GB2498040A

GB2498040A - A folding bed frame with a rotatable support tube

Info

Publication number: GB2498040A
Application number: GB1220192.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hong-Bo Chen
Original assignee: BP Childrens Products HK Co Ltd
Current assignee: BP Childrens Products HK Co Ltd
Priority date: 2011-11-09
Filing date: 2012-11-09
Publication date: 2013-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 2032-11-09
Also published as: GB201220192D0; CN103099459B; US20130111673A1; CN103099459A; GB2498040B

Abstract

A mattress support comprising a plurality of plates 10 and a support mechanism 20 attached to the plates wherein the support mechanism 20 comprises at least two supporting tubes 201 and a pivoting joint 202 connecting the tubes 201 wherein the support mechanism 20 is arranged to so that it can rotate. The tubes 21 may be attached to the plates by a fixing mechanism 101 with means to constrain rotation of the tubes and this may take the form of a pin which moves in a slot. The plates 10 may fold to form a storage space and may have means to lock them in this position. The mattress support may be used as part of a childs crib.

Description

MATTRESS

Background of the Invention

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a mattress, and more specifically, to a mattress for a crib.

2. Description of the Prior Art

[0002] A crib is one of essential home appliances for a family with an infant. In order to create a comfortable sleeping environment for the infant, a mattress is often disposed on a frame of the crib.

For reducing a space for containing the crib and the mattress, the crib and the mattress are generally designed with a foldable structure. The conventional mattress generally includes a plurality of supporting plates, a supporting component and a pad. The supporting component is often consisted of a plurality of supporting tubes and can be detachably installed on a side of the plurality of the supporting plates. The other side of the plurality of the supporting plates is covered with the pad for the infant to lie on. However, when the mattress needs to be folded, users have to detach the plurality of the supporting tubes from the mattress one by one. As a result, it is inconvenient and time-wasting to fold the mattress. Therefore, it is essential to design an improved mattress to solve the above problem.

Summary of the Tnvention

[0003] A purpose of the present invention is to provide a mattress capable of being folded without detaching a plurality of supporting tubes, thereby achieving a simple, convenient and fast folding operation of the mattress for solving above problems.

[0004] In order to achieve the purpose, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the mattress comprises a plurality of supporting plates and a supporting mechanism. The supporting mechanism is rotatably installed on the plurality of supporting plates. The plurality of supporting plates is supported by the supporting mechanism so as to form a plane. The supporting mechanism includes at least two supporting tubes and at least one pivoting joint. The at least two supporting tubes are rotatably installed on the plurality of supporting plates. The at least one pivoting joint is disposed on the at least two supporting tubes, wherein the at least two supporting tubes are connected to each other via the at least one pivoting joint so as to drive the at least one pivoting joint to rotate with respect to the plurality of supporting plates.

[0005] Preferably, the at least one pivoting joint includes two pivoting components and a pivoting shaft, one of the two pivoting components having two ends fixed on one of the at least two supporting tubes and pivotally connected to the other one of the two pivoting components via the pivoting shaft, respectively.

[0006] Preferabty, the mattress further comprises at least one fixing component disposed on the plurality of supporting plates, wherein one of the at least two supporting tubes is plugged into and rotates within the at least one fixing component.

[0007] Preferably, the at least one fixing component includes a constraining mechanism for constraining rotation of the supporting mechanism, and the constraining mechanism inoludes a constraining slot and a constraining component. The constraining slot is formed on the at least one fixing component. The constraining oomponent passes through the constraining slot and the one of the at least two supporting tubes, and moves within the constraining slot in response to rotation of the one of the at least two supporting tubes.

[0008] Preferably, the supporting mechanism rotates with respeot to the plurality of supporting plates between a first position where the plurality of supporting plates are inoapable of relatively rotating and a second position where the plurality of supporting plates are capable of relatively rotating to a folded position.

[0009] Preferably, the supporting mechanism rotates between the first position and the second position with respect to the plurality of supporting plates by a rotary angle of 90 degrees.

[0010] Preferably, the plurality of supporting plates forms an accommodation space as the plurality of supporting plates relatively rotates to the folded position.

[0011] Preferably, the mattress further comprises a plurality of engaging components disposed on the plurality of supporting plates, wherein the plurality of engaging components is engaged with each other so as to maintain the plurality of supporting plates in the folded position.

[0012] Preferably, the supporting mechanism is installed on a rear side of the plurality of supporting plates.

