METHOD FOR ADJUSTING MATTRESSES INTO AN OPERATING POSITION AND MECHANISM FOR PERFORMING SAID METHOD

Abstract

A method and to a mechanism for adjusting mattresses or chair beds into an operating position comprising extendable guides in which rods run, which merge in a joint pin, which interacts with pins of a mattress, which protrude from a centreline of the mattress. A parallelogram has joints, which are connected to each other through an elongated-hole guide, one joint can be moved in the elongated-hole guide, wherein the rods are articulated to the joint pin, a bushing arranged therebetween, the pin extends into a pulley having a restoring spring, on which pulley a cable is wound and fastened to the joint, at a certain height of the mattress, the cable is tensioned and the angle is reduced, the cable causes the rotation of the pulley in such a way that the mattress is rotated.

Claims

1. A method for moving mattresses, beds or armchairs into an operating position comprising the following steps: equipping a bed with a frame and base or board and with a mattress having gripping pins projecting from the mattress along their halfway plane, with a movement mechanism, raising the movement mechanism up to the mattress support pins, coupling the mattress pin with an articulation pin of the movement mechanism, raising the mattress to a height adapted to allow the rotation of the mattress about its halfway plane, rotating the mattress about its pins to bring it into an overturned position, lowering the mattress until it is resting on the base or board supported by feet, raising the frame with the interception thereof by thrust means of the movement mechanism, keeping the frame or base in position by means of the frame-supporting feet, arranging the mattress side facing upwards, intercepting the frame or base with the interception means, lowering the frame or base with the mattress with the interception means into the position of use.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein it comprises the further step of: activating a tilting system for tilting the mattress in one direction or the other.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein it further comprises the step of raising the mattress to a suitable height so that in a suitable space between the base and the mattress ultraviolet rays are irradiated by means of at least one neon lamp for eliminating dust mites.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein it further comprises the step of lowering the mattress to a suitable distance between it and the base for irradiating onto the direct side facing downwards at least a neon or LED lamp for eliminating dust mites.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein it further comprises the step of releasing the thrust means from the frame.

6. The mechanism for moving mattresses, beds or armchairs into an operating position for the actuation of the method according to claim 1 with a bed having a frame, supported by telescopic feet positionable in a known way at various heights with respect to a floor, the lifting mechanism being comprised of extensible guides—telescopic cylinders or actuators—in which staffs are respectively slidable converging into an articulation pin, at their free ends the staffs being equipped with articulations, on the frame a mattress being arranged from whose halfway plane pins project which can be coupled with articulation pins of the staffs wherein, a parallelogram has articulations which are connected to one another by a guide slot with an articulation sliding in the guide slot, the staffs being articulated to the articulation pin, with the interposition of a bushing, the pin extending on one side into a pulley with a return screw around which a wire is wound, fixed at its free end with the articulation, the wire at a certain height of the mattress i.e. at a certain angle between the two staffs being taut and further reducing the angle, the wire making the pulley rotate so as to turn the mattress itself.

7. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the pin extends into a disc with a key adapted to be coupled with the hollow of a disc at the end of the pin extractable from a tubular portion fixed to the mattress frame.

8. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein a disc in the advancement of the pin is appropriately oriented by a guide funnel extending above the guide slot.

9. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein staffs are articulated at equal distances of the articulation pin to the staffs hence forming a parallelogram with the staffs.

10. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein are substantially fixed at the exit thereof from the guides to the the staffs, in their retracted position in the guides carrying rollers/rails/cylinders adapted to come into contact with plates exiting from pockets provided on the top or bottom side of the frame.

11. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein extend beyond their joints to carry at their ends rails/cylinders in contact with plates exiting from pockets provided on the top side of the frame.

12. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the articulation pin is moved by levers articulated to the base and engaged through a slot with a pintle projecting from staffs, respectively.

13. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the mattress is a mattress with a board for massages.

14. The mechanism according to claim 13, wherein the massage plane is comprised of a head element, a lumbar element and a lower element connected to one another and activatable by a lifting mechanism or actuators.

15. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein a mattress frame is formed by two longitudinal chains/frame parallel to one another connected at their ends with fixed elements with the possibility to rotate the links of the chain/frame about articulations, each chain/frame link having pintles that are engaged in slots of plaques connected to one another through joints, the plaques being movable with respect to the links of the chain/frame and their joints being able to be brought to coincide with the articulations of the links of the chain/frame, moving the plaques, the articulations and the joints when the plaques no longer coincide, making the chain/frame rigid.

