Patent Publication Number: US-7219378-B2

Title: Support member for a bed frame

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is based upon U.S. Provisional patent application No. 60/570,700, filed May 14, 2004 and entitled “SUPPORT MEMBER FOR A BEDFRAME”. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to bed frames, and, more particularly, to a support member that spans and thus interconnects the side rails of a bed frame. 
     In general, bed frames are comprised of a pair of generally parallel, spaced apart, side rails and one or more cross support members 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. 
     Conventionally, with a bed frame, the side rails can be metal angle irons or wooden side rails and the cross or support members can be wooden slats or can be other structural components such as angle irons that are L-shaped and which have legs that extends downwardly from the angle irons to contact the floor in order to support the weight imposed on the support members 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 as the cross or support member 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 support member and being dragged across the underlying floor can cause the support member to twist and the twisting action can damage an L-shaped angle iron support member that is not particularly resistant to such twisting action. 
     In addition, there is a bending action that is created by a downward force on the surface of an L-shaped support member tending to turn the L-shape into a downward V-shape and continued downward force tends to try to flatten that V-shape. Basically, the L-shape angle iron will twist 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 L-shaped angle iron. Thus, the problem with the use of an L-shaped angle iron is not limited to the possible bending caused by the leg being twisted by encountering a snag in a carpet as the leg extending downwardly from an L-shaped support member is moved across that carpet but also simply by the weight of the load imposed on the angle iron support member tending to twist that angle iron. 
     As a further problem, the conventional legs that extend downwardly from the angle iron support members are sometimes difficult to adjust to achieve the proper height of the support member from the floor. If the height of the leg is too long, the support member will bow upwardly and, if too short, the support member will bow downwardly. As such, it is important for the user to set the height of the leg correctly so that the support member is located at the proper height from the floor and it is also important to make that height adjustment easy to carry out by the user. With some current adjustable legs, the leg is threaded to a leg bracket such that the assembler must unscrew the leg to reach the desired length to contact the floor. There is a problem, however, as the unscrewing of the threaded leg is fairly time consuming to reach the desired position and there is no clear indication when the proper length o the leg has been reached and the threaded leg can be extended too far or not far enough for the proper support of the support member. 
     Also, the length of the support member must be adjustable so that the support member can be readily installed, for example, between wooden side rails, and be easy to affix the ends of the support member to those wooden side rails. For a wooden support member the solution is to simply saw the support member to the correct length, however there is an advantage in having a metal support member to eliminate the sawing process and the saw such that it is advantageous to have some adjustment system to allow the assembler to adjust the length of a metal support member to accommodate the varied widths between side rails. 
     It thus would be advantageous to have a support member for a bed frame that would be inexpensive to produce and yet which is sufficiently strong so as to resist twisting forces while supporting the box spring and mattress. In addition, it would be advantageous to have a leg assembly affixed to the support member that can be easily adjusted to achieve the proper height of the leg assembly to provide support to that support member by means of contact with the floor. It would be further advantageous if the support member had a length adjustment to allow it to be the proper length so as to be dimensionally affixed between two parallel side rails. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Now, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a support member for attachment between parallel side rails in constructing a bed frame. 
     The support member includes a substantially straight member that is specially configured to have a T-shaped cross section with the flat upper surface of the T-shape having the box spring and mattress resting thereon and with the intermediate vertical flange extending downwardly therefrom. The downwardly extending flange is, of course, perpendicular to the upper flat surface of the T shaped support member. 
     The use of a T-shaped support member greatly improves the twist resistance of the support member and therefore reduces the potential of damaging bending of that support member over the normal L-shaped angle iron cross section. Thus, a twisting force imposed by a load on either of the distal ends of the horizontal flanges is resisted by the other distal end such that there is less likelihood of a downward deflection of either distal end of the horizontal flange, thereby, providing a resistance to the twisting of the support member under load. 
