Beds – Bedsteads – Having bottom
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-31
2003-05-06
Trettel, Michael F. (Department: 3673)
Beds
Bedsteads
Having bottom
C005S201000, C005S285000, C005S286000, C005S300000, C005S425000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06557191
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a bed frame and, more specifically, to a bed frame for a child that can be easily assembled using fastenerless connections.
Bed frames have long existed. However, traditional bed frames can be improved. Traditional bed frames not only require hardware to connect the side rails to the headboards and foot boards, but they also present storage problems. Long side rails on traditional beds are not easily stored in a closet. Thus, an owner of a traditional bed frame must often store the frame in an attic or basement when the bed is not in use. In addition, the long side rails are not easily shipped to a retail outlet or to a consumer, and purchasers must pay a high freight charge due to the length of the side rails. Further, retailers have both safety and economy of space concerns with respect to the size of a product's carton, especially those retailers who store product cartons on the sales floor.
One commercially available child's bed is easier to ship and store than traditional bed frames. The side rails of this bed frame each comprise two pieces that can be separated to reduce the overall length of the side rails. Although the separability of the side rails makes shipment and storage easier, assembly of the bed frame becomes more complicated. Traditional bed frames are assembled with fasteners, and, each time a bed frame is disassembled and stored, some or all of the fasteners may be misplaced or lost. The two-piece side rails of the above-mentioned child's bed require more fasteners than traditional bed frames and additional assembly steps, and thus requires additional care and attention during assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, there is a need for a bed frame that can be disassembled into parts that are easy to ship and easy to store, that can be assembled using fastenerless connections, and that can be assembled without tools.
The present invention provides a bed frame having a headboard, a foot board, a right side rail, and a left side rail. Each side rail has a first member and a corresponding second member. Each first member is configured to be releasably attached to the headboard solely by mating end joint members formed in the first members and in the headboard, and each second member is configured to be releasably attached to the foot board solely by mating end joint members formed in the second members and in the foot board. Each of the first members also is configured to be releasably attached to a corresponding second member solely by mating side joint members formed in each of the first members and in the corresponding second members. The headboard, the foot board, and the side rails preferably are made of a plastic material. In addition, these plastic bed frame components can be made via blow-molding or rotationally-molding (i.e., roto-molding) techniques, both of which produce strong, hollow plastic components.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a bed frame is provided that includes a headboard, a foot board, right side rail, and a left side rail. Each side rail has a first member releasably attached to the headboard and a corresponding second member releasably attached to the foot board, and each first member is releasably attached to the corresponding second member. In addition, at least one of the first members has a height dimension greater than that of the corresponding second member.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a bed frame is provided that includes a headboard, a foot board, a right side rail, and a left side rail. Each side rail has a first member and a corresponding second member. The first members are configured to be releasably attached to the headboard by first fastenerless connections formed in the first members and the headboard, and the second members are configured to be releasably attached to the foot board by second fastenerless connections formed in the second members and in the foot board. Further, the first members are configured to be releasably attached to the corresponding second members by third fastenerless connections. In still another aspect of the present invention, the bed frame can include a bracing slat between the second members. The bracing slat is releasably immobilized when the first members are releasably connected to their corresponding second members.
A method of assembling a bed frame in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of (a) providing a foot board, a head board, and first and second side rails, each side rail having a first member and a second member; (b) connecting the second members of the side rails to the foot board via fastenerless connections; (c) releasably connecting a bracing slat between the second members so that the bracing slat extends between the first side rail and the second side rail; (d) connecting the first members of the side rails to the corresponding second members via fastenerless connections so that the bracing slat is releasably immobilized; and (e) connecting the headboard to the first members of the side rails via fastenerless connections.
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Patio Rocking Chair Assembly Instructions, Semco Plastic Company Incorporated, 2 pp., 1997-1999, available at http://www.semcoplastics.com/products/chair.htm.
Bellows William B.
Mullen Joshua O.
Nelson Paul B.
Foley & Lardner
Graco Children's Products Inc.
Trettel Michael F.
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