US2291203A

US2291203A - Bedcover support

Info

Publication number: US2291203A
Application number: US283718A
Authority: US
Inventors: Martha C F Bent
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1939-07-11
Filing date: 1939-07-11
Publication date: 1942-07-28
Anticipated expiration: 1959-07-28

Description

July 28, 1942.

M. C. F. BENT BED COVER SUPPORT Filed July 11, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l v INVENTOR. v

[Va-Ma July 28, 1942. M. c. F. BENT BED COVER SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11, 1939 IN VENTOR.

Mtg-Z54 611198 Patented July 28, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BEDCOVER SUPPORT Martha 0. F. Bent, Haverford, Pa. Application July 11, 1939, Serial No. 283,718

8 Claims.

an improved device for supporting bed covers or the like out of contact with an occupant of a bed, and it is designed primarily to provide a device of such character that will olfer a minimum of obstruction to access to the bed when expanded and which may be readily collapsed and folded compactly along the bed rail or side boards when not in use.

In its preferred embodiment, my improved device comprises a vertically adjustable pillar which alone forms a support for a cantilever polygonal collapsible frame extending over or bridging the bed; the pillar being preferably mounted on a bracket having a clamp for attaching it to a fixed bed member and the bracket being also provided with devices for supporting the pillar in either a vertical position or a horizontal position.

Preferably,

My invention is the pillar has a laterally extending head portion providing a broad bearing for a frame member hingedly connected therewith. Such hinged frame member or beam has pivotally connected therewith stringers and links which may be so expanded as to provide bridging members affording a broad bearing surface extending transversely to the pillar for supporting bed covers or the like or may be so collapsed and folded as to lie snugly between the beam and the pillar when the latter are turned so as to lie in substantially parallel relation to one another.

The stringers of each unit may be made of such length as to extend the whole, or any desired part, of the width of the bed, but it is generally preferable to provide one unit on each side of the bed having stringers of such length that they may be brought into registration and latched together midway of the sides of the bed. The units on opposite sides of the bed are similar to one another but preferably the stringers and links of one frame are turned on their beam reversely to the arrangement of the stringers and links on the other beam so that the pillars of each device may be located adjacent to the foot of the bed.

The stringers of one frame may be provided with sockets and the stringers of the other frame may be provided with hinged bolts for latching the frames together.

The characteristic features and advantages of my improvements will further appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of my invention and the accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bed frame having a complementary pair of ing a close my improved bed cover supports mounted posite sides thereof in expanded position; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a fragmentary section of a bed rail having one of my bed cover supports mounted thereon in collapsed position; Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a bracket and clamp for attaching a pillar of a bed cover support to a bed rail; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of a pillar and attached parts; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the outer part of the main beam of a frame and attached parts; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of stringers and links of complementary frames with latching members thereon for coupling together the frames supported on opposite sides of a bed.

A pair of devices embodying my invention are shown in the drawings attached to the angular side rails of a conventional type of hospital bed, from which the usual adjustable spring frame and accessories have been omitted for the sake of clearness. It will, however, be understood that my improved devices may be used in conjunction with any desired type of bed and that the supporting bracket may be provided with any appropriate form of clamp for engaging a structural member of the bed or other firm foundation.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawing, the pillar supporting bracket consists of a bent metal strap having a section I lying on the horizontal flange of the bed rail; a lip or flange 2 on one side of the section I and hooked over the edge of the flange; and a U- section on the other side of the section I and formed of the members 3, 4 and 5. The external face of the member 5 has projecting therefrom spaced lugs 6 and I and the threaded shank 8, which is centered with respect to the lugs.

L-shaped members 9 and 9' form a channel for the reception of the lower portion of the vertical flange of the bed rail on which they are drawn up by a headed bolt Ill passing through the members 4 and 9 and a wing nut 10 threaded on the bolt.

The bracket supports a pillar or stanchion composed of telescoped members H and I2. The member H forms a rectangular tubular slideway containing an aperture in its lower end for the passage of the stud 8, and may be held in either a vertical position between the

studs

6 and 1 or in a horizontal position between the studs by a wing nut 8', illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively.

The body of the member I2 forms a slide makslip fit in the slideway II and con- OIl Optains a series of apertures l4 extending longitudinally thereof and which may be brought respectively into registration with apertures |5 in the walls of the slideway The slide 2 may be fixed at a desired elevation with respect to the slideway II by the engagement of a springpressed pin IS in registering apertures I4 and I5 of the slide and slideway.

A head IT projects laterally from the top of the slide l2 and has hingedly connected thereto a knuckle I8 which supports a cantilever beam composed of a tubular rectangular slideway 9 and slide 20. The fulcrum point between the beam and head is laterally spaced from the slide I2. Hence when the beam is turned in one direction on its hinge the head provides an extended bearing therefor and when the beam is turned in the other direction on its hinge it may lie parallel with the pillar but spaced therefrom.

The beam forms one side of a polygonal cantilever frame for wholly or partially bridging the bed and comprising stringers 2| and 22 and

links

23, 24, 25 and 26. The members 2| and 23 are journalled on a pin 27 set in the knuckle l8 and slideway H9 and securing them together. The

members

22 and 24 are detachably journalled on a pin 23 set in the end of the slide 20. The

members

23 and 24 are pivotally connected by a pin 29. The members 2| and 25, 25 and 26, and 26 and 22 are pivotally connected with one another by the pintles 30, 3| and 32 respectively.

