EP1243204A1

EP1243204A1 - Sun-bed

Info

Publication number: EP1243204A1
Application number: EP01830196A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mauro c/o Baschild S.r.l. Baschenis
Original assignee: Baschild Srl
Current assignee: Baschild Srl
Priority date: 2001-03-21
Filing date: 2001-03-21
Publication date: 2002-09-25

Abstract

A sun-bed (1) is disclosed comprising: a support frame (2) with a head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined, and support legs (3, 5) for supporting the frame (2) in a raised position from the ground and adapted to be bent when the sun-bed (1) is not used; wherein the head/back section (4) is able to assume a plurality of inclined positions, through a holding and adjusting device (24) comprising an unlocking lever (26) and an holding member (28) with a stop tooth (32) to engage a corresponding stop groove (33) of an adjusting member (34); the head/back section (4) is further equipped with a connection tube (40) that makes the hinging ends (36) rotatingly integral, and is further equipped with resilient means (44) adapted to take back the head/back section (4) to a rest position when such a movement is commanded.

Description

The present invention refers to an improved sun-bed, particularly of the type made of aluminium.
Sun-beds are known in the art: on beaches and in general in places in which people sunbathe they are more and more replacing the deck-chairs, both due to their comfortability and their easiness of use, and because they allow a total tanning of the body instead of the deck-chairs that do not allow tanning the body back. In the field of sun-beds, the original ones made of wood are in turn being replaced by those made of light materials, particularly of aluminium, due to the small final weight of the product.
Current sun-beds made of aluminium however are not satisfactory, since, in addition to safety problems when closing the support legs, they have the problem that the sun-bed head/back can be moved into two positions only, that are the completely horizontal position that is parallel with the ground, and a partially upwards inclined position, that not all users find comfortable. Moreover, in order to reach these two positions, a ring is currently available that is connected to a string, placed in a site that is uncomfortable to reach, such string often also breaking, making it necessary to perform cumbersome restoring interventions for people managing the bathing establishments. Finally, the passage from the inclined position to the horizontal position by operating the ring with the string can be dangerous for the user if a part of his body (usually the hands) remains inadvertently pinched by the sun-bed head/back when closing it. A wooden sun-bed with a rudimentary and dangerous device, with cam, teeth and peg, for inclining the head according to the prior art is disclosed in document EP-A-0316645.
Object of the present invention is solving the above prior-art problems, by providing a sun-bed that is of a simple construction and of a light weight and that is absolutely safe for the end user, both as regards its support legs, and as regards the sun-bed head/back able to be inclined.
A further object of the present invention is providing a sun-bed of the above-stated type in which the sun-bed head/back can be moved in a plurality of positions, one of which is an horizontal resting position and the other ones of which are with a progressively increasing upwards inclination according to user's needs: all inclined positions that can be obtained are absolutely safe as regards their holding force and moreover the user is able to actuate the mechanism with a comfortable lever placed beside the sun-bed, that is an ideal position for those resting onto the sun-bed itself.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained by a sun-bed as claimed in Claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are claimed in the dependent Claims.
The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, given as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a sun-bed according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side detailed view that shows the part of the sun-bed lever of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a front view of the control and connection mechanism of the head/back able to be inclined of the sun-bed in Fig. 1; and
Figures 4 to 8 are side views that show five operating positions that the head/back of the sun-bed in Fig. 1 can have.

