US2775775A - Bed construction - Google Patents

Description

1957 A. L. FREEDLANDER 2,775,775

BED CONSTRUCTION Filed July 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. g5 S A. L.FREEDLANDER 2| 4;

United States Patent BED CONSTRUCTION Abraham Lincoln Freedlander, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The Dayton Rubber Company, a corporation of Ohio Application July 26, 1951, Serial No. 238,619

7 Claims. (Cl. -210) The present invention relates to improvements in furniture construction particularly as applied to beds, sofas, chairs, and other articles of furnture used for supporting sitting or reclining persons.

In the type of furniture products referred to, the seated or recumbent body is supported upon a horizontal supporting member or platform which in turn is supported by legs or other vertical members at the desired height. Such horizontal supporting members are usually rigidly attached to the vertical members by being formed integrally therewith or being grooved, bolted, screwed, or detachably clamped thereto.

In the case of beds for example, a horizontal platform for supporting the body is usually in the form of the combination of a mattress and spring which are generally supported upon bedrails by slats or other supporting members, the rails in turn being attached to posts of the bedstead or to head and tailboards of the bed or the like.

In these types of construction the points where the horizontal members attach to the vertical members are subjected to strain and after continued use the joints squeak and crack and become noisy in use. At the same time structural stresses develop which may ultimately result in breakage and necessitate repair or replacement. Furthermore, the rigid type of supports required: are not resilient and become uncomfortable in use or require the provision of added cushioning material.

In accordance with the present invention a supporting structure is provided for the horizontal body supporting members of articles of furniture of the type described herein which will obviate the disadvantages of the prior art. The novel supporting structure referred to is strong, noiseless, flexible and resilient and will function over long periods of time without loosening or developing the internal stresses and strains which occur in conventional constructions.

Applicant has discovered that by supporting the horizontal platform member of an article of furniture, such as a bed, chair, sofa, or the like, upon rubber members which are mounted in a manner which will completely separate the horizontal platform from the vertical support and where such rubber members are mounted in vertical shear, a resilient and durable supporting structure will result which will provide a cushioning effect while at the same time eliminating any tendency to develop strain and noises in use. In applicants copending application, Serial No. 238,618 filed of even date herewith, and entitled Improved Furniture Construction, there is disclosed a construction in which transverse or horizontal supporting members for bed springs, mattresses, and the like are attached to vertical supports by conventional means, but these transverse members have mounted theron such rubber members which in turn support the horizontal body supporting members, such as springs and mattresses. In the present invention, which is a modified form of that described in my copending application aforesaid, the transverse members, such as bedrails or the like, are attached to the vertical members directly through 2 means of such rubber members which are attached to said vertical members. When rubber is stressed in shear greater resilience under a given load is permitted than when stressed in compression alone. When utilized in the manner described herein, rubber in shear provides a high degree of resilience while at the same time absorbing or dampening vibrations and stresses developed in use. This added resilience contributes to a high degree to greater comfort and durability, eliminating weaknesses and noise which develop in joints. The rubber in shear construction is ordinarily fabricated by forming a sandwich of a relatively thin rubber portion adhered or bonded between metal members. These sandwiches may be between fiat metal members or rectangular or other desired shape or by placing the rubber between concentric cylinders or other shaped members. The rubber is bonded to the metal by first plating the metal surface with brass followed by vulcanization of the rubber in contact with the plated surface under heat and pressure. In lieu of brass plating, suitable rubber-to-metal adhesives, such as chlorinated rubber in a solvent, or the like, may be used.

Natural rubber as well as the synthetic rubber-like materials may be used. Among the synthetic rubbers, GR-S (bntadiene-styrene copolymer) and GR-A (butadieneacrylic nitrile copolymer) are the most commonly used.

The present invention will be described with particular reference to a bed although the principles hereof are also applicable to other articles of furniture.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings for a more detailed description of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a view in elevation illustrating the head and tailboard of a bed having side rails'attached to the bed by means of supporting members in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 1 illustrating the manner by which a bedrail is attached to the supporting member and to the bed.

Figure 3 illustrates 'an enlarged elevational view of an alternative manner of attaching a bedrail to a bed.

Figure 4 illustrates in partial cross section still another bedrail supportingconstmction.

Figure 5 illustrates a view in elevation of still another bedrail supporting structure.

