EP2322059A1

EP2322059A1 - Motorized bed

Info

Publication number: EP2322059A1
Application number: EP09425493A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianfranco Pessotto
Original assignee: Pessotto Reti Sas
Current assignee: Pessotto Reti Sas
Priority date: 2009-11-16
Filing date: 2009-11-16
Publication date: 2011-05-18

Abstract

The invention relates to a motorized bed comprising a base frame (10), two pairs of segments (16, 20) rotatably hinged at an end thereof to the frame, a support bedspring or platform (12) for a mattress to opposite sides of which there are connected the other ends of the segments, two segments per side, so as to constitute as a whole two articulated parallelograms adapted to make the bedspring or the platform liftable to a certain height from ground and/or relative to the frame (10) keeping it horizontal, an actuator (62) to lift the bedspring or the platform which is mounted with a connecting point on the frame and adapted to act on at least one of these segments.

The connection point is spaced from the hinging points of the segments on the frame in a direction orthogonal to their hinging axes (X1, X2) and horizontal so that such hinging points lieith respect to a vertical plane, all on the same part in relation to said connection point.

Description

The present invention relates to a motorized bed, having a mechanism which allows to raise a bedspring, or in general a support platform for a mattress, to a certain height from the ground and/or relative to of containment base frame.
Beds equipped with mechanisms to raise the bedspring or a slatted support are known in order to allow easy access to the space under it for normal household cleaning. Beds are also known with a containment frame/drawer-like structure over which one can raise the bedspring to exploit the space inside the drawer-like structure as a normal closet.
Clearly not only a lifting mechanism being easy to make (low cost) is needed but also one not very tiring to operate. The bedspring or the slatted support are raised by hand, and to reduce the effort required usually the mechanism comes with gas or helical springs variously arranged which servo-assist the lifting movement. In any case, however, there remain some disadvantages. The springs compensate enough the weight of the bedspring to be lifted, but not all, so some effort remains. Also, for manual operation the user always has to bend down a lot to grab the bedspring. It is understandable that for elderly or handicapped people the requested operation is almost impossible or at least to avoid.
Therefore, motorized beds have been developed, e.g. as the one describe in US2005/0251915 . It includes four arms of fixed length which, two by two, are hinged at one end thereof to a metal H-shaped base placed in the center of a perimeter frame. The arms support a liftable platform, and are operated by a linear actuator connected between a cross-bar integral with two opposing arms and the metal base.
Such mechanisms present two problems. First, the actuator occupies most of the space under the bedspring, so the capacity to contain material is impaired. Second, the actuator is almost horizontal when the bedspring is fully lowered, requiring substantial inrush power to lift the bedspring at the beginning of the upward travel.
The present invention has as its main object to present a motorized bed that solves the problems mentioned earlier.
This and other objects are achieved through a motorized bed comprising

a base frame;
two pairs of segments rotatably hinged at an end thereof to the frame,
a bedspring or support platform for a mattress to opposite sides of which there are connected the other ends of the segments, two segments per side, so as to constitute as a whole two articulated parallelograms adapted to make the bedspring or the platform liftable to a certain height from ground and/or relative to the frame keeping it horizontal;
an actuator for lifting the bedspring or the platform which is mounted with a connection point on the frame and adapted to act on at least one of said segments,