With reference to the Figures, a preferred embodiment of the sun-bed of the present invention is disclosed, such embodiment being obviously meant as a non-limiting example of the invention itself. For example, though describing the sun-bed in terms of its realisation in aluminium, it is evident that the present invention can be applied to sun-beds made of any material, in addition to sun-beds of an external configuration that is also very different from the shown one.
In the embodiments shown, the sun-bed 1 of the present invention first of all comprises an elongated support frame 2 that ends with a head/back section 4 adapted to be inclined that is hinged to the frame 2 itself at hinging ends 36 and is supported by a pair of support arms 16, 18. On the frame 2 and on the head/back section 4, when building the sun-bed 1, a more or less thick layer (not shown) is fixed, that is made of fabric or an equivalent plastic material, on which the user rests when he occupies the sun-bed 1. The head/back section 4 is commonly able to assume a rest position in which it realises a sort of extension of the support frame 2 in an horizontal and parallel position with respect to the ground, and (so far) one or maximum two upwards-inclined positions.
The sun-bed 1 further comprises a plurality (usually two pairs) of support legs 3, 5 for supporting the support frame 2 in a raised position with respect to the ground during use; for such purpose, the support legs 3, 5 are hinged (in 7, 9, 11, 13) to the support frame 2 and are adapted to be bent under the support frame 2 when the sun-bed 1 is not used.
The sun-bed 1 of the invention thereby allows, in particular, to realise a plurality of upwards-inclined positions of the head/back section 4 adapted to be inclined: for such purpose the sun-bed 1 is equipped with a holding and adjusting device 24 composed of a holding unit that is rotatingly connected (in 30) to the support frame 2 and of an adjusting unit that is rotatingly connected (in 36) to the head/back section 4 and is adapted to operatively cooperate with the holding unit. In particular, the holding unit comprises an holding member 28 containing at least one stop tooth 32 adapted to engage a corresponding stop groove 33 of an adjusting member 34 of the adjusting unit.
Moreover, still in an inventive way, the head/back section 4 adapted to be inclined is further equipped with an elongated connection means 40 that makes the hinging ends 36 rotatingly integral and is further equipped with at least one resilient means 44 (commonly a spring 44, that is placed at one of the ends 36, but that could also be placed at both ends), which resilient means 44 is connected to the elongated connection means 40 in order to take back the head/back section 4 adapted to be inclined to a rest position when the movement is commanded to obtain such rest position.
In order to command such movement to obtain the rest position, the sun-bed 1 of the invention is further equipped with unlocking means 26 of the head/back section 4 adapted to be inclined, which unlocking means 26 are operatively connected to the holding member 28 (and therefore, once actuated, allow the member 28 to rotate around its hinging point 30) and are adapted to disengage the stop tooth 32 of the holding member 28 from the stop groove 33 of the adjusting member 34 and to take back the head/back section 4 adapted to be inclined to a rest position due to the thrust of the at least one resilient means 44.
In particular, the unlocking means 26 are composed of a lever that is placed in parallel with the support frame 2 in order to be comfortably able to be reached and actuated by a user, that can push it downwards in order to unlock the head/back 4 even if he is resting onto the sun-bed 1.
Further in particular, the elongated connecting means 40 can be composed of a tube connecting the two hinging ends 36 and that is shaped as an "S" next to both hinging ends 36 having a curvature (in 42).
In a preferred variation, the sun-bed 1 of the invention is further equipped with a sun-roof 14 that is able to be oriented and connected to the head/back section 4 through a pair of support arms 20, 22.
Finally, the sun-bed 1, in order to guarantee the maximum safety when operating it, is realised in such a way that every leg 3, 5 is equipped (in 7, 9, 11, 13) with means that prevent accidents upon closing the legs 3, 5, that commonly provide for a unique rotation stop 6 for the two opening and closing positions of the legs 3, 5.
The operation of the sun-bed of the present invention will now be described, with reference to some operating positions thereof shown in Fig.s 4 to 8.
As can be clearly seen in Fig. 4, the user, through a common pull or push force, has lifted the head/back section 4 upwards taking it at an inclination that is greater than 60° with respect to the frame 2. The final position is kept by the engagement of the tooth 32 into the corresponding groove 33. A second, different position, with a different inclination at about 45°, can be obtained as shown in Fig. 5. A third position can for example be obtained with an inclination of about 15°, as can be seen in Fig. 6. When the user wishes instead to take the head/back section 4 to an horizontal position, as parallel extension of the frame 2, he actuates the lever 26 by pushing it downwards and thereby releasing the tooth 32 from the engagement with the groove 33. The resilient means 44 will then take back the head to the horizontal position, also due to the action of the tube 40 that controls the resilient means 44 placed at both ends of the head/back section 4.
The sun-bed 1 also allows realising, as can be shown in Fig. 8, the closure positions (for example at the end of a day, or when it is necessary to store the sun-bed 1 for the winter season), in which the head/back section 4 assumes a diametrally-opposed position with respect to the horizontal one in Fig. 7, and is substantially bent onto the frame 2: in such a position there is no engagement between tooth 32 and groove 33. Such position generally accompanies the closure of the legs 3 and 5 in a parallel position to the frame 2, using the accident-preventing means to avoid problems, for example when such closing operation is performed quickly and repetitively (by the operators in bathing establishments) or when it is performed by unskilled users.
Some preferred embodiments of the present invention have been previously shown and described: obviously, numerous variations and modifications, that are functionally equivalent to the previous ones, will appear immediately evident to the skilled people in the art, such variations and modifications falling within the scope of the invention as pointed out in the enclosed Claims. For example, as already seen, the sun-bed 1 can be made of aluminium, wood or other light metallic materials, or the adjusting member 34 could be equipped with a continuous series of grooves 33 adapted to realise numerous inclination positions of the head/back section 4, or further the elongated connection means 40 could be in a variable number and configuration, as well as the resilient means 44.

