Abstract:
A wrap around bed frame for use in supporting a box spring and mattress. The bed frame has the normal side rails and cross members and also has a foot member that is affixed to the foot ends of the side rails such that the foot member provides support for the foot end of the bedding and prevents sagging and damage from weight being exerted at the foot end of the bedding. The entire bed frame can be assembled with fittings that do not require tools for assembly and thus, the bed frame can be assembled easily by the user by simply sliding or snapping the components together. Protective shields cover the bed frame so as to prevent tearing of the linen, bed spreads or other bed coverings used with the bed frame.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/US2012/60183, filed Oct. 15, 2012, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/547,366, filed Oct. 14, 2011, the disclosures of both of which applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. Applicants claim the benefits of 35 U.S.C. 120 as to the PCT application and the United States application. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a bed frame for supporting a mattress or mattress set and, more particularly, to a wrap around bed frame that includes a foot member to provide an all around support to a mattress and bedding. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     With a conventional bed frame, there normally are two side rails that are placed in a parallel orientation with respect to each other and one or more cross members that span between the side rails to provide support to the box spring and mattress. The sides of the box spring are supported by a horizontal flange of the side rails and the internal area of the box spring and mattress are supported by the cross members. 
     With many bed frames, the side rails and cross members are made of a metal, generally steel, and are comprised of steel angle irons. As a recent innovation, the side rails can also be comprised of angle irons joined together to form a T-shaped member or can be constructed and used as single, unitary steel components. 
     With a typical steel bed frame, the foot ends of the side rails extend beyond any supporting legs such that the foot ends of the side rails extend in cantilever manner outwardly from the foot end of the bed and there is no further component, such as a foot supporting member that provides support for the foot ends of the side rails. 
     There is currently a trend of not having a foot board at the foot end of the bed. The absence of a footboard not only reduces support at the foot end of the bed but eliminates the pleasing and decorative component that would normally cover and enclose the foot end bedding and give the overall foot end of the completed bed a pleasing appearance. 
     As such, the foot end of the box spring and mattress are basically unsupported and a weight placed at that end, such as by a person sitting on the very end of a mattress, can create bending and cause damage to the bed frame. This is particularly true of a king size bed frame where there may be two foundations in a side by side relationship and overlaid by a single mattress and, in such instance, there is a decided lack of support at the center of the bed where the two foundations come together. 
     A system for providing support to the foot end of a box spring and mattress has been shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,363,665 entitled “Bed Frame With Extended Bumper Assembly”, however, that reference discloses curved ends that joined a side rail and a straight member of a bumper assembly. The manufacture of curved ends, however, is fairly difficult in order to meet the tolerance requirements of joining a side rail and a bumper assembly. 
     Another difficulty with present bed frames is that there is a certain amount of labor used in securing the frame members together, that is, the metal components are affixed together by hand and often require hand tools to complete the assembly of a bed frame. As such, since the initial set up of a bed frame is normally carried out by a delivery person who may have multiple deliveries on the same day, the amount of time used to complete the set up of the bed frame is important and, obviously, there an advantage in being able to assemble the bed frame quickly and accurately in as little time as possible. 
     A further difficulty with current bed frames is that the metal structural components have sharp edges and joints and the presence of those sharp edges can cause tearing of the linen, bed spreads or other bed coverings used with the bed. 
     Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide metal bed frame where the foot ends of the side rails are connected to a foot member to form an aesthetically pleasing design that visually provides a smooth continuation of the side rails that transition to the foot member as well as provide support to the foot end of a box spring and mattress. 
     It would be further advantageous to have a bed frame that was easily assembled without the need for tools or specialized skill and which was fully protected by some shields to cover any sharp edges of corners to prevent tearing or damage to the bed coverings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is a bed frame assembly that is used to support a box spring and mattress and which has side rails having a horizontal surface to support the sides of the box spring. There is at least one, and normally multiple, cross members to aid in the support of the box spring and mattress and which span the distance between the side rails. 
     At the foot ends of the side rail, there is a foot member that is connected by an affixation system so that the overall bed frame is a wrap around design that includes the foot member to support the foot end of the box spring and mattress. The affixation system includes a corner component that completes a smooth transition with linear surfaces (non-curved) between the side rail and the foot member to create a smooth appearance of the overall assembled bed. 
