US3537114A

US3537114A - Bed frame assembly

Info

Publication number: US3537114A
Application number: US741577A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank J Mis
Original assignee: Harris Hub Co Inc
Current assignee: HARUB Corp A CORP OF DE
Priority date: 1968-07-01
Filing date: 1968-07-01
Publication date: 1970-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 1987-11-03
Also published as: FR2012032A1; DE1933382A1; GB1267045A

Description

Nov. 3, 1970 F. J. Mis

BED FRAME. ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1968 In ve nr I T52/n M f @Z55/ff NOV. 3, 1970 F, J. MIS

BED FRAME ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y Filed July 1. 1968 f 1206172107 [T5/ann JZS' Cif??? s.

Nov. 3, 1970 F. J. MIS 3,537,114

BED FRAME ASSEMBLY Filed July 1, 1968 s sheets-sheet s United States Patent Oce 3,537,114 Patented Nov. 3, 1970 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bed frame assembly of the knockdown type including a pair of spaced parallel L-shaped side frame members and at least one perpendicularly extending L-shaped cross frame member detachably secured to said side frame members. Slidably interengaging male and female elements are provided on the side and cross frame members for detachably securing them to one another, and the male and female members have a corresponding taper, so that they are wedged into interlocking engagement with one another by the reaction force of floorengaging abutments carried on the cross frame member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Knockdown bed frame assemblies of the so-called Hollywood type are well known to those skilled in the art. Such structures have conventionally included a plurality of generally L-shaped side and cross frame members detachably secured to one another for supporting the mattress and box spring unit between a foot board and head board. While such structures have met with wide commercial acceptance, the means that have been used in the past to detachably secure the various elements to one another have not been entirely satisfactory, in that the securing means have either been time-consuming and difficult to assemble and disassemble, or they have not provided a positive interlocking mode of engagement between the side frame members and the cross frame members.

SUMMARY The structure of the present invention obviates the problems noted above by providing a fastenerless connection between the cross frame members and the side frame members of a bed frame assembly, including a male element on one of the frame members and a female element on the other of the frame members, with the male element being slidably insertable in the female element to detachably interlock the cross frame members to the side frame members. The male and female elements have corresopnding tapers, and a floor-engaging abutment in the form of a caster is associated with the cross frame member, so that forces imparted to the bed frame assembly through the mattress and the box spring units will serve to wedge the male and female elements into positive interlocking engagement with one another. In the preferred arrangement of the invention, the female elements are mounted upon the side frame members, and are defined by a plate having a planar central portion with inclined llanges at opposite sides of the central portion extending inwardly toward one another to define an upwardly narrowing tapered passageway. The male elements are preferably associated with the cross frame members, and are formed of a pair of distinct plate members secured to one another and to the cross frame member. The plate members of the male element include planar portions positioned in face-opposed relationship with respect to one another, and an outwardly inclined flange is provided on each plate, with the flanges on the male element cooperating to collectively define a tapered insert that is slidably insertable within the passage in the female element. The face abutting planar portions of the male element also include confronting portions that collectively define a passageway for slidably receiv- 1ng the stem portion of a caster assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top perspective of a first embodiment of the bed frame assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the first embodiment of the bed frame assembly;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken generally along line 4 4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View taken generally along line 5 5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the male and female elements of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken generally along line 8 8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken generally along line 10-10 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 1l is a top perspective view of the embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings in detail, the bed frame assembly is indicated in its entirety at 10` in FIG. l, and the bed frame assembly 10 includes a pair of spaced parallel side frame members 12 spanned by at least two perpendicularly extending cross frame Amembers 26. As is conventional, side frame members 12 are L-shaped metal channels, and the side frame members in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6 are arranged with flanges 1-4 horizontally disposed and extending toward one another, and with flanges 16 extending downwardly from flanges 14 at the outer edge thereof. The upper surface of flanges 14 are disposed in a common plane, so as to provide a supporting surface for a box spring unit, and box spring confining means 18 are provided at a plurality of spaced locations along side frame members 12.