The unit mounted on the left side of the bed in Fig. 1 is provided with

tubular sockets

33 and 34 on the ends of its stringers 2| and 22, and the complementary unit mounted on the right side of the bed is provided with swinging

bolts

35 and 36 on the ends of its similar stringers and adapted for engagement in the

sockets

33 and 34 to latch the units together.

Normally the pillars will be turned horizontally along the rails of the bed and supported in such horizontal position by the lugs 6 and 7, bolt 8 and nut 8', as shown in Fig. 2. In this position of the pillar, the

members

22 and 24 are disengaged from the pin 28 and the bridging members are folded into alignment with the frame beam which is turned on its hinge parallel to the pillar so that the bridging members are nested between the pillar and beam of the respective units.

When the devices are to be used for supporting bed covers or the like, the nuts 8 are slackened to permit the pillars to be moved outward on the bolts 8 sufficiently to clear the studs 6 and I, and the pillars are turned to the vertical position and again engaged between the studs 6 and by screwing up the nuts 8'.

The knuckles I8 are then rocked so that the beams lie on top of the heads I 1. The beams may be rectilinearly expanded to a desired degree by drawing the slides 20 out of the slideways 9. The stringers 2| and 22 are then turned normally to the beams, and the

members

35 and 36 are engaged in the

sockets

33 and 34, and the

members

22 and 24 are sleeved on the pins 28.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. A bed cover support comprising a cantilever polygonal collapsible frame and a single supporting pillar having a head hingedly connected with said frame, said hinged connection permitting the rocking of said frame bodily to position parallel to and on one side of said pillar and to a position transverse to said pillar with the bulk of the area of said frame extending from the side of said pillar opposite the side first named, and said head forming an extended rest beneath said frame in the transverse position of the latter, and said frame comprising members pivotally connected to one another and all foldable to positions substantially parallel with said pillar and with one another without the detachment of said frame from said pillar.

2. A bed cover supporting device comprising a frame having members pivoted together to form a polygonal collapsible cantilever frame including a beam, a pillar having a rigid head forming a rest beneath and supporting said beam when the device is in cover supporting position, a pivotal connection between the supporting head and said beam, a bracket to which the foot of said pillar is pivotally connected and means for aflixing said pillar to said bracket in a horizontal position or a vertical position.

3. A bed cover supporting device comprising a pillar having a laterally extending head and an expansible and collapsible frame pivotally connected with said head at a corner of said frame and at a point offset from said pillar, said frame comprising members pivotally connected with one another adjacent to their ends only, said head forming an extended rest beneath a member of said frame when said device is in cover supporting position and said frame folding under said head when collapsed and turned on its said pivotal connection with said head to a position at right angles to its cover supporting position.

4. A bed cover support having a pillar with a laterally projecting head and a collapsible frame pivotally connected with and supported by said head and including a beam foldable into position substantially parallel with said pillar and bridging members one of which is pivotally connected with one end of said beam and another of which is detachably pivotally connected with the other end of said beam and foldable into positions between said pillar and beam and a link connection between the outer ends of the bridging members.

5. A bed cover support comprising a pillar, a beam pivotally connected with and supported by said pillar, stringers pivotally connected with the opposite ends of said beam, and pivotally connected links respectively connected pivotally with the respective stringers, said beam, stringers and links forming a polygonal frame supported at one corner only thereof by said pillar and collapsible into a bundle and said stringers and links lying between the pillar and beam when the latter is rocked on its pivot into position parallel with the length of said pillar.

6. A bed cover support comprising a pillar, a rectilinearly expansible and collapsible beam pivotally connected with said pillar, pivotally connected links respectively connected with the respective ends of said beam, stringers respectively connected pivotally with the opposite ends of said beam and pivotally connected links respectively connected pivotally with the outer ends of said stringers.

7. A bed cover support comprising a pillar, a bracket having means for supporting said pillar horizontally or vertically, said pillar having a rectilinearly projecting head, a beam hingedly connected with said head and comprising telescoped members, stringers pivotally connected with the respective members, pivotally connected links pivotally connected with the respective members and pivotally connected links respectively connected with the respective stringers at the opposite ends thereof from said beam, a stringer and link aforesaid being detachably connected and said stringers and links being collapsible into substantial alignment with said beam, and housed between said beam and pillar when said beam is turned parallel to said pillar.

8. A bed cover supporting device comprising a pillar having a head transverse thereto, a beam having an end pivotally connected with an end of said head and movable about an axis normal to the length of said pillar into positions parallel to and at a right angle to the length of said pillar, stringers respectively connected with the ends of said beam and links pivotally connected with one another and with the respective stringers, the axes of all the pivotal connections between the beam; stringers and links being parallel with one another and substantially parallel with the length of said pillar when the device is in cover-supporting position, and said stringers and links lying between the planes of said beam and pillar when said stringers and links are collapsed and said beam is turned parallel to said 10 pillar.

MARTHA C. F. BENT.