     In all, the foot member is affixed to the foot ends of the side rails by a simple affixation system that eliminates the need for tools to carry out that connection and includes the use of a separate component to carry out the transition. In addition, the cross members can also be affixed to the side rails in the assembly of a bed frame without the need for tools. As such, the entire bed frame, including the foot member and legs, are readily assembled without tools since all of the components of the bed frame either drop in, snap in or slide into the desired positions in the assembly of the bed frame. 
     As a further feature, all of the sharp edges and corners of the present bed frame are covered by plastic shields so that the tearing and damage to the bed coverings are prevented. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view illustrating an exemplary bed frame of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1A  is an enlarged, exploded view illustrating features of the  FIG. 1  embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is an enlarged, exploded view illustrating features of the  FIG. 2  embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3A  is an enlarged, exploded view illustrating features of the  FIG. 3  embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4A  is an enlarged, exploded view illustrating features of the  FIG. 4  embodiment; 
         FIG. 4B  is a cross sectional view of the  FIG. 4  embodiment taken along the line A-A of  FIG. 4A , 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6A  is an enlarged exploded view illustrating features of the  FIG. 6  embodiment 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning first to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an exploded view of a bed frame  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention. As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the bed frame  10  is comprised of two side rails  12  that are oriented parallel to each other and support the side edges of a box spring and mattress. In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the side rails  12  are made up of L-shaped angle irons affixed together to produce a T-shaped structural member, however, the side rails  12  can also be other configurations, such as L-shaped angle irons or T-shaped members as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,954,184 of Polevoy et al and the disclosure of the &#39;184 patent is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     As will be described herein, the side rails  12 , in the construction of the bed frame  10 , have head ends  14  which are defined, and will be herein referred to, as the location where the head of the user is positioned and which normally will include head end brackets  16  for being affixed to a head board (not shown). The opposite ends of the side rails  12  are defined as the foot ends  18  where the feet of the user are designed to be located when the user is lying supine on the bed. 
     The side rails  12  can have protective shields  20  affixed thereto to create an esthetically pleasing appearance as well as provide protection against potential damage by ripping or tearing of the bed coverings by encountering an end or corner of an angle iron that forms the side rails  12 . The shields can be constructed and assembled to the side rails  12  in accordance with that shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,874,027 and the disclosure of the &#39;027 patent is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     There can also be seen, cross members  22  that have their ends  24  affixed to the side rails  12  and span the distance therebetween. At the ends  24  of each of the cross members  22 , there is a wedge  26  formed and which interfits into a receiver  28  having a cavity  30  formed therein. The use of a wedge and receiver is shown and described in U.S. Published Application 2010/0242171 of Polevoy et al and the disclosure of the &#39;171 publication is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     A foot member  32  is present that is affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  by means of an affixation system. The foot member  32  may be comprised of an L-shaped angle iron, a T-shaped angle iron, a combination of two L-shaped angle irons affixed together, an aluminum extruded member, a Fiberglas member or other configuration. In the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the foot member  32  is a T-shape having a vertical flange  33  and a horizontal flange  37  that extends outwardly from the vertical flange  33  at about the middle of the vertical flange  33 . 
     A protective shield  34  covers the foot member  32  that may be of the type shown and described in the aforementioned &#39;027 patent of Polevoy et al. 
     Turning then to  FIG. 1A , taken along with  FIG. 1 , there is shown, an enlarged exploded view of the  FIG. 1  embodiment and illustrating the affixation system that connects the foot member  32  to side rail  12  in a sliding, snap fit manner. 