Figure 1 illustrates a manner in which a pair of side bedrails 12 and 13 are attached to headboard 10 and tail board 11 of a bed. Novel supporting members of the present invention are shown as 14. These supporting members are formed by sandwiching rubber member 20 between steel plate members 18 and 19, member 19 being attached to the headboard by screws or otherwise in the manner shown in Figure 2. Plate member 18 has attached thereto a pair of spaced, parallel vertical members 15 and 15a between which are welded or otherwise secured parallel horizontal pins 16 and 17. Bedrail 12 is attached to the supporting member by means of a metal projection 21 formed with teeth 22 and 22a designed to engage pins 16 and 17 to provide a detachable support for the bedrail. In this manner the bedrails are completely separated from the head and tailboards of the bed by means of cushioning member 20 which is placed in shear by the application of a load to the rails. This provides a resilient and noiseless support for the spring and mattress and removes the strain which would otherwise be created at the point of support.

Figure 3 illustrates an alternative supporting means in which rubber cushioning member 29 is sandwiched between metal plates 27 and 28, the latter being afiixed to the leg of the headboard 10a. Horizontally disposed member 26 is welded to plate 27, this member projecting horizontally beyond cushioning member 29. At the end of member 26 a socket is formed for supporting the bedrail by means of vertical plates 23a and 23b with spaced pins 24 being positioned therebetween in the manner shown. These pins are designed to support toothed member 25 which is attached to bedrail 12a. The provision of this form of supporting member creates a vertical shear in cushioning member 29 resulting from the rotational effect imparted to the member 26. The spring and mattress are supported on the bedrail by horizontal member 30 which is attached thereto through horizontal slats utilized in a conventional manner.

Figure 4 illustrates still another type of support for attaching a bedrail to a bedpost or headboard or the like. In this type of support bedrail 12b has attached thereto a detachable member 31 which terminates in a tapered vertical pin 32. This pin fits into a socket formed by member 33 which is concentric with cylindrical member 34. Between the concentric members is adhered rubber cushioning member 35 which in turn is welded or otherwise affixed to plate 36 which is screwed to a bedpost or headboard 10b. Application of a load to the bedrail is transmitted through pin 32 to the cushioning member 35 which is thereby placed in vertical shear.

Still another form of the invention is illustrated in Figure in which bedrail 120 has attached thereto a toothed supporting member 37 engaging pins 39 and 40 which project from member 38. A resilient supporting member for the bedrailis formed by adhering a cushioning rubber member 44 in the form of a cylindrical sleeve between horizontal shaft 42 and sleeve 43, the latter being welded to plate 41 which in turn is attached to bedpost or headboard 100. The application of a load to the bedrail creates vertical compression and radial stress on the cushioning member applied axially thereof.

I claim:

1. In a bed including end members and a pair of longitudinally extending horizontal rails for supporting a spring and mattress; that improvement comprising resilient supporting means mounted on said end members for holding said rails in laterally spaced relationship, said means including spaced portions extending therefrom for supporting said rails, said portions separated from each other by rubber cushioning material bonded thereto, one of said portions attached to an end member and the other supporting one of said rails in shear and providing completely resilient relationship of said rail with said end member.

2. A bed construction according to claim 1 in which said spaced portions are metal plates.

3. A bed construction according to claim 2 wherein the rubber cushioning material is in the form of a Hat sheet and the metal members are in the form of metal plates.

4. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein the rubber cushioning material is composed of a rubber member bonded between metal plates, one of which is secured to the end member and the other including an arm fastened thereto and extending beyond the cushioning material in the same plane, said arm supporting the rail to place the rubber cushioning material in vertical and torsional shear under load.

5. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein the cushioning material is composed of a cylindrical rubber sleeve bonded between concentric metal sleeves, the outer of said sleeves attached to the end member and the inner of said metal sleeves forming a socket for the reception of a rail support.

6. A bed construction according to claim 5 wherein the cylindrical cushioning material is mounted vertically.

7. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein the rubber cushioning material is composed of a horizontally disposed rubber cylinder surrounded by a metal sleeve which is attached to the end member and having a shaft extending axially thereof and projecting beyond said sleeve and supporting said rail, said rubber cylinder being bonded between the outer sleeve and the shaft and being subjected to torsional stress upon the application of a load to the rail.

References Cited in the file -of this'patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 97,619 Dugan Dec. 7, 1869 622,889 Forsyth Apr. 11, 1899 792,128 I-Iaverstick June 13, 1905 1,046,358 Wilson Dec. 3, 1912 1,811,923 Flinterman June 30, 1931 1,937,581 Lord Dec. 5, 1933 2,225,858 Church Dec. 24, 1940 2,248,869 Harwiek July 8, 1941 2,257,804 Lord Oct. 7, 1941 2,631,648 Tatom Mar. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 241,462 Great Britain Oct. 25, 1922

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