US3376584A - Equipment for the ventilation of beds - Google Patents

Description

A ril 9, 1968 M. TOBOLEWSKI EQUIPMENT FOR THE VENTILATION OF BEDS Original Filed March 13. 1964 INVENTORI Maximilian Tobolewski {Ross {KM Attorney United States Patent 3,376,584 EQUIPMENT FOR THE VENTILATION OF BEDS Maximilian Tobolewski, 25/21 Hainholz, 243 N eustadt, Holstein, Germany Continuation of application Ser. No. 353,017, Mar. 13, 1964, This application June 13, 1966, Ser. No. 557,320 8 Claims. (Cl. -317) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Ventilating device for beds, in the form of a boxshaped insert which laterally overhangs-an underlying mattress so as to maintain a space between the mattress and the bed clothes hanging down on both sides of the mattress, the overhanging portion of the insert being slotted or otherwise perforated at the bottom and at the top to facilitate the circulation of air through the insert to an overlying bedsheet.

This application is a continuation of application S.N. 353,017, filed Mar. 13, 1964 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a device for ventilating a bed. In small rooms, especially in one and two-room flats, there is often not room enough for spreading out coverlets and other articles of bedding for the purpose of thorough and sufficient ventilation. There have been proposed racks on which the bedding can be spread out but, since these have to be erected in the rooms and themselves occupy considerable space, they do not provide the solution to the problem.

The object of this invention is to provide means for ventilating a bed without it being necessary to move the bedding to a special place or to leave a bed uncovered for a long period.

In accordance with the invention, a device for ventilating a bed, which is adapted to be placed between upper and lower parts of a made-up bed with at least a part of the device extending outwardly beyond a boundary of the lower parts of the bed, comprises a flat hollow box with parallel rectangular top and bottom walls joined by end and side walls, with spaced openings to its interior in at least the top and bottom walls. With the aid of this new device, a bed can be made up in the early morning, even with the addition of a day cover, and ventilation can proceed throughout the day.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 represents part of a vertical cross-section of the bed with the ventilating device in place;

FIGURE 2 is a plan of the device;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section on the line III-III in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a device;

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the device as viewed from either the top or the bottom of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view drawn to a difierent scale, on the line VIVI in FIGURE 4.

In FIGURE 1 the ventilating device 1 is shown in position in a made-up bed comprising a bedstead 2, a mattress 3 on a spring base located between the sides 2a of the bedstead and an underlay 4 on which the device is positioned with its sides extending outwardly a little way beyond the sides of the mattress and underlay; the top coverings 5 are placed on the ventilating insert 1. This insert could be placed directly on the mattress 3 with omission of underlay 4.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the ventilating device 1 is in the form of a flat box, whose major walls, i.e. the

plan of another form of the ventilating 3,376,584 Patented Apr. 9, 1968 top and bottom of the device when in use, are rectangular and parallel to one another. The top and bottom are each formed with a number of elongated openings or slots 6, extending parallel to one another and to those sides of the device which, in use, are parallel to the sides of the bed. The device is formed with rounded corners at the junctions of the top and bottom with the sides and some of the openings, 6a, are disposed in those rounded parts. As shown, the openings 6 and 6a are divided into two groups separated by a medial transverse continuous part of the bottom, top and sides which serves as a strengthening member. The ribs 7 bounding the openings 6, 6a are of T-section, with the leg of the T on the inside, to stiffen the device. The insert 1 may be made as two similar halves, namely an upper half and a lower half, in the shape of shallow cup-like members which can be assembled edge-to-edge. The device may be made of plastic or other materials such as wood and metal.

Bedsteads are now made to standardized dimensions and the ventilating device will be made slightly wider than the standard width of a bed so as to extend at the sides beyond the edges of the mattress, forming an overhang 1a as indicated in FIGURE 1. Air can enter the device through the lower openings 6a at its sides to circulate within the device and through the other openings to the underlying and overlying parts of the bedding. Even a final day-covering does not prevent the access of air, since the hanging sides of the covering will be spaced from the sides of the lower part of the bed to leave passages for the movement of air, as indicated by the arrow 8. It is only necessary for the device to extend a few centimeters beyond the mattress, so that the increased width does not detract from the appearance of the bed.

The device shown in FIGURES 4 to 6 has the same overall shape and dimensions, and is used in the same manner, as that described with reference to FIGURES 1 to 3. This device comprises two parallel end walls and an intermediate partition wall, all the walls being of similar form with the intermediate wall parallel to and midway between the end walls. The sides, top and bottom of the device are constituted by tubular bars 7a of triangular profile, with inwardly pointing vertices as seen in FIGURE 5, which are separated by spacers 16, 16a and lie parallel to the sides, extending between the end walls and through an intermediate wall. Each of these walls has a web 9 reinforced by an enlargement of its upper and lower edges; in FIGURE 6 this enlargement is shown as a flange 10 at each end of the web, giving the wall the cross-section of an I-beam whose flanges overlie the bars 7a from the outside. The webs 9 of these walls are formed with triangular openings to receive and locate the tubes 7a. The end and partition walls 9, 10 may be made of plastic material. This form of the ventilating device is a cheaper construction, is readily disassembled to facilitate storage and transport and can be readily reassembled where it is to be used; it also lends itself to be adjusted to the length of the bed.

For any specific purpose, two or more of the ventilating devices may be used end-to-end or side-by-side.

I claim:

1. In a bed, in combination, a mattress and a ventilating device overlying said mattress, said device comprising a box-shaped insert with an overhanging portion projecting laterally beyond said mattress, said insert being provided with perforations at least along its upper and lower surfaces including the lower surface of said overhanging portion whereby air is free to circulate from below through said insert even in the presence of a blanket overhanging same.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said overhanging portion has rounded longitudinal top and bottom edges interrupted by some of said perforations.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said perforations are longitudinally extending slots.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 wherein said slots are bounded by sets of parallel bars extending along the upper and lower surfaces of said insert.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said bars are of triangular profile with inwardly pointing veltices.

6. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said insert further comprises a pair of end walls and an intermediate wall extending transversely to said bars and supporting same.

7. The combination defined in claim 6 wherein said walls have the shape of I-beams with webs traversed by said bars and with flanges overlying said bars from the outside.

8. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said bars are tubular.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 773,138 10/1904 Finchum 5347 1,669,683 5/1928 Temple at al. 2,295,363 9/1942 Schott 5-337 2,461,432 2/1949 Mitchell 5284 2,674,752 4/1954 Berman 5337 2,807,809 10/1957 Kottemann 5-347 3,101,488 8/1963 Peebles 5284 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner.

Images