     As such, there is a bracket  35  that provides a junction between the foot member  32  and the side rail  12 . The bracket  35  is comprised of three sections; a middle section  36  having one or more holes  38 , a side rail section  40  that is angled with respect to the middle section  36  and a foot member section  42  that is also angled with respect to the middle section  36 . In an exemplary embodiment, the side rail section  40  and foot member section  42  both extending outwardly from the middle section  36  at about a 45 degree angle, however other angles could be utilized, with the summation of the angles adding up to 90 degrees. 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 1A , the side rail section  40  of bracket  34  is affixed to the side rail  12  by means of rivets  44 . The foot member section  42  has a slot  43  formed therein with enlarged openings  44 ,  46 . As such, to make the connection between the foot member  32  and the side rail  12 , the foot member section  42  is slid along the foot member  32  where the slot  43  engages standoff rivets  48 ,  50  provided in the vertical flange  33  of the foot member  32  below the horizontal flange  37  and, as the foot member section  42  reaches its ultimate position, the standoff rivet  48  snaps into the enlarged opening  46  and the standoff rivet  50  snaps into the enlarged opening  44  to hold the side rail  12  firmly to the foot member  32  in a manner that the foot member  32  provides support to the box spring and mattress later supported by the bed frame  10 . 
     There is a curved protective shield  58  that covers the external surface of the bracket  35  so as to protect against the tearing or ripping of the bed coverings that may encounter a sharp edge of the bracket  35  as well as provide a good appearance of the overall wrap around bed frame  10 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the curved protective shield  58  may be pre-attached to the side rail  12  such that it simply slips over and overlaps the protective shield  34  that covers the foot member  32  to form a relatively seamless junction. 
     There can also be a internal curved protective shield  60  that covers and protects the internal surface of the bracket  35  and both of the shields  58 ,  60  may be affixed to the bracket  35  by means of a snap fit or may make use of the holes  38  so that the curved protective shield  58  can be affixed by screws that enter into and interfit with a boss  62  formed on the internal curved protective shield  60 . A further feature is that the bracket  35  is symmetrical so that the same formed bracket can be used with each of the side rails  12  in assembling the bed frame  10 . 
     As can now be seen, the assembly of the bed frame  10  of the  FIG. 1 ,  1 A embodiment is readily accomplished since all of the components drop in or snap in without the need for special tools or the like. The foot member  32  is initially installed by the slide in action and thereafter, once the foot member  32  has been installed, the cross members  22  are simply dropped in such that the wedges  26  fit into the receivers  28  to complete the installation of the cross members  22  and finalize the assembly of the bed frame  10 . 
     Turning next to  FIG. 2 , there is shown an exploded view of a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly in  FIG. 2 , there is shown a bed frame  64  having similar components to that of the  FIG. 1 ,  1 A embodiment and where the same identification numbers will be used on corresponding elements. 
     Thus, the bed frame  64  is comprised of two side rails  12  oriented parallel to each other and, again, may be made up of L-shaped angle irons, T-shaped member or other configurations. The side rails  12  have head ends  14  that can include head end brackets  16  designed to be affixed to a head board (not shown) and the opposite ends of the side rails  12  have foot ends  18 . The side rails  12  can have protective shields  20 . 
     Cross members  22  are provided having opposed ends  24  affixed to the side rails  12  and span the distance therebetween, At the opposed ends  24  of each of the cross members  22 , a wedge  26  ( FIG. 1 ) is formed and which interfits into a receiver  28  having a cavity  30  ( FIG. 1 ) formed therein. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the foot member  66  may be comprised of a L-shaped angle iron, a T-shaped angle iron or combination of two L-shaped angle irons affixed together or other configuration. A protective shield  68  covers the foot member  66  that may be of the type shown and described in the aforementioned &#39;027 patent of Polevoy et al. The foot member  66  is affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  by mean of an affixation system. 
     Turning then to  FIG. 2A , taken along with  FIG. 2 , there is an enlarged, exploded view of the affixation system used to secure the foot member  66  to the side rails  12 . In the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 2A , the foot member  66  is a T-shape having a vertical flange  67  and a horizontal flange  69  that extends outwardly from the vertical flange  67  at about the middle of the vertical flange  67 . Again, as described, the T-shaped foot member  66  can be comprised of two L-shaped angle irons affixed together to form T-shape or can be a single, unitary T-shape member. 
     As can be seen, there is a C-shaped channel  70  having a pair of holes  72  and the C-shaped channel  70  is assembled by rivets (not shown) that secure the C-shaped channel  70  firmly to the inside surface of the side rail  12 . 