[0013] In order to achieve the purpose, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the mattress comprises a plurality of supporting plates and a supporting mechanism. The supporting mechanism is rotatably installed on the plurality of supporting plates rotating between a first position where the plurality of supporting plates is incapable of relatively rotating such that the plurality of supporting plates are supported by the supporting mechanism so as to form a plane and a second position where the plurality of supporting plates is capable of relatively rotating to a folded position.

[0014] Preferably, the supporting mechanism includes at least two supporting tubes installed on the plurality of supporting plates and at least one pivoting joint disposed on the at least two supporting tubes, the plurality of supporting plates being capable of relatively rotating via the at least one pivoting joint.

[0015] Preferably, the at least one pivoting joint inoludes two pivoting components and a pivoting shaft, one of the two pivoting components having two ends fixed on one of the at least two supporting tubes and pivotally connected to the other one of the two pivoting components via the pivoting shaft, respectively, and wherein the pivoting shaft is perpendicular to the plane as the supporting mechanism is in the first position and parallel to the plane as the supporting mechanism is in the second position.

[0016] Preferably, the supporting mechanism rotates between the first position and the second position with respect to the plurality of supporting plates by a rotary angle of 90 degrees.

[0017] Preferably, the plurality of supporting plates forms an accommodation space as the plurality of supporting plates relatively rotates to the folded position.

[0018] Preferably, the supporting mechanism is installed on a rear side of the plurality of supporting plates.

[0019] Preferably, the mattress further comprises at least one fixing component disposed on the plurality of supporting plates and connected to plurality of supporting tubes, wherein the at least one fixing component includes a constraining mechanism for constraining rotation of the supporting mechanism.

[0020] In contrast to the prior art, according to the embodiments of the present invention, when it requires to fold the mattress, the supporting tubes just need to rotate by an angle without being detached, so as to achieve the overall simple, convenient and fast folding operation of the mattress.

[0021] The present invention will become clearer with following description and figures. The figures are for illustrating the embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of a mattress with a supporting mechanism in a first position relative to a plurality of supporting plates according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FTG.2 is an enlarged view of region A illustrated in FIG.1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG.3 is an exploded view of the supporting mechanism illustrated in FIG.2 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG.4 is a bottom plan view of a mattress with the supporting mechanism in a second position relative to the plurality of supporting plates according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FTG.5 is an enlarged view of region B illustrated in FIG.4 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the mattress in a folded state according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG.7 is a top view of the mattress in the folded state according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

[0030] Please refer to FIG.1. FIG.l is a bottom plan view of a mattress 100 with a supporting mechanism 20 in a first position relative to a plurality of supporting plates 10 according to an

S

embodiment of the present invention. The mattress 100 can be disposed on a bottom of a crib or an infant hammock for an infant to lie on. The mattress 100 comprises the plurality of supporting plates 10, at least one supporting mechanism 20 and a plurality of engaging components 30. For example, there are four supporting plates 10 and two engaging components 30. The four supporting plates are supported by the supporting mechanism 20 so as to form a plane. The supporting mechanism 20 is rotatably installed on a rear side of the four supporting plates 10. In this embodiment, there are two supporting mechanisms 20 respectively disposed on an upper side and a lower side of the four supporting plates 10. The mattress further comprises a pad (not shown in figures) , which is made of cotton, on the four supporting plates 10 for the infant to lie on. The two engaging ccmponents 30 can be disposed on the four supporting plates 10 by sewing or other fixing manner, or can cover a seat cloth of the four supporting plates 10. The two engaging components 30 can be a male engaging component and a female engaging component and can be engaged with each other.

[0031] The supporting mechanism 20 can rotate with respect to the four supporting plates 10 between a first position where the four supporting plates 10 are incapable of relatively rotating and a second position where the four supporting plates 10 are capable of relatively rotating to a folded position. The supporting mechanism 20 rotates between the first position and the second position with respect to the four supporting plates 10 by a rotary angle of 90 degrees. The four supporting plates 10 form an accommodation space as the four supporting plates 10 relatively rotate to the folded position.

[0032] Each supporting mechanism 20 includes a plurality of supporting tubes 201 and a plurality of pivoting joints 202. For example, there are four supporting tubes 201 and three pivoting joints 202. Each of the supporting tube 201 is rotatably installed on one of the supporting plates 10. At least one fixing component 101 is disposed on the four supporting plates 10, wherein one of the supporting tubes 201 is plugged into and rotates within the at least one fixing component 101. For example, there are two fixing components 101. The two fixing components 101 are respectively disposed on the two lateral supporting plates 10. Ends of the two supporting tubes 201 installed on the two lateral supporting plates are respectively plugged into and rotate within the two fixing components 101. The other ends of the two supporting tubes 201 and the other two supporting tubes 201 are pivotally conneoted to two of the three pivoting joints 202, respectively. The supporting tubes 201 can drive the pivoting joints 202 to rotate as the supporting tubes 201 rotate. That is, the four supporting tubes 201 are connected to each other via the three pivoting joint 202 so as to drive the three pivoting joint to rotate with respect to the four supporting plates 10. The two engaging components 30 are respectively disposed on the two supporting plates 10 on which disposed the two fixing components 101. As the mattress 100 is folded, the two engaging components 30 are engaged with each other so as to maintain the four supporting plates 10 in the folded position.

