US2982973A

US2982973A - Folding beds

Info

Publication number: US2982973A
Application number: US665417A
Authority: US
Inventors: Faver Ernest Victor
Original assignee: W STEEL AND CO Ltd
Current assignee: W STEEL AND CO Ltd
Priority date: 1956-07-21
Filing date: 1957-06-13
Publication date: 1961-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 1978-05-09

Description

E. V. FAVER FOLDING BEDS May 9, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 1957 JNVENTOR Ernest Vida/ jvc'fl ATTORNEYS y 1961 E. v. FAVER 2,982,973

FOLDING BEDS Filed June 13, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 1961 E. v. FAVER 2,982,973

FOLDING BEDS Filed June 15, 1957 4 s t 3 FIG.3.

INVENTOE Ernest Vz'czor Fax 6P ATTORNEYS E. V. FAVER FOLDING BEDS May 9, 1961 Filed June 13, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 8 AZTQENFYS United States Patent 2,982,913 FOLDING BEDS, 7

Ernest Victor Favr, Essex, England, assignor toW. Steel 8: Co, Limited, London, England, a British company This invention relates to folding beds. It has previously been proposed to construct a full-length folding bed having a number of hinged longitudinal sections and a headboard which, when the bed is folded into compact formfis disposed horizontally above the folded frame and and at a height equivalent to the normal height of a table, whereby the folded bed may be usefully employed as a table. Such a bed, whilst possessing most of the features and conforming to most of the usual dimensions of an ordinary single bed, was so arranged that the height of the frame from the ground, when in the extended position, was somewhat less than that of a normal norifolding bed. I

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a folding bed which when folded is of table height, so arranged that the height of the frame, when in extended condition, approximates to that of the frame of a non-folding bed. Further objects of the invention are to restrict the number of hinged sections to as few as possible, to simplify the operation of folding the bed, and to provide a bedthat will stand firmly on a floor, both as a bed when in an extended condition, and as a table when in a folded condition.

, According to the invention a folding bed comprises a folding frame for a mattress having a headboard attached thereto, a carriage or sub frame adapted t'o be the sole support of the frame when folded, the saidfrarne being pivotally'mounted in the' carriage or sub frame'so that in thefolded position it can be pivoted to bring the" headboard into a horizontal position to act as a table surface and from the extended position it can be pivoted to bring the headboard to a vertical position and be unfolded to act as a bed. 7

In a preferred form according to the invention a folding bed comprises a supporting frame for a mattress having a head-section and a foot-section of substantially equal length and a: shorter intermediate section hingedly connected to thehead-section and to the foot-section, a carriage orsub-frame adapted to be the sole support of the frame when folded, ,and to be a partial support of the frame when extended, said head-section being pivoted intermediately of its length to one side of said carriage, one or more legs or like supports hingedly connected to each section of the frame, and a headboard secured to said head-section adapted to be moved into a horizontal positionat table height when the bed is folded.

The bed may be conveniently folded by lifting the footsection, simultaneously turning it about the hingeconnectingit to the intermediate section, and turning the intermediate section about the hinge connecting it to the headsection, until the foot-section lies overthe undisturbed head-section in parallel relationship therewith. The extr'emity of the foot-section now lies adjacent the headboard and is secured thereto by meansprovided for the purpose. The headboard and folded frame nowform a rigid rectangular structure which can be turned about the pivot connecting the head-section to the carriage, until the engagement of abutments, provided on the foot-section are preferably so mounted, that they are automatically.

- 2 and the carriage, bring the rectangular structure to rest in a position in which the head-section and foot-section are vertical, the headboard is in a horizontal positionat table height and the intermediate section is in a horizontal position close to the floor.

The legs or like supports carried by the frame sections swung during a folding operation into positions alongside the said sections, and, conversely, are automatically swung into their supporting positions during an extending operation. The carriage is preferably supported on casters, so as to increase the mobility of the'bed in both its folded and extended conditions.

An embodimentof the invention will now be described,

by Way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: u n Figure 1 is a side elevation of a folding bed according to the invention shown in its extended condition;

FigureZ is a plan view;

'Figure 3 is a sectional end elevation taken along th line A- -A of Figure 1;

Figure 4 shows the bed at an intermediate stage 0 the folding operation, and Figure 5 shows the bed in its fully folded condition, converted for use as a table.