     As with the  FIG. 1 ,  1 A embodiment, there is a bracket  74  that provides a junction between the foot member  66  and the side rail  12 . The bracket  74  is comprised of three sections; a middle section  76  having one or more holes  78 , a side rail section  80  that is angled with respect to the middle section  76  and a foot member section  82  that is also angled with respect to the middle section  76 . In an exemplary embodiment, the side rail section  80  and foot member section  82  both extend outwardly from the middle section  76  at about a 45 degree angle, however, other angles could be utilized, with the summation of the angles adding up to 90 degrees. 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 2 ,  2 A, the foot member section  82  of bracket  74  is affixed to the foot member  66  by means of rivets, not shown, that pass through holes  84  to firmly secure the bracket  74  to the foot member  66 . The side rail section  80  has an indented area  86  to facilitate the side rail section  80  being slid into the C-shaped channel  70  in a wedge connection, that is, the side rail section  80  may be tapered inwardly in the direction toward its outer end so that the side rail section  80  can be firmly wedged into the C-shaped channel  70  to secure the foot member  66  to the side rail  12 . 
     As such, to make the connection between the foot member  66  and the side rail  12 , the side rail section  80  is slid into the C-shaped channel  70  and becomes wedged therein as the side rail section  80  reaches it ultimate position to hold foot member  66  firmly to the side rail  12  in a manner that the foot member  66  provides support to the box spring and mattress later supported by the bed frame  64 . 
     There is a molded cover  88  that can optionally be secured to the foot member section  82  of the bracket  74  to protect the foot member section  82  of the bracket  74 , again, for protection against injury to the bedclothes tearing on the bracket  74  as well as for appearance sake. 
     A curved protective shield  90  covers the external surface of the bracket  74  so as to, again, protect the user against inadvertent injury from striking the exterior of the bracket  74  as well as provide a good appearance of the overall wrap around bed frame  64 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the curved protective shield  90  may be pre-attached to the foot member  66  such that the curved protective shield  90  slips over and overlaps the protective shield  20  that covers the side rail  12  to form a relatively seamless junction. 
     There can also be an internal curved protective shield  92  that covers and protects the internal surface of the bracket  74  and both of the shields  90 ,  92  may be affixed to the bracket  74  by means of a snap fit or make use of the holes  78  so that the curved protective shield  90  can be affixed by screws that enter into and interfit with one or more bosses  94  formed on the internal curved protective shield  92 . A further feature is that the bracket  74  is symmetrical so that the same formed bracket can be used with both of the side rails  12  in assembling the bed frame  64 . 
     As can now be seen, the assembly of the bed frame  64  of the  FIG. 2 ,  2 A embodiment is readily accomplished since all of the components drop in or snap in without the need for special tools or the like. The foot member  66  is initially installed by the slide in action and thereafter, once the foot member  66  has been installed, the cross members  22  are simply dropped in such that the wedges fit into the receivers  28  to complete the installation of the cross members  22  and finalize the assembly of the bed frame  64 . 
     Turning then to  FIG. 3 , there is shown, an exploded view of another exemplary embodiment of the bed frame  96  of the present invention and wherein, again certain of the elements are the same as shown and described with respect to the  FIG. 1  and the same identification numbers have been used for corresponding elements. 
     Thus, the bed frame  96  is comprised of two side rails  12  oriented parallel to each other and, again, may be made up of L-shaped angle irons, T-shaped member or other configurations. The side rails  12  have head ends  14  that can include head end brackets  16  designed to be affixed to a head board (not shown) and the opposite ends of the side rails  12  have foot ends  18 . The side rails  12  can have protective shields  20 . 
     Cross members  22  are provided having opposed ends  24  affixed to the side rails  12  and span the distance therebetween, At the opposed ends  24  of each of the cross members  22 , a wedge  26  ( FIG. 1 ) is formed and which interfits into a receiver  28  having a cavity  30  ( FIG. 1 ) formed therein. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the foot member  98  may be comprised of a T-shaped member made up of two angle irons affixed together, however, the foot member  98  may be an L-shaped angle iron, a unitary T-shaped steel member or other configuration and has a protective shield  100  covering the foot member  98  that may be of type shown and described in the aforementioned &#39;027 patent of Polevoy. The foot member  98  is shown as being affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  by means of an affixation system. 
