US2826795A

US2826795A - Bedding clamp

Info

Publication number: US2826795A
Application number: US578079A
Authority: US
Inventors: James G Blaine
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-04-13
Filing date: 1956-04-13
Publication date: 1958-03-18
Anticipated expiration: 1975-03-18

Description

- March 18, 1958 J. G. BLAINE BEDDING CLAMP Filed April 13, 1956 V INVENTOR. JAMEs 6'. ELMNE.

MTOZUEffS atent it) asza'zss Patented Mar." 18,1958

70mins. c1. 24-725 Summarized briefly, the present invention comprises a bedding clamp comprising a length of rod or bar material having at least a slight resiliency, shaped to include intermediate its ends a clamp element of inverted U-shape the bight portion of which is adapted to engage against the bed clothes at thefoot of the bed. The. clamp element is disposed in a'generally vertical plane, and extending under the bed from the lower ends of the legs are angular arms each having intermediate its ends a downwardly projecting bend which may either extend directly into contact with the door, or may have a threaded foot providing vertically adjustable floor-engaging means. At the free ends of the arms, there are provided lateral, angular extensions engageable against the sides of the bed at the bottom of the bed frame or box spring. a

The arrangement is such that the resiliency of the mattress over which the bed clothes are positioned exerts a pressure against the bight part of the clamp element, and this, together with the inherent resiliency of the clamp element and arms, istranslated into a downward pressure of the bent portions of the arms against the floor surface, and also into an upward pressure exerted by the free ends of the arms against the underside of the bed. The device thus will be held in place, and will in turn hold the bed clothes in place, by the mentioned pressures, but whenever it is desired to remake the bed the device can be easily moved outwardly from the bed to an out-of-the-way position.

Among important objects of the invention are the I following:

To provide a bedding clamp of the type referred to which will be characterized by a minimum of moving parts, thus to permit its manufacture at relatively low cost;

To provide a bedding clamp which will have a novel shape particularly adapted to translate pressure deriving from the resiliency of the mattress and of the material of the device into pressures of the device against the fioor surface and bed tending to hold the device in place;

To provide a bedding clamp as described which will have a particularly efiicient action in holding the bed clothes in place, through the provision of an elongated, horizontally disposed bight portion or cross bar extending for a substantial part of the width of the bed at the foot thereof;

To provide a device of the nature described which will be characterized not only by the tendency thereof to remain in place at all times when it is operatively disposed, but also by the ease and speed with which the device may be moved out of place whenever the bed clothes are being changed or the bed is being re-made; and

To form the device with a means which will permit vertical adjustment of the position thereof to accommodate beds having legs of difierent heights, said vertical adjustment further being adapted to adjust the pressure exerted by the device against the floor surface tending to hold the device in place.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the foot portion of a bed, with the device operatively disposed thereagainst; 7 1

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the device and of the foot portion ofthe bed;

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-4: of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a detail section on line 4--4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a bed has been generally designated at 10, and is wholly conventional, having the box spring 12 to which are attached the legs 14. A mattress 16 is disposed upon the box spring, and overlying the mattress is the bed clothing 18, constituting sheets, and/ or blanket, bedspread, and other types of bed clothing.

The device constituting the present invention is adapted to bear against the bed clothing across the foot of the mattress, so that the bed clothing will be held in place without the necessity of tucking the same under the mattress at the foot. The bedding clamp 20, in the preferred, illustrated embodiment, comprises a single length of rod material which may be chrome plated or otherwise treated to impart an attractive appearance thereto. The length of rod or bar material is formed, medially between its ends, with a clamp element of inverted U- shape, having a horizontally disposed, elongated, straight bight portion 22 integral at its opposite ends with, and offset laterally inwardly from, substantially

vertical legs

24, 24.

The legs, at their lower ends, merge into substantially horizontally disposed inner arm portions 26, extending approximately normally to the length of the bight 22. At the ends of the inner arm portions remote from their integral connection to the legs 24, said inner arm portions merge into

intermediate arm portions

28, 28. The intermediate arm portions are offset downwardly from the inner arm portions 26, so that the arms of the device,

generally designated at 29, may be appropriately considered as having downwardly bowed bends intermediate their ends.

