GB2518886A

GB2518886A - Beds for vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2518886A
Application number: GB1317627.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Perry Heeney
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-10-04
Filing date: 2013-10-04
Publication date: 2015-04-08
Also published as: GB201317627D0

Abstract

A stow-away bed comprising a support surface (18, Figure 2) mounted for movement along an arcuate locus (32, Figure 5) on support struts 30 pivotally connected at their opposite ends to an underside of the support surface 24 and a point 20 lying below a floor level 12 of the vehicle. The support surface (18) being constrained to move between a stowed position in which the upper surface of support surface (18) lies flush with the floor level 12 of the vehicle, through an intermediate position in which the support surface (18) rises up and over a support structure 16 and to a deployed position in which the support surface (18) descends from the intermediate position to rest on the said support structure 16. Preferably the support surface (18) is made from several parts 24, 26 (58, 60, Figure 10) which can expand to enlarge it when deployed, and the support surface is suitable to be supported by seats 14, 16 or other similar structures of a vehicle, which may be a boat, caravan, campervan.

Description

BEDS FOR VEHICLES

Description:

This invention relates to beds for vehicles, such as camper vehicles, boats, caravans and the like.

Camper vehicles, such as camper vans, are often fitted with a roof-level bed system that fits inside a raised roof portion of the vehicle. This known system works well, but requires the vehicle to be fitted with a raising roof.

As camper vehicles are being made increasingly smaller, there is a need for a low-level bed that can be fitted inside the vehicle, without the need for a raising roof. Additionally or alternatively, a low-level bed used in conjunction with a roof-level bed can be used to increase the sleeping capacity of a camper vehicle from, say, 1-2 berth, to a 2-4 berth camper vehicle.

Low-level bed systems for camper vehicles usually comprise a support surface, which can be placed atop the folded seats of the vehicle, which support surface is used for supporting a suitable mattress, such as a foam mattress or an inflatable "air bed". The support surfaces usually comprise boards or slats that overlie the folded seats to bridge the gaps between the seats/underlying supports, thereby reducing the sagging of the mattress in the "unsupported" regions. Known support systems are bulky, and take up a lot of space within the vehicle when they are not in use, which is most of the time. As such, known low-level beds are relatively rare, and where they exist, can be cumbersome and/or inconvenient to use.

Folding and stow-away bends for camper vehicles are known in the prior art, for example in: Published European Patent Application Number EP1867522A, which discloses a bed assembled of a rigid base and a mattress, both divided into two lateral parts and a large central segment, the lateral segments being positioned on top of shallow storage units arranged along the sides of the loading space. The bed of this solution utilises valuable space in the vehicle's storage lockers. German Utility Model DE202005005037U describes a similar system.

Published US patent application number US2009134648A teaches a stow-away bed comprising a pair of telescopic rails that support slats. The bed can be telescopically collapsed into a space behind the rear seats of the vehicle, but occupies the "parcel shelf' area when not in use, thereby inhibiting movement within the vehicle. US patent number USG4JOS1JB discloses a similar system, but in which the bed support is manufactured from a flexible web.

French patent application number FR2878478A teaches a bed system that attaches to a vehicle's headrests and which hangs behind the seat when not in use. The size of the bed is limited, roughly, to the size of the seat and the bed never stows away out of sight.

Japanese patent application number JP2004313357A teaches a stow-away bed for a vehicle in which the bed support boards are stowed on the floor of the vehicle when not in use, which can be unsightly and give rise to a trip hazard.

Other similar systems are known, such as those described in published US patent application numbers US4473250A and U53659894A, but these systems occupy storage space within the vehicle, which storage space is a premium in small camper vehicles.

A need therefore exists for a new type of low-level bed system, suitable for use in small camper vehicles, which overcomes one or more of the problems outlined above.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a stow-away bed, the bed comprising a support surface mounted for movement along an arcuate locus on support struts pivotally connected at their opposite ends to an underside of the support surface and a point lying below a floor level of the vehicle, respectively, the support surface being constrained to move between a stowed position in which the upper surface of support surface lies flush with a floor level, through an intermediate position in which the support surface rises up and over a support structure, and to a deployed position in which the support surface descends from the intermediate position to rest on the said support structure, or vice-versa.

