GB2086218A - Improvements in or relating to folding beds - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a foldable bed, particularly for a child, comprising a frame defined by frame members 11, 12, 13, 14 pivotally connected together midway along side members 11b-14b, 4c-14c thereof, with transverse members 19, 20, 21, 22, one to each frame member, pivotally supported at their ends by the respective frame member. The pivotal axes of the frame members lie in a common plane, the pivotal axes PA of the ends of the transverse members lie in a common plane and said common planes are substantially parallel but spaced apart. The transverse members are cranked and interconnected by pivotal attachments 22a, 19b, 19c, 20a so that, in an open condition for the bed, the transverse members lie in a common plane to support a base board 23a, 23b and/or mattress 40a, 40b and the transverse members can rotate about their pivotal ends and the frame members can pivot relative to one another to cause the bed to fold from said open condition to a folded condition of reduced length. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to folding beds This invention relates to a bed, more specifically to a so-called "folding" bed, and has particular application to a folding bed for a child.

So-called "folding" beds are well known in the art and generally comprise a plurality of frame parts permanently connected together by pivotal, or sliding, connections to allow the frame for the bed to fold or collapse between an open operable condition for the bed and a folded or collapsed condition for storage or transportation.

A difficulty with most conventional folding beds, particularly folding beds for children, is that the support presented for the mattress is generally a flexible material, conveniently a sheet of canvas, held only at its sides and ends by the frame and, as the material tends to sag at the points of loading by the sleeper, the mattress becomes distorted from its plane position, resulting in an undesirable support of the sleeper.

Further, prior art folding beds are often complex in construction and when being opened to its operable condition, or folded to its storage condition, requires at least one person using both hands.

The present invention seeks to provide a folding bed, capable of being easily and readily displaced between its open condition and its folded condition and of affording a more rigid mattress support than can be obtained by folding beds presenting a flexible mattress support.

According to the present invention there is provided a folding bed comprising a frame defined by frame elements pivotally connected together in a common plane parallel to the floor when the bed is in an open condition and is free standing, the pivotal connections of the frame members allowing the bed to fold to reduce the length direction of the bed, and transverse members, extending from side to side of the bed, pivotally connected at their ends to said frame members so as to pivot about parallel axes transverse to the bed, and pivotally coupled together at locations between their pivotal connections and spaced from their pivotal axes, the pivotal axes of the transverse members with the frame members lying in a common plane vertically spaced from the plane of the pivotal axes of the frame members and whereby, in an open condition for the bed, the coupled transverse members maintain the frame in the length direction of the bed and form a support for a mattress.

Preferably, each transverse member comprises an elongate element with its end regions lying on a common axis and its intermediate length regions deflected to both sides of said axis, conveniently in such manner that the axis of said elongate member lies in a single plane throughout the length of said member.

Preferably each transverse member presents a pivotal coupling location to one side of said common axis of the end regions in the vertical plane passing mid-way between the sides of the bed and said element presents two pivotal coupling locations to the other side of said common axis, one on each side of said vertical plane, and each said pivotal coupling location being between said vertical plane and a side plane of the bed.

Preferably the pivotal coupling locations on each side of the common axis of the transverse member ends are equidistant from said axis.

Preferably each frame member comprises two, generally parallel, side elements connected by a transverse element and each frame member presents one side element to each side of the bed.

Preferably the frame comprises four frame together in pairs, the two side elements of each pair of frame elements to each side of the bed being pivotally connected together at or adjacent their middle length regions.

Preferably the frame comprises frour frame members, pivotally connected together in pairs, and the frames are presented one to the other in such manner that each free end of each side element in one pair of connected frame members can be pivotally linked to the free end of a side element in the other pair of connected frame members and whereby the transverse elements of one pair of frame members lie at the head of the bed and the transverse elements of the other pair of frame members lie at the foot of the bed when the bed is in an open condition.

With such an arrangement the mattress for the bed is supported on the transverse members and which, when the bed is fully opened, have all their axes laying in a common plane and, by virtue of their pivotal couplings, afford a relatively stable support for the mattress.