     Thus, turning then to  FIG. 3A , taken along with  FIG. 3 , there is an enlarged, exploded view of the affixation system used to secure the foot member  98  to a side rail  12 . As can be seen, there is a receiver  102  that is located at the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12 . The receiver  102  has a slot  104  formed therein and, in the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the slot  104  is elongated horizontally and generally rectangular in shape. As will be seen, the configuration, size and orientation of the slot  104  may vary and still be within the scope of the present invention. The receiver  102  includes a cover  106  that closes off the internal space of the receiver  102 . 
     There is a molded plug  108  that may be comprised of plastic and which has holes  110  formed therein for use in attaching the molded plug  108  to the foot member  98  by means such as rivets. The molded plug  108  has a distal end  112  that extends outwardly from the foot member  98 . 
     As such, to make the connection between the foot member  98  and the side rail  12 , the distal end  112  of the molded plug  108  is slid into the slot  104  and becomes affixed therein by means of some wedging action or the interfitting of a raised portion  114  that enters into and fits within a corresponding indented area (not shown) formed on the interior of the cover  106 . When the molded plug  108  reaches its fully inserted position, a lower edge  115  abuts against the receiver  102 , thereby holding the side rail  12  firmly to the foot member  98  in a manner that the foot member  98  provides support to the box spring and mattress later supported by the bed frame  96 . 
     A lower curved protective shield  116  and an upper curved protective shield  120  cover the external surface of the molded plug  108  for protection to the bed coverings from damage as well as to make a good appearance for the affixation of the foot member  98  to the side rail  12 . As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the lower and upper curved protective shields  116 ,  120  may be pre-attached to the foot member  98  such that they simply slip over and overlap the protective shield  20  that covers the side rail  12  to form a relatively seamless junction. 
     The lower curved protective shield  116  can be affixed to the foot member  98  by means such as a rivet passing through a hole  118  in the lower curved protective shield  116  or may be secured by other mean such as a snap fit, screws or other method. A further centralized hole  119  is formed in the lower curved protective shield  116 . 
     The upper curved protective shield  120  has a hole  121  formed therein and is positioned atop of the lower curved protective shield  116  and both of the shields  116 ,  120  may be affixed together by means such as one or more screws, bolts or rivets passing through holes  119  and  121  that are oriented internal of the molded plug  108  or by means of a snap-fit connection. 
     As can now be seen, the assembly of the bed frame  96  of the  FIG. 3 ,  3 A embodiment, is readily accomplished since all of the components drop in or slide in without the need for special tools or the like. In the assembly of the bed frame  96 , the cross members  22  are initially dropped into place into the receivers  28  and, once the cross members  22  have been installed, the foot member  98  can be snapped into place to finalize the assembly of the bed frame  96 . 
     Turning next to  FIG. 4 , there is shown an exploded view of another exemplary embodiment of a bed frame  122  of the present invention wherein, again, certain of the elements are the same as shown and described with respect to  FIG. 1  and the same identification numbers have been used for corresponding elements. 
     Thus, the bed frame  122  is comprised of two side rails  12  oriented parallel to each other and, again, may be made up of L-shaped angle irons, T-shaped member or other configurations. The side rails  12  have head ends  14  that can include head end brackets  16  designed to be affixed to a head board (not shown) and the opposite ends of the side rails  12  have foot ends  18 . The side rails  12  can have protective shields  20 . 
     Cross members  22  are provided having opposed ends  24  affixed to the side rails  12  and span the distance therebetween. At the opposed ends  24  of each of the cross members  22 , a wedge  26  ( FIG. 1 ) is formed and which interfits into a receiver  28  having a cavity  30  ( FIG. 1 ) formed therein. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the foot member  124  may be comprised of a T-shaped member made up of two L-shaped angle irons affixed together, however, the foot member  124  may be an L-shaped angle iron, a unitary T-shaped steel member, or other configuration and has a protective shield  125  covering the foot member  124  that may be of the type shown and described in the aforementioned &#39;027 patent of Polevoy et al. The foot member  124  is shown as being affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  by means of an affixation system. 