This mutual arrangement between the connection point and the hinging points of the segments provides a more favorable inclination of the actuator at the beginning of the lifting, with less inrush power. In US2005/0251915 the support/connection point is placed, instead, between homologous pairs of hinging points, within the polygonal which has as vertices the hinging points. In the invention, instead, it is external. But above all, the actuator does not occupy the central part of the frame and/or the compartment under the bedspring, so storage space is maximized.
In general, the actuator may work in push- or pull-configuration on the segments, so it may be arranged on a side or on the opposite one of all the hinging points.
The frame, in order to improve the overall functionality of the bed, may comprise a drawer-like structure to contain the bedspring or the platform when in lowered position and to delimit a storage compartment under it. So the stored objects are concealed and confined under the bedspring and aesthetics improves. In this case, the actuator may have as connection point a side of the drawer-like structure which is parallel to said hinging axes. Thus the drawer-like structure is exploited as structural element, thereby simplifying the frame. It is to be noted, however, that the bed of the invention could use a horizontal structure internal to the drawer-like structure and/or placed between the segments as their support as that indicated by the "lower floor 5" in US2005/0251915 , or a drawer-like structure such as that in FR2602655 .
To better distribute the thrust on the drawer-like structure it is preferred that the actuator is connected substantially at the center of a transverse side of the drawer-like structure.
To strengthen the drawer-like structure at the point of reaction to the thrust, it is preferable that a thrust bar or a rigid reinforcing element be fixed internally to said transverse side of the drawer-like structure. The actuator is then connected on the rigid element.
A variant may be taken into account wherein there is still the above-mentioned drawer-like structure, but the connection point of the actuator changes. A bar or rigid support element may be fixed transversely within the drawer-like structure in parallel to said hinging axes and spaced from (therefore not fixed to) the nearest side of the drawer-like structure. On said bar or support element the actuator can be then connected.
To simplify the mechanism the segments may be hinged respectively to the inside of two opposite sides of the drawer-like structure, rather than using a "lower floor 5" as in US2005/02S1915 .
To connect the actuator to the segments it is preferred using a support arm connected transversely to and integral with two homologous opposite segments of said parallelograms, on the support arm being connected the actuator in push-configuration.
To limit the extension of the arm of the actuator, the support arm, and thus the arm of the actuator, is connected to two segments which are the closest ones to the connection point of the actuator. When an actuator with a very long arm is at disposal, one may also connect it to the farthest segments, minimizing the tilt variation of the actuator during the thrust and optimizing its performance.
To simplify the structure, the actuator is preferably a linear actuator with an arm which is in push-configuration on at least one of said segments. The actuator is placed near the rear side of the drawer-like structure (the one from which the bedspring moves away when it is lifted) and connected to the closest pair of segments, with which it forms an obtuse angle when the bedspring or the platform is in lowered position.
For security reasons it is preferred that the actuator operates in push-configuration and the bedspring or the platform is returned in the lowered position only by gravity. This is to avoid crushing something or someone during the return maneuver with the full force of the actuator.
To facilitate access to the storage compartment, two of said segments may be made telescopically extensible so that the bedspring or the platform can be tilted when in the lifted position. Furthermore, the actuator may be controlled to slightly draw back the segments when the bedspring or the platform is tilted in the lifted position. In this way the storage compartment gets completely uncovered.
Advantageously, the connection point of the actuator on the frame with respect to a reference horizontal plane may be positioned at a level lower than that of said hinging points. The aim is to optimize the inclination of the arm of the actuator to avoid a big stress at the beginning of the lifting action.
To maximize the space for access to the storage compartment, the hinging points of the segments on the bedspring or the platform may be all on a same half of the bedspring or platform.
The advantages of the invention will be clearer by the following description of a preferred embodiment, shown in the attached drawing where:

Fig. 1 shows an isometric view of a bed according to the invention (bedspring in the lowered position);
Fig. 2 shows an isometric view of the bed of Fig. 1 (bedspring in the lifted position);
Fig. 3 shows an isometric view of the bed of Fig. 1 (bedspring in the lifted position and tilted);
Figs. 4-6 show a side sectional view of the bed of figs. 1-3 respectively;
Fig. 7 shows a front isometric view of the mechanism alone in the bed of Fig. 1;
Fig. 8 shows a rear isometric view of the mechanism of fig. 7.

In Fig. 1 a bed according to the invention is shown having an almost rectangular frame 10 (having sides, indicated with counterclockwise order, 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d) inside which there is mounted a lifting mechanism. The frame 10 is a sort of parallelepiped hollow drawer-like structure which can be used to store objects in a compartment VN under a bedspring or platform 12, once the bedspring 12 is in a lowered rest position (Fig. 1).
The mechanism in the bed is preferably symmetrical and is composed of two pairs of articulated segments 16, 20, placed approximately parallel to each other and hinged at their ends to the bedspring 12 through a corner bracket 22, and a plate 14 fixed inside and about at the center of the sides 10a, 10c. References are provided only for a pair, while X1 and X2 denote the hinging axes of the segments 16, 20.
The segment 16 preferably consists of a piston 30 linearly movable inside a cylinder 32. The movement of the piston 30 may be motorized (if the segment 16 consists of linear actuator) or servoed (if, for example, the segment 16 consists of a gas spring). The segment 20 instead preferably consists of a rigid metal bar, as may also be the segment 16 in a simplified variant.
Overall, the four segments 16, 20 form with the frame 10 and the bedspring 12 two articulated parallelograms.
A bar 40 is connected between the two opposite segments 20 and to it there is connected the movable piston 60 of a linear actuator 62, which on the opposite side is hinged to a thrust plate 70, fixed inside the side 10b of the frame 10 and which preferably extends substantially along all the side 10b. The actuator 62 is roughly located in the middle of side 10b, and at a height from ground lower than that of the hinging points (or axes) of the segments 16, 20 on the drawer-like structure 10. Thus between them there is a vertical distance H, see Fig. 5. H may be e.g. 10 to 25 cm.
Note that the mechanism could also have as base frame a structure fixed inside the drawer-like structure, like that e.g. indicated "lower floor 5" in U.S. 2005/0251915 , or the structure with widely spaced segments of FR2602655 .
The distance between the hinging points is about 20-50cm, for example 25cm.
On a bar 80 (optional) hinged to the piston 32 are mounted stop brackets 82, adapted to interpose between the piston 32 and the cylinder 30 blocking their relative position.
The bed works with the following configurations and operational phases:

I) With the bedspring in the lowered position (Fig. 1 and 4) the segments 16, 20 are maximally lowered on the frame 10. The pistons 60, 30 are now retracted.
II) The bedspring 12 can be brought in raised position to remake the bed (Fig. 2 and 5), wherein it is parallel to the frame 10 and the ground. The actuator 62 is actuated and its piston 60 extends, so as to push the bar 40, which therefore raises and make the segments 16, 20 rotate upwards, pushing upwards the bedspring 12 (arrow A in Figure 5). During and after the displacement the bedspring 12 remains almost horizontal thanks to articulated-parallelogram structure of the segments 16, 20; this allows a user to remake the bed comfortably without stooping.
III) From the previous position the bedspring 12 can be further raised, to bring it to a position of easy access to the compartment VN for the user, see Fig. 3 and 6. The piston 30 is operated or unlocked, and is pushed outwards and make the bedspring 12 rotate on the bar, 20, see arrow F in Fig. 6. The bar 80 and the brackets 82 are pushed against the segment 16, blocking the position of the bedspring 12. The piston 62 can remain still, or a simultaneous backing can be coordinated (as in Fig. 6) through control of the actuator 60 (as in Fig. 3) to make the back of the bedspring 12 lower and to gain a greater inclination for the bedspring 12 itself. The bedspring 12 disappears more inside the frame 10 and thus leaves more room to work in the compartment VN. This synchronism between the two pistons 62, 32 is therefore very beneficial.

To bring the bedspring 12 to its original state, the reverse sequence of positions (from III to I) is run backwards.

Claims

Motorized bed comprising
- a base frame (10);

- two pairs of segment (16, 20) rotatably hinged at an end thereof to the frame,

- a bedspring or support platform (12) for a mattress to opposite sides of which there are connected the other ends of the segments, two segments per side, so as to constitute as a whole two articulated parallelograms adapted to make the bedspring or the platform liftable to a certain height from ground and/or relative to the frame (10) keeping it horizontal;

- an actuator (62) for lifting the bedspring or the platform which is mounted with a connection point on the frame and adapted to act on at least one of said segments, characterized in that said connection point is spaced from the hinging points of the segments on the frame in a direction orthogonal to their hinging axes (X1, X2) and horizontal so that such hinging points lie, with respect to a vertical plane, all on the same part with respect to said connection point.
Bed according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a drawer-like structure (10) to contain the bedspring or the platform in the lowered position and to delimit a storage compartment (VN) below it, the actuator having as connection point a side (10b) of the drawer-like structure which is parallel to said hinging axes.
Bed according to claim 2, wherein the actuator is connected substantially at the center of a transverse side (10b) of the drawer-like structure.
Bed according to claim 2 or 3, comprising a thrust bar (70) or rigid reinforcing element which is fixed internally to said transverse side (10b) of the drawer-like structure (10) and on which the actuator is connected.
Bed according to claim 1, wherein the frame includes a drawer-like structure (10) to contain the bedspring or the platform in the lowered position and to define a storage compartment (VN) below it, a bar or rigid support element being fixed transversely within the drawer-like structure in parallel to said hinging axes and spaced from the nearest side of the drawer-like structure, on said bar or support element there being connected the actuator.
Bed according to any of the previous claims 2 to 6, wherein the segments are hinged respectively to the inside of two opposite sides (10a, 10c) of the drawer-like structure.
Bed according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a support arm (40) connected transversely to and integral with two homologous opposite segments (20) of said parallelograms, on the support arm being connected the actuator in push-configuration.
Bed according to claim 7, wherein the support arm (40) is connected to two segments (20) which are the closest ones to the connection point of the actuator.
Bed according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the actuator operates in push-configuration and the bedspring or the platform is returned in the lowered position only by gravity.
Bed according to any of the preceding claims, wherein two of said segments are telescopically extensible so that the bedspring or the platform can be tilted when in the lifted position.
Bed according to claim 10, wherein the actuator is controlled to draw back slightly the segments when the bedspring or the platform is tilted in the lifted position.
Bed according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the connection point of the actuator on the frame with respect to a reference horizontal plane is positioned at a lower level than that of said hinging points.
Bed according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the actuator is a linear actuator with an arm (60) whish is in push-configuration on at least one of said segments and with which it formes an obtuse angle when the bedspring or the platform is in the lowered position.
Bed according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hinging points of the segments on the bedspring or the platform are all on a same half of the bedspring or platform.