Title:
MATTRESS SUPPORT ASSEMBLY
United States Patent 3842451
Abstract:
A pair of side rails and a pair of end rails and four corner posts, are assembled into a frame. The side rails are rabbeted at their upper inner edges and receive a plurality of parallel straight transverse slats, and a pair of diagonal slats, with a center rail supported by and helping space the slats at the center and having its ends received in slots in the end rails. The whole assembly is nailed, spiked or stapled together. Springs are secured to the slats, tied to a wire grid at their tops, covered with padding and enclosed with a fabric hood.
Application Number:
05/382827
Publication Date:
10/22/1974
Assignee:
McCormick Lumber Company, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN)
Other Classes:
5/239, 5/264.1
International Classes:
A47C19/00; (IPC1-7): A47C19/00
Field of Search:
5/131,2R,2C,248,239-245,264B,264R,279R,282R
Primary Examiner:
Mitchell, James C.
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Woodard, Weikart, Emhardt & Naughton
Parent Case Data:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED
APPLICATIONS
This application is a
continuation of my copending application Ser. No. 230,734,
filed Mar. 1, 1972 now abandoned.
Claims:
The invention claimed is
1. In a mattress support assembly, the combination comprising:
2. The combination of claim 1 wherein:
3. The combination of claim 1 wherein:
4. The combination of claim 3 wherein:
5. The combination of claim 4 and further comprising:
6. The combination of claim 5 wherein:
7. The combination of claim 6 wherein:
8. The combination of claim 7 wherein:
9. The combination of claim 7 wherein:
10. The combination of claim 9 wherein:
11. The combination of claim 1 and further comprising:
12. The combination of claim 11 and further comprising:
13. The combination of claim 12 and further comprising:
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bedding and furniture, and more particularly to "boxspring" assemblies to support mattresses and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically boxspring frames are made of wood, as it is a comparatively light, inexpensive material easy to handle and sufficiently strong for the intended purpose. The typical assembly is a built-up structure using two or more longitudinally extending members at each side of the frame, and two or more elongated members at each end of the frame, with spacer and filler blocks and filler strips therebetween at appropriate places. Springs are mounted on the frame and covered with padding and a hood.
Several problems with this typical prior art construction include the necessity of handling a considerable number of pieces, a multitude of fastening steps and points, rounding corners by the use of a band saw, all of which tend to increase cost and limit productability of labor. It is an objective of the present invention to overcome most or all of these typical shortcomings of typical prior art procedures and structures.
Described briefly, in a typical embodiment of the present invention, a boxspring assembly is made of a set of pre-cut pieces comparatively few in number, including pre-cut corner posts, side and end rails, slats and center rails. The shape of the corner posts and the cross section of the side rails minimizes assembly steps and avoids the necessity of corner trimming after assembly. Springs or foam can be placed on the frame, suitably padded (in the case of springs) and covered with a hood.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a boxspring frame according to a typical embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an end elevational view thereof.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section therethrough taken at line 3--3 in FIG. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section therethrough taken at line 4--4 in FIG. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment but with the center broken away to conserve drawing space, and with a portion of the end slat broken away in the upper right hand corner.
FIG. 6 is a partially exploded end elevation, similar to FIG. 2.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken at line 7--7 in FIG. 5 but omitting the end slat.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of the FIG. 5 embodiment with springs installed thereon.
FIG. 9 is a cross section through a complete "boxspring" assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings in detail, the boxspring frame includes a pair of side rails 11 having a rabbeted inner edge 12 as best shown in FIG. 4. It also has a pair of end rails 13. While the side rails are elongated and rabbeted as shown, the end rails are elongated but not rabbeted and have a typical rectangular cross section. However they are vertically slotted on their inner face as shown at 14 to receive the ends of an intermediate rail 16 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is a center rail.
A corner block such as block 17 is provided at each corner and, as best shown by reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, each block extends the full height of the frame, has two grooves 18 and 19 therein, and a semicylindrical surface 21 between the proximate edges of the grooves. It will readily be recognized that these corner blocks can be made of a board of rectangular or square cross section (as suggested by the dotted line 20 in FIG. 1) first rabbeted, then rounded and then cross cut to the desired dimension between the upper and lower ends 22 thereof.
A plurality of straight transverse slats 23 is provided, the opposite ends of these slats being received in the rabbeted grooves 12 in the side rail as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Similarly, diagonal slats 24 are provided adjacent the opposite ends. The slats are secured to the rails by T-nails, nails, or staples, as indicated at 25 and are likewise fastened to the center rail 16 at 26. The center rail is fastened to the end rail in the same manner as indicated at 27 in FIG. 2, and the end rails and side rails are fastened to the corner posts in the same manner as indicated at 28 and 29, respectively, in FIG. 1.
The material is preferably sound mixed native hardwoods or dried softwoods except, of course, for the fasteners mentioned above. The number of slats is typically from four to nine depending upon the size of the frame, and the number of center support rails is one to three, depending upon the size of the frame. Typical frame sizes are 70 to 80 inch length, and 48 to 65 inch width, and approximately two and 1/2 to 7 inch height.
For speed of assembly, it is preferable that fasteners such as described above, be employed. However it is possible that on dried softwood, various adhesives might be used. In that event, the time factor can be largely overcome by using a metal fastener in addition to the glue or adhesive with the fastener serving to hold the assembly together until the glue or other adhesive reaches the necessary strength.
Referring now to FIG. 5, parts which may be identical to those in the previously described embodiment are given the same reference numerals. However, as can best be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the corner blocks 31 do not extend the full height of the side or end rails. Instead, they are shortened, with the upper face 32 thereof being virtually flush with the upper face 33 of the rabbeted inner edge 12 of the side rails 11. This makes possible the employment of end slats 34 co-planar with the slats 23 and 24 and resting upon the upper faces 32 of the corner blocks. They may be nailed, stapled, glued or otherwise secured to the corner blocks and center rail. If desired, all slats may be of the same length, including not only the slats 23 and the end slats 34, but also the diagonal slats 24 and 26 which, although on a slight diagonal, are long enough to extend over a portion of the rabbeted edge 12 of the side rails 11.
The end slats provide a firm and reliable support for the end rows of coil springs 36 as best shown in FIG. 8. Springs 36 are typically secured to the slats by having the lower coil thereof stapled 0to the slat upon which the coil is mounted (FIG. 9). The upper end of each coil is wired to wires of a locating grid. For example, referring to FIG. 9, the upper coil 38 may be tied to the longitudinal wire 39 and transverse wire 41 of the grid by either a single loop of wire such as a "hog ring" around each of the wires 39 and 41 or by a continuous winding of wire around the coil and the grid wires as shown at 42. The grid may be of conventional construction including a perimeter wire frame 43 with the longitudinal wires 39 wrapped therearound at each end, transverse wires 41 connected thereto by the wire brackets 44.
As shown in FIG. 9, the grid is covered by suitable padding 46 and that is covered by a fabric hood 47 which is typically stapled to the underside of the side rails as indicated at 48. Thus completes the assembly.
It should be understood that the present invention lends itself readily to the use of less expensive construction involving only foam rather than wire springs, the foam being laid either directly upon the slats or upon a corrugated paper board support, the paper board being rested upon the slats with the corrugations thereof lengthwise of the frame and thereby transverse to the direction of the slats for extra strength. Typically where foam is used, more slats are used than with a spring-type construction, unless corrugated support of suitable strength is provided for the foam.
While the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail in the drawings and foregoing description, they are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, as other modifications may readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art and within the broad scope of the invention.