Abstract:
A bed frame comprising T shaped side rails provide support for a box spring and mattress. A leg assembly is affixed to the bed frame and is affixed to the side rail and to the cross rails for better strength of connection. The use of T-shaped side rails provides more resistance to twisting and bowing and thereby more resistant to damage a leg or other structural component of the bed frame from moving the bed frame across the floor. The use of the T-shape cross section side rails enables the overall bed frame to support more weight with less deflection than the convention L-shaped side rails. There are also headboard and footboard brackets that take advantage of the greater height of the vertical flange of the side rail to have affixation means, such as rivets, that are further spaced apart to provide a more rigid connection between the brackets and the side rails.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
   The present patent application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 11/129,035, filed May 13, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,363,664 and entitled “T-SHAPED SIDE RAILS FOR BED FRAME” and priority to that parent application is hereby claimed. 
   CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The present application is based upon U.S. Provisional patent application 60/571,135, filed May 14, 2004 and entitled “T-SHAPED SIDE RAILS FOR BED FRAME”. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to bed frames, and, more particularly, to a bed frame made up of T-shaped side rails. 
   In general, bed frames are comprised of a pair of side rails and a plurality of cross rails that span between the side rails in order to assemble and complete the bed frame structure. The bed frame, once assembled is adapted to support a box spring and a mattress to make up the bed itself. Normally, therefore, the conventional bed frame assembly is shipped and delivered unassembled for convenience and general transportation and the two side rails are L-shaped steel members. 
   One type of bed frame is the adjustable width folding frame and, in that bed frame, the cross rails are formed of cross rail members that are pivotally affixed at or near each end of the side rails. For delivery to a customer, the cross rail members are interfitted with and parallel to the side rails for ease of packing and shipment. In the assembly of the bed frame at the location of the customer, therefore, the cross rail members are pivoted about 90 degrees so as to extend generally at a right angle from the side rails and the opposite, free ends of the cross rail members are affixed together at the center area of the bed frame to form cross rails that thus span between each of the side rails. As such, when so assembled and affixed together, the bed frame assumes a generally rectangular configuration to accept the box spring and the mattress. 
   There is also, normally, a center beam that is positioned so as to be generally parallel to the side rails and which is located at or near the center of the bed frame in order to provide additional support to the overall structure and, of course to the box spring and mattress. The center beam is added to the bed frame to span between the cross rails in order to prevent the further relative movement between the cross rail members as well as to secure the center beam into the bed frame to finalize the task of assembling that bed frame. 
   Another type of typical bed frame is the fixed width drop together bed frame where the cross members are fixed in length and there are female sockets formed at or near the ends of the side rails that accept male brackets located at the ends of the cross rails and the components simply drop together. The same drop together feature can be used to secure the center beam to the cross rails. 
   Conventionally, with either of the aforedescribed bed frames, the side rails are constructed of metal angle irons which are L-shaped and there are legs that extend downwardly at each corner of the bed frame from the cross rails to contact the floor in order to support the weight imposed on the bed frame by the presence of the box spring, mattress and, of course, an individual or individuals sleeping in the completed bed. 
   One of the difficulties, however, with the use of an L-shaped angle iron for the side rails is that the cross sectional profile of the L-shaped angle iron renders the member susceptible to a bending weakness, that is, for example, when the bed is slid along the floor, the leg supporting the side rail is dragged across the underlying floor and can cause the cross rail member and side rail to twist and the twisting action can damage an L-shaped angle iron member that is not particularly resistant to such twisting action. This is especially true when a foot gets caught in an obstruction on the floor or on loose carpet. The situation is exacerbated by the use of off-set casters on the legs since the off-set casters can transfer downward force into side to side force that causes the bed leg to twist. 
   In addition, there is a bending action that is created by downward force upon the inner horizontal flange of a L-shaped side rail by a cross member resting on or supported by the horizontal flange of the side rail and which tends to twist the L-shape into a downward V-shape and continued force tends to try to flatten that V-shape. Basically the L-shaped side rail angle iron will twist inwardly away from the vertical flange, that is, the distal end of the horizontal flange will twist away from the vertical flange in the downward direction by the load imposed on the horizontal flange of the L-shaped angle iron. Thus, the problem with the use of an L-shaped angle iron for a side rail is not limited to the possible bending caused by a leg being twisted by encountering a snag in a carpet as the leg extending downwardly from a cross rail connected to an L-shaped side rail is moved across that carpet but also simply by the weight of the load imposed on the horizontal flange of the L-shaped side rail to twist the angle iron. 
