Rocking bed with braking mechanism

A rocking bed foundation includes an upper frame supported on rollers over a lower frame such that the upper frame can support a mattress for transverse reciprocal movement under the influence of a driver mounted within the foundation and further such that the upper frame can be locked to prevent movement when the driver is disengaged.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention replaces a user's foundation or box spring and enables the user to be gently rocked to sleep with provision for locking the mechanism in place when rocking is not desired.

BACKGROUND

People enjoy being rocked to sleep. Every baby in the world has at one time or another been rocked to sleep. As people get older and bigger, and being rocked to sleep is not feasible because it requires bigger machinery to rock bigger bodies. In the prior art, others have implemented beds that rock back and forth actuated with various mechanisms. However none of them have implemented pinch point protection with soft fabric covers, nor have they implemented braking systems. Further, many of the other inventions included a specialized bed frame. Other attempts to provide a suitable rocking bed have hard moving parts on the outside which allows fingers to inadvertently enter into possible pinch points. Prior devices also allow continual movement as they do not have braking systems to prevent a moving bed from moving when movement is unwanted. The known devices in many instances force the user to replace their current furniture or bed frame even though in many cases a user will want to retain their current style furniture and will not want to replace their bed frame Just to achieve the functionality of rocking back and forth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My Invention solves the following problems:

1. The need to replace a current bed frame.—Just because someone wants their bed to rock, does not mean that they want to replace their furniture to achieve this functionality. My rocking bed invention is designed to replace the box spring as a mattress foundation rather than a bed frame. This embodiment replaces the user's current box spring and it is placed on a regular bed frame to solve the problem of being able to rock an adult back and forth to sleep without having to replace their furniture

2. Motion prevention when unit is turned off via a motion prevention system. Previous rocking beds design that are motorized or not, such as those that freely swing on pendulum mechanism, or those on different types of rollers lack mechanisms to prevent the moving bed from moving or in embodiments where there is a motor, when the motor is turned off. This lack of motion prevention creates a problem, in that a bed that is designed to move also needs to be designed to not move. If it does not have a braking mechanism, when one person moves in bed, the entire bed will move waking up the other person. In my invention, through the implementation of a braking system which could take the form of one or multiple of the following: an encoder maintaining position with servo motor or physical block such as a pin and in case of a motor, including a deactivation switch, the rocking motion of the bed would automatically be prevented when the motor was not turned on. Other rocking beds that create movement do not have mechanisms to prevent unwanted movement in the system so that when one partner rolls over it disturbs the others in the bed. My invention prevents unwanted movement.

3. Pinch point solution via soft flexible cover—Other rocking bed embodiments have been created in such a way that the moving parts are on the outside of the unit. They are also hard thus you have hard parts moving in an area where fingers and human body parts can get in trapped, pinched, and hurt. In my invention, because it is not a bed frame but rather a replacement for a box spring, the moving mechanisms are wrapped in the same way that typical box springs are wrapped, with a fabric protective cover. This fabric protective cover is designed to stretch as the box spring actuates. This fabric acts as a protective layer to prevent access to pinch points which are inset into the unit.

4. Multi-layer fabric protective cover creating a clean look, while also preventing access to moving parts. One rocking bed embodiment will have a protective cover of which the part of the cover that covers the “side” of the unit is made of multiple layers of fabric both stretchable and non-stretchable. These side fabric layers are arranged in such a way so that the outside layer of fabric is more flexible to draw tight and present a clean “normal box spring” appearance while the inner layer of fabric is made from non-elastic material, loosely “billowed”. This billowing or pleating of the fabric will provide the extra fabric needed to allow the bed to freely actuate, but because it is made from non-stretchable material, will prevents body parts from accessing the pinch points within the unit, as the will not be enough fabric to allow a foreign object to reach the moving parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more of the above objects can be achieved, at least in part, by providing the rocking bed frame10as shown inFIG. 1. Rocking bed frame10includes a lower frame11which engages the standard rails of a conventional bed frame, not shown. Lower frame11includes a closed outer frame member12and a plurality of transverse frame members13. Outer frame12and transverse frames13may be made from steel or aluminum and may be connected by welding or may be connected by suitable connections which would include elastomeric cushioning and sound damping components. Likewise outer frame12may include elastomeric cushions about its length and width to engage the conventional bed frame to prevent slippage and provide sound attenuation. Also provided is an upper frame14which is constructed in the same manner as lower frame11and includes an upper closed outer frame12′ and upper transverse frame members13′. It should be noted that outer frames12and12′ need not be closed, however, it is believed that superior rigidity and stability can be achieved if the outer frame is closed. It should further be understood that outer frame12may be “closed” by providing a transverse member13at each end of opposing outer frame members.