Preferably the bed includes a base board, intended to lie on the transverse members to afford a more uniform and rigid support for the mattress and, preferably, the base board is defined by two rigid panels pivotally connected together about a transverse axis mid-way between the head and foot of the bed.

In a preferred embodiment the base board is pivotally coupled to the pivotal coupling locations of the two end transverse members which cannot be pivotally coupled to an adjacent transverse member.

In a preferred embodiment, for a folding bed for a child, the bed includes flexible sides, ends, and preferably a base, conveniently the sides, end and base are integral, sewn, or otherwise attached together to form a one piece structure, and preferably said base lies between the base board and the transverse members.

Preferably the upper edge regions of the sides and end panels are turned over the upper transverse elements of the frame and secured, conveniently detachably secured, by for example press stud fasteners.

The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows, in perspective view, one frame construction for a bed in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 shows, in side view, the frame of Fig. 1 in the partially folded condition, Fig. 3 shows, in exploded perspective view, the attachments to the frame of Fig. 1 to complete a foldable bed for a child and Fig. 4 shows a cross sectional detail of the method for supporting the upper region of the side and end panels for the child's bed.

The frame illustrated comprises four frame members 11, 12, 13 and 14 each of which comprises a transverse element 11 a, 1 2a, 1 3a and 1 4a respectively supporting side elements 11b, llcand 12b, l2cand 13b, l3cand 14b, 1 4c respectively. The width of member 11 is less than that of member 12 to allow side elements 11 b,11 C to enter between elements 1 2b, 1 2c and in like manner the width of member 13 allows side elements 1 3b and 1 3c to enter between elements 146 and 14c.

The frame members 11 and 12 together to form one pair of frame members, by pivotally connecting side element 11 b to element 1 2b and side element 11 c to element 12c, the pivotal connections being at or adjacent the mid-lengths of elements 11 b, 1 2h, 11 C and 12c. In identical manner the frame members 13 and 14 form a second pair of frame members, by pivotal connections at the mid-lengths of side elements 1 3b and 1 4b and side elements 1 3c and 14c.

The two pairs of frame members 11, 12 and 13, 14 are secured together by links 1 5, 16, 17 and 1 8 which pivotally retain the free ends of side elements 11 b and 1 3b, side elements 1 2b and 1 4b, side elements 11 C and 13c, and side elements 1 2c and 1 4c respectively.

A transverse member 1 9 extends between side elements 11 b and 11 c, being pivotally supported at its ends by said side elements 11 b, 11 c, and in similar manner a transverse member 20 has its ends pivotally supported by side elements 1 2b and 12c, a transverse member 21 has its ends pivotally supported by side elements 1 3b and 13c, and a transverse element 22 has its ends pivotally supported by side elements 1 4b and 14c, the axes of the pivotal connections of the transverse elements 19, 20, 21 and 22 lying in a common plane, parallel to the common plane passing through the axes of transverse elements 12a and 14a, and therefore parallel with the ground when the frame is free standing.The plane of the pivotal connections of transverse members 19, 20,21 and 22 lies between the common plane passing through the axes of transverse elements 1 2a and 1 4a and the common plane passing through the pivotal connections of the side elements 11 b and 12b, llcand 12c, l3band 14b,and 13cand 14c.

As will be seen from Fig. 1 the transverse member 22 has the pivotal connections at its ends lying on a common axis, generally identified by the broken line PA. From a position adjacent each pivotal end the transverse member 22 is displaced away from the axis PA togwards the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, and the mid-regions of member 22 are deflected back to pass through the axis PA to a position remote therefrom. The axis of the transverse member 22 lies in a common plane and thus, the mid-point of transverse member 22 defines a coupling location 22a to one side of the axis PA and the other two pivotal couplings 22b and 22c lie on the other side of the axis PA.The coupling 22a can thus rotate about axis PA in a plane parallel to and mid-way between the planes of the side elements of the frame and the pivotal couplings 22b and 22c can rotate about axis PA in planes, parallel to the planes of the side elements of the frame, and mid-way between the planes of the side elements of the frame and the plane of coupling location 22a.