16. The mechanism according to claim 15, wherein the plaques are moved through connecting rods articulated eccentrically to a disc/ring nut and to the plaques hence by turning a disc by means of a screw the chain/frame may be brought from a rigid position into a movable position.

17. The mechanism according to claim 15, wherein the movement of the plaques may be obtained by means of a Bowden cable of the well known type.

18. The mechanism according to claim 15, wherein the movement with a chain or frame in a parallel position takes place by means of two levers that respectively slide in a slot of a connecting staff at one end, and are articulated to one another lever at their other ends, respectively.

19. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the movement mechanism is realised with at least one rope hanging from the ceiling of a room for winding around a pin of a mattress, the mattress is raised above the case of a bed, the rope coming unwound from drums to be wound around a pulley, fixed to the pin of the mattress, for the rotation of the pin, the rope being fixed by means of a stop to the pulley.

20. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein an actuator is formed by a pantograph.

21. (canceled)

22. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the mattress is a mattress with a board for massages.

23. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein a pantograph has a beam that intercepts by means of tabs spaced out from one another and relining and which is brought into a raised position for the preparation of the bed or an inclined position in one or the other direction in the case in which only one of the tabs is reclined extremely in the transversal direction with respect to the beam.

24. The mechanism according to claim 23, wherein the beam carrying a pulley, a spring and a rope or chain or cable cooperates with a rotation pin, by means of the pantograph the mattress being raised, the rope or chain fixed at its free end to a connection turning the mattress under tension through 180°.

25. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein a rope is fixed in any one fixed point with respect to the pulley.

26. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein for each bed or mattress two or more mechanisms of this type are provided.

27. The mechanism according to claim 6, wherein a rope is fixed at its free end in any one fixed point like to the sub-frame or to the lower base.

Description

[0022] Further details and features are shown in the claims and the following description of preferred embodiments and variants, depicted in the attached drawing, included by way of non-limiting examples, wherein

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of a movement mechanism in the resting position in a first variant,

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a schematic front view like FIG. 1 in a second variant,

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a schematic front view like FIG. 1 in a tilted position,

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a schematic front view of a movement mechanism in a raised operating position,

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a schematic front view of a movement device in the raised position of the vertically arranged mattress,

[0028] FIG. 6 shows a view like FIG. 5 in a variant,

[0029] FIG. 7 shows a view like FIG. 1 with a mattress for massages in a position ready for massages and in a variant of the activator shown in FIG. 6,

[0030] FIG. 8 shows a view like FIG. 7 with the activator and parallelogram in a variant,

[0031] FIG. 9 shows a view like FIG. 1 with a mattress for massages in the sleeping position,

[0032] FIG. 10 shows a view like FIG. 9 with the activator in a variant,

[0033] FIG. 11 shows a view like FIG. 10 in the raised operating position for remaking the bed,

[0034] FIG. 12 shows a view like FIG. 11 with the mattress in the position for massages,

[0035] FIG. 13 shows a view like FIG. 12 with elements of the massage plane angled to one another,

[0036] FIG. 14 shows a view like FIG. 5 but with a mattress for massages,

[0037] FIG. 15 shows a view like FIG. 14 but with the activator in a variant,

[0038] FIG. 16 shows a partial schematic front view of the movement mechanism at its support top of a mattress for its automatic 180° rotation,

[0039] FIG. 17 shows an axial section of a mattress support pin,

[0040] FIG. 18 shows a detail of the mattress support pin,

[0041] FIG. 19 shows a front view of a coupling guide between the mattress pin and the support pin,

[0042] FIG. 20 shows a lateral view of FIG. 19,

[0043] FIG. 21 shows a rear view of FIG. 19,

[0044] FIG. 22 shows a housing pocket for interception bars,

[0045] FIGS. 23, 24, 25 and 26 schematically show a chain/frame conformation inside a mattress,

[0046] FIG. 27 shows chain links engaged by jointed and movable plaques,

[0047] FIG. 28 shows links like FIG. 27 in the bending position of the chain,

[0048] FIG. 29 shows a perspective view of a frame inside the mattress showing the activator of the jointed and sliding plaques,

[0049] FIG. 30 shows a view like FIG. 29 in a variant of the activator of the form of a Bowden cable,

[0050] FIG. 31 shows a view like FIG. 29 with an activator of the plaques in a view from above in a further variant,

[0051] FIG. 32 shows a lateral view of FIG. 31,

[0052] FIG. 33 shows a view with an activator of the plaques in a further variant of FIG. 31,

