresses of modern life, many people suffer from insomnia and therefore suffer from a lack of sufficient rest. Consequently, many bed frames have included additional features, such as providing electrical head or leg lifting capabilities, and the user can select and adjust proper positions for him or herself. In the prior art, an electromechanical bed frame includes an upper portion frame, a fixed portion frame, and a lower portion frame. When the user wants to lift his or her head higher, the upper portion frame pivots around a connection region between the upper portion frame and the fixed portion frame to lift the other end of the upper portion frame; if the user wants to lift his or her lower legs higher, the lower portion frame pivots around the connection area between the lower portion frame and the fixed portion frame to lift the other end of the lower portion frame. However, the prior art bed structure can only lift one area at a time, which may be uncomfortable for the user.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is therefore one objective of the present invention to provide a two-stage actuating device for an electric apparatus, which can be used to drive a moveable frame of the electric apparatus to perform a two-stage movement so as to enhance a user's comfort.
To achieve this objective of the present invention, the two-stage actuating device comprises a driver having a cylinder body pivotally mounted to a fixing frame of the electric apparatus, and a retractable rod extending out of the cylinder body, a link rod having one end pivotally connected with the retractable rod of the driver through a pivot and the other end pivotally connected with the moveable frame of the electric apparatus, a bracket mounted to the moveable frame, and two-stage actuating means for connecting the bracket with the retractable rod of the driver for allowing the bracket not to be driven by the retractable rod and the link rod to be driven by the retractable rod to move to cause a first-stage movement of the moveable frame relative to the fixing frame when the retractable rod extends within a predetermined distance, and allowing the link rod and the bracket to be driven by the retractable rod to move to cause a second-stage movement of the moveable frame relative to the fixing frame when the retractable rod extends exceeding the predetermined distance.
By this way, during the first-stage stroke of the retractable rod of the driver, the link rod can be pushed by the retractable rod to drive the moveable frame to perform a first-stage pivotal or folding movement, and then, in a second-stage stroke of the retractable rod, the bracket can be pushed by the retractable rod to drive the moveable frame to perform a second-stage pivotal or folding movement.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
Firstly, it is to be understood that an electric apparatus that can be equipped with a two-stage actuating device of the present invention can be, but not limited to, an electric bed, an electric chair or the like.
Any linear actuator, such as an electric motor-powered actuator, a pneumatic actuator or a hydraulic actuator, can be used as the driver 20 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the driver 20 includes a cylinder body 23 and a retractable rod 22. The cylinder body 23 has one end pivotally connected with the first structural component 11 of the fixing frame 41, and the retractable rod 22 extends out of the other end of the cylinder body 23 and has a through hole 221 at the distal end thereof.
The link rod 30 has one end located at between two second brackets 17 and pivotally connected with the bottom ends of the second brackets 17. The second brackets 17 each have a top end fixed to the third structural component 13 of the moveable frame 10, such that the link rod 30 is pivotally connected with the third structural component 13 of the moveable frame 10 through the second brackets 17. Further, the other end of the link rod 30 has an aperture 31 aligned with the through hole 221 of the retractable rod 22. A pivot 33 is inserted through the aperture 31 and the through hole 221, such that the link rod 30 is pivotally connected with the retractable rod 22 of the driver 20. To deserve to be mentioned, the electric apparatus 1 can be provided with only one second bracket 17, which can achieve the same effect that the two second brackets 17 disclosed in this embodiment can provide.
The first brackets 16 are arranged in a parallel manner with a space therebetween for insertion of the retractable rod 22 and the link rod 30. Each first bracket has an upright portion 164 with a top end mounted with the second structural component 12 of the movable frame 10, and a traverse portion 165 transversely extending from the bottom end of the upright portion 164.
The two-stage actuating means 19 is adapted for connecting the transverse portions 165 of the first brackets 16 with the retractable rod 22 for allowing the link rod 30 to be driven by the retractable rod 22 to move and the first brackets 16 not to be driven by the retractable rod 22 to cause a first-stage pivotal movement of the moveable frame 10 relative to the fixing frame 41 when the retractable rod 22 extends within a predetermined distance, and allowing the link rod 30 and the first brackets 16 to be driven by the retractable rod 22 to move to cause a second stage pivotal movement of the moveable frame 10 relative to the fixing frame 41 when the retractable rod 22 extends exceeding the predetermined distance. In this embodiment, the two-stage actuating means 19 comprises two sliding slots 161 respectively provided at the traverse portions 165 of the first brackets 16, and two extending members 332 respectively extending outwards from two ends of the pivot 33 along the axial direction of the pivot 33 and movably inserted into the sliding slots 161. It will be appreciated that the two-stage actuating device 15 can provide only one first bracket 16, and in this case, the two-stage actuating means 19 may comprise only one extending member 332 inserted into one sliding slot 161 provided at the sole first bracket 16.
As shown in
Accordingly, the moveable frame 10 can be operated to perform a two-stage pivotal movement by the actuation of the actuating device 15. The first stage is to lift the third structural component 13, and the second stage is to lift the second and third structural components 12 and 13 together. However, the third structural component 13 isn't moved relative to the second component 12 in the second stage. Thus, the user's head will be lifted first through the pivotal movement of the third structural component 13, and then the user's back will be lifted later through the pivotal movement of the second structural component 12 so as to enhance the user's comfort.
The aforesaid means 53 comprises a sliding slot 544 provided at the retractable rod 54 and a control pin 52 connected between the first brackets 51 and movably inserted into the sliding slot 544. By this way, when the retractable rod 54 extends within the predetermined distance, as shown in
On the other hand, each of the two-stage actuating devices 15 and 50 can be installed in a contrary direction to lift the user's leg. As shown in
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/607,975, filed on Oct. 28, 2009.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12607975 | Oct 2009 | US |
Child | 13490121 | US |