GB2594251A

GB2594251A - Bed rail with LED lights

Info

Publication number: GB2594251A
Application number: GB2005674.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Thomas Jones Craig
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-04-20
Filing date: 2020-04-20
Publication date: 2021-10-27
Also published as: GB202005674D0

Abstract

A bed rail with LED lights comprising a bed rail 10 which is covered by a material bumper cover 2 having at least one LED light strip 1 provided and its various display functions controlled by a remote controller (6, Figure 2). Power is provided by a power pack (8, Figure 3) and a wire lead (12, Figure 6). The rail may further comprise a light cover material (7, Figure 3) and a power pack pocket 4. The rail may also comprise a channel. The strip may be located to the upper top edge of the bumper cover, fitted into a rectangular opening in the material layer of the top edge of the cover. The light cover material may cover the strip and may be sewn under a rectangular opening of the bumper cover. In a further embodiment, the strip is inserted within a channel to the upper top edge of the rail. In an additional embodiment, the strip is directly attached to the upper top edge of the rail surface via adhesive. In this embodiment the power wire and power to the power pack may be inserted within the surface of body of the rail to the power pack.

Description

PATENT APPLICATION OF

CRAIG WILLIAM THOMAS JONES

FOR

BED RAIL WITH LED LIGHTS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bed rail for children's beds which prevents them from falling from the bed when sleeping or using it.

Background

The use of bed rails is well known and they are provided to prevent a person either sleeping or using the bed from rolling off or falling. When a person or child sleeps they tend to move their body continually and change their sleeping position throughout the period they are using the bed. This can often result in the person from falling from the bed; this is especially common in active sleepers, older people and children.

The bed rails often slide beneath the underside of the mattress and the top of the bed base by way of a fitting and they have hinges to adjust the bed rail into the upright position for use and also enable said bed rail to be folded down thereto.

Due to many bed rails being made of a shaped metal or plastic material they are often covered with a material to provide a removable bumper cover; which often has a meshed or similar centre panel to cover the open area in the middle of the bed rail frame and provide a protected finish.

Due to the various aspects in which a bed rail and bumper cover can be made and presented various patents can be cited as follows: This is shown in patent US1739337 (CANON) discloses a light which is built into the rail of a bed frame to provide a light for reading. The light is provided to be powered by electricity to ensure a continual use light or lamp.

Patent GB2200541 (STOTER) discloses a light for a child's cot which has a child's cot 10 which is provided with a battery powered lamp 20 which provides illumination to the interior of the cot. The lamp 20 is mounted in an aperture 22 in an end wall 12 of the cot and is provided with a transparent or translucent cover 24 which is flush with the surface 26 of the end wall which faces towards the interior of the cot. In other embodiments the lamp is detachably mounted on the cot by clamp, suction, hook or magnetic means.

Patent EP1016062 (MUELLER) discloses a current control for a lighting assembly, which may be an LED lighting assembly, which may be a pulse width modulated ("PWM") current control or other form of current control where each current-controlled unit is uniquely addressable and capable of receiving illumination color information on a computer lighting network. In an embodiment, the invention includes a binary tree network configuration of lighting units (nodes). In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a heat dissipating housing, made out of a heat-conductive material, for housing the lighting assembly. The heat dissipating housing contains two stacked circuit boards holding respectively the power module arid the light module. The light module is adapted to be conveniently interchanged with other light modules.

Patent GB2464333 (TREEN) discloses a sleeping apparatus or cot comprises an amusing decorative light effect. The light effect preferably takes the form of an edge-illuminated, engraved window that is disposed within a panel of a cot/bed. The light effect may be provided with a light source, such as LEDs, located around a periphery of the window and preferably within a rim of the panel of the cot/bed. The light effect may provide differently coloured light effects in accordance with a control program or timer. The light source may be controlled by a touch sensitive controller. A height adjustable mattress is also provided [see Figs 5-7]. The height of the mattress may adjusted by a parental command being entered into a control panel. The cot also includes a temperature control system for regulating the temperature of the air in the cot [see Fig. 8], and a rocking the mechanism for rocking the cot longitudinally [see Figs. 12 and 13]. The cot includes removable (and interchangeable) front and rear panels with D--shaped transparent viewing facility and curved end panels.