Claims

Sun-bed (1) comprising:

an elongated support frame (2) that ends with a head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined that is hinged to said support frame (2) at hinging ends (36), said head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined being able to assume a rest position in which it realises an extension of said support frame (2) in a parallel position with respect to a ground, and an upwards-inclined position; and

a plurality of support legs (3, 5) for supporting said support frame (2) in a raised position with respect to the ground during use, said support legs (3, 5) being hinged (in 7, 9, 11, 13) to said support frame (2) and being adapted to be bent under said support frame (2) when the sun-bed (1) is not used;

characterised in that said head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined is able to assume a plurality of upwards-inclined positions, said sun-bed (1) being equipped for such purpose with a holding and adjusting device (24) composed of a holding unit that is rotatingly connected (in 30) to said support frame (2) and of an adjusting unit that is rotatingly connected (in 36) to said head/back section (4) and is adapted to operatively cooperate with said holding unit, said holding unit comprising an holding member (28) containing at least one stop tooth (32) adapted to engage a corresponding stop groove (33) of an adjusting member (34) of said adjusting unit, said head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined being further equipped with an elongated connection means (40) that makes said hinging ends (36) rotatingly integral and being further equipped with at least one resilient means (44) connected to said elongated connection means (40) in order to take back said head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined to a rest position when a movement is commanded to obtain such rest position.
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said sun-bed (1) is further equipped with unlocking means (26) of said head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined, said unlocking means (26) being operatively connected to said holding member (28) and being adapted to disengage said at least one stop tooth (32) of said holding member (28) from said stop groove (33) of said adjusting member (34) and to take back said head/back section (4) adapted to be inclined to a rest position due to a thrust of said at least one resilient means (44).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 2, characterised in that said unlocking means (26) are composed of a lever that is placed in parallel with said support frame (2) in order to be comfortably able to be reached and actuated by a user.
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said at least one elongated connecting means (40) is composed of a tube connecting the two hinging ends (36).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 4, characterised in that said connection tube (40) is shaped as an "S" next to both hinging ends (36) having a curvature (in 42).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said at least one resilient means (44) is present in a number equal to two, one for each hinging end (36).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said resilient means (44) are composed of a spring.
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said adjusting member (34) is composed of as many stop grooves (33) as are the inclination positions to be realised for said head/back section (4).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said sun-bed (1) is further equipped with a sun-roof (14) that is able to be oriented and connected to said head/back section (4) through a pair of support arms (20, 22).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that every leg (3, 5) is equipped (in 7, 9, 11, 13) with means that prevent accidents upon closing the legs (3, 5).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 10, characterised in that said accident-preventing means comprise a unique rotation stop (6) for the two opening and closing positions of said legs (3, 5).
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said sun-bed (1) is made of a light metallic material.
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said sun-bed (1) is made of aluminium.
Sun-bed (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that said sun-bed is made of wood.