     There is also a leg assembly that is affixed to the support member, generally intermediate its ends or basically located midway between the parallel side rails. The leg assembly extends downwardly from the support member in order to make contact with the floor on which the bed frame of bed rails are located and comprises a housing, preferably constructed of a plastic material and a leg that extends downwardly from that housing to actually contact the floor. The leg is also preferably constructed of a plastic material. 
     Since the actual length that the leg extends from the housing is an important dimension and must be carefully controlled to avoid a bowing upwardly or downwardly of the support member, there is, in an embodiment of the present invention, a mechanism that allows the leg to self adjust for the correct length, that is, there is a mechanism that has an unlocked position where the leg is free to move axially with respect to the housing and can, in that position fall by gravity, or be pulled downwardly, to the floor contacting length and the mechanism then allows the user to place the mechanism into a locked position where the leg is locked into a particular extended length. 
     In the embodiment shown, the locking and unlocking is carried out by a twisting motion such that in one position, the leg is in the unlocked position and the leg can be simply twisted a predetermined amount in order to place it in the locked position. That twisting action also serves to extend the leg a slight amount to assure that the leg is in good solid contact with the floor in supporting the support member. Thus, the length the leg is extended from the housing and, therefore, from the support member, can readily be arrived at by allowing the leg to drop by gravity and then just as readily be locked into that particular length. 
     Other features of the present support member and leg assembly combined therewith 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 completed bed frame utilizing support members constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a support member and leg assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a leg assembly of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  are cross sectional views of the alignment and subsequent meshing of the outstanding grooves of the leg assembly of the invention; 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are cross sectional views of the further progress of the meshing of the outstanding grooves of  FIGS. 4A and 4B ; 
         FIGS. 6A ,  6 B and  6 C are side views of the leg assembly of  FIG. 2  showing different height adjustments; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are side and end views, respectively, of the leg assembly showing its unlocked position; 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are side and end views, respectively, of the leg assembly showing its locked position; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a telescoping bracket used with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an alternative telescoping bracket used with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of a bed frame  10  and which includes a head board  12 , a footboard  14  and two parallel side rails  16 ,  18  both of which are shown to be wooden side rails. A bed frame  10  is used for illustrative purposes, it being seen that bed rails could also make use of the present invention. To make up the bed frame  10 , there are also support members  20  that span between the parallel side rails  16 ,  18  and are affixed thereto. Leg assemblies  22 , only one of which is shown, are affixed to the support member  20 , generally about midway between the side rails  16 ,  18 , or, alternatively, between the ends  24 ,  26  of the support member  20 . The leg assembly  22  shown, is affixed to the support member  20  and extends downwardly therefrom to contact the underlying floor on which the bed frame  10  rests in order that the floor provide the necessary support for the support member  20 . That support is, of course, necessary inasmuch as the support members  20  are the supporting members for the box spring and mattress when the final bed is assembled for use. 
     The leg assembly  22  comprises a housing  28  and a leg  30  that extends downwardly from the housing  28  and the leg  30  actually makes the contact with the floor. As also can be seen in  FIG. 1 , there are telescoping brackets  32  located at each of the ends  24 ,  26  of the support members  20  and which will be later described in detail. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a perspective view of a leg assembly  22  constructed in accordance with the present invention. The support member  20  is a substantially straight member and can be seen to have a T-shaped cross section with a flat, upper surface  34  upon which rests the box spring and mattress upon the completion of assembly of a bed and a vertical flange  36  that extends downwardly from the flat, upper surface  34  and located generally at the midpoint of the bottom of that flat, upper surface  34 . In the construction of the support member  20 , the T-shaped cross section profile can be achieved by the joining together of two L-shaped angle irons, such as by welding or riveting or, alternatively, the T-shaped support member  20  can be originally rolled as a one piece T-shaped member. 
