Beds – Sofa bed – Bed element
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-31
2001-02-06
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3628)
Beds
Sofa bed
Bed element
C005S280000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182307
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
My present invention relates to a wall mounted headboard for a bed and, more particularly, to a headboard for a bed whose appearance can be changed from time to time and which may be used for thematic decor, to match bedding, drapes, carpeting or other decorative materials in a bedroom and which can be easily mounted and dismounted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bed headboards have been provided in a variety of forms and in many cases have been mounted on a wall above a bed, particularly in institutional, such as motel and hotel applications. The headboard can be fitted onto a bed frame as well. There have been numerous proposals for thematic headboards, i.e. headboards which are intended to convey a particular decorative impression or sense. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. D 267 839, the headboard has a dolls house configuration.
Headboards may be capable of alteration to suit the development of a child, for example, being modified thematically as the child develops from infanthood to adolescence to the young adult. Fabric covered headboards are also known in which the fabric is drawn over a frame and fastened, e.g. by staples, tacks or the like on the backside of the frame. Headboards can thus be customized to suit the user and, since the fabric can be changed from time to time employed to display different fabric patterns. Attention is directed in this respect to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,821,349, 5,195,195 and 5,269,032. Convertible furniture or furniture which is intended to accommodate an individual through various ages is known in a variety of forms (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,974 and the patent documents cited therein).
The following patents also are relevant to frame structures, headboards and the like:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,641,779, 2,844,829, 3,116,569, 3,256,533, 3,351,960, 5,269,032, 5,659,991, and 5,791,752.
Notwithstanding the extensive art in frame constructions, bed headboards and the like, there has remained a need for a convertible headboard which can be accommodated to the need of the household and to the different requirements as the user ages or alters his or her esthetic ideas and which can be readily modified by an unskilled person in such manner that the appearance of the headboard is professional.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved convertible headboard which overcomes drawbacks of earlier headboards and can easily be modified by the user without professional assistance to yield a product which is custom designed by the householder himself or herself and yet has a fully professional appearance.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved headboard for a bed which can be modified to have practically any desired appearance without the need for complex upholstering steps like stapling or tacking fabric in place.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the invention in a headboard for a bed which comprises:
a panel formed with a board, a cane cushion on one side of the board, and a strip of adhesive on an opposite side of the board and extending along edges thereof for engagement with a replaceable fabric adapted to be placed over the cushion and folded about the edges onto the adhesive strip;
a frame receiving the panel and having frame limbs extending along the edges, a ledge upon which the panel is supported in the frame, and an opening bounded by the limbs through which the cane cushion or the fabric is visible; and
a multiplicity of swivels spaced along the limbs and pivotal between positions in which each of the swivels overhangs the strip to retain the panel in the frame and in which the swivels are swung out of engagement with the panel to permit the panel to be removed from the frame.
Advantageously, that headboard is mounted on a wall above a bed utilizing a cleat on the back of the panel which engages a cleat or bar previously mounted on the wall, the cleat and bar being shaped so that the bar engages behind the cleat and retains the panel on the wall, together with the frame attached thereto, until the headboard is lifted from the bar.
According to another feature of the invention, the bar and cleat have mutually engaging bevels. In an important feature of the invention, the panel is formed with nonadhesive islands along the adhesive strip where the swivels can swing over the adhesive, these islands permitting movement of the swivels between the engaged and disengaged positions without being impeded by the adhesive of the strip in the absence of the fabric. When, of course, the fabric is present, the fabric will lie between the swivel and the adhesive. The islands can be disks of a silicone anti-adhesive material and the adhesive strip can be a doubly adhesive tape, i.e. a tape which is adhesive on both of its surfaces.
The headboard of the invention can utilize a molded picture frame as its frame member and the panel, which is padded with foam and covered with open cane, can be used without upholstery. It has been found to be comfortable to lean against and highly esthetic. However, when need or conditions change it can be easily converted into a fabric coated panel by simply removing the panel from the frame, stretching a fabric over the cane cushion and adhering the fabric edges to the adhesive strip on the back of the panel. When the panel is replaced in the frame and the multiplicity of swivels are swung to overlie the edge of the fabric on the adhesive strip, the swivels not only hold the panel in place but retain the fabric against the adhesive.
It has been found that mistakes are often made in selecting upholstery to match bedding. With the system of the invention, the headboard fabric can be readily altered when it becomes soiled or when a change is required for matching the headboard to the bedding. There is no need for tacking or nailing.
In an application of the headboard to the needs of children, it is possible to use a printed fabric with images ranging from cartoon, fairy tale or stylized animal characters, to sports figures, to sophisticated artwork or designs as the child develops from infant to adolescent to young adult to adult.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 255522 (1980-06-01), Quigley
patent: D. 267839 (1983-02-01), Lenger
patent: 2508506 (1950-05-01), Fridolph
patent: 2687537 (1954-08-01), Wallace et al.
patent: 3736603 (1973-06-01), Rothman
patent: 4821349 (1989-04-01), Cohen
patent: 4903354 (1990-02-01), Yeh
patent: 5195195 (1993-03-01), Murray
patent: 5269032 (1993-12-01), Flocks
patent: 803611 (1958-10-01), None
Dubno Herbert
Melius Terry Lee
Santos Robert G.
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