   Another difficulty with the use of L-shaped angle irons for the side rails is in the connection of the legs to the side rails in making up the bed frame. That connection needs to be a strong connection for the integrity of the overall bed frame, however, with L-shaped angle irons, the strength of that connection is inherently compromised. 
   The typical conventional bed frame interfaces with a mattress and box spring by containing the side to side movement within the vertical flanges of the side rail and supports the weight through the horizontal flanges of the L-shaped side rails. The legs thus support the side rails off of the floor and, ideally, the legs would be positioned directly under the side rails at the intersection with the cross rails, giving maximum strength and support. For safety reasons, however, it is also desirable to recess the legs under the bed frame to keep them away from the users feet. Therefore, the legs are typically affixed in some fashion, to the cross rails inboard of the side rails. Such arrangement gives an indirect connection to the side rails and results in a weak connection between the leg and the side rails. 
   It would thus be advantageous to have side rails that are more resistant to twisting forces so that the bed frame maintains its integrity even when moving across a carpet or under heavy load. It would be further advantageous to have a connection between the legs and the side rails that is more robust and can withstand the twisting forces that are incurred on the connection between the legs and the side rails. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Now, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided specially configured side rails for a bed frame and an improved means of affixing legs to those side rails to provide a stronger connection between the legs and the side rails. 
   The side rails are specially configured to have a T-shaped cross section, generally rotated 90 degrees such that there is a vertical flange having a large flat surface of the T-shape facing outwardly from the interior of the bed frame and with the horizontal flange extending inwardly from about the center of the vertical flange. The box spring and mattress are supported on the upward surface of the horizontal flange. 
   The use of the T-shaped side rail is adaptable for use on either the folding bed frame or the drop together bed frame and in either case, there is considerable greater strength and resistance to twisting and the connection with a leg assembly greatly strengthened. The T-shaped cross section is substantially uniform along the length of the side rail and may be uniform along the full length of the side rail. 
   As another advantage of the T-shape side rails, there can be a better, more solid, connection, between the side rail and the various brackets that are used to affix the side rails to a headboard and/or footboard. For example, the headboard bracket and footboard bracket can be affixed to the side rails by means of fastening deices, such as rivets, that are more vertically spaced apart and which can be located both above and below the horizontal flange of the T-shaped side rail to improve the rigidity of that connection. One form of the headboard and footboard can be of the hook type where a pair of hooks extend outwardly to become affixed with pins the are transversely located in vertical slots in the headboard or footboard. 
   Other features of the present side rails and leg assembly affixed thereto will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional, prior art bed frame utilizing L-shaped side rails; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of a portion of the bed frame of  FIG. 1  illustrating the location of a leg affixed thereto; 
       FIG. 3  is an end view of a portion of the bed frame of  FIG. 2  illustrating the bending of a leg affixed thereto; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an adjustable width folding bed frame having side rails constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a fixed width drop together bed frame having side rails constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a junction of a side rail and a cross rail member of the conventional bed frame of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  is an exploded view of a leg of the folding bed frame of the  FIG. 4  embodiment affixed to both a cross rail member and a side rail; 
       FIG. 8  is an exploded view of a connection between a cross rail and a side rail of a conventional drop together bed frame; 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded view of a connection between the cross rail and side rail of the  FIG. 5  embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 10A and 10B  are end views of side rails of the T-shaped cross section of the present invention; 
       FIG. 11  is a partially exploded view of a bed frame of the present invention illustrating various protective members for assembly thereto; 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a corner of a collapsible bed frame illustrating the folding of a cross rail member with a side rail; 
       FIG. 13  is an exploded view of a bed frame using hook brackets at the ends of the side rails; 
       FIGS. 14A ,  14 B and  14 C are, respectively a top view, a side view and an end view of a hook bracket of  FIG. 13  affixed to a side rail; and 
       FIGS. 15A ,  15 B and  15 C are, respectively a top view, a side view and an end view of a headboard bracket used with the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of a conventional folding bed frame  10 . In the Figure, there is a pair of side rails  12 ,  14  that are normally L-shaped steel members and at one end thereof, there are normally located headboard brackets  16 ,  18  to aid in the attachment of a headboard to the side rails  12 ,  14 . To make up the bed frame  10 , there are also cross rail members  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26  that extend outwardly from side rails  12 ,  14  at about a right angle. As explained, for the convenience of handling and transportation of the components of bed frame  10 , the cross rail members  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  are pivotally mounted to the side rails  12 ,  14 , that is, cross rail members  20  and  22  are pivotally mounted proximate to the ends of side rail  12  while cross rail members  24  and  26  are pivotally affixed proximate to the ends of side rail  14 . As an example, therefore, during shipment, the cross rail members  20  and  22  are positioned 90 degrees from the orientation shown in  FIG. 1  and rest parallel to and abut against the side rail  12  and, during assembly, the cross rail members  20  and  22  are rotated about 90 degrees to the position as shown. 
