Abstract:
An adjustable bed includes a base platform, a mattress on the base platform, a first magnetic member provided at the base platform, and a second magnetic member provided at the mattress. The first and second magnetic members are magnetically attracted with each other such that the mattress can be stably mounted on the base platform. By this way, the mattress can be conveniently dismantled from the base platform and the uncomfortable feeling of the user who sits at the foot area of the bed can be eased.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to an adjustable bed, and more particularly, to an adjustable bed having a stably mounted mattress. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    A conventional adjustable bed is composed of a frame on which a mattress is arranged. To fulfill the user&#39;s need, the parts of the frame are designed to be manually or electrically adjustable in their inclined angles for lifting or lowering the back and/or legs of the user that lies on the mattress. In other words, the conventional adjustable bed can be adjusted to a desired posture that the user feels most comfortable. 
         [0005]    Generally, the mattress is just placed on the frame without any means for stably holding the mattress on the frame except the force of friction therebetween. Under this circumstance, when the frame is adjusted to lift the user&#39;s back and lower the user&#39;s legs, the mattress may slide toward the foot area of the bed due to gravity effect. This phenomenon can be apparently seen in the adjustable bed that is equipped with a vibrating motor for providing a massage function when the vibrating motor is working. 
         [0006]    In order to improve the sliding phenomenon of the mattress, the current approach is to add an upwardly protruded stopping bar at the foot area, or base area of the frame for stopping against the sliding mattress. However, this approach may cause an uncomfortable feeling to the user who sits on the foot area of the mattress because the user may bump the protruded stopping bar when the foot of the mattress is compressed by the user. Another known solution is to use screws to affix the mattress on the frame. This way can effectively prevent the mattress from sliding; however, it is inconvenient to dismantle the mattress from the frame for cleaning the mattress or replacing the bed covering. Therefore, it is desired to provide a way that can effectively and stably mount the mattress on the frame without the aforesaid disadvantages. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is therefore the primary objective of the present invention to provide an adjustable bed which has a stably mounted mattress and can ease the uncomfortable feeling of the user sitting at the foot of the bed frame or mattress. 
         [0008]    Another objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable bed having a mattress that can be conveniently dismantled. 
         [0009]    To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the adjustable bed provided by the present invention comprises a base platform, a mattress on the base platform, a first magnetic member provided at the base platform, and a second magnetic member provided at the mattress and magnetically attracted with the first magnetic member, such that the mattress can be stably mounted on the base platform. 
         [0010]    Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a lateral side view of an adjustable bed according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a lateral side view of an adjustable bed according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , an adjustable bed  10  provided by a first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base platform  20 , a mattress  28 , four first magnetic members  301 - 304 , and five second magnetic members  321 - 325 . 
         [0015]    The base platform  20  includes a frame  22  and five cushion pads  24  mounted on the frame  22  for mounting the mattress  28  thereon. The frame  22  includes five support plates  23  pivotally connected one after another and the frame  22  is made from a magnetizable material, such as iron, cobalt, nickel or an alloy thereof. By manual or electric powered operation, the inclined angle of each support plate  23  can be adjusted. Each cushion pad  24  has a bottom plate  25  fixed on the frame  22 , a foam filler  26  on the bottom plate  25  and a covering  27  enclosing the foam filler  26 . 
         [0016]    The mattress  28  is set on the cushion pads  24  of the base platform  20  and includes a mattress body  281  and a covering  282  enclosing the mattress body  281 . 
         [0017]    The first magnetic members  301 - 304  are mounted to the cushion pads  24  respectively and the second magnetic members  321 - 324  are mounted to the mattress  28  at locations corresponding to the first magnetic members  301 - 304  respectively. The kinds of the first and second magnetic members and the places where the first and second magnetic members are located may vary. Specifically speaking, as shown in the left side of  FIG. 1 , the first magnetic member  301  is an electromagnet arranged on the bottom plate  25  of the cushion pad  24  and covered by the foam filler  26 , and the second magnetic member  321  is a permanent magnet arranged between the bottom of the mattress body  281  and the covering  282  of the mattress  28 . In addition, the first magnetic member  302  is an electromagnet arranged on the bottom plate  25  of the cushion pad  24 , and the second magnetic member  322  is a sheet member made from a magnetically attractable material, such as iron, cobalt, nickel or an alloy thereof, and arranged between the bottom of the mattress body  281  and the covering  282  of the mattress  28 . Further, the first magnetic member  303  is a sheet member made from a magnetically attractable material and arranged between the top of the foam filler  26  and the covering  27  of the cushion pad  24 , and the second magnetic member  323  is a permanent magnet arranged between the bottom of the mattress body  281  and the covering  282  of the mattress  28 . Further more, the first magnetic member  304  is an electromagnet arranged on the support plate  23  of the frame  22 , and the second magnetic member  324  is a sheet member made from a magnetically attractable material and arranged between the bottom of the mattress body  281  and the covering  282  of the mattress  28 . On the other hand, as shown in the right side of  FIG. 1 , the second magnetic member  325  at the foot of the mattress  28  is a permanent magnet arranged between the bottom of the mattress body  281  and the covering  282  of the mattress  28  and provided with a magnetic force attracting the frame  22  directly. 
         [0018]    By means of the above-mentioned arrangement, the mattress  28  can be stably mounted on the base platform  20 . In addition, since the second magnetic members  321 - 325  are sheet-shaped and covered by the mattress body  281 , the user sitting on the mattress  28  above one or more of the second magnetic members  321 - 325  will neither feel the existence of the second magnetic members  321 - 325  nor a sense of uncomfort. On the other hand, the user can easily dismantle the mattress  28  from the base platform  20  in a bed covering replacement work by turning off the electrical power source (not shown) of the electromagnets or by applying an external force overcoming the magnetically attracted force between the first and second magnetic members. 
         [0019]    According to the essential technical feature of the present invention, various modifications or variations on the combinations of the first and second magnetic members can be adopted. For example, an electromagnet and permanent magnet combination, an electromagnet and iron sheet combination, or an iron sheet and permanent magnetic combination can be used as long as the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member can be attracted with each other. Further, if the frame  22  is made from a magnetically attractable material, such as iron, an electromagnet or permanent magnet can be used as the second magnetic member to directly attract the frame  22  so as to stably hold the mattress  28  on the base platform  20 , such that the first magnetic member can be omitted. 
         [0020]    Besides, the locations where the first and second magnetic members are respectively arranged can vary, and the configuration of the base platform  20  is not limited to that disclosed in  FIG. 1 . For example, the cushion pads  24  can be eliminated from the aforesaid base platform. As shown in  FIG. 2 , an adjustable bed  40  provided according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base platform  42  and a mattress  48 . The base platform  42  is composed of a frame  44  on which the mattress  48  is directly arranged. Three first magnetic members  501 ,  502  and  504  are disposed on the frame  44 , and five second magnetic members  521 - 525  are arranged on the bottom of the mattress  48 ; wherein two second magnetic members, denoted with reference numerals  523  and  525  respectively, directly attract the frame  44 , and the second magnetic members  521 ,  522  and  524  and the first magnetic members  501 ,  502  and  504  are respectively attracted with each other. 
         [0021]    In conclusion, the essential technical feature of the present invention that uses magnetic force to stably hold the mattress on the base platform can be applied to any kinds of adjustable bed, e.g. electrical adjustable bed or manual adjustable bed. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.