Collapsible Mattress Support With Hinged Bars for Compact Shipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bed frames are cumbersome to assemble, heavy, and require multiple tools, leading to high shipping costs and storage inefficiencies due to their long packaging and weight.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible mattress support system with hinge plates and pivotally attached side bars that can be easily assembled and disassembled, allowing for compact storage and transportation, featuring extendable cross bars to accommodate various mattress sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conventional bed frames use single-piece side rails and multiple overlapping cross bar members, then structural stability is improved, but the packaging length becomes as long as the mattress and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The side rails are divided into multiple telescoping segments that can nest within each other when collapsed, reducing packaging length from mattress-length to a fraction thereof, while maintaining full length when extended for use
Solution Approach 2:
The side rails transition from static single-piece construction to dynamic telescoping segments that can extend and collapse, allowing the structure to adapt between compact storage and full operational length
2Strength
If conventional bed frames use heavy steel L-shaped side rails and cross bar members, then structural strength is improved, but weight increases leading to higher shipping costs and difficulty of assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The bed frame transitions from solid steel construction to a composite structure using aluminum or steel tubes combined with fabric webbing, reducing weight while maintaining structural strength through the tensile properties of the webbing and tubular framework
3Reliability
If conventional bed frames require multiple tools and non-intuitive assembly steps, then structural integrity is ensured, but ease of assembly deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly system uses self-aligning telescoping segments with intuitive connection mechanisms that require no tools or specialized knowledge, allowing any user to assemble the frame by simply connecting the segments in sequence
Solution Approach 2:
Fabric webbing acts as an intermediary element that simplifies connections between structural components, replacing complex mechanical fastening systems with intuitive tying or snapping actions
4Adaptability or versatility
If cross bar members are made long enough to accommodate king size beds without extension bars, then versatility is improved, but the cross bar members extend beyond normal width for small bed frames
Solution Approach 1:
The cross bar members use telescoping sections that can extend to accommodate wider mattresses or collapse to match the width of smaller frames, allowing the same component to adapt to different bed sizes without protruding excessively
Data Source
AI summary
A collapsible mattress support for a box spring includes hinges on opposite sides of a middle cross bar. First and second side bars are pivotally attached to one hinge, and third and fourth side bars are pivotally attached to the other hinge. Each of the bars rotates about parallel axes that are orthogonal to the hinges. The four side bars each has a common width. A first distance between the axes about which the first and second bars rotate equals twice the common width of the bars plus a second distance between the axes about which the third and fourth bars rotate. In one embodiment, the cross bars are extendable. The components of the mattress support for Queen, California King and Eastern King sized mattresses fit in a packing box whose length is no greater than 45 inches and whose width and height are each no more than 7 inches.