     Thus, turning then to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , taken along with  FIG. 4 , there is an enlarged, horizontal view and a cross sectional view taken along the line A-A of  FIG. 4A , of the affixation system used to secure the foot member  124  to side rail  12 . As can be seen, there is a split receiver  126  that is made up of a side rail receiver  128  and a foot member receiver  130 . The split receiver  126  is basically similar to one of the other receivers  28  but the split receiver  126  has been split in half generally along a 45 degree angle to form the side rail receiver  128  and the foot member receiver  130 . 
     The side rail receiver  128  is affixed to the side rail  12  by means such as rivets  132  and the foot member receiver  130  is affixed to the foot member  124  by means of rivets  134 . As can be seen, specifically in  FIG. 4A , the side rail receiver  128  and foot member receiver  130  both have cavities  136 ,  138 , formed therein by means of rear walls  140 ,  142  and front walls  144  and  146 , respectively. 
     Accordingly, when the foot member  124  is moved into its operative position abutting against the foot ends  18  of the side rail  12 , the front wall  146  of side rail receiver  128  abuts against the front wall  144  of the foot member receiver  130 , forming an upstanding barrier  148  between the side wall receiver  128  and the foot member receiver  130 . 
     In the position with the side rail receiver  128  and foot member receiver  130  abutting each other, a plastic wedge  150  is inserted downwardly into both of the cavities  136 ,  138  of the side rail receiver  128  and the foot member receiver  130 . The plastic wedge  150  has a groove  152  formed therein to create two downwardly extending members  154 ,  156 . As such, when the plastic wedge  150  is inserted, the groove  152  straddles the upstanding barrier  148  and the downwardly extending members  154 ,  156  enter into the cavities  136 ,  138 , respectively, to hold the side rail receiver  128  and foot member receiver  130  firmly together to affix the foot member  124  to the side rail  12 . 
     With the completion of that insertion, a cover  158  can be snap fitted to the upper peripheral edge  160  of the plastic wedge  150 . Alternatively, the cover  158  can be preassembled to the foot member  124  or the side rails  12 . 
     Turning next to  FIG. 5 , there is shown an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of a bed frame  164  constructed in accordance with the present invention. Again, certain of the elements are the same as shown and described with respect to  FIG. 1  and the same identification numbers have been use for corresponding elements. 
     Thus, the bed frame  164  is comprised of two side rails  12  oriented parallel to each other and, again, may be made up of L-shaped angle irons, T-shaped member or other configurations. The side rails  12  have head ends  14  that can include head end brackets  16  designed to be affixed to a head board (not shown) and the opposite ends of the side rails  12  have foot ends  18 . The side rails  12  can have protective shields  20 . 
     Cross members  22  are provided having opposed ends  24  affixed to the side rails  12  and span the distance therebetween, At the opposed ends  24  of each of the cross members  22 , a wedge  26  ( FIG. 1 ) is formed and which interfits into a receiver  28  ( FIG. 1 ) having a cavity  30  formed therein. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , the foot member  166  may be comprised of a T-shaped member made up of two L-shaped angle irons affixed together, however, the foot member  166  may be an L-shaped angle iron, a unitary T-shaped steel member, or other configuration and has a protective shield  168  covering the foot member  166  that may be of the type shown and described in the aforementioned &#39;027 patent of Polevoy et al. The foot member  166  is shown as being affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  by means of an affixation system. 
     The affixation system in embodiment of  FIG. 5  includes a pair of quarter pie shaped wedges located on the side rails  12  and the foot member  166 , that is, there are pie shaped side rail wedges  170  and foot member wedges  172  that are affixed, respectively, to the side rails  12  and the foot member  166  and that affixation may be carried out by the use of rivets  174  (only two of which can be seen in  FIG. 5 , however, it will be seen that the rivets can be used to secure all of the side rail wedges  170  and foot member wedges  172  to the side rails  12  and foot member  166 , respectively). 
     The side rail wedges  170  have an outer surface  176  that is formed at about a 45 degree angle with respect to the side rail  12  and, in a similar fashion, the foot member wedges  172  have an outer surface  178  that is formed at about a 45 degree angle with respect to the foot member  166 . Other angular relationships can be used providing, however, the summation of the angles totals 90 degrees. 
