Abstract:
An adjustable cross bar for bed rails and frames with at least two relatively movable cross bar members and a clamp positioned over the outboard ends of the cross bar members and entrapping their edges in tracks. The clamp has depending lances formed in a horizontal surface aligned with and engagable with openings formed in one of the cross bar members to lock the clamp and cross bar together. A vertically adjustable leg is attached to and depends from the clamp to support the cross bar members and the clamp.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/277,630 filed Mar. 26, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to beds with metal or wooden bed rails and metal bed frames which have metal adjustable cross bars with legs for supporting the cross bars. While this invention is particularly applicable to queen and king size beds which require legs on the cross bars to support the extra width and weight of such beds and bedding, it also is applicable to full and twin size beds where legs may be desired. 
     Specifically this invention is related to adjustable angle iron cross bars for bed rails and frames designed for use with various sized beds and to a fastener for connecting the parts of the adjustable angle iron cross bars together which fastener has a support leg fastened thereto. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Conventional beds and bed rails require longitudinally spaced, transversely extending wooden or metal slats extending between the side rails. The side rails tend to warp, twist outwardly or deflect under the weight of the box spring and other bedding components which cause the box spring to sag. This especially is a problem with wider span beds and bedding, such as, queen size and king size widths, since the wider bedding is heavier as well as being wider and longer. Slats setting on angle iron or wood rails not only push the rails downwardly, but also push the rails outwardly when weight is placed on the slats. This is a critical problem as the twisting or torquing of the rails frequently cause the bed legs to split when the slot in the legs of the beds is too close to the outside edge of the leg, or cause the bed legs to split away from the end board. These slats are normally 1″ thick or less and create a sway in the box spring between one slat and the next, thereby weakening the frame of the box spring. 
     Prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,674 issued Jan. 3, 1977 discloses metal bed rails for queen size beds which eliminate the use of transverse slats and are interconnected by a centrally located angle iron rigid cross member with legs and adjustable glides. By extending the threaded glides to contact the floor they prevent the boxspring from sagging and eliminate undue stress on the side rails and bed legs. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,039 discloses an adjustable cross bar and foldable adjustable legs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,852 is an improvement on the adjustable leg structure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,039. U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155 is an improvement on the adjustable cross bar shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,039 and eliminates the “C” shaped clamp and thumb screw tightener used in the cross bar of U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,039 which has a tendency to work loose, while providing easier adjustment in length and greater rigidity to the extended cross bar. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,203,039 and 5,502,852 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155 are owned by the assignee of this application. The present invention is an improvement on the support legs shown in the aforementioned patents and application in that it is positioned on the fastener and can be fabricated at the manufacturing facility and does not require assembly in the field, saving on installation costs by the installer. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a cross bar construction to fit king and queen sized beds which has two or more movable support members and a connecting element which has a vertically adjustable support leg attached thereto. 
     Another object is to provide a cross bar, which is adjustable in width to accommodate different width beds and which has a vertically adjustable support leg attached thereto. These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter. 
     This invention comprises an adjustable cross bar having one or more adjustable portions and a slip-on locking bracket having a vertically adjustable leg attached thereto. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings wherein like numbers refers to like parts wherever they occur: 
     FIGS. 1-4 are taken from U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155 wherein FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the cross bar installed on wood side rails; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded fragmentary perspective view of the cross bar shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modification of this invention showing two adjustable cross bars and metal side rails; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fastener having a support leg fastened thereto; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the leg of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modification of the fastener shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the fastener shown in FIG. 7 having a leg welded thereto; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fastener and a modification of the leg attached thereto; 
     FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the leg and fastener shown in FIG. 9; and 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a fastener and another modification of a leg attached thereto. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description will clearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what we presently believe is the best mode of carrying out the invention. 
     This invention is an improvement on the adjustable cross bar connector shown in detail in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,039 and identified by numerals 20-25 of that patent and on the connector identified by the numerals 100 et. seq. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155. The structures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,203,039 and 5,502,852 and 6,209,155 are herein incorporated by reference to the extent necessary to define a background for a completion of the present disclosure. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155 describes the fastening bracket  100  which slidably attaches the main cross bar member  101  to the adjustable cross bar member  102 . 
     The main cross bar member  101  is an “L” angle, which has a horizontal flange or web  103  and a right angle vertical flange or web  104 . The vertical flange  104  terminates at  105  inwardly from the outboard edge  106  of the horizontal flange  103 . This defines a cut-out area which engages the inside of side rail  107  while the horizontal flange  103  has an opening  108  which overlaps the lip  107   a  of the side rail  107  and accommodates a screw (not shown) or other suitable means for fastening the main cross member  101  to the side rail  107 . The adjustable cross bar member  102  likewise has a vertical flange  109  and a horizontal flange  110 . The flanges  103 ,  110  and  104 ,  109  are of approximately equal size. The outboard end  111  of the adjustable cross member  102  is of similar construction to the outboard edge  106  of the main flange  101  and includes an opening  108  to accommodate a screw or other suitable fastener to attach the cross bar  102  to the side rail lip  107   a . The main cross bar member  101  is provided with spaced openings  112  in the horizontal flange  103  adjacent to its inboard end  113 . When the side rail  107  and lip  107   a  are wood, screws  107   b  are used to fasten the cross bar members  101 ,  102  to the lip  107   a . When the side rail  107  and lips  107   a  are metal (FIG.  4 ), bolts and nuts  107   c  are used. The outboard edges  106 ,  111  of the cross bar members  101 ,  102  can be forced against the insides of the side rails  107  to lock the cross bar in position without fastening to the lips  107   a.    