   Legs  28  extend downwardly from each of the cross rail members  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  generally at or near the pivot point between the cross rail member and the side rails  12 ,  14  and the legs  28  thereby provide the support for the bed frame  10  after the assembly thereof. The legs  28  may be provided with glides or casters (not shown) that contact the floor. 
   Turning now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a side view illustrating the location of a leg  28  to a cross rail member  20  and which is typical of the mounting of a leg to any of the other cross rail members of the folding bed frame  10  of  FIG. 1 . As can be seen, the L-shaped side rail  12  is affixed to the cross rail member  20  by means of a rivet  30  so that the cross rail member  20  can rotate with respect to the side rail  12  in assembling and disassembling the bed frame. The leg  28  is normally affixed to the cross rail member  28  by rivets  32  and has, at its lower end, a caster  34  including a roller  36  that contacts the floor and enables the user to wheel the bed frame  10  from one location to another. The main axis of the leg  28  is displaced away from the side rail  12  a finite distance indicated by the dimension A and that dimension or offset may be about 4.0 inches. 
   As indicated, ideally the leg  28  would be located directly underneath the side rail  12 , however, it is desirable to recess the leg  28  under the bed to keep the leg  28  away from a hazardous location to be hit by a persons foot or ankle so the leg  28  is displaced inwardly away from the side rail  12 . Unfortunately, the displacement results in an indirect connection between the leg  28  and the side rail  12  and results in a weak connection between leg  28  and side rail  12 . 
   In  FIG. 3 , there is shown an end view of the leg  28  and which has encountered a snag  38  in a carpet  40  during the movement or rolling of the bed frame ( FIG. 1 ) over that carpet. As such the leg  28  has been bent away from the vertical to an angle X (shown as about 3 degrees) and the vertical flange  42  of the cross rail member  20  has been bent since there is little resistance to that bending and the leg  28  as well as the cross rail member  20  can be permanently damaged. 
   Turning now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a perspective view of an adjustable width folding bed frame  44  having side rails constructed in accordance with the present invention. In the Fig., like numbers have been used for corresponding components described with respect to  FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, however, the side rails  46 ,  48  are different from the side rails  12 ,  14  of  FIG. 1  since the side rails  46 ,  48  have a T-shaped cross section, rotated 90 degrees from a normal T, instead of the L-shaped cross section of  FIG. 1 . Thus the T-shaped side rails  46 ,  48  have the large flat vertical flanges  50  forming exterior surfaces  52  with horizontal flanges  54  extending inwardly from the vertical flanges  50  forming upper surfaces  56  for supporting the box spring and mattress and is located about midway between the outer edges of the vertical flanges  50 . 
   As a further advantageous feature of the use of a T-shaped cross section for the side rails  46 ,  48 , there can be a light producing means  49 , that can be used to illuminate the area underneath the completed bed frame  44  to be used as a night light since there is no direct glare or as an aid in locating objects or cleaning underneath the bed. The position of the light producing means  49  is, as can be seen, along the inner surface of the large flat, vertical flange  50  and underneath the horizontal flange  54  so as to be protected from being struck by a passerby and thereby locating the light producing means  49  in a protective environment. The light producing means  49  can be a fluorescent light, track lighting, low voltage strip lighting or any other type of device that is capable of producing light underneath the bed frame  44  and can be used with any bed frame where T-shaped side rails are utilized. 