     As can then be seen, when the foot member  166  is moved into its assembled position in constructing the bed frame  164 , the outer surface  176  of the side rail wedges  170  and the outer surface  178  of the foot member wedges  172  will abut against each other along a plane. At this point, the completed, now half pie shape combination of the side rail wedges  170  and foot member wedges  172  can be dropped into the cavity  180  of a bucket  182 . The shape and configuration of the cavity  180  is, of course, designed to tightly surround the combined side rail wedges  170  and foot member wedges  172  and may provide a slight tapering to hold those side rail wedges  170  and foot member wedges  172  tightly against each other within the cavity  180 . 
     As such, the foot member  166  is securely affixed to the side rail  12  in a manner such that the foot end of a box spring and mattress are fully supported by the bed frame  164 . 
     Turning next to  FIG. 6 , there is shown an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of a bed frame  186  constructed in accordance with the present invention. Again, certain of the elements are the same as shown and described with respect to  FIG. 1  and the same identification numbers have been use for corresponding elements. 
     Thus, the bed frame  186  is comprised of two side rails  12  oriented parallel to each other and, again, may be made up of L-shaped angle irons, T-shaped member or other configurations. The side rails  12  have head ends  14  that can include head end brackets  16  designed to be affixed to a head board (not shown) and the opposite ends of the side rails  12  have foot ends  18 . The side rails  12  can have protective shields  20 . 
     Cross members  22  are provided having opposed ends  24  affixed to the side rails  12  and span the distance therebetween, At the opposed ends  24  of each of the cross members  22 , a wedge  26  ( FIG. 1 ) is formed and which interfits into a receiver  28  having a cavity  30  formed therein. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 6 , the foot member  188  may be comprised of a T-shaped member made up of two L-shaped angle irons affixed together, an L-shaped angle iron, a unitary T-shaped steel member, or other configuration and has a protective shield  190  covering the foot member  188  that may be of the type shown and described in the aforementioned &#39;027 patent of Polevoy et al. The foot member  188  is shown as being affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  by means of an affixation system. 
     Turning to  FIG. 6A , taken along with  FIG. 6 , there is shown an enlarged exploded view illustrating the affixation system used to secure the foot member  188  to the side rails  12  and the system includes a pair of brackets  192  that are affixed to the foot member  188 . Brackets  192  may be secured to the foot member  188  by the use of rivets (not shown) that pass through holes  194  in the brackets  192 . Each bracket  192  includes a downwardly extending wedge  196  that is dimensioned and shaped to fit within a cavity  30  formed in a receiver  28 . 
     The downwardly extending wedges  196  may be formed integral with the brackets  192  of molded separately and affixed to an upper bracket  197  by means such as rivets. The receiver  28  and cavity  30  can have the same dimensions and shape used to secure the cross members  22  to the side rails  12  so that all of the receivers  28  are uniform or may have a different configuration. 
     Finally, as with the prior embodiments, there is a curved protective shield  198  that is affixed to the foot member  188  to overlay, cover and protect the junction between the foot member  188  and the side rail  12  by means of a snap fit or may be screwed onto those components and which overlaps the protective shield  20  of the side rail  12  to provide a good appearance of a seamless connection. 
     Turning next to  FIG. 7 , there is shown an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of a bed frame  200  constructed in accordance with the present invention. Again, certain of the elements are the same as shown and described with respect to  FIG. 1  and the same identification numbers have been use for corresponding elements. 
     Thus, the bed frame  200  is comprised of two side rails  12  oriented parallel to each other and, again, may be made up of L-shaped angle irons, T-shaped member or other configurations. The side rails  12  have head ends  14  that can include head end brackets  16  designed to be affixed to a head board (not shown) and the opposite ends of the side rails  12  have foot ends  18 . The side rails  12  can have protective shields  20 . 
     Cross members  22  are provided having opposed ends  24  affixed to the side rails  12  and span the distance therebetween, At the opposed ends  24  of each of the cross members  22 , a wedge  26  ( FIG. 1 ) is formed and which interfits into a receiver  28  ( FIG. 1 ) having a cavity  30  formed therein. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 7 , the foot member  202  has a protective shield  204  covering the foot member  202  that may be of the type shown and described in the aforementioned &#39;027 patent of Polevoy et al. The foot member  202  is shown as being affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  by means of an affixation system. 