That is, the two engaging components 30 can maintain the mattress in a folded state.

[0033] Please refer to FIG.2 and FIG.3. FIG.2 is an enlarged view of region A illustrated in FIG.1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.3 is an exploded view of the supporting mechanism 20 illustrated in FIG.2 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The fixing component 101 includes a constraining mechanism lOla for constraining rotation of the supporting mechanism 20. The constraining mechanism lOla includes a constraining slot lOlal and a constraining component 101a2. The constraining slot lOlal is formed on the fixing component 101. The constraining component 101a2, such as a rivet, passes through the constraining slot lOlal and an end of the supporting tube 201, and the constraining component 101a2 can move within the constraining slot lOlal in response to rotation of the supporting tube 201.

[0034] Please refer to FTG.3. The pivoting joint 202 includes two pivoting components 202a and a pivoting shaft 202b. An installation hole 202a1 is formed on an end of each pivoting component 202a, and another installation hole 202a1 is formed on the corresponding supporting tube 201. A fixing part 40, such as a rivet, passes through the two installation holes 202a1 to fix the supporting tube 201 and the end of the pivoting oomponent 202a. The other end of the pivoting oomponent 202a is pivotally oonnected to the other pivoting component 202a via the pivoting shaft 202b. That is, as shown in FIG.3, one of the two pivoting components 202a has two ends fixed on the supporting tube 201 and pivotally connected to the other one of the two pivoting components 202a via the pivoting shaft 202b, respectively. Amounts of the supporting plate 10, the fixing component 101, the supporting tube 201 and the pivoting joint 202 are not limited to this embodiment, and it depends on practical design demand.

[0035] Please refer to FIG.i to FIG.3. As the mattress 100 is in an unfolded state, the supporting mechanism 20 is in the first position, and all supporting plates 10 form the plane. At this time, the constraining component 101a2 is on an end of the constraining slot lOlal. The two pivoting components 202a and the corresponding supporting plates 10 are on the same plane. That is, the pivoting shaft 202b is perpendicular to the plane formed by the supporting plates 10. Therefore, the four supporting plates 10 oannot rotate relatively and form the supporting plane for the infant to lie on.

A partial sag is not formed at the pivoting joint 202 to make the infant feel uncomfortable because the four supporting plates 10 do not rotate relatively when the infant lies on the supporting plane. As a result, the mattress 100 can support the infant well.

S

[0036] Please refer to FIG.4 to FIG.7. FIG.4 is a bottom plan view of a mattress 100 with the supporting mechanism 20 in the second position relative to the four supporting plates 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.5 is an enlarged view of region B illustrated in FIG.4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.6 is a perspective view of the mattress in a folded state according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.7 is a top view of the mattress 100 in the folded state according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.4 and FIG.5 illustrate a folding procedure of the mattress 100. When users desire to fold the mattress 100 shown in FIG.1, users can rotate the supporting tubes 201 outward until the supporting mechanism 20 is in the second position, as shown in FIG.4 and FIG.5, relative to the tour supporting plates 10. The supporting tubes 201 can only rotate abo-ot 90 degrees because of a constraint of the constraining slot lOlal of the fixing component 101. At this time, the constraining component 101a2 is on the other end of the constraining slot lOlal, and the pivoting component 202a of the pivoting joint 202 is also driven by the supporting tubes 201 to rotate by 90 degrees. That is, the pivoting shaft 202b is parallel to the plane formed by the supporting plates 10. And then the four supporting plates 10 can rotate to the folded state as shown in FIG.6. Finally, the two engaging components 30 can be engaged with each other so as to maintain the mattress 100 in the folded state.

As the mattress 100 is in the folded state as shown in FIG.6 and FIG.7, the four supporting plates 10 form the accommodation space to contain the folded crib inside. In conclusion, the folding mechanism capable of rotating and folding the supporting plates relatively to the folded state is within the scope of the present invention.