Suitably, the stow-away bed can be fitted inside a vehicle, such as a camper van or camper car, caravan, boat or static caravan.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle comprising a generally planar interior floor surface, a well in the floor surface extending below the level of the floor surface, and a stow-away bed, the stow-away bed comprising a support surface mounted for movement along an arcuate locus on support struts pivotally connected at their opposite ends to an underside of the support surface and a point in the well, respectively, the support surface being constrained to move between a stowed position in which the upper surface of support surface closes the well and lies flush with the floor level of the vehicle, through an intermediate position in which the support surface rises up and over a support structure of the vehicle, and to a deployed position in which the support surface descends from the intermediate position to rest on the said support structure, or vice-versa.

The support structure suitably comprises one or more seats.

A third aspect of the invention provides a bed kit comprising a pre-formed well, a support surface mounted for movement along an arcuate locus on support struts pivotally connected at their opposite ends to an underside of the support surface and a point lying within the pre-formed well, the support surface being constrained to move between a stowed position in which the upper surface of support surface lies flush with a periphery of the pre-formed well, through an intermediate position in which the support surface rises to an elevated position, and to a deployed position in which the support surface descends from the intermediate position to a lower position.

Suitably, the support surface is adapted to rise up and over a support structure, such as the rear seats of a vehicle, and lands thereon. The seats of the vehicle are suitably foldable and/or rotatable to provide points of substantially equal heights above the floor level of the vehicle against which points the support surface can, in use, be supported to provide a generally flat surface for a bed. The support surface can rest, when in the deployed position, on any part of the vehicle2s seats, that is to say, their backs, seat portions, arm rests etc. The support surface suitably comprises a pair of hingedly interconnected portions, which can be folded to lie such that their planar surfaces face one another. In such a situation, the upper surface of the upper support surface portion, when folded against the lower support surface portion, suitably lies flush with the floor level of the vehicle when the support surface is in the stowed position. The hinged interconnection is suitably provided between a front edge of the lower support surface portion and a rear edge of the upper support surface portion such that the lower support surface portion rests on a rear seat of the vehicle when deployed, and such that the upper support surface portion can be folded/flipped forwards to rest on the front seats of the vehicle.

Such a configuration enables the length of the receiving well for the support surface to be reduced.

The support surface may be adapted to expand sideward, when in the deployed position, to provide a wider support surface for a bed than the width of the receiving well therefor.

A lift-assist device, such as a gas strut or spring, is suitably provided to assist moving the support surface from the stowed position to the deployed position, and vice-versa. Releasable locking means is suitably provided for releasably locking the support surface in the stowed and/or deployed positions.

The bed suitably comprises a mattress, which may be affixable to the support surface. The mattress, where provided, is preferably collapsible, for example, comprising an inflatable portion or being manufactured of a resiliently compressible foam, to enable it to be stowed away without occupying too much space within the vehicle.

The bed is suitably provided in a kit form for retro-fitting to vehicles, in which case, a user would need to cut a hole in the floor of the vehicle to which the kit is intended to be fitted, the size of the hole corresponding to the shape of the periphery of the pre-formed well. Thereafter, the pre-formed well can be affixed within the hole in the floor to form a stow-away bed as described herein.

Preferred embodiments of the invention shall now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 isa perspective, partially cut-away view of the interior of a camper vehicle fitted with a bed according to the invention; Figures 2 to 9 are a series of schematic side views showing the operation of the bed of Figure 1; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a bed kit in accordance with the invention; and Figure 11 is a partial cross-section of Figure 10 on Xl-Xl.

In Figure 1, a vehicle 10 comprises an interior having a floor 12, which supports two rows of seats 14, 16. A stow-away bed support 18 is accommodated in an well 20 located in the floor of the cargo area 22 of the vehicle 10, which is mounted on pivoting struts 2450 that it 18 can rise out of its receiving well 20 to land on the seats 14, 16. The bed support 18 comprises a pair of hingedly interconnected boards 24, 26, which can expand sideward to cover the seating area of the vehicle to support a mattress (not shown). The bed support boards 24, 26 bridge the gaps between the seats 14, 16 to prevent the mattress (not shown) from sagging, when laid upon by one or more people.

As can be seen more clearly from Figures 2 to 9, the bed support 18 moveable between a stowed position, as shown in Figure 2, and a deployed position, as shown in Figure 9, via a number of intermediary positions, as shown in Figures 3 to 8.