Patent US1135523 (HENDERSON) discloses a single piece of Wire I) bent to present the form of a W with extended ends; the latter 'being curved to form hooks c and the middle member of the W being twisted as at d for reinforcement purposes while its upper end is made in the form of a loop 6 forming a seat for the lamp. I In assembling the improved attachment the lamp socket f is secured rigidly in the seat 6, a flexible extension wire 9 having plug is at its end serving to effect electrical connection between the socket f and any available lamp socket or the like in the room, The object of the bends rri is to provide feet affording extended bearings to rest on any available member of the bed-frame and thus maintain the attachment in" uertical position. The wire is more or 'less flexible and permits of the hooks being bent to fit any portion of the bed-frama Patent V35148356 (FREESE) discloses a crib light which is provided having front and rear housing portions which cooperate to clamp the light to a horizontal rail of a crib. The rear housing portion may be removed to permit the front housing portion to be mounted flush to a vertica1 wali surface. In addition, a lens cover is provided adjacent to a light emitting aperture of the front housing portion for controlling the brightness of light emitted and a control circuit is further provided for automatically shutting the light off after a predetermined intervai of time.

The prior art therefore shows that there is a need for a bed rail which provides a lighting method which produces a safety aspect and novel use.

The present invention aims to provide an improved bed rail which has an LED (Light Emitting Diode) fitting within the surface of the bumper cover or onto the rail which can provide a visual safety aspect to the bed rail and also novel lighting therefore.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a bed rail which is attached to a bed moreover between the underside of the mattress and the upper surface of the bed base. The bed rail has remote controlled LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights across its upper top edge or within the upper top edge of a bumper cover.

The bed rail has a horizontal frame section which slides between the said mattress and bed base and is held there in position by the weight of the mattress bearing down. The body of the bed rail is often covered with a material which is commonly referred to as a bumper cover; this provides a protection and cushioning to the child or other user, by covering the bed rail with a padded cover. These covers often have a see through or opaque centre panel with a coloured frame area around the outside, with the whole material being slid over as a fitting to the bed rail frame.

To enable the fitting to the bed rail frame the bumper cover has flaps and open areas which are removably provided, these are held by hook and eye strips which are pulled apart to remove said bumper cover when required.

The present invention has an addition to the bumper cover which is a strip of LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights in a row, which are located in the first embodiment to the top narrow edge of the bumper cover, as shown in the accompanying Figures.

In this first embodiment; the row of LED lights are inserted into the space within the material layers of the bumper cover at the upper top edge, as shown and the lights are covered by a light cover material through which the LED lights are able to illuminate, too include taffeta; plastic vinyl or similar opaque or transparent options. This light cover material is inset into a cut out strip located on the upper edge of the bumper cover and sewn inside to form a rectangular horizontally presented sectional light enclosure. From this enclosure is a wire lead which passes into the power pack, located locally inside a pocket, as shown. The pocket which is a part of the bumper cover has a hook and eye strip to enable the power pack to be removed for maintenance.

The LED lights are controlled via a remote control which enables the display output of the lights to be controlled and switched on and off with colour variations to be selected by the user. Due to the lights being on the top edge of the bumper cover they provide a visual safety addition to show where the rail is located in darkness, for example; if a person is returning to the bed and needs to see where the rail is located. The lights also provide visual stimulation through changing colours and optional lighting display patterns which can be selected via the remote control. These unlimited variations of the lights include flashing patterns and colour changing aspects of the LED's, they may also be able to respond to sound or music and flash in rhythm or in time with this.

In a second embodiment of the invention; the LED lights may be attached directly onto the upper top edge of the bed rail itself by adhesive or other fixture securing means and a rectangular horizontally presented section within the top edge of the bumber cover, with the light cover material which allows the LED lights to shine through. The LED lights may also be inserted directly into the top edge of the bed rail itself, within a channel, to then be covered by the bumper cover and the rectangular horizontally presented section of the light cover material. In this further embodiment the power wire and power to the power pack is inserted within the surface or body of the bed rail to the power pack.

In a third embodiment of the invention; the bumper cover or the bed rail itself may have the LED lights installed to the top edge and also a frontal location, as shown in Figure 4, having the same control aspect as in the preceding embodiments with regard to the light control and their illumination through sections in the bumper cover upper edge and frontal area.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the Patent Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bed rail with LED lights which has all the advantages of the prior bed lighting and none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new bed rail with LED lights which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bed rail with LED lights which is of durable and reliable construction.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bed rail with LED lights which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a product available to the buying public.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bed rail with LED lights which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of fioures

Figure 1 shows a dimensional view of the bed rail with LED lights.

Figure 2 shows a dimensional view of the bed rail with LED lights, with the lights illuminated.

Figure 3 shows a frontal close view of the bed rail with LED lights.

Figure 4 shows a frontal close view of the bed rail with LED lights, with additional frontal lights.

Figure 5 shows a dimensional view of the bed ral with LED lights, showing a longer bed rail option.

Figure 6 shows a plan view of the bed rail with LED lights.

Detailed description of figures

A typical embodiment of the bed rail with LED lights is shown in Figure 1. It comprises the bed rail 10 which is a plastic or metal shaped frame that is fitted between the mattress 3 and the bed base 5, with the bed rail having a bumper cover 2. The said bumper cover 2 is a material covering which is removably fitted over said bed rail 10 to provide a cushioned protector.