     The housing  28  is affixed to the support member  20  and the leg  30  extends downwardly therefrom. As will be seen, the leg  30  is comprised of a leg section  38  and there may be a plurality of such leg sections  38  in order to arrive at the correct length of a leg  30  since the vertical height from the floor of any support member  20  is determined by the particular bed frame construction and a particular support member  20  may vary considerably in its distance or height from the floor. The bottom leg section  40  also has a glide  42  that actually contacts the floor and that glide  42 , in the embodiment shown, is oblong or oval shaped with its widest axis generally shown to be at a right angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the support member  20  and, as will be seen, in this orientation of the glide  42 , the leg  30  is in a locked position with respect to the housing  28  and is rigidly affixed within the housing  28  so as to be vertically movable with respect to that housing  28 . 
     There are also sets of outstanding grooves  44 ,  46  formed on the exterior of the leg section  38  and the bottom leg section  40  and those grooves are centered about 180 degrees apart and each set of grooves spans a little less than 90 degrees about the circular periphery of the leg section  38  and the bottom leg section  40 . In the embodiment shown, the center points of the sets of grooves  44 ,  46  are oriented such that a centerline between the centers of the sets of grooves  44 ,  46  is at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the support member  20 . In the embodiment shown, the outstanding grooves  44 ,  46  are basically rectangular or squared in cross sectional configuration. 
     The remaining peripheral area of the exterior of the leg section  38  and the bottom leg section  40  are smooth areas  48 ,  50 , respectively, and there are also corresponding smooth areas on the leg section  38  and bottom leg section  40  facing away from the smooth area  48 ,  50  shown in  FIG. 2 . Each of the smooth areas  48 ,  50  have openings  52 ,  54  and there are flexible tabs  56 ,  58  snapped into each of the openings  52 ,  54  which will also be later explained. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown an exploded view of the leg assembly  22  and illustrating its assembly and affixation to the support member  20 . Accordingly, the housing  28  can be seen to be comprised of first and second housing sections  60 ,  62  that are affixed together about opposite sides of the vertical flange  36  by means such as rivets or bolts, not shown, passing through openings  64  formed in the first and second housings  60 ,  62 . As such, the first housing section  60  has an indentation  66  to interfit tightly to the vertical flange  36  of the support member  20 . Similar indentations are provided on the far side of the first housing section  60  as well as two such indentations formed on the second housing section  62 . The rivets or bolts the pass through the upper of the openings  64  also pass through holes, not shown in the vertical flange  36  in affixing the leg assembly  22  to the support member  20 . 
     Both of the first and second housing sections  60 ,  62  have flared out sections  68 ,  70 , respectively, and within the interior of the flared out sections  68 ,  70  are formed outstanding grooves  72 . Again, only the grooves on the second housing section  62  are shown, however, there are corresponding outstanding grooves formed in the interior of the flared out section  68  of the first housing section  60 . The outstanding grooves formed in the interior of the first and second housing sections  60 ,  62  are centered 180 degrees apart and traverse a little less than 90 degrees around the circular internal surface of the first and second housings  60 ,  62 . 
     The leg assembly  22  shown in  FIG. 3  comprises a plurality of leg sections, that is, there is a bottom leg section  40 , a leg section  38  and an upper leg section  74 . There can, of course be more than one leg section  38  located between the upper leg section  74  and the bottom leg section  40  in constructing a leg assembly  22 . The various leg sections interfit with each other in a telescoping fashion since there is a lower flange  76  that extends downwardly from the upper leg section  74  that enters the leg section  38  and, likewise, there is a lower flange  78  that extends downwardly from the leg section  38  that enters the bottom leg section  40 . 
     Each of the lower flanges  76 ,  78  includes a vertical protuberance  80 ,  82  respectively, that interfits into a vertical slot  84 ,  86  provided on the interior surface of the leg section  38  and the bottom leg section  40 , respectively, so that the intermitting of the upper leg section  74  into the leg section  38  and the interfitting of the leg section  38  into the bottom leg section  40  provide an alignment of the sections. That alignment is necessary in order to also align the flexible tabs  56 ,  58  with the openings  52 ,  54  as the upper leg section  40  and the leg section  38  are snapped into the intermitting relationship with respectively the leg section  38  in the bottom leg section  40 . 