The transverse members 19, 20 and 21 each have a configuration identical with the configuration of the member 22 and the coupling location 22a of transverse member 22 is coupled for pivotal attachment with the coupling location 21a of member 21, the mid coupling location 1 9a of transverse member 1 9 is pivotally coupled to the coupling location 20a of transverse member 20, the coupling location 21 b of element 21 is coupled to the coupling location 1 9b of element 19 and the coupling location 21 c of element 21 is pivotally coupled to the coupling location 1 9c of element 19.

By the above arrangement of the transverse members, and as will be readily seen from Fig. 1.

the transverse members 19, 20, 21 and 22, when lying with their axes in a common plane, define the fully opened condition for the bed frame and, further, define a "zig-zag" support for a mattress placed thereon.

The frame illustrated in Fig. 1 preferably includes a base board, generally identified by reference numeral 23 in Fig. 2, and comprising two panels 23a and 23b, of equal length, connected together with hinges 24 so as to be pivotally displaceable about an axis intermediate the length of panel 23 and transverse to said length direction. The panel 23a is connected, adjacent its edge region remote from the hinge 24, to the coupling locations 20b and 20c of transverse member 20 by clips 25 and the panel 23b is connected, adjacent its edge remote from the hinge 24, to the pivotal coupling locations 22b and 22c of transverse member 22 by clips 26. The length of panel 23 between clips 25 and 26 is such that when the transverse members 19, 20, 21 and 22 lie in a common plane the panels 23a and 23b rest on said transverse members 19, 20, 21 and 22.

The panel 23 includes a handle 27, conveniently of flexible material, secured at or adjacent the junction of the panels 23a and 23b.

When the bed is to be for a child, and is to have the form of a cot, a flexible base 28 lies between the transverse members 19, 20, 21 and 22 and the base board 23, screws 29 pass through base board 23, the base 28, and clips 25 to nuts 30 to secure the end of panel 23a to transverse member 20, and screws 31 pass through base board 23, the base 28, and clips 26 to nuts 32 to secure the end of panel 23b to transverse member 22.

Flexible side panels 33 and 34 and flexible end panels 35 and 36 extend upwardly from the four side edges of base 28 and are secured together at their adjacent side edge regions. The end panels 35 and 36 include press stud fasteners 37 which allow the upper regions of said panels 34 and 35 to be turned over transverse elements 11 a and 1 3a respectively and secured to support said upper regions.In like manner the side panels 33 and 34 include press stud fasteners 37 which allow the upper regions of said side walls to be turned over flexible straps 38 and 39 respectively, the flexible strap 38 extends from the junction of transverse element 11 a with side element 11 b to the junction of transverse element 1 3a with side element 1 3b, the mid-region of strap 38 being secured to link 16, and in like manner the flexible strap 39 extends from the junction of transverse element 11 a and side element 11 C to the junction of transverse element 1 3a with side element 1 3c and has its mid-length region connected to link 1 8. The method of securement of side panels 33 and 34 is illustrated in Fig. 4, which shows a cross section through the upper regions of the side panel 33.

The cot is completed by a mattress 40 which rests on the base board 23 and is formed as two equal parts 40a and 40b hinged together in such manner as to allow the handle 27 of base board 23 to pass upwardly therebetween.

With the above described arrangement in the open condition to receive a child the mattress 40 rests on base board 23 and is fully and firmly supported thereby and the side panels 33 and 34 and end panels 35 and 36 are securely anchored at their upper ends to retain an active child. In the open condition for use the flexible handle 27 may be tucked between the mattress parts 40a and 40b so that mattress 40 presents a relatively continuous upper surface.

To fold the bed it is only necessary to remove the child, and any bedding, toys and the like articles resting on the mattress 40, pull the handle 27 upwardly between the parts 40a and 40b and then, by gripping the handle 27 with one hand, lift said handle 27. As handle 27 is elevated the midregions of mattress 40 and base board 23 are elevated. Such elevations cause clockwise rotation of transverse member 20, and anticlockwise rotation of transverse member 22, resulting in anti-clockwise rotation of transverse member 1 9 and clockwise rotation of transverse member 21, so that the frame is subjected to longitudinal contraction.