   In addition, there is also a center beam  58  that is affixed to and spans the cross rail members  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26 . Center beam  58  is generally parallel to the side rails  46 ,  48 . That affixation of the center beam  58  to the cross rail members  20 ,  22 ,  24 , and  26  may be by bolts and nuts in a conventional manner. 
   Turning now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a perspective view of a fixed width drop together bed frame  60  having side rails  62 ,  64  constructed in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the cross rails  66 ,  68  are of a fixed length and are affixed to the side rails  62 ,  64  by means such as female sockets  72  that are angled inwardly toward the interior of the drop together bed frame  60  and which receive correspondingly shaped male flanges  74  located at opposite ends  76 ,  78  of the cross rail  66  and opposite ends  80 ,  82  of the cross rail  68 . In a similar manner, the center beam  70  is affixed to the cross rails  66 ,  68  by means of a tapered female sockets  84  that are angled inwardly toward the interior of the drop together bed frame  60  and which receive correspondingly shaped male flanges  86  located at opposite ends  88 ,  90  of the center beam  70 . Thus, as can be seen, the drop together bed frame  60  has the side rails  62 ,  64  drop into the cross rails  66 ,  68  and the cross rails  66 ,  68  drop into the center beam  70  in the assembly of the drop together bed frame  60 . 
   In  FIG. 6  there is shown a perspective view of a junction of a side rail  12  and a cross rail member  20  of the conventional bed frame  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . As can be seen, as the cross rail member  20  is rotated to its assembled position as shown in  FIG. 6 , the cross rail member  20  pivots about the rivet  92  to the point where a tab  94  formed in the leg  28  captures the lower horizontal flange  96  of the L-shaped side rail  12  within the tab  94 , thereby holding the cross rail member  20  in its desired position. Such connection does not support the leg  28  in all directions of movement. As can be seen, one of the inherent weaknesses is that the two points of connection between the leg  28  and the side rail  12  are in the same plane, that is, the tab  94  connection to the lower horizontal flange  96  is located in about the same vertical plane as the connection carried out by the rivet  92  and therefore achieve no leverage advantage than if the two junction points were to be separated by a finite vertical distance. 
   Turning to  FIG. 7 , taken along with  FIG. 4 , there is shown an exploded view of the leg  28  of the folding bed frame  44  affixed to both a cross rail member  20  and to a side rail  48  and thereby to increase the strength and integrity of the affixation of the leg  28  to those components in the construction of a folding bed frame  44 . As shown, the T-shaped side rail  48  can initially create a stronger junction with the headboard bracket  18  since the T-shaped side rail  48  can be affixed by a pair of rivets  98  that pass through both the upper inner surface  100  and lower inner surface  102  of the vertical flange  50  i.e. both above and below the horizontal flange  54  and through corresponding holes in the headboard bracket  18 . 
   The leg  28  basically comprises a main body having a front wall  101  and a side wall  103  that are at or about a right angle with respect to each other. The leg  28  is affixed to the cross rail member  20  by means of a pair of rivets  104  that pass through holes (not shown) in the cross rail member  20  and through a pair of spaced apart holes  105  in the front wall  101  of the leg  28 . Leg  28  also has a leg support bracket  106  that is affixed to the leg  28  by rivets  108  that are vertically spaced apart and has an opening  110 . The leg  28  also has a caster bracket  112  with an opening  114  that is used to affix a caster or glide to the bottom of the leg  28  and which can be covered by a leg shield  116  in the manner shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,578 of Polevoy et al and the disclosure of that patent is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
   There also is a side rail bracket  118  that is affixed to the lower inner surface  102  of the side rail  48  and which also has a hole  120 . Again, the side rail bracket  118  can be affixed to the side rail  48  by means of rivets  122  that are horizontally spaced apart and which pass through holes  123  (only one of which is shown) in the side rail bracket  118 . As can also be seen, there is also a hole  124  in the end  126  of the cross rail member  20  that aligns with a corresponding sized hole  128  in the horizontal flange  54  of the side rail  48 . 