The intermediate arm portions 28 are provided with flattened parts 33 lying in horizontal planes, and formed in the flattened parts are threaded openings, receiving the threaded, vertical stems of floor-engaging.feet 32, said feet being downwardly convexed to prevent damage to the floor and to facilitate the sliding of the device out of its operative position, to the left in Figure 3 when. the bed is being re-made.

Flattened parts 30 merge into outer arm portions 34, inclined at approximately forty-five degrees from the horizontal, these inclining upwardly from the flattened parts 30 as shown in Figure 3 and terminating at their upper ends against the underside of the box spring 12. In some instances, where the bed does not have a box spring, the the outer arm portions 34 will bear against the sides of the bed frame and it will be understood that the use of the term mattress support means hereinafter will be considered as referring both to a box spring and F to a bed frame, as well as to any other support s'tructur for a mattress 16.

At the upper ends of the outer arm portions 34, said portions merge into laterally, outwardly extending extensions 36 of right angular shape, including at their free ends upwardly projecting fingers 38 bearing against the opposite sides of the mattress support means.

It will be noted from the above that the angular extensions'36, 38' provided at the opposite sides of the device lie in 'slidable contact with the opposite sides of the mattress support means, with the arms 29 having intermediate their ends means, either in the form of the feet 32 or (if no feet are used) in the form of the downwardly bent intermediate portions themselves, engaging slidably against the floor surface. The arms 2?, in this regard, are disposed in parallel, vertical planes perpendicular to the general plane of the U'shaped clamp element, with the

extensions

36,38 of the arms also lying in a common vertical plane, normal to the planes of the arms.

In use of the device, the mattress 16, by reason of its inherent resiliency, will. exert a pressure against the bight 22 in a direction to the left in Figure 3. This tends to shift the bight outwardly, that is to the left in Figure 3, and due to the inherent resiliency of the legs 24 and of the arms, this pressure is translated into a downward pressure of the feet 32 against the floor surface. The feet 32 in effect constitute fulcrums, so that not only is there a downward pressure of the feet against the floor surface, but also an upward pressure of the

angular extensions

36, 38 against the underside of the bed at opposite sides thereof.

By reason of this arrangement, the device is held securely in place, due to the resistance oifered by the pressures of the feet 32 and angular extensions against the floor and bed respectively. The device will thus not move to the leftin Figure 3 under the pressure of the mattress, and will securely engage the bedding 18 against the end of the mattress.

However, although the device is securely held in place in this manner when in use, it can nevertheless be swiftly moved out of position whenever desired, so that the bed can be re-made. This is accomplished by shifting the entire device bodily to the left in Figure 3, so that it will be fully disengaged from the bedding. The device slides along the floor, and is also maintained in slidable engagement with the opposite sides of the mattress support means of the bed, during its movement between operative and inoperative positions.

When the bed has been re-made, the device is simply shifted back to its operative position, and as previously noted will remain in said position when the bed is in use.

Apart from the characteristic of the device whereby it holds the bedding in place against the mattress, the device also holds the mattress in place upon the bed springs since any tendency of the mattress to move to the left in Figure 3, or laterally to either side, is resisted by the pressure of the bight against the mattress.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and de-.

scribed. since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A bedding clamp for holding bed clothes and a mattress against movement relative to one another and to a mattress support means at the foot of a bed, com prising: a clamp element separate from the bed,said element being approximately in the shape of an inverted U having legs and a bight part, the bight part extending horizontally for disposition of said bight part transversely of an end of a mattress in engagement with bed clothes overlying said end of the mattress; and spring arms extending from the lower ends of the legs of said clamp element, said arms intermediate their ends including means engageable against a floor surface below the mattress support means, said arms at the ends thereof tit) remote from the clamp element including means engaging against the underside of the mattress support means.

2. A bedding clamp for holding bed clothes and a mattress against movement relative to one another and to a mattress support means at the foot of a bed, comprising: a clamp element separate from the bed, said element being approximately in the shape of an inverted U having legs and a bight part, the bight part extending horizontally for disposition of said bight part transversely of an of a mattress in engagement with bed clothes overlying said end of the mattress; and spring arms extending from the lower ends of the legs of said clamp element, said arms intermediate their ends including means engageable against a floor surface below the mattress support means,

said arms at the ends thereof remote from the clamp clement including means engaging against the underside of the mattress support means, the respective means being adapted for slidable contact with said floor surface and mattress support means respectively, for shifting of the clamp longitudinally of the bed into and out of an operative position in which the bight is engaged against the bed clothes.