[0053] FIG. 34 shows a view from above of FIG. 30,

[0054] FIG. 35 shows a view with an activator of the plaques in a further variant from above,

[0055] FIG. 36 shows a lateral view of FIG. 35,

[0056] FIG. 37 shows a schematic perspective view of a movement mechanism hanging from the ceiling of a room, with the mattress raised

[0057] FIG. 38 shows a schematic front view of a detail of FIG. 37,

[0058] FIG. 39 shows a schematic perspective view like FIG. 37 in a variant,

[0059] FIG. 40 shows a schematic perspective view of a motorised pin for the lifting, coupling and rotation of a mattress,

[0060] FIG. 41 shows a schematic front view of a movement mechanism in the form of a pantograph in a second variant, in the operating position,

[0061] FIG. 42 shows a view like FIG. 41, but in a tilted position of the mattress,

[0062] FIG. 43 shows a view like FIG. 41, but in a raised position of the movement mechanism and in the bed remaking position, ready for the operator and

[0063] FIG. 44 shows a view like FIG. 41, but in a raised position and rotated through 90° of the frame or base or mattress,

[0064] In FIG. 1, reference number 1 represents a bed according to the invention. The bed in a known way has a frame 2, with a base that is not shown, supported by telescopic feet 3 that can be positioned in a known way at various heights with respect to a floor 4. At the front sides of the bed 1 a movement mechanism 5 is externally arranged. This comprises guides 6 and 7 in which staffs 8 and 9 are slidable, respectively, converging into an articulation pin 10. At their free ends the staffs 8 and 9 are equipped with articulations 11 and 12 to the floor 4.

[0065] On the frame 2 a mattress 13 is arranged, in whose halfway plane, preferably longitudinal, pins 14 project, when they are extracted.

[0066] Arms 16 and 17 are fixed at the exit thereof from the guides 6 and 7 to the staffs 8 and 9, in their retracted position, in the guides 6 and 7, respectively carrying rollers/rails/cylinders 18 adapted to come into contact with the plates 119 exiting from pockets 19 provided on the top side of the frame 2. Staffs 23 and 24 are articulated at equal distances of the articulation pin to the staffs 8 and 9 hence forming a parallelogram with the staffs 8 and 9.

[0067] In FIG. 2 in one variant the staffs 23 and 24 extend beyond their joints 25 and 26 carrying at their ends a roller/rail/cylinder 28 substituting the arms 16 and 17.

[0068] FIG. 3 shows a foot 3 with a telescopic section 29 for partially raising the mattress/bed.

[0069] FIG. 4 shows the situation in which from the foot 3 a further telescopic section 30 has been extracted with interception plates extracted from the pockets 19. Thus, the frame is resting on said plates 119 in a stable position for being able to remake the bed, but supported by the feet 3.

[0070] In FIG. 5, the staffs 8 and 9 are extracted from their guides 6 and 7 in which the articulation pin 10 is coupled with the rotation pin 14 of the mattress 13. This position is reached with the plates 119 retracted into the pockets 19. The mattress 13 is located in a vertical position reached as more clearly specified below.

[0071] In FIG. 6 the extraction of the telescopic cylinder staffs/actuators and therefore the raising of the articulation pin is achieved by levers 31 and 32 articulated to the base 33 and engaged through a slot 131 with a pintle 132 projecting from the staffs 8 and 9, respectively.

[0072] FIG. 7 shows a mattress 34 with a board 35 for massages facing upwards and with the sleeping side 36 downwards. The internal mattress frame 182 is also outlined. FIG. 8 shows a movement mechanism 5 with the mattress for massages 34 and activation staffs 23 and 24 that push the plates 119 through their rollers/rails/cylinders 28.

[0073] FIG. 9 instead shows a mattress for massages 34 with the mattress plane 35 facing downwards and arms 16, 17 that push the plates 119.

[0074] FIG. 10 shows a further method of activation of the staffs 8 and 9 through the levers 31 and 32.

[0075] FIG. 11 shows the movement mechanism 5 in the raised position with the mattress for massages 34 with the board for massages 35 facing downwards.

[0076] FIG. 12 corresponds to FIG. 11, but with the massage plane 35 facing upwards.

[0077] FIG. 13 shows an example with the massage plane comprised of a head element 38, a lumbar element 39 and a lower element 40 connected to one another and activatable by mechanisms with lifting movement shown here or actuators not shown 138 and 140. Inside the mattress on which the massage board is resting, as well as housing hinges for tilting the massage plane, supports are provided, resting on the base, frame or board.