The folding bed shown in the drawings comprises briefly a supporting frame for a mattress having a headsection 1, an intermediate section 2, and a foot-section 3, provided with supporting

legs

4,15 and 6 respectively, a carriage or sub-frame indicated generally at 7, and a head board 8 secured to the head-section 1, the height'of the headboard 8 is made at least equal to the: length of the upwardly from the corner.

bars have attached thereto a flexible wire mattress (not' shown) of known construction, for the support of a intermediate frame section 2.

The frame is formed of steel angle-bars. Considering the frame in its extended condition as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the sides of each angle-bar extend inwardly and The horizontal sides of the hair mattress or the like adapted to fit within the frame. The frame sections 1, 3 are of equal length, and have the form of three sides of a rectangle, thefree ends of' which are connected by hinge-

pins

9, 10, respectively,

to the ends of the intermediate frame section 2 which comprises two short-angle-bars[approximately half the length of the frame sections 1, 3. The foot-section 3 is braced by a stay 11 of tubular'steel'having flattened offset ends welded to the underside of'the section at bers 20 connectedby stays 21, and preferably pro-- points near its hinged ends. p 7

Each of the

supports

4, 5, 6 is a tubular steel member of U-shape, connected at its ends to U-shaped brackets 12 on the frame by hinge-pins 13. The base of each support is slightly curved in an upward direction so that contact with the floor is made only at two points spaced is straight for the major portion of its length, being bent adjacent its connection to the corresponding bracket 17, 18, 19, to provide cranked portions at each end, which engage holes in a bracket and a support respectively, and which are secured by split-pins.

is extended.

The carriage 7 comprises two inverted U-shaped mem- The supports are held by the links in 'a vertical position when the frame H vided with castors 23. Each member 20 is a steel tube having a horizontal intermediate portion connected by bends to downwardly extending, slightly diverging legs, transverse bolts or

studs

24, 25, being provided at the bends. One of the members 20 is located at each side of the frame, and each bolt 24 forms a pivot pin by which the head-section 1 is pivotally supported at one side of the carriage. Each bolt 25 has a projecting portion, which is adapted to be engaged by a bifurcated lug 26 on the intermediate frame section 2, when the frame is in its extended condition.

The head-board 8 comprises a wooden panel secured to the head section by a pair of upright angle-bars 27, secured at the corners of the section. The angle-bars are slightly shorter than the bars of the intermediate frame section, and each carries at its upper end a pivoted patch 28 normally hanging alongside the angle-bar.

Referring particularly to Figures 4 and 5, it will be observed that the folding operation is readily performed in two stages. Initially the extremity of the foot-section is lifted upwardly, causing the section to turn about the hinge 9. The foot section is then lifted bodily, simultaneously turning it about the hinge 10, and turning the intermediate section about the hinge 9, until the foot-section lies over the undisturbed head-section in parallel relationship therewith. The end of the foot-section is now in engagement with the tops of the upright angle bars 27 and is now secured thereto by lifting the latches 28 into engagement with pins 29 on each side of the foot-section. As shown in Figure 4, the supports and 6 have been swung by the

links

15, 16 during the folding operation, into a position alongside their respective frame sections.

The folded frame forms with the head-board a rectangular structure rigidly maintained by the latches 28 assisted by the

links

15, 16 and can now be turned about the pivot pins 24 into a vertical position in which it is supported on one side of the carriage by the pins 24, and on the other side of the carriage by the pins 25 which have become engaged by bifurcated lugs 30 on each side of the foot section 3. The supporting leg 4 has now been folded alongside the head-section 2 by the action of the links 14. 7

As can be seen in Figure 5, the stay 22, connecting the members 20 of the carriage, is located near the free ends of the members, so that it may be cleared by the intermediate frame section, as the latter is swung into its final position adjacent the floor. The stay 21 on the other side of the carriage is located in a mid-position as shown.

A hair mattress (not shown) which lies on the frame and may be attached by tapes thereto, need not be re moved, but can be folded with the'frame and accommodated within the said rectangular structure.

The head-board forms a convenient table top and cover for the folded bed, and may be provided along its edges with a groove (not shown) adapted to receive an elastic wire or like means for supporting a drape serving to conceal the folded structure.