   Accordingly, as can now be seen, the leg  28  is affixed to both the cross rail member  20  as well as the side rail  48  and that combined junction is carried out for all of the legs  28  of the folding bed frame  44  shown in  FIG. 4 . The cross rail member  20  is rotatably affixed to the side rail  48  by means of an elongated rivet  130  that passes through the hole  128  in the horizontal flange  54  of the side rail  48 , the hole  124  in the end  126  of the cross rail member  20 , the hole  110  in the support flange  106  and the hole  120  in the side rail bracket  118 . As such the leg  28  is permanently affixed to the folding bed frame  44  in a strong junction with the leg  28  lower to the floor where there is a mechanical advantage holding the leg  28  stable. 
   Turning now to  FIG. 8 , there is shown an exploded view of a connection between a cross rail  132  of a conventional drop together bed frame where the side rail  134  is constructed of the normal L-shaped angle iron. As can be seen, there is required an additional connecting bracket  136  that is affixed to the horizontal flange  138  of the L-shaped side rail  134  by means such as rivets  140  passing through suitable holes  142  in that horizontal flange  138  and holes  144  in the connecting bracket  136  in order to mount the female socket  146  to the side rail  134 . The female socket  146  is thereupon affixed to that connecting bracket with rivets  148  passing through holes  150  in the connecting bracket  136  and holes  152  in the female socket  146 . Thus, the additional connecting bracket  136  is a necessary component in mounting the female socket  146  in the proper position to receive male flange  154  in joining the cross rail  132  to the side rail  134  in constructing a drop together bed frame. 
   Turning to  FIG. 9 , there is shown an exploded view of a connection between the cross rail  66  and side rail  62  of the  FIG. 5  embodiment of the present invention. Taking  FIG. 9 , along with  FIG. 5 , therefore, as can be seen, no connecting bracket is required and yet the female socket  72  is firmly and strongly affixed to the T-shaped side rail  62  by the presence of a set of holes  156  in a generally horizontal plane and a hole  158  in a generally vertical plane in the female socket  72 . As such, the affixation of the female socket  72  to the side rail  62  is supported in two planes since there are rivets  160  that pass through holes  162  in the horizontal flange  164  of the T-shaped side rail  62  as well as through the holes  156  in the female socket  72  to secure the female socket  72  to the horizontal flange  164 . Also, there is a rivet  166  that passes through a hole (not shown) in the vertical flange  168 , beneath the horizontal flange  164  and through the hole  158  in the female socket  72  to further secure that female socket  172  to the side rail  62  in two planes about 90 degrees apart. Accordingly, the affixation of the female socket  172  to the side rail  62  is very secure due to the use of the T-shaped side rail  62  of the present invention. 
   Turning briefly to  FIGS. 10A and 10B , there are shown end views of side rails  170  and  172  of the T-shaped cross section of the present invention. In  FIG. 10A , the T-shaped side rail  170  is constructed by the securing together of two L-shaped angle irons  174  and  176  by welding, riveting or other means such that the vertical flange  178  is a combination of the vertical flanges of the angle irons  174 ,  176  and the horizontal flange  180  is an over/under combination of the horizontal flanges of the angle irons  174 ,  176 . In  FIG. 10B , the side rail  172  is a one piece rolled construction forming the vertical flange  180  and the horizontal flange  180  extends from about midway between the ends of the vertical flange  178 . 
   Turning next to  FIG. 11 , there is shown a partially exploded view of an adjustable width folding bed frame  44  as shown in  FIG. 4  and illustrating the addition of various protective members to improve the appearance of the bed frame as well as provide protection against the inadvertent hitting of the bed frame components by a person where an injury could occur to that person. Thus, there are casters  182  that can be constructed in accordance with the casters shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,031 of Polevoy et al, a center beam protective member  184  covering the center beam  58  constructed in accordance with U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,389 of Polevoy et al, a side wall protective member  186  constructed in accordance with U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,389 of Polevoy et al and leg protective members  188  constructed in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,578 of Polevoy et al, all of which patents and pending patent applications being incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. 