[0078] FIG. 14 shows a bed in the vertical position of the massage mattress 34.

[0079] FIG. 15 shows a variant with levers 31 and 32 for activating the movement mechanism. FIG. 16 shows the parallelogram whose articulations 22 and 10 are connected to one another by a guide slot 41 with an articulation 22 sliding in the guide slot 41. As shown more clearly in FIGS. 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21, the staffs 8 and 9 are articulated to the articulation pin 10 with the interposition of a bushing 44. The pin 10 extends on one side into a pulley 43 onto which a wire 42 is wound, fixed at its free end with the articulation 22. The wire 42 at a certain height of the mattress, i.e. at a certain angle between the two staffs 8 and 9 is taut and by further reducing the angle the wire makes the pulley 43 rotate so as to turn the mattress itself.

[0080] The pin 10 appropriately extends into a disc 46 with a key 47 adapted to be coupled with the hollow of a disc 48 at the end of the pin 14 extractable from a tubular portion 49 fixed to the mattress frame. To guide the coupling between the disc 46 and the disc 48 better, the disc 48 in the advancement of the pin 10 in the direction 110 is appropriately oriented by a guide funnel 45 extending above the guide slot 41. This funnel is shown in FIGS. 19, 20 and 21 by three different views.

[0081] FIG. 22 schematically shows a perspective view of a pocket from which the plate 119 exits.

[0082] FIGS. 23, 24, 25 and 26 schematically show a lateral view of a chain/frame 50 in various conformations of the chain/frame (comprising the internal mattress frame that offers the possibility to turn the links of the chain/frame about articulations 51). Each link of the chain/frame has pintles 52 of the internal mattress frame that engage in slots 53 of plaques 54 connected to one another through joints 55. The plaques 54 can therefore be moved with respect to the links of the chain/frame and their joints 55 may be brought to coincide with the articulations 51 of the links of the chain/frame. By moving the plaques 54 the articulations 51 and joints 55 no longer coincide and the plaques 54 make the chain/frame 50 stiff. The mobility of the chain/frame is shown in FIG. 28.

[0083] FIG. 29 shows a possibility to move the plaques 54 through connecting rods 56 articulated eccentrically to a disc/ring nut 57 and to the plaques 54. Therefore, by turning the disc 57 through a screw 58 that is activated by extracting or reinserting the pin into the frame, the chain/frame may be brought from a stiff position to a mobile position.

[0084] In FIG. 30 the movement of the plaques 54 may be obtained by means of a Bowden cable of the known type.

[0085] FIGS. 31 and 32 show the possibility of transmitting the movement from a chain/frame to the one parallel thereto through two levers sliding in respectively a slot at one end and articulated respectively to another lever at their other ends.

[0086] FIGS. 35 and 36 show the movement positions of the plaques obtained through a Bowden cable.

[0087] FIG. 37 shows a movement mechanism made with at least one rope 59 hanging from the ceiling of a room for winding around a pin 60 of a mattress 61. The mattress is raised above the case 62 of a bed. In FIG. 38 the rope is unwound from drums 63 to be wound around a pulley fixed to the pin 60 of the mattress 61. For the rotation of the pin 60 the rope 59 is fixed by means of a stop 65 to the pulley 64.

[0088] In FIGS. 39 and 40 in one embodiment the mattress 61 is hanging from the pins through a motorised rotation mechanism 66 hanging from the rope 59.

[0089] FIGS. 41 to 44 show a further embodiment in which a frame/base/mattress unit is indicated overall by reference number 67. It is equipped in a known way with extensible feet 68 and therefore that can be raised to various positions. The feet 68 are resting on the floor 69 and carry at the top a frame 70 in which or on which a mattress 71 is arranged for example with the interposition of a base, not shown.

[0090] The mattress 71 is equipped, as already described with reference to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, with rotation pins 72 respectively projecting from two parallel sides of the mattress 71, with a conformation for example of the type shown in FIG. 17. On a support plate 73 a movement mechanism is arranged in the form of a pantograph 74.

[0091] The pantograph 74 is formed by two staffs 75 and 76 articulated to one another in 77 and by two staffs 78 and 79 articulated to one another in 80 to the ends of which, in 81 and 82, the ends of the staffs 75 and 76 are articulated with a parallelogram conformation.

[0092] The free end of the staff 75 is articulated in 83 to a slider 84 movably guided on the plate 73. A screw 85 is engaged in the slider 84 for its movement, which screw 85 being activated by a motor 86 for example electrical. The staff 76 instead is articulated in 98 to the plate 73.