To the upper top edge of the bumper cover 2 is an LED light strip 1 inserted within the material in a horizontally presented sectional light enclosure with the addition of a power pack pocket 4 to house the battery pack for the LED light strip 1.

In Figure 2 the LED light strip mounted onto the top edge of the bumper cover 2A being 1A is illuminated via remote controller 6. The power to illuminate and control the LED light strip 1A is provided by means of a power pack inside the power pack pocket 4A.

The row of LED lights 1A are inserted into the space within the material layers of the bumper cover 2A at the upper top edge in this first embodiment, as shown, and the lights are covered by a light cover material through which the LED lights 1A are able to illuminate. This light cover material is inset into a cut out rectangular strip located on the upper edge of the bumper cover 2A and sewn inside the rectangular opening of the material to form a light enclosure as the stitching continues around the entire edge of the rectangular opening and through the light cover material set below it. From this enclosure is a wire lead which passes into the power pack, located locally inside a pocket 4A, as shown in a following Figure. The pocket which is a part of the bumper cover, has a hook and eye strip to enable the pocket to be opened and closed and for the power pack to be removed for maintenance such as battery replacement or charging directly from a power source. The LED lights are controlled via a remote control which enables the output of the lights to be switched on and off and colour variations to be selected by the user.

Figure 3 shows the second embodiment; where the light cover material 7 is placed over the LED light strip 1B which is directly attached into the top of the bed rail 10B itself in a channel, located under the top edge of the bumper cover 2B which covers the bed rail 10B, as shown. The power pack 8 is shown withdrawn from the power pack pocket 4B as previously described with its wire inside the bed rail. The LED lights 1B may also be attached directly onto the upper top edge of the bed rail 10B itself by adhesive or other fixture securing means within a rectangular horizontally presented section within the top edge of the bumber cover 2B, with the light cover material laid over it allowing the LED lights to shine through. The LED lights may also be inserted directly into the top edge of the bed rail itself, within a groove channel (not shown), to then be covered by the bumper cover and the rectangular horizontally presented section of the light cover material.

In a third embodiment of the invention we see an additional LED light strip 9 mounted to the frontal area of the bumper cover 2C. This additional LED light strip 9 is also located within the material of the said bumper cover 2C with the lights being covered by a light cover material through which the LED lights are able to illuminate, too include taffeta, plastic vinyl or similar opaque or transparent options. This light cover material is inset into a cut out strip located on the frontal area of the bumper cover and sewn inside to form a rectangular horizontally presented sectional light enclosure. From this enclosure is a wire lead from the LED light strip 9 which passes into the power pack. The LED light strips may also be tandem linked, to enable a single power wire to be fed from the pair of light strips directly to the power pack and both of them being able to be controlled via the single controller therefore. As shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5 shows a longer example of the bumper cover 2D with a longer LED light strip 1D.

Figure 6 shows a plan view of the bed rail with the bumper cover 2E having the LED strip 1E located to its top edge. The light cover material 7E is shown inset within the material with stitching 11 around the entire edge. Wire lead 12 connects to the power pack 8E which is located within the power pack pocket 4E.

Claims

Claims 1) A bed rail with LED lights comprising; a bed rail which is covered by a material bumper cover having at least one LED light strip provided and its various display.functions controlled by a remote controller; power provided by a power pack and wire lead.
2) A bed rail with LED lights further comprising a light cover material.
3) A bed rail with LED lights further comprising a power pack pocket.
4) A bed rail with LED lights further comprising a channel.
5) A bed rail with LED lights according to claim 1 wherein said LED light strip is located to the upper top edge of the bumper cover.
6) A bed rail with LED lights according to claim 4 wherein said LED light strip is fitted into a rectangular opening in the material layer of the top edge of the bumper cover.
7) A bed rail with LED lights according to claim 2 and 5 wherein said light cover material covers the LED light strip and is sewn under a rectangular opening of the bumper cover.
8) A bed rail with LED lights according to claim 4 wherein in a further embodiment the LED light strip is inserted within a channel to the upper top edge of the bed rail.
9) A bed rail with LED lights according to claim 1 wherein in a further embodiment the LED light strip is directly attached to the upper top edge of the bed rail surface via adhesive.
10) A bed rail with LED lights according to claim 9 wherein in this further embodiment the power wire and power to the power pack is inserted within the surface or body of the bed rail to the power pack.
11) A bed rail with LED lights wherein in a further embodiment a second LED light strip is provided to the frontal area of the bumper cover.
12) A bed rail with LED lights according to any preceding claim; including a bed rail which has at least LED light strip located to its bumper cover which are powered by a power pack and controlled by a remote controller to provide a safety and novel lighting for a child or other bed user.