EP0637427A1

EP0637427A1 - Cap for bedstead staves

Info

Publication number: EP0637427A1
Application number: EP94830127A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Angelo Gritti
Original assignee: RETI GRITTI SpA
Current assignee: RETI GRITTI SpA
Priority date: 1993-06-09
Filing date: 1994-03-22
Publication date: 1995-02-08
Also published as: ITBS930040V0; ITBS930040U1; IT231246Y1

Abstract

A cap for staves as used for constructing stave bedsteads having a cavity (12) provided with two openings (14') which are located on two opposite side walls (14) and are designed to receive and to snappingly interact with two projections (16) provided on opposite stave sides so as to prevent any sliding motion between cap and stave once they are coupled.

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal cap for staves as used for constructing stave bedsteads.
Terminal caps in different forms, provided or not with head or base pins for anchoring the staves to a bedstead, are usually applied to both ends of bedstead staves.
At present, the said terminal caps are simply fitted on stave ends or fixed thereto by nails or screws. However, the absence of fixing does not ensure adequate union between cap and stave; on the other hand, fixing by nails or screws entails the use of specific equipment and labour, and consequently further expenses.
In another known arrangement, terminal caps are fixed to staves by means of a tooth provided inside the cap, which is introduced into a hole provided in the stave.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal cap for staves in a new configuration and free from any inside teeth, which can be conveniently and quickly coupled to a stave without any tools and engaging with the stave sides through a snapping connection.
For the said purpose, the cap proposed by this invention comprises a moulded plastic body defining a cavity designed to receive a stave end and having two openings located on the walls beside the said cavity, in which two corresponding projections provided on the stave sides will snap in so as to prevent any sliding motion between cap and stave once they have been coupled.
One embodiment and a way of application of a cap according to this invention are illustrated by way of indicative and non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a cap with fixing pins, though the said pins are not indispensable and might therefore be omitted;
Figure 2 shows the cap viewed from the opening provided in it for receiving a stave;
Figure 3 show a partial sectional view of the cap, as viewed from above;
Figure 4 show a stave terminal portion; and
Figures 5 and 6 show the cap applied to a stave according to two different sectional views.

The cap according to the invention comprises a moulded plastic body 10 having - though not necessarily - two pins 11 on its base or head wall. The body 10 defines a cavity 12 open on one side 12' and designed to receive the end of a bedstead stave 13.
The cavity 12 is defined laterally by two side walls 14, each provided with an opening 14'.
The stave 13 is provided with chamfered ends and with a cavity or notch 15 on each side thereof which defines a projection 16 towards the stave ends, the said projection having the same dimensions as the opening 14' provided in the cap side.
Thus, when cap 10 and stave end 13 are coupled, the lateral projections 16 of the stave 13 snap into the openings provided in the cap sides as shown in the Figures 5 and 6. The coupling is favoured by the stave end chamfers and, once accomplished, ensures steady connection between cap and stave, being the projections 16 designed to function as shoulders or undercuts so as to prevent any sliding motions of a component with respect to another component.

Claims

A cap for staves as used for constructing stave bedsteads comprising a plastic body (10) defining a cavity (12) open on one side (12') and designed to receive the end of a stave (13), characterized in that two openings (14') are provided on opposite side walls (14) of the said cavity (12) in order to receive and snappingly interact with two projections (16) provided on opposite stave sides so as to prevent any sliding motion between cap and stave once they are coupled.
A cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the projections (16) on the stave sides are defined by cavities (15), the said projections being designed to be introduced into the openings (14') of the cap side walls whereas the side cavities (15) receive the solid parts of the cap side walls.
A cap as claimed in the previous claims, wherein the body (10) may be provided or not with anchorage pins.