     With this embodiment, there is a cross member  206  located at the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  and the cross member  206  may be the same as the cross members  22  in different locations along the side rails  12 . Affixed to the cross member  206  is a female snap fitting  208  of conventional design and which may be affixed to the cross member  206  by rivets, screws or other securing device to firmly secure the female snap fitting  208  to the cross member  206 . 
     The foot member  202  is adapted to be affixed to the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12  and a male snap fitting  212  is likewise affixed to the vertical surface of the foot member  202  by means such as rivets, screws or similar securing device. 
     Accordingly, to assemble the bed frame  200 , the male snap fittings  214  are aligned with the female snap fittings  208  and one inserted into the other in a snap fit to securely affix the foot member  202  to the side rails  12 . With this embodiment, it is obvious that the female and male snap fittings  208 ,  212  may be reversed and that other conventional snap fittings can be used that are commercially available for various purposes. The feature is that the foot member  202  can be easily assembled to the side rail  12  by simply a snap-in action to facilitate the assembly of the bed frame  200 . 
     Finally, turning to  FIG. 8 , there is shown a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention wherein the bed frame  216  has cross members  22  that interfit into receivers  28 . At the foot ends  18  of the side rails  12 , the receivers  218  can be constructed the same as the receivers  28  for uniformity. Again, there is a foot member  220  having a protective shield  222  affixed thereto as in the prior embodiments. 
     As such, the receivers  218  can be side specific, that is, the same receiver  218  used for one side rail  12  cannot be used for the other side rail  12 . The receivers  218  have cavities  224  formed therein and which are shaped and dimensioned, preferable, to accept one of the same dimensioned wedges used with the cross members  22 . 
     In this embodiment, the side rails  12  are T-shaped members that have a vertical flange  226  and an inwardly directed horizontal flange  228  located at about the center of the vertical flange  226  with the foot member  220  also comprising a T-shaped member having a vertical flange  232  and a horizontal flange  234  extending inwardly therefrom located at about the center of the vertical flange  232 . 
     Wedges  236  are provided that comprise an upper flange  238  and a downwardly extending wedge member  240  that may be affixed to the upper flange  238  by means such as rivets, screws or other affixing devices. Alternatively, a wedge  236  may be molded of a single material. In any event, the upper flange  238  has lowered ridge  242  having holes  243  formed therein for rivets (not shown) to affix the upper flange  238  to the lower surface of the horizontal flange  234  of the foot member  220 . By use of the lowered ridge  242 , when the upper flange  238  is affixed to the bottom surface of the horizontal flange  234  of foot member  220 , the top surface  239  of the upper flange  238  is flush with the upper surface  241  of the horizontal flange  228  of the side rails  12 . 
     As such, when the foot member  220  is assembled to the side rails  12 , by dropping the wedges  236  into the cavities  224 , the upper surface  239  of the upper flange  238  is basically flush with the upper surface of the horizontal flange  228  of the side rails  12  and thus forms a uniform, flat surface for supporting the box spring and mattress thereon. 
     With the drop-in assembly of the  FIG. 8  embodiment, due to the tolerances of the various components, there is the possibility that a gap is created between the junction of the foot member  220  and the side rails  12 . Accordingly, to retain the esthetic and visually pleasing appearance of the overall bed frame  216 , there may also be a one or more clips  244  the can be easily snapped on to the junction between the side rails  12  and the foot member  220  to cover those gaps. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 8 , there are four clips  244  that can be used to cover gaps between the various protective shields, that is, between the protective shield  222  of the foot member  220  and the curved protective shields  246  and between the curved protective shields  246  and the protective shields  20  of the side rails  12 . 
     With the clips  244 , the gaps are covered and the overall smooth appearance is continued of the junction between the foot member  220  and the side rails  12 . 
     While the present invention has been set forth in terms of a specific embodiment of embodiments, it will be understood that the present wrap around bed frame and components therefore 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.