As transverse members 19, 20, 21 and 22 rotate from their common plane the side elements 1 b 12b, 1 IC 12C, 13b 14b and 13e 14c, are caused to pivot about their respective pivotal connections to close the frame lengthwise, and the frame passes through the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to a full folded condition.

To open the cot from the fully closed condition it is only necessary to pull the transverse members 11 a and 1 3a apart, when the process described above for closure is reversed, until the base board 23 and mattress 40 are flat when the cot is immediately ready for use.

Whilst the present invention has been described by way of example with reference to a specific example the invention is not restricted to such example and many modifications and variations will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.

Claims (14)

1. A folding bed comprising a frame defined by frame members pivotally connected together for relative displacement about axes in a common plane parallel to the floor when the bed is in an open condition and is free standing, the pivotal connections of the frame members allowing the bed to fold from its open condition to reduce the length direction of the bed, and transverse members, extending from side to side of the bed, pivotally connected at their ends to said frame members so as to pivot about parallel axes transverse to the length direction of the bed, and pivotally coupled together at locations between their pivotal ends and spaced from the axes of said pivotal ends, the pivotal axes of the transverse members with the frame members lying in a common plane spaced from the common plane of the pivotal axes of the frame members and whereby, in an open condition for the bed, the coupled transverse members maintain the frame in the length direction of the bed and form a support for a mattress.

2. A folding bed as claimed in claim 1 in which each transverse member comprises an elongate element with its end regions lying on a common axis and its intermediate length regions deflected to both sides of said axis.

3. A folding bed as claimed in claim 2 in which the axis of each transverse member lies in a single plane.

4. A folding bed as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3 in which each transverse member is cranked to present three pivotal locations intermediate its pivoted ends, the said pivotal locations lie in a common plane passing through the axis of the ends, and the mid-one of said three pivot locations lie on the opposite side of the said axis of the pivoted ends from said two other pivotal locations.

5. A folding bed as claimed in claim 4 in which the three pivotal locations are all equally spaced from the pivotal axis of the ends of the member.

6. A folding bed as claimed in claim 4 or 5 in which each transverse member has its mid-pivotal location pivotally connected to the mid-pivotal location of an adjacent transverse member and each intermediate transverse member has its two other pivotal locations pivotally attached to the two other pivotal locations of an adjacent transverse member.

7. A folding bed as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 in which each frame member comprises two, generally parallel, side elements connected by a transverse element and each frame member presents one side element to each side of the bed.

8. A folding bed as claimed in claim 7 in which the frame members are connected together in pairs, the two side elements of each pair of frame elements to each side of the bed being pivotally connected together at or adjacent their middle length regions.

9. A folding bed as claimed in claim 8 in which the frame comprises four frame members, pivotally connected together in pairs, and the frames are presented one to the other in such manner that each free end of each side element in one pair of connected frame members is pivotally linked to the free end of a side element in the other pair of connected frame members and whereby the transverse elements of one pair of frame members lie at the head of the bed and the transverse elements of the other pair of frame members lie at the transverse elements of the other pair of frame members lie at the foot of the bed when the bed is in an open condition.

10. A folding bed as claimed in any preceding claim in which the bed includes a base board intended to lie on the transverse members and the base board is defined by two rigid panels pivotally connected together about a transverse axis midway between the head and foot of the bed.

11. A folding bed as claimed in claim 10 in which the base board is pivotally coupled to pivotal locations of the two end transverse members which cannot be pivotally coupled to an adjacent transverse member.

12. A folding bed as claimed in any preceding claim including flexible sides, ends, and a base.

13. A folding bed as claimed in claim 12 in which the sides, ends and a flexible base are integral, sewn, or otherwise attached together to form a one piece structure.

14. A folding bed as claimed in claim 12 or 13 in which the upper edge regions of the sides and end panels are turned over the upper transverse elements of the frame and secured, conveniently detachably secured, thereto.

1 5. A folding bed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.