The bed support 18 comprises two generally flat boards 24, 26, which can be folded into face-to-face abutment, as shown in Figures 2 to 6. The boards 24, 26, are mounted for pivotal movement on two pairs of struts 30, which form a parallelogram such that the boards 24, 26 can move along arcuate loci, as indicated by line 32 in the drawings. The depth 34 of the well 20 is such that when the bed support 18 is moved to the stowed position, the upper surface 36 of the upper board 26 lies flush with the floor 12 of the vehicle 10, that is to say, there is sufficient space below the lower board 24 to accommodate the struts 30. The bed support is releasably lockable in the stowed position by a latch mechanism 38 that engages a slotted aperture 40 in a side wall of the well 20.

When it is desired to convert the vehicle 10 from a driving mode to a sleeping mode, a user can fold the rear seats 16 forward, and fold or rotate the front seats 14, as shown in Figure 3, whereupon the user can then un-latch the latch mechanism 38 to lift the support boards 24, 26 into the deployed position. The boards 24, 26 move in unison along the arcuate locus indicated by line 32 in the drawings such that they rise up and over a high position (shown in Figure 5) before descending again to rest atop the seats 14, 16.

The weight of the boards 24,26 can inhibit their movement, and so a lift-assist device, in the illustrated example, a gas strut, 42 is provided to counteract the weight of the boards 24, 26. The gas strut 42 is arranged with respect to the high position of the boards 24, 26, to impart an over-centred camming effect, which urges the boards towards the deployed position as the boards 24, 26 pass through the high position. Thus, the gas strut 42 not only aids the lifting of the boards 24, 26, but also helps to retain them in the deployed position.

Once the boards 24, 26 have "landed" on the rear seats 16, the upper board 26 can be pivoted forward, as shown in Figure 7, to rest upon the front seats 14, thereby providing a bed support 18 extending from front to back in the vehicle 10. A mattress 44 can then be placed atop the bed support 18, as shown in Figure 9, so that the vehicle can be slept in by one or more users.

Stowing of the bed can be effected by following the preceding steps in reverse, namely by: stowing away the mattress, pivoting the upper board 26 back on top of the lower board 24, moving the boards 24, 26 back into the well, and re-engaging the locking mechanism 38,40 to retain the bed support 18 in-situ, e.g. as the vehicle is subsequently driven. The seats 14, 16 can then be restored to their normal, driving configuration, and the vehicle 10 driven as normal.

It will be appreciated that the bed support 18 could be retrofitted to vehicles, and so could be provided in kit for, as shown in Figure 10 of the drawings.

In Figure 10, identical features of the bed support are identified using identical reference signs to avoid repetition of the foregoing. The well 20 of the kit comprises a pre-formed well 50, which can be manufactured, for example, from pressed sheet steel or from moulded GRP. The pre-formed well 50 comprises a peripheral lip 52 to facilitate securing it into the floor of a vehicle. To fit the system 50, a user simply needs to cut a receiving aperture in the floor of the vehicle of substantially the same dimensions as those of the pre-formed well 50. The pre-formed well 50 can then be dropped into the aperture and secured in place by an adhesive bead and/or screws actin between the peripheral lip 52 and the floor of the vehicle surrounding the aperture. The base of the pre-formed well comprises stiffening/strengthening ribs 54 to enable the pre-formed well 50 to be manufactured from thinner materials to save weight, whilst retaining strength and stiffness, as is required for the crashworthiness of the vehicle 10 to which it is fitted.

The struts 30 and gas strut 42 of the kit are pivotally connected to the well 50 and the lower board 24 by clevis fittings, as will be well known to those skilled in the art.

The boards 24, 26 are configured to expand sideward when in a deployed position. This is accomplished by manufacturing each board in three slideably interlocking pieces: a central piece 56, and two outer pieces 58. The outer pieces 58 comprise bevelled tongue portions 60 that slidingly engage with correspondingly shaped and dimensioned receiving slots 62 of the central piece 56. It will be noted that the bevels of adjacent tongues are oppositely oriented, as shown in Figure 11, to inhibit relative vertical sliding of the pieces 56, 58. Thus, the side pieces 58 can be slide out from the central piece 56, or vice-versa to widen the boards when in a deployed position.

The boards 24, 26, are hingedly interconnected by leaf hinges 66 so that they can be folded together as previously described.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments, which are merely exemplary of the invention. For example, the shape and configurations shown in the drawings are merely exemplary of the invention, as are the materials and methods of manufacture proposed. For example, the support surface could equally be manufactured or constructed from tubular or box-section metal (e.g. steel or aluminium), which conveniently may be telescopically extendable to permit the dimensions of the support surface to be adjusted or adjustable. Whilst the invention has principally been described with reference to a bed for a vehicle, such as a camper van or camper car, it could equally be used in other situations, such as in a boat, caravan, static caravan or even in a conventional building where, say, temporary and/or infrequently used guest accommodation is required.

