Parallelogram Bed Lift Geometry Without Compression Assists
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing height and angle adjustable beds require mechanical or hydraulic compression assist mechanisms to overcome mechanical disadvantages at low positions, which can fail unexpectedly, leading to safety hazards and inefficiencies, and often require large swings that change the bed's center of gravity and are slow to raise or lower.
Innovation Solution
A bed design utilizing a single actuator operating in series with a parallelogram mechanism that maintains a steady load curve and compensates for weight variance through geometric design, allowing for efficient and balanced vertical or near-vertical movement without the need for mechanical assist mechanisms, reducing the risk of imbalance and injury.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical or hydraulic compression assist mechanisms are used to overcome mechanical disadvantage at low positions, then the bed can be lifted from fully lowered position, but the mechanisms may fail unexpectedly causing safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the mechanical compression assist mechanism entirely from the system. By redesigning the actuator mounting geometry, the invention eliminates the need for separate compression springs or hydraulic assist devices, thereby extracting the problematic component that caused safety hazards while maintaining the ability to lift the bed from lowered positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator system is designed to self-compensate for mechanical disadvantage at low positions through its geometric configuration. The control arm and mounting geometry automatically adjust the actuator's effective leverage throughout its stroke, allowing the system to serve itself without external assist mechanisms.
2Force
If two motors act in parallel to overcome mechanical disadvantage, then additional force is available, but the motors can get out of synchronization causing imbalance and safety issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of two parallel motors into a single actuator system. By using one actuator with optimized mounting geometry rather than two separate motors, the invention combines the lifting functions while eliminating the synchronization problems that arise from having independent motors operating in parallel.
Solution Approach 2:
The control arm and mounting geometry act as intermediaries that translate the actuator's linear motion into synchronized rotational motion of the bed frame. This intermediary mechanism ensures balanced movement without requiring multiple independent power sources.
3Force
If the bed requires large swing to raise or lower, then the actuator can overcome mechanical disadvantage, but the center of gravity changes and more space is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic geometry where the control arm and actuator mounting positions are optimized to maintain favorable mechanical advantage throughout the bed's range of motion. This dynamic configuration allows the system to maintain efficiency without requiring excessive swing distance, as the geometry adapts to preserve leverage at all positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the actuator mounting and control arm lengths to optimize the trade-off between mechanical advantage and swing distance. By carefully selecting these parameters, the system achieves sufficient lifting force while minimizing the horizontal displacement and center of gravity change.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enables fast, efficient, and balanced vertical movement of the bed, eliminating the need for mechanical assists, reducing safety risks, and minimizing the swing required to change positions, thus improving operational efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
A bed design utilizing a single actuator operating in series with a parallelogram mechanism that maintains a steady load curve and compensates for weight variance through geometric design
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention has a deck supported by at least one parallelogram. When two parallelograms are used, the first has first and second levers and a drag link, and the second has third and fourth levers and a second drag link. Each parallelogram is raised and collapsed with an actuator. The first lever and the fourth lever each have an arm with an interface. The actuators are pivotally and movably connected to the interfaces and pivotally connected to the drag links. The location of the actuators relative the interfaces is controlled with control arms. The control arms have ends that are connected to the respective drag link and each rotates at an offset circular path about a central point of the adjacent levers.