     Thus, in assembling the leg assembly  22 , for example, the leg section  38  is snapped into the bottom leg section  40  so that the flexible tab  56  on the leg section  38  snaps through the opening  54  and in a similar manner, the upper leg section  74  is snapped on to the leg section  38 . By the use of the separate assembly of the various leg sections, the height of the overall leg assembly  22  can be established by the user depending upon the height of the support member  20  above the floor. As can be understood, there may be a greater or lesser number of leg sections used depending on the height of the support member  20  with respect to the floor. 
     As can now be seen, in the position of the leg  30  as shown in  FIG. 3 , the set of groves  88  of the upper leg section  74  mesh with the outstanding groves  72  formed in the interior of the second housing section  62  and, as described, also with corresponding outstanding groves in the interior of the first housing section  60  and that meshing prevents the vertical movement of the leg  30 , thus when the leg is oriented as shown in  FIG. 3 , it is in a locked position and its vertical movement with respect to the housing  28  as well as the support member  20  is arrested. It should be noted that in the locked position of  FIG. 3 , the glide  42  has its major axis at a right angle to the support member  20  so that the user knows by simply looking at the orientation of the glide  42  that the leg  30  is in the locked position. 
     As such, the leg  30  can be moved from that locked position to an unlocked position by simply rotating the leg  30  about 90 degrees, or a quarter of a turn such that the outstanding groves  72  become aligned with the smooth area  90  of the upper leg section  74 . At that position, the leg  30  can be moved vertically with respect to the housing  28  since the groves  88  and the grooves  72  are not meshed and the leg  30  can drop by gravity to contact the floor or can be pulled downwardly by the user. 
     Accordingly, by rotating the leg  30  a quarter of a turn, it can be moved between its locked and its unlocked position. There is a vertical wall  90  located at one end of the outstanding grooves  72  in both the first and second leg housings  60 ,  62  to prevent the over rotation of the leg  30  more than the quarter of a turn so that the leg  30  can only be turned in one direction to its locked position and in the reverse direction to its unlocked position. As a further feature of the aforesaid locking mechanism, there is an upper peripheral circular rim  92  at the top of the upper leg portion  74  to serve a purpose to be later described. 
     Turning to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , taken along with  FIG. 3 , there are cross sectional views of the alignment and subsequent meshing of the outstanding grooves  88  of, for example, the upper leg section  74  with the outstanding grooves  72  of the housing  28 . As can be seen, when the leg  30  is rotated, as previously described, the outstanding grooves  88  of the upper section  70  near the outstanding grooves  72  of the housing  28  and that exact alignment is dependent upon how far the leg  30  has been extended downwardly to contact the floor from the housing  28 . The subsequent meshing of the respective groves  88 ,  72  as the leg  30  is rotated bring about the locked position of the leg  30  with respect to the housing  28  to lock the leg  30  in its extended position contacting the floor. As an added feature, however, the distal ends  94  of the outstanding grooves  72  have a lower surface  96  that slants upwardly whereas the distal ends  98  of the outstanding grooves  88  of the leg  30  have an upper surface  100  that slants downwardly. 
     Accordingly, as the outstanding grooves  88  of the leg  30  are rotated into the locked position of  FIG. 4B , since the outstanding grooves  72  are fixed within the housing  28 , the meshing between the distal ends  94  and  98  causes the engagement of the lower surface  96  and upper surface  100  such that any actual displacement of the leg  30  with respect to the housing  28  will always be slightly downwardly in the direction of the arrow A. As such as the leg  30  is rotated into its locked position, the leg  30  will move downwardly, if at all, to better engage the floor and support the support member  20 . 
     Turning briefly to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the further progress of the meshing of the outstanding grooves  88  into the outstanding grooves  72  of the housing  28  illustrates that the grooves  72  narrow, at  73 , as they approach the vertical wall  90  so that, as the rotation of the leg  30  reaches its full locked position there is a slight binding between the outstanding grooves  72  and  88  to assist in retaining the leg  30  in its locked position so that the leg  30  does not easily become inadvertently rotated back to its unlocked position but requires a positive rotational force supplied by the user. 