3. A bedding clamp for holding bed clothes and a mattress against movement relative to one another and to a mattress support means, said clamp comprising: a

clamp element separate from the bed, said element being of approximately inverted U-shape including a bight and legs depending from the bight, said clamp element being formed of a resilient, yielding material so as to resiliently oppose pressure exerted against the bight by a mattress against which the bight is positioned; and a pair of spring arms extending from the lower ends of respective legs, said arms having downwardly bent intermediate portions adapted to extend into contact with a floor surface, the arms having at the ends thereof remote from the legs laterally, outwardly projecting extensions adapted to engage the underside of the mattress support means, whereby the pressure exerted against the bight by said mattress will be translated into a downward pressure of the intermediate portions of the arms against the floor surface and into an upward pressure of the extensions against the underside of the mattress support means.

4. A bedding clamp for holding a mattress and bed clothes against movement relative to one another and to a mattress support means, said clamp comprising a single length of resilient, rod material provided intermediate its ends with a portion of approximately inverted U-shape, said portion comprising a clamp element including a bight and legs depending from the bight, the bight being adapted for engagement against the bed clothes at one end of the bed, said length of rod material at the lower ends of the legs having end portions shaped as spring arms extending from the legs in substantially vertical planes normal to the general plane of the clamp element, said arms intermediate their ends having downwardly bent portions adapted for translating outward pressure, exerted against the bight by the mattress, into a downward pressure exerted against the floor surface, the arms at the ends thereof remote from the legs being provided with laterally, outwardly projecting extensions adapted for slidably contacting the underside of the mattress support means, said pressure against the bight further being translated into an upward pressure exerted against the mattress support means by said angular extensions.

SJA bedding clamp for holding a mattress and bed clothes against movement relative to one another and to a mattress support means, said clamp comprising a single length of resilient, rod material provided intermediate its ones with a portion of approximately inverted U-shape, said portion comprising a clamp element including a bight and legs depending from the bight, the bight being adapted for engagement against the bed clothes at one end of the bed, said length of rod material at the lower ends of the legs having end portions shaped as spring arms extending from the legs in substantially vertical planes normal to the general plane of the clamp element, said arms intermediate their ends having downwardly bent portions adapted for translating outward pressure, exerted against the bight by the mattress, into a downward pressure exerted against the floor surface, the arms at the ends thereof remote from the legs being provided with laterally, outwardly projecting extensions adapted for slidably contacting the underside of the mattress support means, said pressure against the bight further being translated into an upward pressure exerted against the mattress support means by said angular extensions, said bight being offset inwardly from the legs for spacing the legs outwardly from said mattress and mattress support means.

6. A bedding clamp for holding a mattress and bed clothes against movement relative to one another, and for holding the mattress against movement relative to an associated mattress support means underlying the mattress, said clamp comprising: a clamp element separate from the bed, said element being of approximately inverted U-shape including a horizontally disposed bight adapted to bear against the bed clothes at one end of the mattress in position extending transversely of the mattress, and legs extending downwardly from the opposite ends of the bight; and a pair of spring arms fixedly connected to the lower ends of the respective legs, said arms including downwardly oifset intermediate portions and further including, at the ends thereof remote from their fixed connection to the legs, laterally, outwardly extending extensions slidably engageable against the underside of the mattress support means.

7. A bedding clamp for holding a mattress and bed clothes against movement relative to one another, and for holding the mattress against movement relative to an associated mattress support means underlying the mattress, said clamp comprising: a clamp element separate from the bed, said element being of approximately inverted U-shape including a horizontally disposed bight adapted to bear against the bed clothes at one end of the mattress in position extending transversely of the mattress, and legs extending downwardly from the opposite ends of the bight; and a pair of spring arms fixedly connected to the lower ends of the respective legs, said arms including downwardly ofiset intermediate portions and further including, at the ends thereof remote from their fixed connection to the legs, laterally, outwardly extending extensions slidably engageable against the underside of the mattress support means, said arms further including floor-engaging feet connected to the downwardly offset intermediate portions for vertical adjustment, for adjusting the vertical distance between the extensions and the floor-engaging means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 548,857 Wales Oct. 29, 1895 839,442 Warfel Dec. 25, 1906 1,690,025 Loveridge -2--- Oct. 30, 1928