Patent Publication Number: US-11638487-B2

Title: Recessed bed mountable article holding system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to bed mountable shelving device and more particularly pertains to a new bed mountable shelving device that allows a person to store a self-defense weapon or article under a bed in an easily accessible manner. Moreover, the defense weapon will be stored in such a manner that it is recessed under the bed so that the defense weapon, and the storage means itself, is not easily observable to others while facilitating easy access to the defense weapon. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The prior art relates to bed mountable shelving devices that typically extend downwardly or outwardly directly from the edge of the bed so that items such as remote controls, food plates, books and the like can be reached by a person sitting in a bed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a frame engagement member for engaging a bedframe. A receiver is attached to and extends downwardly from the frame engagement member. The receiver is attached to the frame engagement member such that the receiver is positioned inwardly away from a vertical plane of an exterior surface of the bedframe and under a mattress supported by the bedframe. The receiver releasably holds a self-defense apparatus. 
     In another embodiment, the disclosure teaches a method of hiding a self-defense apparatus under a bed in an easily accessible location. The method includes extending a frame engagement member between a bedframe and a bedding member positioned on the bedframe to suspend a receiver attached to the frame engagement member from the bedframe such that the receiver is spaced inwardly away from a vertical plane of an exterior surface of the bedframe to position the receiver under a mattress supported by the bedframe. Positioning the self-defense apparatus on the receiver. 
     In yet another embodiment, the method includes the steps of extending a frame engagement member between a bedframe and a bedding member positioned on the bedframe to suspend a receiver attached to the frame engagement member from the bedframe such that the receiver is spaced inwardly away from a vertical plane of an exterior surface of the bedframe to position the receiver under a mattress supported by the bedframe. The receiver includes an inner wall extending downwardly from the frame engagement member. A lip is attached to a lower edge of the vertical wall and extends toward the vertical plane. The lip is angled upwardly and the self-defense apparatus is positioned on the lip. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a front isometric view of a recessed bed mountable article holding system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a rear isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a side in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a front isometric in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    is a front isometric in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS.  1  through  5    thereof, a new bed mountable shelving device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS.  1  through  5   , the recessed bed mountable article holding system  10  generally comprises a frame engagement member  20  configured to engage a bedframe  12  of a conventional bed. It should be understood that the term “bedframe” is being used in its generic sense a conventional structure that supports a mattress  14  with or without a box spring. Moreover, when using the terms mattress or box spring herein each is considered interchangeable with each other. The bedframe  12  may include structures having an L-shaped cross shape as is shown in  FIG.  3   , though the bedframe  12  may instead comprise a platform bedframe wherein a plurality of slats extends between two supports to directly support a mattress without requiring a box spring. 
     A frame engagement member  20  is configured to engage the bedframe  12 . A receiver  22  is attached to and extends downwardly from the frame engagement member  20 . The receiver  22  is attached to the frame engagement member  20  such that the receiver  22  is positioned inwardly away from a vertical plane  17  of an exterior surface  18  of the bedframe  12  and under a mattress  14  supported by the bedframe  12 . The exterior surface  18  is defined as the outermost lateral side of the bedframe  12  as shown in  FIG.  3   . The receiver  22  is configured to releasably hold a self-defense apparatus  16  as will be further explained below. 
     The frame engagement member  20  comprises an upper plate  24  having an outer edge  26  and inner edge  28 . The upper plate  24  is positionable between the bedframe  12  and the mattress  14  positioned on the bedframe  12  such that the inner edge  28  is directed under an area covered by the mattress  14 . The vertical plane  17  extends adjacently along and downwardly from the outer edge  26 . The upper plate  24  has a depth from the outer edge  26  to the inner edge  28  between 3.0 inches and 10.0 inches. The upper plate  24  is planar from the outer edge  26  to the inner edge  28 . 
     The frame engagement member  22  may further include a vertical plate  30  that is attached to the outer edge  26  and extends upwardly therefrom. The vertical plate  30  extends along the outer edge  16  and forms a perpendicular angle with the upper plate  24  to typically extend upwardly form the upper plate  24  a distance of at least 0.5 inches. As is readily apparent from  FIG.  3   , the vertical plate  30  is positioned between the bedframe  12  and the mattress  14  in a vertical orientation to prevent the upper plate  24  from sliding outwardly from between frame  12  and the mattress  14 . 
