Abstract:
A method of installing a bedrail slat system includes engaging two bed side rails with a bed headboard and footboard, and telescopically engaging a first slat member to a second slat member to form a telescoping slat. The ends of the telescoping slats are then connected to the side rails. The first and second slat members are not secured together, but a downwardly extending support is attached to the telescoping slat.

Description:
This is a continuation application claiming the benefit of application Ser. No. 08/828,648 filed Mar. 31, 1997, which issued Oct. 6, 1998, into U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,860 entitled Telescoping Bed Slat, and application Ser. No. 09/006,244 filed Jan. 13, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,858, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed generally to a telescoping bed slat, and in particular, to a telescoping bed slat economical to manufacture, easy to assemble and readily adapted to beds of varying heights and widths. 
     Bed slats extend between the rails of wooden beds to support the box springs and mattress. Metal beds generally have rails with one or more hingeable slat sections extending perpendicularly from the rails which engage a mating slat sections to form a bed frame having two or more horizontal supports. The opposing slat sections typically include pins adapted to extend through apertures in the mating slat portion to secure the frame. Wooden beds, on the other hand, include wooden bed rails with cleats extending along the inside length of the rail. Bed slats rest upon the top surface of these cleats, and the box springs and mattress are placed thereon. Historically, wooden bed slats were precut to fit each bed. Throughout the years, beds of varying widths were standardized. Although the standard bed sizes are full, queen, king and California-king, certain of these beds falling within one category may require slats of different lengths. 
     The emphasis on manufacturing articles of higher quality and lower cost grew in parallel with the desire to provide a bed which is easy to assemble. Currently, many suppliers deliver and assemble the bed in the customer&#39;s home, creating an even greater emphasis on the need for quick and easy assembly. 
     Bed manufacturers do not typically manufacture the slat assembly and must purchase these assemblies from other suppliers, such as B &amp; H Panel Co., 230 West Academy Street, Asheboro, N.C. 27204. The manufacturers demand a high quality, low cost product which is easy for retailer&#39;s delivery personnel to assemble. Various attempts at providing bed slats of varying lengths have failed because they were complex and expensive to manufacture. 
     These systems were difficult to assemble and required a number of tools for assembly. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,832, to Mitchell et al. discloses an adjustable bed slat having telescoping sections with respective pawl and ratchet means. The Mitchell et al. slat is expensive to manufacture because of the pawl and ratchet means and fails to provide any type of central support, let alone a versatile and economical vertical support operable on a multitude of bed heights. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,452,808 to Tucker, discloses a telescoping bed slat having two sections, each having an L-shaped bracket adapted to engage a bed rail cleat. The first section includes a threaded rod extending from a first bracket and the second section includes a tap cylinder extending from the other bracket. The Tucker system requires welding the brackets onto the respective sections, tapping a cylinder and providing a threaded rod, all of which boost the cost of manufacture out of the bounds of economic reality. Furthermore, there is no way to connect one or more vertical supports to the Tucker slat in an economically efficient manner. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 1,504,807 to Brotherton, Jr. et al. discloses a telescoping bed slat wherein the respective ends are attached to the bed rails, but do not rest on cleats on the rail. Brotherton, Jr. et al. teach attaching the ends of the slat to a mounting bracket on the bed rail using a pin or hook configuration. The telescoping sections are bolted together at the center of the slat, thus, requiring additional materials for manufacture and tools for assembly. Additionally, there is no way to provide one or more supports along the Brotherton, Jr. et al. slat. 
     Thus, there remains a need for an economical bed slat system which is easy to assemble and easily adapted to fit beds of varying widths and heights. There is a need for a bed slat adjustable to various widths having one or more adjustable supports to adjust the height desired bed height. There is a further need to provide uniform supports adapted to work with a telescoping slat requiring one, two or more supports. A need remains for a slat support system substantially reducing the number of tools required to assemble the slat and support system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention fulfills these needs by providing a telescoping bed slat easily assembled for beds of various widths and heights. In particular, the invention includes a telescoping slat, one or more telescoping supports and securable mounts at terminal ends of the slat for anchoring the slat to respective bed rail cleats. Each slat includes two telescopically joined tubular sections. Preferably, the tubular sections are rectangular and include coinciding, longitudinally extending slots. The supports include a mounting head portion adapted to slideably engage the coinciding slots and extend downward from the slat toward a floor. 
     The supports may include two telescoping tubular sections. An upper section attaches to the mounting head portion which slideably engages and extends within the slat via the longitudinally extending slot. A lower section attaches to a threadably mounted fine adjustment that permits fine adjustments in the height of the support. In the preferred embodiment, the tubular sections of the support are rectangular and include a series of through-extending apertures adapted to receive a pin, bolt or dowel in order to set the desired height of the support. 