The box spring confining means 18 includes a plate having a vertically disposed mounting portion 20 riveted, or otherwise suitably secured to the outer surface of the vertical flange 16 of the side frame members. The box spring confining plates further include a horizontally disposed portion 22 positioned substantially in the plane of side frame member flange 14 so as to support the outer edge of the box spring unit. The box spring confining plates further include a vertically extending portion 24 that extends albove the upper surface of side frame flanges 14 so as to embrace, and provide lateral support for, the box spring unit.

The cross frame members 26 are also conventional L- shaped metal channels, and are arranged with a first flange 28, horizontally disposed, and a second flange 30, vertically dispos-ed. As is evident from FIG. 3, the outer end of the cross frame member 26 illustrated therein is spaced from the -vertical flange 16 on side frame member 12, and the end of the cross frame member 26 is detachably secured to the side frame member 12 by interlocking securement means 32. The outermost portions of the flange 28 of cross member 26 are preferably positioned in faceabutting engagement with the undersurface of the horizontally disposed flanges 14 of side frame members 12.

Interlocking means 32 includes a female element 34, best seen in FIG. 6. Female element 34 is formed of a sheet metal plate and includes a planar central portion 36 having upwardly lconverging side edges 38. Flanges 40 are fbent inwardly from the edges 38 of planar portion 36, with the anges 40 being disposed at an angle to the planar portion 36 to collectively define a tapered passageway therebetween. Planar portion 36 is provided with a pair of spaced holes 42 that are registerable with corresponding holes in side member flange 16 and retaining plate portion 20, so that common fasteners 44, such as rivets, can be employed to secure these members together. A locating ange 46 extends perpendicularly outwardly from the upper end of planar portion 36 and is adapted to be positioned in face-abutting engagement with the lower surface of the flange 14 of the side frame member 12, it being understood that the upper end of the planar portion 36 is positioned in face-abutting engagement with the ange 1 on side frame member 12.

'I'he male element 48 will also be best seen from FIG. 6, and as illustrated therein, the male element 48 is comprised of a pair of Igenerally identical mirror image memlbers 50. Members 50 are sheet metal plates like female element 34 and each member 50 includes a generally planar, somewhat rectangularly shaped mounting portion 52. A plurality of openings S4 are provided in the mounting portions 52, land the uppermost openings 54 are registerable with a pair `of corresponding openings in cross member dlange 30 for reception of common fasteners S6, such as rivets. Rivets S6 also extend through the lower openings 54 in the plate portions 52 to secure them in faceabutting engagement with one another.

Plates 50 are bent outwardly about a vertical fold line I58, which may be recessed as at 60 to facilitate folding. The bent portion is again folded at an angle at a further fold line 62 to deiine a tapered web portion 64 disposed perpendictularly with respect to planar portion 52, with the web portion 64 converging upwardly. The plates are `further folded to provide a iirst inclined flange portion 66 and a second inclined portion 68, with inclined portions 68 being inclined at the same angle as ange portions 40 on female element 34. As can be best seen in FIG. 4, when the plates 50 are secured to one another, a generally Wshaped insert is provided which is slidably'positionable Within the passage in the female element `34 between flanges 40. t

The facing surfaces of male element plate portions 52 are provided with vertically spaced recesses 70y (FIG. 6) at the lower end thereof, and a further slightly larger recess 72 is provided between recesses 70. When the plates 50 are secured together, the

recesses

70 and 72 cooperate to collectively dene a downwardly open passageway for reception of a caster assembly 74. A retaining ring 76 is preferably provided in the aligned recess portions 72, and an enlargement 78 on a stem 80 extending upwardly from the caster assembly 74 is slidably positionable over the sleeve 76 to releasably retain the caster assembly 74 in the passageway of the male element.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the caster assembly 74 provides a Hoor-engaging abutment, so that the weight of the mattress and box spring unit, and the weight of an individual lying upon the bed, will cause the male element 48 to be positively interlocked with the female element 34 by forcing them into positive wedging engagement with one another.