     The receiver  22  has an open side facing a direction outwardly away from the area covered by the mattress  14 . This allows a person to easily retrieve an article  16  being held by the receiver  22 . The receiver  22  is spaced away from the vertical plane  17  a distance equal to at least 0.5 inches. This positions the receiver  22  under a bed sufficiently such that the receiver  22  is less conspicuous to a casual observer. 
     The receiver  22  includes an inner wall  32  that is attached to the inner edge  28  and extends downwardly therefrom. The inner wall  32  has a bottom edge  34  positioned opposite of the inner edge  28 . The inner wall  32  extends downwardly from the upper plate  24  a distance of less than 6.0 inches. The inner wall  32  may be planar and be oriented parallel to the vertical plane  17 . A lip  36  is attached to the bottom edge  34  of the inner wall  32  and extends toward the vertical plane  17 . The lip  36  has a distal edge  38  relative to the inner wall  32  wherein the distal edge  38  is positioned above a horizontal plane  40  intersecting the bottom edge  34  of the inner wall  32 . This prevents articles from sliding or rolling off the lip  36 . The lip  36  may be planar and form an acute angle with the inner wall  32 . The acute angle is most often between 70° and 88°. It should be understood that the inner wall  32  and lip  36 , while shown as each being planar, may comprise a curved shape or the inner wall  32  may be angled from the upper plate  24  toward the vertical plane  17 . Therefore J-shaped and semi-circular shapes are also contemplated. The shape employed may be tailored to specific articles, though a planar lip  36  and inner wall  32  may be preferred for ease of construction and to ensure that retrieval of the article  16  is not impeded by the shape of the receiver  22 . Additionally contemplated is an upwardly extending ridge, not shown, extending along the distal edge  38  to further retain objects on the lip  36 . 
     The receiver  22  may be provided in differing sizes depending upon the article  16  to be supported by the receiver  22 . The receiver  22  has a first lateral edge  42  and a second lateral edge  44 . The receiver  22  will typically have a width from the first lateral edge  42  to the second lateral edge  44  between 0.50 inches and 8.0 inches. The receiver  22  and frame engagement member  20  may be a unitary structure as shown in the Figures and comprising a single unbroken piece of material. Alternatively, the receiver  22 , the frame engagement member  20  and components thereof may include releasably detachable elements structurally held together with conventional mechanical fasteners, clips, mating members and the like. Materials used for the system  10  will most often include plastics and metals, though any material having sufficient rigidity to support the weight of a selected article  16  may be utilized. Thus, carbon composites, wood, elastomers, glass and the like may also be used. The materials may be colored any color which may assist in the receiver  20  blending into its surroundings. 
     In use, frame engagement member is positioned on an interior edge  16  of the bedframe  12  as shown in the Figures such that mattress  14  is positioned on the frame engagement member  20  to retain it place. This positions the receiver  22  under the mattress  14  in a recessed position relative to the bedframe  12  so that the receiver  22  is not easily noticeable by casual observance. The receiver  22  may then be used for holding a self-defense article  16  such as a can of pressurized pepper spray, electroshock weapons (i.e. TASERs), and combinations thereof. While knives and guns may also be placed on the receiver, it is noted that the purpose of the system  10  is to conceal the self-defense article  16  in such a way that it is not noticed by others but also in a manner that the self-defense article is not secured or locked and therefore weapons dangerous to children would most often not be held by the receiver  22 . It is also noted that a pair of systems  10  may be used together to hold an elongated object that are utilized as self-defense articles  18  such as a bat or shotgun. Where an elongated object such as a bat is being held by a pair of receivers  22 , the receivers  22  may have a smaller width down to 0.5 inches. Should an intruder break into a person&#39;s dwelling, the self-defense article  18  will be readily accessible without providing any indication to the intruder that such the self-defense article  18  is accessible. It should be understood that non-self-defense articles may be positioned on the receiver  22  such as flashlights, remote controls, and the like. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.