     Next, with reference to  FIGS. 6A ,  6 B and  6 C, there is shown a series of views of the leg assembly  22  with the housing  28  affixed to a support member  20  with the leg  30  extending downwardly from the housing  28  to contact the floor  102  in supporting the support member  20 . As shown, the height of the support member  20  in  FIG. 6A  can be about 18.5 inches above the floor  102  while the height of the support member  20  above the floor  102  in  FIG. 6C  can be about 6.0 inches. The difference in heights of the leg  30  is dependant upon the number of intermediate leg sections that are interposed between the bottom leg section  40  and the upper leg section  74 . In  FIG. 6A , there are three of such leg sections  104 ; in  FIG. 6B , there is only one leg section  104  and in  FIG. 6C , there are no leg sections such that the bottom leg section  40  is affixed in the aforedescribed manner to the housing  28 . 
     Turning next to  FIGS. 7A and 7B , there is shown a front view and a side view of the leg assembly  22  with the leg  30  in its unlocked position. In this position, the centers of the grooves  44 ,  46  are aligned generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support member  20  and are not meshing with the grooves  72  in the housing  28  so that the leg is free to move vertically as shown by the arrows B so as to extend the leg  30  to the desired length in contact with the floor. Also, as an indication that the leg  30  is in its unlocked position the oblong glide  42  ( FIG. 3 ) has its major axis at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the support member  20  so that the user can easily verify that the leg  30  is in that unlocked position. 
     In  FIGS. 8A and 8B , there is shown a front view and a side view of the leg assembly  22  with the leg  30  in its locked position, having been rotated a quarter of a turn, or about 90 degrees, from the unlocked position of  FIGS. 7A and 7B . In this position, the centers of the grooves  44 ,  46  are generally at a right angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the support member  20  and are meshed with the grooves  72  in the housing  28  so that the leg is prevented from moving vertically and the leg  30  is locked into the position shown and is in contact with the floor to support the support member  20 . Again, as an indication that the leg  30  is in its unlocked position the oblong glide  42  ( FIG. 3 ) has its major axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support member  20  so that the user can easily verify that the leg  30  is in that locked position. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 9 , there is shown a perspective view of a telescoping bracket  106  that can be used with the particular cross sectional configuration of support member  20  in order to secure the support member  20  to the side rails  16 ,  18  as shown in  FIG. 1 . As can be seen, the support member  20  has its flat upper surface  34  and vertical flange  36  extending downwardly therefrom and the telescoping bracket  106  comprises a bracket body  108  that is slidingly affixed to the support member  20  along the longitudinal axis thereof so as to be movable toward and away from the side rails  16 ,  18  ( FIG. 1 ) in order to adjust the length of the support member  20  to account for differently dimensioned spaces between those side rails  16 ,  18 . 
     Thus, at the distal end  110  of the bracket body  108  there are holes  112  to accommodate screws to affix the telescoping bracket  106  to the wooden side rails  16 ,  18 . The sliding affixation is provided by a pair of tabs  114  that are formed in the bracket body  108  and which overlap both ends of the flat upper surface  34  of the support member  20  and a pair of standoff rivets  116  that pass through slots  118  formed in the bracket body  108 . Accordingly, the telescoping bracket  106  is free to slide along the support member  20  in order to be affixed to the side rails  16 ,  18 . 
     Turning finally to  FIG. 10 , there is an alternative telescoping bracket  120  that has its bracket body  122  lying atop of the support member  20  and having a pair of slots  124  formed therein, again along the longitudinal axis of the support member  20 . The holes  126  at the distal end  128  provide for screws to pass therethrough in order to affix the distal end  128  of the telescoping bracket  120  to the wooden side rails  16 ,  18  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     While the present invention has been set forth in terms of a specific embodiment of embodiments, it will be understood that the present support member 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.