   Next, in  FIG. 12  there is shown a perspective view of the collapsing of a folding bed frame  44  of the  FIG. 4  embodiment where the cross rail member  20  pivots about the rivet  190  in the direction of the arrow C to nest underneath the horizontal flange  54  of the T-shaped side rail  46  to facilitate shipping of the folding bed frame  44 . 
   Turning now to  FIG. 13 , there is shown an exploded view of a bed frame  192  and illustrating the T-shaped side rails  194  that join a headboard  196  and a footboard  198 . In the headboard  196 , there can also be seen slots  200  within which are conventionally located a pair of pins, vertically spaced apart (not shown) that laterally cross the slots  200  in order to receive a special bracket having hooks that are provided at the ends of side rails. As such, in  FIG. 13 , hook brackets  202  are shown and which are adapted to be inserted into the slots  200  and hook over the pins in order to join the side rails  194  to the headboard  196  and the footboard  198 . 
   As also can be seen in  FIG. 13 , there are protective members  204  that are plastic extrusions that are affixed to the side rails  194  to protect a person from injury from hitting the side rails  194  and bracket protective members  206  that cover and protect the sharp edges of the hook brackets  202  to serve the same purpose. 
   Turning, next to  FIGS. 14A ,  14 B and  14 C, there are shown, respectively, a top view, a side view and an end view of a hook bracket  202  affixed to a side rail  194 . As can be seen, the side rail  194  has an outer vertical flange  208  and a horizontal flange  210  that extends inwardly from a point about midway between the upper and lower edges of the vertical flange  208  in the manner described with respect to  FIG. 5 . The hook bracket  202  has a securing flange  212  that is secured to the vertical flange  208  by means such as rivets  214 . Thus, by the vertical flange  208  being twice the height as the conventional L-shape angle iron side rails, there can be two rivets  214  sufficiently spaced apart so as to improve the integrity of the junction between the hook bracket  202  and the side rail  194 , thereby strengthening the overall junction. 
   As such with the hook bracket  202  more strongly affixed to the side rail  194  due to the T-shaped configuration of the side rail  194 , the hooks  216  can engage the pins and there is less likelihood that the hook bracket  202  will become loose in its connection to the side rail  194 . 
   In  FIGS. 15A ,  15 B and  15 C, there is shown, respectively, a top view, side view and an end view of a slotted headboard bracket  218  and which can be affixed to the side rail  194  in the same manner as the hook bracket  202  of  FIGS. 14A-14C  to achieve a junction with added strength and rigidity. As such there are, again, two rivets  214  that are spaced well apart and above and below the location of the horizontal flange  210 . The forward face  220  of the headboard bracket  218  has a plurality of elongated slots  222  that are provided in order to affix the headboard bracket  218  to a headboard by means such as screws. 
   With the use of the T-shaped side rail therefore, the present invention allows the current metal bed frame to have a bracket to attach to a headboard for decorative purposes that is solid and well supported. This creates the impression of a finished bed like a complete wood or metal bed where the side rails are supported by the legs of a headboard and footboard. With this type of bed frame, however, that is a metal Hollywood style bed frame that is, the bed frame is self supporting but there is no footboard. 
   The result is a headboard that is not weight bearing and is suspended from the side rails on brackets. Due to the height of a typical headboard, stability is often an issue. The current headboard brackets  218  are mounted to the vertical flange  208  of the side rail  194 . The L-shaped, conventional, side rail, however, provides relatively a small area for a junction with a headboard bracket and typically the rivets are assembled side to side along the vertical flange. 
   With the present invention, however, using a T-shape cross section of side rail  194 , the side rail  194  and headboard are assembled with rivets  214  vertically aligned with significantly more separation and which provides significantly more stability at the headboard top. The double vertical flange of the present side rail is the geometry that allows for that advantage. Additionally, the intermediate horizontal flange stabilizes the vertical flange allowing for the superior rigidity. 
   While the present invention has been set forth in terms of a specific embodiment of embodiments, it will be understood that the present T-shaped side rail bed frame herein disclosed may be modified or altered by those skilled in the art to other configurations. Accordingly, the invention is to be broadly construed and limited only by the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.