Abstract:
A bed-side structure that is mounted to the upright portion of the rail of a bed frame and extends outwardly to provide a platform for supporting a person&#39;s foot, the structure having a slot for fitting over the upright portion of the bed rail that is dimensioned to provide detachable mounting of said platform to said bed frame, minimize downward sloping of said platform, and to permit sliding of said member along said rail.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The background of the invention will be discussed in two parts. 
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to bedside foot rests and more particularly to a bed frame mounted foot rest that permits removal for portability and selective positioning along the bed frame. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Prior art bedside foot rests were not found relating to a bed frame mounted foot rest as is taught by the present invention: Prior patents directed to bedside foot rests have been either bulky and cumbersome or unduly complex so as to be impractical in use and thus commercially unacceptable. An example of such prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,525 issued to Williams on 10 Jun. 1980 and entitled “Bedside Foot Rest” that discloses a pivotal support mounted to the bed frame. Other patents of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,215 which discloses a fold-up foot stool mounted on upright supports that is swung under the bed, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,975,436 which disclosing a stool-like step also adapted to swing under the bed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    In view of the prior art there exists a need for an improved bedside foot rest as set forth by the present invention which addresses the continuing problems of ease of use, low cost, simplicity of construction, removal for portability and selective positioning along the bed frame. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a bed frame mounted foot rest that is easily mounted to and removed from the bed frame. It is a further object of the invention to provide a small, simple bed frame mounted foot rest that permits movement of the foot rest along the bed frame. Other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the specification taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
         [0007]    The invention comprises an elongated one piece foot rest structure having a slot for fitting over the vertical portion of the bed frame and a cantilevered horizontally extending platform providing support for a foot of a person sitting on the side of the bed. The slot permits longitudinal positioning along the bed frame. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the bed frame mounted foot rest in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the foot rest of the invention as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the foot rest of the invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the foot rest of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a rear view of the foot rest of the invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken along lines  6 - 6  of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the foot rest of of the invention; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the foot rest of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    Briefly, the foot rest of the invention is comprised of a detachable elongated one piece structure having a slot for fitting over the outside upright portion of a bed rail and a contiguous outwardly extending platform for support of the foot of a person sitting on the bed. The slot provides means for mounting of the foot rest to the bed rail as well as means for sliding the foot rest along the bed rail.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the bed frame mounted foot rest, generally designated  10 , in accordance with the invention. As illustrated, the footrest is mounted onto bed frame  11 , as will be described, with top  12  of the invention shown supporting the foot  13  of the user. The foot rest  10  is detachably mounted onto the bed frame  11  and can be slid along the bed frame  11 , thus allowing for selective positioning on the bed frame and removal for portability. As shown, the foot rest facilitates access to the foot for activities such as toenail clipping. Although nor shown, the surface of foot rest may be ergonomically configured for acceptance of the foot of the user. Also not shown, the foot rest facilitates access to a shoe worn by a person to facilitate activities such as tying of shoelaces. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the foot rest  10  of the invention. Briefly, the foot rest  10  is comprised of an elongated one piece structure having a slot  14  defined by a vertical rear portion  15  and the rear of a front portion, generally designated  16 , front portion  16  cantilevered forwardly from the slot  14 . Rear portion  15  and front portion  16  are covered by top  12  to form a platform for support of the foot of a person sitting on the bed. The surface of top  12  may be provided with an anti-slip material to foster firm footing of the surface. Foot rest  10  is mounted to bed frame  11  by fitting slot  14  down over the vertical portion  11   a  of the bed frame  11  with rear portion  15  on the inside of the vertical portion  11   a  and the front portion  16  on the outside of the vertical portion  11   a  of the bed frame  11 . By means of slot  14 , rear portion  15  and the rear of front portion  16  are configured to fit snugly onto the vertical portion  11   a  of the bed frame  11  to prevent the root rest  10  from slanting downwardly when weight of the user&#39;s foot is placed thereon. However, the rear portion  15  and the front portion  16  are configured loose enough to allow longitudinal positioning of the foot rest  10  along the bed frame  11 . Front portion  16  has substantially identical vertical ends  16   a,    16   b  and intermediate planar portion  16   c  that depend downwardly from top  12 . Ends  16   a,    16   b  are curved symmetrically outwardly from the rear of front portion  16  to meet intermediate vertical planar portion  16   c.  Downwardly depending ends  16   a,    16   b  and planar portion  16   c  cooperate to provide a buttress for supporting top  12 . The foot rest  10  can be of one-piece construction with suitable dimensions found to be approximately eight inches in length, two inches in width and two inches in height. I it is understood, however, that the invention can as well be constructed of multiple pieces with or without different dimensions. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a vertical front view of the foot rest  10  of  FIG. 2 . Since the ends  16   b,    16   c  are symmetrically curved outwardly and slanted upwardly to meet intermediate vertical planar portion  16   c,  the bottom ribs  16   d  (three shown) can be seen. Ribs  16   d  add additional strength to the foot rest  10  to provide increased support and stability for the foot  13  of the user. 
         [0019]      FIG. 4  illustrates the right end view of the foot rest of  FIG. 2 . In this view, the slot  14  as defined by rear portion  15  and front portion  16  can be clearly seen. Further, the manner in which the ends  16   a,    16   b  are slanted upwardly to meet the intermediate vertical planar portion  16   c  is more apparent. 
         [0020]      FIG. 5  illustrates the rear view of the foot rest of  FIG. 2  wherein the top  12 , the rear portion  15 , and the front portion  16  are shown. 
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the foot rest of the invention taken along lines  6 - 6  of  FIG. 3  showing the foot rest  10  mounted onto the bed frame  11 , that is, the foot rest  10  placed over the vertical portion  11   a  with the portion  11   a  fitted into the slot  14  formed by the rear portion  15  and the front portion  16 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the foot rest  10  of the invention illustrating the top, or platform,  12 , the rear portion  15 , ends  16   a,    16   b  and front planar portion  16   c.  As indicated the top  12  has an anti-slip material applied to foster firm footing. 
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the foot rest  10  of  FIG. 2  illustrating the rear portion  15 , front portion  16 , slot  14 , ends  16   a,    16   b,  front planar portion  16   c  and ribs  16   d.    
         [0024]    Whereas the invention is illustrated and described with reference to a particular embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in adapting the invention to different embodiments without departing from the broader inventive concepts disclosed herein.