Turning now to the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8, the structure illustrated therein is similar to the previously described embodiment, so that similar reference numerals have been used to designate corresponding elements, and have been increased by the sum one hundred. The embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 includes a pair of spaced, parallel side frame members 112, only one of which is illustrated, and the side frame members 112 are positioned with the horizontal flanges 114 extending toward one another and the vertical anges 116 extending upwardly at the outer side of the flanges 114. It will -be appreciated that the horizontal flanges 114 are disposed in a common plane so as to incorporate in forming a box spring-supporting surface, while the upright anges 116 cooperate to 75 form a box spring-coniining means. Generally, L-shaped brackets 118 are secured to each side frame member 112, and each bracket 118 includes a horizontal ilange 120 that is riveted, or otherwise suitably secured, to the horizontal ange 114 of the side frame member. Brackets 118 further include a downwardly extending ange 122 that is secured, as by rivets 144, to the planar portion 136 of female element 134. The female element 134 is identical with that described in the preceding embodiment, and the male element 148 that cooperates with the female element 134 is also identical to that described above. As can Abe seen in FIG. 6, the plate portions 150 of the male element 148 are secured to the vertically disposed ange of L-shaped cross member 126.

Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, a further embodiment of the invention is illustrated which is similar to the previously described embodiments, so that similar reference numerals have been used to designate corresponding elements, with the reference characters in the embodiment of FIGS. 9-11 being in the two hundred series. As in the previous embodiments, a pair of spaced parallel side frame members 212, one of -which is shown in FIGS. 9-11, is spanned by at least a pair of perpendicularly extending cross frame members 226, one of which is shown in FIGS. 9-11. Side frame members 212 are generally L-shaped in cross section Aand include a vertically disposed flange 216, and an outwardly extending horizontal flange 214 at the upper end of vertical iiange 216. Cross members 226 include a horizontally disposed flange 228 that is positioned in substantially the same plane as the flanges 21-4 of the side frame members to define therewith a box spring supporting surface. As in the previous embodiments, the male member 248 has its plate portions 250 secured to the vertical flange 230 of cross member 226. The male member 248 and the female member 234 are identical with those described in the previous embodiments. In the embodiment of FIGS. 9-11, the planar portion 236 of female element 234 is secured directly to the vertical flange 216 of the cross frame member by rivets 244, and it will be appreciated with the arrangement of FIGS. 9-11, la separate mounting bracket, such as 118 in FIGS. 7 and 8, is eliminated.

Thus, while preferred construction features of the invention are embodied in the structure illustrated herein, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bed frame comprising: a pair of spaced parallel side frame members, each having a coplanar portion de'- iining a iirst surface; a pair of longitudinally spaced cross frame members extending perpendicularly between said side frame members, said cross frame members each having a coplanar portion defining a second surface; one of said surfaces being vertically spaced from the other surface to form a support for a box spring and mattress; means for supporting said frame including floor engaging abutments extending downwardly from the frame members that define the other of said surfaces; and means detachably securing each end of said cross frame members to one of said side frame members, said securing means being defined solely by slidably interengaging complementarily tapered male and female elements, each female element including means confining its respective male element for vertical movement relative thereto, one element being on one of the frame members that define said one surface and the other element being on one of the frame members that define said other surface, said latter element carrying a oor engaging abutment, each element on said cross frame members extending outwardly from one end thereof into position for free sliding engagement with an element on one of said side frame members, whereby said cross frame members are mounted for limited vertical movement relative to said side frame members so that said elements are wedged into interlocking relationship with one another by forces applied to said one surface by said box spring 4and mattress and the reaction force of said abutments against the oor.

2. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 in which the other element of each securing means is defined by two distinct plates having confronting portions collectively defining a downwardly open passage for reception of one end of a floor engaging abutment.

3. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 in which each female element has a generally tapered planar central portion with inclined flanges at opposite sides thereof, said flanges having portions extending toward one another and defining a gradually tapered passageway, and wherein each male element has inclined outwardly extending flanges at opposite sides thereof defining a tapered insert slidably positionable in said passageway.

4. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 wherein each floor engaging abutment is separate from said element on said cross member and extends therebelow.

5. A bed frame as set forth in claim 4 wherein each floor engaging abutment is a caster releasably carried by said element on said cross member.

6. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 wherein said side frame members are L-shaped with one flange horizontally disposed 'and the other flange vertically disposed, said horizontal flanges extending toward one another and the upper surfaces thereof providing said box spring and mattress support, each vertical flange extending downwardly from the outer edge of its respective horizontal flange, said elements on said side frame members being mounted on the inner surface of a vertical flange.

7. A bed frame as set forth in claim 6 including means, secured to the outer surface of said vertical flanges and extending above the upper surface of said horizontal flanges, for retaining a box spring.

8. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 wherein said side frame members are L-shaped with one flange horizontally disposed and the other flange vertically disposed, said horizontal flanges extending toward one another and defining said support for said box spring and mattress, each vertical flange extending upwardly from the outer edge of its respective horizontal flange to define box spring confining means.

9. A bed frame as set forth in claim 8 wherein the elements on said side frame member are mounted on the lower surface of a horizontal flange.

10. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 wherein said side frames members are L-shaped with one flange horizontally disposed and the other flange vertically disposed, said horizontal flanges extending away from one another and defining said support for said box spring and mattress, each vertical flange extending downwardly from the inner edge of its respective horizontal flange, said elements on said side frame member being mounted on the inner surface of a vertical flange.

11. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 wherein each cross member is L-shaped with one flange horizontally disposed and one flange vertically disposed, said elements on said cross member being secured to said vertical flange.

12. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 in which said male and female elements are separate and distinct from said frame members, and wherein means is provided for securing said elements to said frame members.

13. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 in which said one surface is on said side frame members and said other surface is on said cross frame members.

14. A bed frame as set forth in claim 1 wherein said female elements are on said side frame members and said male elements are on said cross frame members.

15. A bed frame as set forth in claim 14 wherein said female elements open downwardly so that said male elements are inserted from the bottom.

16. A bed frame as set forth in claim 3 wherein each male element includes a planar central portion in engagement with the central portion of a female element.

17. A bed frame adapted to support a box spring and mattress comprising: a pair of spaced, parallel side frame members; at least one cross frame member extending perpendicularly between said side frame members, said cross frame member being L-shaped with one flange horizontally disposed and one flange vertically disposed; means detach-ably securing at least one end of said cross frame member to one of said side frame members, said means including slidably interengaging male and female elements, one element being secured to the vertical flange of said cross frame member and the other element being on said one side frame member, said female element having a generally planar central portion with inclined flanges at opposite sides thereof extending toward one another and defining a gradually tapered passageway, said male element having inclined outwardly extending flanges at opposite sides thereof defining a complementarily tapered insert slidably positionable in said passageway to releasably interlock said elements with one another, said one element being formed of two distinct plates secured to one another and to said vertical flange, said plates having confronting portions collectively defining a downwardly open passage; 'and a floor engaging abutment having a stem at the upper end thereof removably positionable in said passageway, whereby said male and female elements are wedged into interlocking engagement with each other by forces applied to said side frame members through said box spring and mattress.

18. A bed frame as set forth in claim 17 wherein said floor engaging abutment is defined by a caster assembly having a wheel at the lower end thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,648,073 8/ 1953 Nowell 5-201 3,031,782 5/ 1962 Fyre 248-224 1,099,764 6/ 1914 Polansky 5-300 2,203,780 6/ 1940 Gatz 5-300 2,793,407 5 1957 Johnston 5-300 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,102 1/ 1914 Great Britain.

130,911 8/ 1919 Great Britain.

189,948 12/ 1922 Great Britain.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner