FRAME ELEMENT OF AN ADJUSTABLE BED, BED FRAME WITH FRAME ELEMENT AND ASSEMBLY METHOD

Abstract

A frame element is arranged as a longitudinal element for a longitudinal side of an adjustable bed and has an adjustable legrest sector and at least one further sector. The frame element comprises a frame support with a sliding surface and an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the legrest sector. The frame element further comprises an adjustable legrest of the legrest sector, the legrest comprising a upper leg part hingedly connected to the frame support or to a middle part of the at least one further sector, and a lower leg part hingedly connected to the upper leg part. A support element of the lower leg part is designed to come into contact with the sliding surface. The adjustment mechanism is arranged to influence an angle between the upper leg part and a main orientation of the frame support, wherein the angle of the upper leg part and an inclination of the lower leg part with respect to the main orientation of the frame support depend on each other.

Claims

1. A frame element for an adjustable bed, the frame element being arranged as a longitudinal element for a longitudinal side of the bed and having an adjustable legrest sector and at least one further sector, the frame element comprising a frame support with a sliding surface; an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the legrest sector; and an adjustable legrest of the legrest sector, the legrest comprising a upper leg part hingedly connected to the frame support or to a middle part of the at least one further sector, and a lower leg part hingedly connected to the upper leg part; wherein a support element of the lower leg part is adapted to come into contact with the sliding surface; the adjustment mechanism is adapted to influence an angle between the upper leg part and a main orientation of the frame support; and the angle of the upper leg part and an inclination of the lower leg part with respect to the main orientation of the frame support depend on each other.

2. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the frame support further comprises a bulge in the region of the sliding surface.

3. The frame element according to claim 2, wherein the bulge is a trapezoidal or triangular bulge made of a plastic.

4. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein a pitch angle of the sliding surface with respect to the main orientation of the frame support deviates at least in sections from 0 and is arranged such that a flexion angle between the upper leg part and the lower leg part is ergonomically correct; and the inclination of the lower leg part is less than or equal to 15.

5. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the sliding surface is formed by a sliding coating.

6. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the support element is attached angled to the lower leg part; and has a straight, curved or angled shape.

7. The frame element according to claim 6, wherein the support element is attached angled between 80 and 100.

8. The frame element according to claim 6, wherein the support element is welded, glued or screwed to the lower leg part.

9. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the support element comprises a plain bearing or a roller bearing adapted to come into contact with the sliding surface.

10. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the support element comprises one or more lateral guides.

11. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the upper leg part is adapted to come into contact with a contact surface of the adjustment mechanism.

12. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism of the legrest sector comprises a rotatable mounted disc with a spindle nut and a spindle of a drive element, wherein the spindle engages the spindle nut and extends perpendicularly to an axis of rotation of the disc.

13. The frame element according to claim 12, wherein the drive element is an electric coaxial drive.

14. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein a maximum angle of the upper leg part is for a lying position between 30 and 50; and for a storage position above 50.

15. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein a maximum angle of the upper leg part is for a lying position between 40 and 50; and for a storage position between 70 and 100.

16. The frame element according to one of claim 1, wherein the lower leg part is attached to the upper leg part in such a way that the lower leg part can be folded towards the upper leg part.

17. The frame element according to claim 16, wherein the lower leg part can be folded towards the upper leg part by hand.

18. The frame element according to claim 1, wherein the adjustable legrest sector comprises an anti-crushing mechanism that is adapted to prevent adjustment of the angle of the upper leg part and/or the inclination of the lower leg part when the lower leg part and/or the upper leg part come into contact with an obstacle.

19. The frame element according to claim 1, in which the sliding surface is part of a rail of a baffle guide.

20. A bed frame of an electrically adjustable bed having an adjustable legrest sector and at least one further sector, the bed frame comprising at least one crossbar; two frame elements according to claim 1; and a control system which is adapted to synchronously control the adjustment mechanism of the two frame elements.

21. The bed frame according to claim 20, wherein the control system comprises a memory containing a plurality of lying positions and/or storage space positions to be adjusted.

22. The bed frame according to claim 20, wherein the control system is integrated in one of the two frame elements.

23. The bed frame according to claim 22, wherein the control system is integrated in the frame support of one of the two frame elements.

24. A method of assembling a bed frame comprising arranging bed frame elements in a perpendicular manner with respect to each other, wherein the bed frame elements comprise at least one crossbar and two frame elements according to claim 1, wherein the bed frame elements are arranged vertically overlapping; establishing a non-load-bearing connection of the bed frame elements using mounting aids; lifting of the bed frame elements, which are connected in a non-load-bearing manner, at connection points of the bed frame elements; positioning a bed foot below each of the connection points; and establishing a load-bearing connection at each of the connection points, wherein at each of the connection points a mounting aid and the at least one crossbar are clamped between the bed foot and one of the two frame elements.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] Further embodiments of the disclosure are explained in more detail in the following by means of figures. In the figures, identical or equivalent components are provided with identical reference signs (with or without suffixes). Characteristics already described with the help of reference signs are not necessarily provided with reference signs in all figures.

[0061] In the drawings:

[0062] FIGS. 1 to 4 show an exemplary embodiment of a frame element according to the improved concept in different adjustment positions;

[0063] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of an adjustable bed with frame elements according to the improved concept;

[0064] FIGS. 6 to 8 show exemplary embodiments of the legrest sector of an adjustable bed in different adjustment positions;

[0065] FIGS. 9 to 13 show various embodiments of a support element;

[0066] FIG. 14 illustrates the dependence between the inclination of the lower leg part and the adjustment angle of the upper leg part according to an embodiment of the frame element; and

[0067] FIGS. 15 to 21 show different exemplary embodiments of a connecting mechanism of the elements of a bed frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] FIGS. 1 to 4 show side views of a frame element 1 in different adjustment positions according to an embodiment for an adjustable bed 20 (see FIG. 5). The frame element 1 is designed as a longitudinal element for a longitudinal side of the bed 20.

[0069] The frame element 1 has a frame support 2, which is stationary or fixed. The frame support 2 is configured to be mechanically connected or coupled at its opposite ends with further elements of a bed frame 19, in particular crossbars 25 (see FIGS. 15 to 21). For this purpose, mounting aids 12 are provided at the ends of the frame support 2. In the embodiment shown, the mounting aids 12 are brackets which partially enclose a corresponding crossbar 25 and can be screwed to it.

[0070] The mounting aids 12 can also be of a different type in order to create a mechanical coupling with the crossbars 25. In alternative embodiments, the mounting aids 12 are not part of the frame element 1 but may be part of corresponding crossbars 25 or they are separate components.

[0071] Furthermore, the frame support 2 comprises, at least at one of its ends, a beveled section on the surface of which the sliding surface 3 is defined. In order to maintain aesthetics, the frame support 2 has a beveled section at both ends to form a symmetry. In addition, a trapezoidal bulge 4 is attached at one end to extend the effective sliding surface. The bulge 4 can be given by a plastic part which is mounted on the frame support.

[0072] An adjustable legrest 6, 7, 8 for example consists of an upper leg part 6, a lower leg part 7 and a support element 8. The upper leg part 6 is hinged to a middle part 11 of a middle sector, e.g. by means of a swivel joint. The lower leg part 7 is in turn connected to the upper leg part 6 in an articulated manner, for example by means of another swivel joint. The support element 8 in this embodiment is mounted vertically on the lower leg part 7, for example it is welded, and is configured to come into contact with the sliding surface 3 or with the sliding surface 3 extended by the bulge 4, which is ensured by the articulated mounting of the upper leg part 6 for each adjustment position. In an embodiment not shown, the sliding surface 3 is a component of a rail of a baffle guide, for instance. In such an embodiment, the rail is designed to accommodate one end of the support element 8 and to guide it along the sliding surface 3 of the rail when the lower leg part 7 is adjusted.

[0073] An adjustment mechanism 5 and a drive element 10 are arranged in the middle sector of the frame support 2. The adjustment mechanism 5 and the drive element 10 are thus embedded in the frame support 2 and coupled to it. The adjustment mechanism 5 and the drive element 10 are used to adjust an upper leg part 6 of the legrests 6, 7, 8 with regard to an adjustment angle. In this example, the adjustment mechanism 5 has a rotatable disc whose axis of rotation corresponds to the axis of rotation of the upper leg part 6. The rotatable disc represents a segment of a circle on whose transverse surface the upper leg part 6 rests.

[0074] The drive element 10, for example, comprises an electric motor and a spindle 13 which extends perpendicularly to the axis of rotation of the disk and engages a spindle nut 14 of the disk. Actuation of the adjustment mechanism 5 by the drive element 10 is triggered by rotation of the spindle 13, for example by means of a worm gear, about its own main axis of extension and a consequent change in engagement with the spindle nut 14. As a result, the angle of the transverse surface of the rotatable disc and thus the angle of the upper leg part 6 is adjusted.

[0075] Depending on the adjustment of the upper leg part 6, the position of the lower leg part 7 also changes due to the articulated mounting and pulling or pushing of the support element 8 along the sliding surface 3. The bulge 4 serves the purpose of not exceeding a maximum flexion angle between the upper leg part 6 and the lower leg part 7 as well as a maximum inclination angle of the lower leg part 7 in relation to the main orientation x of the frame support 2 for a range of adjustment angles of the upper leg part 6. For example, an angle of inclination of the lower leg part 7 shall not be greater than 15 for all adjustment angles of the upper leg part 6 between 0 and 50.

[0076] In addition, the frame element 1 in this version has an adjustable headrest sector which is given by an adjustable headrest part 9. Similar to the legrest sector, the headrest sector has a further adjustment mechanism 5a as well as a further drive element 10a.

[0077] FIG. 1 shows an adjustment position of the bed 20 in which the adjustment angle of the upper leg part 6 is approximately 40. The role of the bulge 4 can be seen here as an extension of the sliding surface 3. This ensures that the angle of inclination of the lower leg part 7 does not exceed a certain threshold. In general, this threshold is around 15 for an ergonomically correct lying position.

[0078] FIGS. 2 and 3 show the adjustment positions of the bed 20 where the adjustment angle of the upper leg part 6 is approximately 30 and 25, respectively. The bulge 4 does not play a role here, since in these adjustment positions the support element 8 is in contact with the sliding surface 3 of the frame support 2.

[0079] FIG. 4 shows an adjustment position of the bed 20 where the upper leg part is flat, i.e. an adjustment angle of 0. In this position, the weight of the lower leg part 7 essentially rests on the bulge 4 instead of on the sliding surface 3. The function of the further bulge in the area of the headrest sector for supporting the headrest part 9 in a flat adjustment position can be seen.

[0080] FIG. 5 shows an adjustable bed 20 with a modular frame 19. Two frame elements 1 according to FIGS. 1 to 4 are assembled with two crossbars 25 to form the frame 19. The respective legrests 6, 7, middle section 11 and head section 9 of the two frame elements 1 are directly connected via support elements 21 to 24. The support elements 21 to 24 are rigid panels, for example wooden panels. The first and second support elements 21 and 22 are configured as leg rests. The third support element 23 is set up as a middle support. The fourth support element 24 is set up as a headrest.

[0081] The frame elements 1, which are arranged as longitudinal elements, and the crossbars 25 enable any frame or bed size to be set. For this purpose, a distance between the two longitudinal elements is selected accordingly. Depending on the desired distance, the longitudinal elements are fastened to the crossbars 25 via the mounting aids 12 and via bed feet 26 at the appropriate position. Alternatively, the crossbars 25 can also be designed to be adjustable in length, e.g. telescopic rails. Altogether a multitude of bed variants can be realized with one and the same longitudinal and crossbars.

[0082] FIGS. 6 to 8 show the legrest of an adjustable bed 20 in different adjustment positions. It can be seen that the inclination of the lower leg support 21 or the lower leg part 7 does not exceed an angle of approx. 15 even at high adjustment angles of the upper leg support 22 or the upper leg part 6, as shown in FIG. 6 for an adjustment angle of approx. 40. This is ensured by the bulge 4 on which the plain bearing 8a rests. This is in contrast to flatter adjustment angles, as shown in FIG. 7 for an adjustment angle of about 15, where the plain bearing 8a rests on the sliding surface 3.

[0083] For a horizontal alignment of the upper leg support 22 or the upper leg part 6, as shown in FIG. 8 for an adjustment angle of 0, the lower leg part 7 is optionally also in a horizontal position with 0 inclination. In this case, the support of the lower leg part 7 on the bulge 4 is shown, which in this case bears a large part or all of the weight of the lower leg part 7 including the lower leg support 21, so that the support element 8 is relieved.

[0084] FIGS. 9 to 13 show various embodiments of a support element 8 of a frame element 1. In all the embodiments shown, an angled support element 8 can be seen. In addition to improving the contact between support element 8 and frame support 2, this may also serve the purpose of keeping the dimensions of any packaging for transport and delivery of the adjustable bed 20, for example a cardboard box, as small as possible. Individual components 8a-f of the support element are described in detail below for the various design examples.

[0085] FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the contact between support element 8 and sliding surface 3 of the frame support is made via a plain bearing 8a, which is designed as a plug-in part and is inserted into one end of support element 8. The contact surface 8b of the plain bearing 8a is curved to minimize the contact, which results in the desired effect of lower abrasion and lower sliding resistance. The material used for the plain bearing 8a, for example, is a plastic such as Polyoxymethylen, POM, with a low surface roughness.

[0086] FIG. 10 shows an embodiment similar to the one shown in FIG. 9, but with the additional feature of lateral guides 8c around the plain bearing 8a. The guides 8c can help to ensure that the lower leg part 7 remains correctly aligned with the sliding surface 3 during an adjustment and does not slip laterally.

[0087] FIG. 11 shows an embodiment in which the contact between support element 8 and sliding surface 3 of the frame support is established via a roller bearing 8d. The roller bearing 8d consists of a roller, for example made of plastic, which has a smooth surface and is fixed into one end of the support element in such a way that the surface of the roller bearing 8d can come into contact with the sliding surface 3 and roll along the sliding surface 3 when the lower leg part 7 is adjusted.

[0088] Similar to FIG. 10, FIG. 12 shows a roller bearing 8d, which has a side rail 8c. Similar to the described plain bearings 8a, the roller bearing 8d is designed as a plug-in part and is inserted into one end of the support element 8.

[0089] FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of the support element 8, which has a laterally insertable guide 8e. This embodiment may be used both for a plain bearing 8a and for a roller bearing 8d in order to keep the lower leg part 7 correctly aligned with the sliding surface 3 during an adjustment and to prevent it from slipping sideways. The laterally insertable guide 8e, for example, is also made of plastic.

[0090] FIG. 14 shows a diagram showing, on the vertical axis, the inclination of the lower leg part 7 as a function of the angle of the upper leg part 6 for an embodiment of the frame element 1, for example according to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. It can be seen that in a range of the adjustment angle of the upper leg part 6 between 0 and about 30 the inclination of the lower leg part 7 increases slightly deviating from a linear course.

[0091] From an angle of approximately 30, the support element 8 comes into contact with the bulge 4, which has an angle of inclination on its surface that can deviate from that of the sliding surface. For example, the angle of inclination of the bulge can be steeper or flatter, e.g. 0, or a combination of these two possibilities, as in the example of the trapezoidal bulge 4 shown. A suitable choice ensures that the inclination does not increase further with the adjustment angle and in the example remains at approx. 12 for the maximum adjustment of the upper leg part 6. This thus fulfils the requirement to enable an ergonomically correct lying position of a user.

[0092] FIGS. 15 to 21 show various exemplary embodiments of a connecting mechanism with which elements of a bed frame 19, for example a frame element 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and crossbars 25, can be connected to an adjustable bed 20. The basic idea of the mechanisms shown is to create a non-loadable connection between frame elements 1 and crossbars 25 which ensures correct alignment, followed by establishing a loadable connection, for example by a screw connection by means of a bed foot 26 through through-holes of the crossbar 25 into a thread located in one end of the frame support 2.

[0093] FIGS. 15 and 16 show a first example of a connection mechanism given by a one-piece mounting aid 12, comprising one or two side rails 12d and one or more elastic pins 12a adapted to engage in one or more receptacles 12b, for example holes, of the crossbar 25. This connection ensures a correct perpendicular alignment of the crossbar 25 with respect to the frame element 1, whereupon the loadable connection can be created by means of a screw of the bed foot 26, through holes 12c of the crossbar 25 as well as a thread in the beveled end of the frame support 2.

[0094] FIG. 17 shows a second example of the connection mechanism given by a one-piece mounting aid. In contrast to the first example, the mounting aid includes, instead of one or more elastic pins, a side rail 12d acting as a spring, which also ensures correct alignment of the crossbars 25 and frame elements 1.

[0095] FIG. 18 shows a third example of the connection mechanism given by a two-part mounting aid. The mounting aid 12 is U-shaped and has one or more receptacles 12b for one or more elastic pins 12a of a mounting part 12e arranged within the crossbar 25.

[0096] FIG. 19 shows a fourth example of the connection mechanism given by a two-part mounting aid. In contrast to the third design example, this design includes an additional spring element 12f, which further simplifies the establishment of the non-load-bearing connection.

[0097] FIG. 20 shows a fifth example of the connection mechanism given by a two-part mounting aid. In this version the pins 12a and the receptacles 12b are arranged vertically. The elements of the bed frame 19 are therefore aligned vertically. The pins 12a, for example, are elastic and correspond to the receptacles 12b in terms of diameter.

[0098] FIG. 21 shows a sixth example of the connection mechanism given by a two-part mounting aid. In this version the mechanism consists of a mounting part 12e with elastic pins 12a, which is inserted into one end of the crossbar 25, whereupon the pins penetrate through the receptacles 12b of the crossbar. Side rails 12d of the frame support 2 also include receptacles 2b through which the pins 12a penetrate after correct alignment and create the non-loadable connection.