[0093] The staff 79 is articulated at its free end in 87 and the staff 78 in 88 to a beam 89. Appropriately the joint 88 of the staff 78 is formed by a pin sliding in a slot 90 obtained in the beam 89.

[0094] The beam 89 is equipped at its ends with tabs 91 and 92 respectively. The two tabs 91 and 92 are respectively bendable from a position in the extension of the beam 89 into a perpendicular position to the axis of the beam 89 so as to completely, as shown in FIG. 43, or partially, as shown in FIG. 42, intercept the frame 70. This bending movement may be performed for example by means of an electromagnetic system of the known type, not shown. With the interception of the frame 70, it may be brought by the tabs 91 and 92 or only by one of the two into a raised or tilted position, in the case in which only one of the two tabs is bent. The various positions are defined with the extraction of sections 96 and 97 of the feet 68.

[0095] The beam 89 also carries, in its halfway plane, a pulley 93 of the type as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18. A wire or rope 94 is wound around the pulley 93 fixed at its free end to a connection 96 integral to the support plate/sub-frame 73.

[0096] Appropriately the pulley 93 is elastically loaded by a spring 94 with respect to the beam 59. The cooperation between the pulley 93 and the pin 72 and making the mattress 71 turn.

[0097] In a known way the pulley 93 is equipped with a freewheel or unidirectional castor adapted to keep the key 47 in FIG. 17 in the engagement position with the hollow of disc 48 of the pin 14 in FIG. 18 and of the pin 72 in FIGS. 41 and 43.

[0098] Finally, it is specified that the term “mattress” does not only refer to mattresses in the strict sense, but also to beds, sofa beds or to any object that is to be crossed from one side to the other side in order to make a person lie down or to treat them either for resting, sitting or massages.

KEY

[0099] 1. bed

[0100] 2. frame

[0101] 3. telescopic feet

[0102] 4. element

[0103] 5. movement mechanism

[0104] 6. guide

[0105] 7. guide

[0106] 8. stall

[0107] 9. stall

[0108] 10. articulation pin

[0109] 11. articulation

[0110] 12. articulation

[0111] 13. mattress

[0112] 14. pins

[0113] 16 arm

[0114] 17 arm

[0115] 16 rollers

[0116] 18 pockets

[0117] 23 stall

[0118] 24 stall

[0119] 25 joint

[0120] 26 joint

[0121] 29 telescopic section

[0122] 30 telescopic section

[0123] 31 lever

[0124] 32 lever,

[0125] 33 base

[0126] 34 mattress

[0127] 35 mattress plane

[0128] 36 sleeping side

[0129] 38 head element

[0130] 39 lumbar element

[0131] 40 lower element

[0132] 41 slot

[0133] 42 slot

[0134] 43 pulley

[0135] 44 bushing

[0136] 45 guide funnel

[0137] 46 disc

[0138] 47 key

[0139] 48 disc

[0140] 50 chain/frame

[0141] 51 articulations

[0142] 52 pintles

[0143] 53 slots

[0144] 54 plaques

[0145] 55 joints

[0146] 56 connecting rods

[0147] 57 filter

[0148] 58 screw

[0149] 59 rope

[0150] 60 pin

[0151] 61 mattress

[0152] 62 case

[0153] 63 drums

[0154] 64 pulley

[0155] 65 stop

[0156] 66 motorised rotation mechanism

[0157] 67 frame-base-mattress

[0158] 68 feet

[0159] 69 floor

[0160] 70 frame

[0161] 71 mattress

[0162] 72 rotation pin

[0163] 73 support plate

[0164] 74 pantograph

[0165] 75 staff

[0166] 76 staff

[0167] 77 joint

[0168] 78 staff

[0169] 79 staff

[0170] 80 joint

[0171] 81 joint

[0172] 82 joint

[0173] 83 joint

[0174] 84 slider

[0175] 85 screw

[0176] 86 motor

[0177] 87 joint

[0178] 88 joint

[0179] 89 beam

[0180] 90 slot

[0181] 91 tab

[0182] 92 tab

[0183] 93 pulley

[0184] 94 spring

[0185] 95 wire

[0186] 96 connection

[0187] 97 section

[0188] 98 section

[0189] 99 joint

[0190] 100 guide

[0191] 110 arrow

[0192] 119 plates

[0193] 131 slot

[0194] 132 pintle

[0195] 138 actuator

[0196] 140 actuator

[0197] 182 mattress frame