     The head portion of the support foot includes an upper portion which slides within the slat, a lower portion extending within the upper member of the support, and opposing sides having channels slideably engaging portions of the tubing members defining the slot in the slat. The mounting head portion is made of a molded styrene or other durable plastic, and the channels are adapted to slideably engage the slat at portions in which the telescoping sections overlap and portions in which they do not overlap. This flexibility allows one support configuration to work on beds requiring one or more supports at various positions along the length of the slat. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the ends of the slats include a molded styrene or other plastic insert mounted within, and at terminal ends of the slat. The inserts and terminal ends of the slat include apertures through which a pin or dowel is inserted to attach the respective terminal ends to a bed rail cleat. The cleat will generally include corresponding predrilled holes sized to receive the pin or dowel. During set-up of a bed using the telescoping slat, one simply mounts one or more supports to one of the telescoping members by sliding the mounting head portion within the tubular sections, followed by telescopically engaging the members to form a single slat of the desired width of the bed. Next, pins or dowels are inserted through the ends of the slats into the bed rail cleat, and the supports are slid to the desired position. The telescoping sections of the supports are used to roughly set the support height. The fine adjustment attached to the bottom section of the support is used to adjust the support to the exact desired height. The invention provides a bed slat system for beds of varying heights and widths which is easy to assemble and disassemble while minimizing manufacturing cost. The invention further eliminates the need for different mounting configurations for supports and the need for centrally clamping the bed slat, both of which minimize the amount of hardware and tools required to manufacture and assemble each slat. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be better understood from a review of the drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 depicts a telescoping bed slat constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention located in a bed, shown in phantom. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the telescoping bed slat of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of a support constructed according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mounting head portion for the support of FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings in general and FIGS. 1 and 2 in particular, a telescoping bed slat  10  is depicted having an inner telescoping tubing member  12  and an outer telescoping tubing member  14 . Both members  12 ,  14  are adapted such that the inner telescoping  12  readily slides within the outer telescoping tubing member  14 . Each tubing member  12 ,  14  is of sufficient length to enable the telescoping slat  10  to extend to lengths along a continuum fitting multiple bed widths and configurations. In the preferred embodiment, each tubing member  12 ,  14  is approximately 46 inches long and fits queen (5″-0″) and king (6″-0″ or 6″—6″) size beds. It is important that the telescoping members  12 ,  14  of the slat  10  overlap sufficiently to provide the slat  10  with adequate longitudinal integrity. For example, the telescoping members  12 ,  14  may overlap 32 inches for a queen size bed. The overlap provides reinforcement at a zone of maximum exposure to flexing or bending. 
     The telescoping slat  10  includes a slot  16  extending longitudinally along its length. The slot  16  is formed from coinciding slots in the telescoping members  12 ,  14 . The telescoping members  12 ,  14  preferably have a generally rectangular cross-section, but may be of any geometrical shape allowing for a telescoping cooperation between the telescoping members  12 ,  14  to form the slat  10  securely engage the bed rails and provide longitudinal stability. The slat  10  is formed so that the slot  16  faces downward once the slat  10  is mounted to the bed. 
     One or more vertical slat supports  20  are provided, the number depending on the width of the bed and the amount of additional support desired. Full and queen size beds generally have a centrally located support while king size beds use two supports substantially equally spaced between the bed rails  44 . The support  20  is preferably adjustable and includes an upper support member  22  and a lower support member  24 . The support  20  is adapted to slideably engage the slot  16  of the slat  10 . At the top of the upper support member  22 , a head portion  26  slideably engages the slot  16  and is press-fit into the upper support member  22 . 
     The head portion  26  is designed to slideably engage the slot  16  throughout the length of the slat  10  regardless of whether or not the head portion  26  is engaging the inner telescoping tubing member  12 , the outer telescoping member  14  or the central portion of the slat  10  where the telescoping tubing members  12 ,  14  overlap. Thus, beds requiring only one, centrally located support  20  may use the same type of support  20  as beds requiring multiple supports  20  where each support is located outside of the central area of the slat  10  where the tubing members  12 ,  14  overlap. In short, the head portion  26  is configured to slideably engage the slat  10  where the tubing sections  12 ,  14  overlap and where they do not. Such a universal configuration reduces the cost of manufacturing and simplifies assembly. 