[0037] As described above, the present invention facilitates fold of the mattress 100. When users need to fold the mattress 100, users only need to rotate the supporting tubes 201 by an angle without detaching the supporting tubes 201, so as to achieve a folding operation of the mattress 100. The folding operation of the mattress is simple, convenient and fast, of the present invention.

[0038] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the devioe and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

<claim-text>CLAIMSWhat is claimed is: 1. A mattress, comprising: a plurality of supporting plates; and a supporting mechanism rotatably installed on the plurality of supporting plates, wherein the plurality of supporting plates is supported by the supporting mechanism so as to form a plane, the supporting meohanism including: at least two supporting tubes rotatably installed on the plurality of supporting plates; and at least one pivoting joint disposed on the at least two supporting tubes, wherein the at least two supporting tubes are connected to each other via the at least one pivoting joint so as to drive the at least one pivoting joint to rotate with respect to the plurality of supporting plates.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the at least one pivoting joint includes two pivoting components and a pivoting shaft, one of the two pivoting components having two ends fixed on one of the at least two supporting tubes and pivotally connected to the other one of the two pivoting components via the pivoting shaft, respectively.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. The mattress of claim 1, further comprising at least one fixing component disposed on the plurality of supporting plates, wherein one of the at least two supporting tubes is plugged into and rotates within the at least one fixing component.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. The mattress of claimS, wherein the at least one fixing component includes a constraining mechanism for constraining rotation of the supporting mechanism, and the constraining mechanism includes: a constraining slot formed on the at least one fixing component; and a constraining component passing through the constraining slot and the one of the at least two supporting tubes, and moving within the constraining slot in response to rotation of the one of the at least two supporting tubes.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the supporting mechanism rotates with respect to the plurality of supporting plates between a first position where the plurality of supporting plates is incapable of relatively rotating and a second position where the pluratity of supporting plates is capable of relatively rotating to a folded position.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. The mattress of claimS, wherein the supporting mechanism rotates between the first position and the second position with respect to the plurality of supporting plates by a rotary angle of 90 degrees.</claim-text> <claim-text>7. The mattress of claim 5, wherein the plurality of supporting plates forms an accommodation space as the plurality of supporting plates relatively rotate to the folded position.</claim-text> <claim-text>8. The mattress of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of engaging components disposed on the plurality of supporting plates, wherein the plurality of engaging components is engaged with each other so as to maintain the plurality of supporting plates in the folded position.</claim-text> <claim-text>9. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the supporting mechanism is installed on a rear side of the plurality of supporting plates.</claim-text> <claim-text>10. A mattress, comprising: a plurality of supporting plates; and a supporting mechanism rotatably installed on the plurality of supporting plates and rotating with respect to the plurality of supporting plates between a first position where the plurality of supporting plates is incapable of relatively rotating such that the plurality of supporting plates are supported by the supporting mechanism so as to form a plane and a second position where the plurality of supporting plates is capable of relatively rotating to a folded position.</claim-text> <claim-text>11. The mattress of claim 10, wherein the supporting mechanism includes at least two supporting tubes installed on the plurality of supporting plates and at least one pivoting joint disposed on the at ieast two supporting tubes, the plurality of supporting plates being capable of relatively rotating via the at least one pivoting joint.</claim-text> <claim-text>12. The mattress of claim 11, wherein the at least one pivoting joint includes two pivoting components and a pivoting shaft, one of the two pivoting components having two ends fixed on one of the at least two supporting tubes and pivotally connected to the other one of the two pivoting components via the pivoting shaft, respectively, and wherein the pivoting shaft is perpendicular to the plane as the supporting mechanism is in the first position and parallel to the plane as the supporting mechanism is in the second position.</claim-text> <claim-text>13. The mattress of claim 10, wherein the supporting mechanism rotates between the first position and the second position with respect to the plurality of supporting plates by a rotary angle of 90 degrees.</claim-text> <claim-text>14. The mattress of claim 10, wherein the plurality of supporting plates forms an accommodation space as the plurality of supporting plates relatively rotates to the folded position.</claim-text> <claim-text>15. The mattress of claim 10, wherein the supporting mechanism is installed on a rear side of the plurality of supporting plates.</claim-text> <claim-text>16. The mattress of claim U, further comprising at least one fixing component disposed on the plurality of supporting plates and conneoted to plurality of supporting tubes, wherein the at least one fixing component includes a constraining mechanism for constraining rotation of the supporting mechanism.</claim-text> <claim-text>17. The mattress of claim 16, wherein the constraining mechanism includes: a constraining slot formed on the at least one fixing component; and a constraining component passing through the constraining slot and the one of the at least two supporting tubes, and moving within the constraining slot in response to the one of the at least two supporting tubes.</claim-text>