Claims

Claims: A stow-away bed comprising a support surface mounted for movement along an arcuate locus on support struts pivotally connected at their opposite ends to an underside of the support surface and a point lying below a floor level of the vehicle, respectively, the support surface being constrained to move between a stowed position in which the upper surface of support surface lies flush with the floor level of the vehicle, through an intermediate position in which the support surface rises up and over a support structure, and to a deployed position in which the support surface descends from the intermediate position to rest on the said support structure, or vice-versa.
2. A stow-away bed as claimed in claim 1, adapted for use in a vehicle.
3. A stow-away bed as claimed in claim 2, wherein the vehicle comprises any one or more of the group comprising: a camper van, a camper car, a boat, a caravan and a static caravan.
4. A vehicle comprising a generally planar interior floor surface, a well in the floor surface extending below the level of the floor surface, and a stow-away bed as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the support surface is in the stowed position, an upper surface of support surface closes the well and lies flush with the floor level of the vehicle.
5. A stow-away bed or vehicle according to any preceding claim, wherein the support structure comprises a seat or a bed.
6. A bed kit comprising a pre-formed well, a support surface mounted for movement along an arcuate locus on support struts pivotally connected at their opposite ends to an underside of the support surface and a point lying within the pre-formed well, the support surface being constrained to move between a stowed position in which the upper surface of support surface lies flush with a periphery of the pre-formed well, through an intermediate position in which the support surface rises to an elevated position, and to a deployed position in which the support surface descends from the intermediate position to a lower position.
7. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any of claims ito 6, wherein support surface is adapted to rise up and over the rear seats of the vehicle to land on the rear seats of the vehicle and/or the front seats of the vehicle when in the deployed position.
8. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the seats of the vehicle are foldable and/or rotatable to provide points of substantially equal heights above the floor level of the vehicle against which points the support surface can, in use, be supported to provide a generally flat surface for a bed.
9. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support surface comprises a pair of hingedly interconnected portions.
10. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the hingedly interconnected support surface portions are foldable to lie such that their planar surfaces face one another.
11. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 10, wherein when in the stowed position, the upper surface of the upper support surface portion lies flush with the floor level of the vehicle.
12. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the hinged interconnection is provided between a front edge of the lower support surface portion and a rear edge of the upper support surface portion.
13. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 12, wherein when in the deployed position, the lower support surface portion rests on a rear seat of the vehicle, and wherein the upper support surface portion can be folded forward to rest on the front seats of the vehicle.
14. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support surface is sidewardly expandable.
15. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the or each support surface portion comprises a central piece and two outer pieces, outer pieces comprising tongue portions that are slidingly receivable in correspondingly shaped and dimensioned receiving slots of the central piece.
16. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 15, wherein the tongue portions and receiving slots are bevelled in cross-section.
17. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the bevels of adjacent tongues are oppositely oriented.
18. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support surface or surfaces are mounted on pivoting struts.
19. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 18, wherein the support surface or surfaces are mounted for pivotal movement on two pairs of struts, which form a parallelogram such that they can move along arcuate loci.
20. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a releasable lock for locking the support surface in the stowed position.
21. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a lift-assist device.
22. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 21, wherein the lift-assist device comprises a gas strut.
23. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 22, wherein the gas strut is arranged to impart an over-centred camming effect, which urges the support surface or surfaces towards the deployed position.
24. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 22 or claim 23, wherein the gas strut is arranged to impart an over-centred camming effect, which urges the support surface or surfaces towards the deployed position as the support surface or surfaces pass through a high position.
25. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a mattress.
26. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit as claimed in claim 25, wherein the mattress comprises a resiliently compressible foam mattress or an inflatable mattress.
27. A kit according to any preceding claim, wherein the pre-formed well is manufactured from pressed sheet steel, from moulded plastics of from wood.
28. A kit according to any preceding claim, wherein the pre-formed well comprises a peripheral lip.
29. A kit according to any preceding claim, wherein a base of the pre-formed well comprises stiffening and/or strengthening ribs.
30. A kit according to any preceding claim, wherein the struts and gas strut are pivotally connected to the pre-formed well and the support surface by clevis fittings.
31. A stow-away bed, vehicle or kit substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.