As may be seen in the figures, at least two of the upper transverse frame members13′ are provided with carriages16spaced apart along the length of the at least two upper frame members13′. Each carriage16carries a pair of rollers17, which may be polyurethane, delrin or some other suitable material, mounted to engage the upper surfaces of an inverted V shaped track18which mounted on complementary aligned transverse frame members13. Thus, it will be understood that lower frame11supports upper frame14by supporting the rollers17on tracks18. It is further noteworthy to mention that each track18need only extend sufficiently to allow for the desired reciprocal motion of the upper frame14relative to the lower frame11. It should also be understood that the carriage and rollers may be inverted and mounted to the lower frame11with the track18likewise inverted and mounted to the upper frame14. Further, the rollers17are provided with a peripheral lateral flange17′ that subtends below the longitudinal edge of the V shaped track18and thus insures that the paired rollers17will remain vertically engaged with the track18.

It will be seen in the Figures that a motor19is mounted to either the lower frame11or upper frame14. In the embodiments shown, the motor19is a rotary electric motor which has an output drive shaft21which carries at least one transverse drive arm22to provide eccentric connection to one or more drive rods23. The opposite end of the drive rod23is connected to the complementary frame such that as motor19rotates, the rotational movement is transferred to reciprocal linear movement of upper frame14which carries a mattress. Obviously, the motor19is a low speed motor and it is contemplated that the speed can varied using a simple control25mounted on a controller console24to be placed near the bed. It also to be understood that the console may include a timer26to turn the motor19off after a predetermine time. In more sophisticated embodiments, the console may include a chip which allows the user to program the speed and duration of the rocking and any other profile features that may be desired. It should be understood that a rotary motor is only one type of drive that may be used and a linear actuator connected between frames11and14, a belt or chain drive or worm gear similarly connected may also be used.

To alleviate problems associated with an unstable mattress when the motor19is not in operation, I have provided a brake26for the upper frame14. Referring toFIG. 5, note that at least one of the upper transverse frame members13′ carries a lock block27which has a length along the frame member longer than the distance that the frame moves during its reciprocation. The bottom of the lock block27is serrated such that a plurality of downwardly opening notches between teeth28are formed. Mounted below lock block27is movable lock block29which can move vertically but is constrained to remain in place horizontally. Movable lock block has complementary teeth and notches. Movable lock block29is spring loaded to a downward disengaged position, however, a powered camming wedge31is biased to move beneath the movable lock block and urge it upwardly into is position where its notches and teeth engage with those of lock block27, thereby locking the upper frame14from lateral movement. Camming wedge31is retracted by a linear actuator32whenever the motor19is actuated such that the motor19does not work against the brake26.

In a second embodiment shown inFIG. 6the serrations on lock block27are eliminated and the movable lock block is replaced by a caliper33mounted to selectively grasp the lock block27. Caliper33is normally biased to closed position and is forced to an open position by an actuator32whenever motor19is actuated. Caliper braking provides braking at any point along the line of travel of the upper frame as opposed to the notched braking of the serrated teeth.

In a third form of mechanical braking, lock block27has an aperture34formed transversely of transverse frame member13′ and caliper33is replaced by a pin36moveable horizontally between a position retracted from said aperture and a position engaged within said aperture. Again the pin36is appropriately moved from and into engagement by linear actuator27which for example may be connected in parallel with motor19, however, in this embodiment upper frame14has a single locking position. With each of the forgoing brake devices it should be understood that although they may be electrically operated in conjunction with the driver, they may also be mechanically operated by a lever positioned to extend from the edge of the frame as shown inFIG. 10. Lever40is mounted to a pivot pin41and connected to arm43at link pin42. Thus as the lever40moves about pin41arm43serves as the actuator for the brake26.

Irrespective of which brake26is used, I provide a skirt37of material extending from upper frame14to lower frame11such that no objects, including fingers, toes, limbs, toys, etc. may be inserted between the upper and lower frames to come into contact with any moving part or to become otherwise captured, pinched or enmeshed in the mechanism. The material of skirt37may be an elastic or stretchable layer of material or a multiply material with an outer stretchable layer and an inner layer37′ which has sufficient material to allow the movement of the frame without stretching or being itself caught in the mechanism. This layer may be billowed or pleated as needed to provide the necessary movement of the upper frame.

While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain embodiments thereof, and many details have been put forth for the purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.