A bed constructed as described above having, for example, a frame length when extended of 6' 2" and a height above the floor of 13", will fold to form a table 32 /2" x 20 /2" at a height of 32 /2" from the floor.

It is to be understood that the illustrated embodiment of the invention is described by way of example only, and that the invention is susceptible of modification within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the foot-section may be releasably secured to the head-board supports by spring pressed latches, carried by the supports and automatically actuated by the foot section. Instead of the legs being in the form of U-shaped supports 4, 5, 6, the hinged leg on one side of the frame section may be unconnected with that on the other side of the section and may be arranged for folding independently of the frame. Connected legs are preferable, however, particularly in the case of the intermediate section 2, the

4 angle-bars of which are not otherwise connected across the frame.

What I claim is:

1. A folding bed comprising a folding mattresssupporting frame formed by three frame sections pivoted lengthwise successively oneto another, a head board secured to an end one of said frame sections, means for locking the mattress-supporting frame in its folded position to form with the head board a rigid rectangular structure, a carriage for supporting the said mattresssupporting frame, means pivotally mounting the mattresssupporting frame on the said carriage to permit the rectangularstructure to be swung bodily relative tqihe carriage from a first, lengthwise vertically extending position to a second, lengthwise horizontally extending position, and stop means on said carriage for engaging the frame to support the rectangular structure in the lengthwise vertically extending position, in which said stop means also serves as a support for the frame when in the extended position.

2. A folding bed having a foldable mattress-supporting frame comprising a head section and a foot section of substantially equal length, an intermediate section shorter than the head and foot sections, and means hingedly connecting the head and foot sections respectively to opposite ends of the intermediate section for swinging from an extended position substantially coplanar with the intermediate to a folded position extending at right angles thereto and parallel one with the other, a head board secured to the head section at right angles thereto and of a height at least equal to the length of the intermediate frame section, the said head board lying in parallel spaced relation to the intermediate sec tionwhen the frame is folded, means for detachably connecting the foot section to the head board when the frame is folded whereby the foot section, the intermediate section, the head section and the head board form the sides of a rigid rectangular structure, a carriage constituting a sole support for the mattress-supporting frame when folded, and means pivotally mounting the rectangular structure on the carriage for bodily swinging movement froma first position in which the head and foot sections extend vertically and the head board lies horizontally to provide a table surface to a second position in which the head and foot sections extend horizontally in the same direction and from which the frame sections can be unfolded to the extended position, and a leg hingedly connected to each frame section for supporting the section when the frame is in the extended position.

3. A folding bed comprising a folding mattresssupp orting frame formed by three frame sections pivoted lengthwise successively one to another to form an end one, an intermediate one and another end one, a head board secured to the end one of said frame sections, means for locking the mattress-supporting frame in its folded position to form with the head board a rigid rectangular structure, a carriage for supporting the said mattress-supporting frame, means pivotally mounting the mattress-supporting frame on the said carriage to permit the rectangular structure to be swung bodily rclative to the carriage from a first, lengthwise vertically extending position to a second, lengthwise horizontally extending position, in which the said carriage comprises a pair of floor-engaging supports secured together in spaced relation to lie one at each side of the mattresssupporting frame, the frame lying within the said supports, and the said pivotal mounting means comprises a pivotal connection on the end one of said frame sections intermediate the length thereof to the said floorengaging supports, a foldable floor-engaging member on the end one of said frame sections, movable to its floorengaging position upon said swinging of the rectangular structure to the second position to support the rectangular structure in the lengthwise horizontally extending position and stop means comprising an inwardly projecting abutment on said floor-engaging supports and a lug on the another end one of the frame section with the abutment engageable with the lug, the said abutment also engaging a lug on the intermediate one of said three frame sections when the mattress-supporting frame is in the extended position to provide a support for the said intermediate frame section when in the horizontally extending position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,253,391 Klok Jan. 15, 1918 6 Klok Sept. 17, 1918 Inco Mar. 7, 1922 Kita May 28, 1929 Creveling et a1 Dec. 29, 19 53 Caroleo Oct. 30, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Sept. 10, 189 1 7 Canada Oct. 21, 1952 Great Britain Apr. 13, 1955