     Preferably, the upper and lower support members  22 ,  24  telescopically engage one another and have a series of through-extending support apertures  38  adapted to receive a pin  36  to set the approximate height of the support  20  to provide rough height adjustments to accommodate beds of varying heights. However, unlike the tubing members  12 ,  14  of the slat  10 , the upper and lower support members  22 ,  24  do not have to be telescopically arranged. 
     The lower support member  24  preferably includes a foot portion  30  for mounting a fine adjustment foot  32 . The foot portion  30  is preferably tapped to receive a threaded shaft fixedly attached to the fine adjustment foot  32 . Fine adjustments to the height of the support are provided by turning the fine adjustment foot  32  clockwise or counterclockwise. 
     The slat  10  is preferably used with a wooden bed having a head board  40 , foot board  42  and wooden bed rails  44  having wooden bed rail cleats  46  for receiving terminal ends  48  of the slat  10 . Preferably, the terminal ends  48  of the slat  10  rest on a top portion of the bed rail cleats  46  and against the inside portion of the bed rail  44 . Importantly, the terminal ends of the slat  10  are adapted to engage the bed rail cleats  44  and/or the bed rails  44 . Although the terminal ends  48  of the slats  10  may be adapted to engage the bed rail cleats  46  and/or the bed rails  44 , it is preferable to provide a press-fit insert  52  having a vertically-oriented, through-extending aperture  54  within the terminal ends  46  of the slat  10 . The insert  52  is designed such that the aperture  54  corresponds and aligns with vertically oriented predrilled holes  50  in the cleats  46 . During assembly, a pin  56  is inserted through the aperture  54  in the insert  52  and into the holes  50  in the cleat  46  in order to secure the slat  10  to the respective bed rails  44 . No other means of preventing axial extension of retraction of the telescoping slat  10  is necessary, thereby reducing the need for clamps, pins or ratchet means to axially stabilize the slat. The tubing members  12 ,  14  overlap sufficiently to provide lateral integrity and the terminal ends  48  of the slat  10  are secured to the respective bed rails  44 . Each bed typically includes at least two slats  10  spaced along the length of the bed. 
     Notably, any type of suitable connection system is acceptable as an attachment means to connect the terminal ends  48  to the bed rails  44 . The ends may be configured to snap onto or into the bed rail  44  or cleat  46 , to include an integral pin extending into a corresponding hole  50 , to engage a pin or hook extending from the bed rail  44  or cleat  46  or latch into or over a ridge in the rail  44  or cleat  46 , just to name a few alternatives. The manner in which the ends are connected is not as important as making sure that the ends are connected in some manner. No other means for axially securing the slat  10  is used. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 depict the head portion  26  used to slideably engage the support  20  into the slot  16  of the slat  10 . The head portion  26  includes channels  60  for receiving the edges of the respective tubing members  12 ,  14  defining the slot  16 . Each of the channels  60  are defined by an upper shoulder  62  and a lower shoulder  64 . The shoulders  62 ,  64  are spaced apart sufficiently to make the channel  60  wide enough to provide slidable engagement with overlapping tubing member  12 ,  14  while being narrow enough to minimize wobble when the channels engage those portions of the slat  10  which do not overlap. The upper portion of the mounting head portion  26  may substantially fill the interior of the telescoping slat  10 . The upper portion cannot be larger than the inner portion of the inner telescoping tubing section  12  to enable the head portion to slide along the entire length of the slat  10 . The lower portion of the mounting base  26  is adapted to be press-fit or otherwise secured in the uppermost portion of the upper support member of the support  20 . The mounting head portion  26 , inserts  52 , foot portion  30  and the fine adjustment foot  32  are preferably made of a durable material, such as plastic, steel, polyethylene, nylon or any number of materials with like durability. 
     During assembly of the bed, the head and foot boards  40 ,  42  are attached to the bed rails  44 . One or more vertical supports  20  are slideably attached to one of the telescoping tubing members  12 ,  14  via the mounting head portion  26  and the slot  16 . The telescoping members  12 ,  14  are telescopically engaged. The slat  10  is adjusted to the width of the bed and the apertures  54  of the insert  52  are aligned with the predrilled holes  50  in the respective bed rail cleats  46 . Pins  56  are pressed or hammered in place to secure the slat  10  to the bed rails  44 . Preferably, the tool used to insert pins  56  is the only tool, if any, needed for assembly. Next, the supports  20  are placed as desired along the slat  10  and a rough adjustment of the length of the support  20  is made by adjusting lower support member  24  to a position where certain of the support apertures  38  in members  22  and  24  align. The pin  36  is inserted into the aligned apertures to fix the length of each support  20 . Fine adjustment to support height is made by turning the fine adjustment foot  32  in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction until the foot contacts the floor and supports the slat  10  at the desired height.