     The bracket  100  preferably is about 6 inches in length for a bed cross bar, but can be any length for other applications as long as its sufficiently long to provide rigidity and strength to the extended cross bar. The bracket  100  has a horizontal flange  116  and a vertical right angular flange  117 . The horizontal flange  116  is aligned with the horizontal flanges  103 ,  110  of the cross bar members  101 ,  102 . The horizontal flange  116  is provided with laterally spaced inwardly directed lances or tabs  118 , which are aligned with and designed to engage the main cross bar openings  112 . The lances  118  depend from the flange  116  and are partially severed in forming. They are bent downwardly into the body of the bracket  100 . The horizontal flange  116  of bracket  100  has a right angular vertical flange  119  and an inturned lip  120  which all define a horizontal track  121 . The vertical flange  117  of the bracket  100  has a right angular horizontal flange  122  and an upturned lip  123  which all define a vertical track  124 . This is most clearly shown in FIG.  3 . 
     The tracks  121  and  124  are sized to accommodate the cross bar members  101  and  102  in a relatively sliding arrangement. The bracket  100  is fastened to the main cross member  101  by the engagement of the lances  118  in the openings  112 . When the adjustable member  102  is slid into bracket  100 , it forces lances  118  into the openings  112  of the main cross bar member  101 . Thus the bracket  100  is fixed to the main member  101  while the adjustable member  102  is still adjustable with respect to the main member  101  and can be extended to the necessary width to bridge the distance between the bed side rails  107 . Thus the cross bar members  101 ,  102  can be collapsed or extended to accommodate different bed widths without using tools and results in a strong joint and a rigid cross member. As previously noted, the ends  106 ,  111  of the cross bar members  101 ,  102  can be firmly seated against the inside edges of the bed rails  107  and will resist rotation or other movement. An important aspect of this invention is that the bracket horizontal flange  116  and the lances  118  are aligned with the cross member horizontal flanges  103 ,  110  so that the weight of springs, mattresses and users urges the lances  118  into engagement with the openings  112  to strengthen the grip between the flange  100  and the cross bar members  101 ,  102 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a modification of the invention which utilizes a center main cross bar  140  and two adjustable side cross bar members  141  and  142 . The side bar members  141 ,  142  are identical and are adjustably retained to the bar  140  by two identical brackets  100  which are the same as that described hereinbefore. 
     FIG. 4 also shows the use of metal side rails  150  and lips  151  and the use of a bolt and nut  107   c  to attach the cross bar to the lips  151 . This invention is equally applicable to wooden or metal side rails and to two or three piece adjustable cross bars. 
     The improvement of this application is in the fastening of the support legs to the fastening member  100 . This can take several forms. FIGS. 5 and 6 show a first form of the invention in which a square tubular support leg  130  is welded at  131  to the lip  120  and at  132  to the lip  123 . A vertically adjustable foot  145  is located at the free end of the leg  130  and can be rotated to move the foot  145  up or down. The foot construction can be that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155 or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,852. 
     A modification of this structure is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this form of the invention, the lip  123  has an offset portion  123   a  formed in it. The offset  123   a  extends outwardly parallel to and toward the lip  120 . The offset  123   a  is used as a base for the weld  132  and has the effect of moving the leg  130  away from the lip  123  and toward the lip  120  so that a portion of the end of the leg  130  is juxtaposed to the lip  130 . Thus, when the weld  131  is made, a stronger weld results. 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 show still another modification of the invention. In this modification, the leg  160  is attached to the clamping bracket  100  by rivets  161 . The leg  160  preferably has a main lower tubular portion  162  which is opened and particularly flattened at its top end where it joins the fastener  100 . The top end of the leg  160  includes a flat area  163  which engages the outer surface of the fastener vertical flange  117  and a right angular stepdown area  164  which embraces the outside surface of the horizontal flange  122 . The stepdown area  164  is connected to an upper leg area which includes a half circular central area  165  and stiffening wings  166  which extend laterally from the central area  165 . The upper end of the central area is closed by a tapered panel  167  and the lower end connects to the leg tubular portion  162 . 
     FIG. 11 shows still another modification of the invention. The leg  170  shown in FIG. 11 is an L-shaped angle which has a square receptacle  171  formed in the lower end. The upper end of the leg  170  is defined by right angular sides  172 , 173  which are joined at  174 . The sides  172 , 173  are sized so that they bridge the space between the fastener lips  120  and  123  with the open side of the angle facing the lip  123 . The leg  120  is attached to the lip  123  by welds  175  on the free edges of the sides  173 . The leg  170  is attached to the lip  120  by a weld  176  at the juncture  174  of the sides  172 , 173 . 
     The vertically adjustable foot  145  may be similar to those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,852 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,155 and includes a pad  146 , a threaded stem  147  attached thereto, and a plastic bushing  148  mounted in an integral bracket  149 . It is adaptable to any of  130 ,  160  and  170 . To adjust the height of the legs  130 , 160 , 170 , the stem  147  and foot  145  are rotated through the bushing  148 . An extension member (not shown) which is similar to that shown in FIG. 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,852 also can be used with this invention to raise the bed level up to about 18 inches. 
     This invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.