US3487480A - Box spring assembly - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 6, 1970 w. v. SLOMINSKI 3, 8 80 BOX SPRING ASSEMBLY Filed June 7, 1967 3 h et 1 INVENTOR WALTER v. SLOMINSKI ATTORNEYS Jan. 6, 1970 w. v. SLOMINS'KI 3,487,480

BOX SPRING AS SEMBLY Filed June 7 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvsmor WALTER v. SLOMINSKI ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,487,480 BOX SPRING ASSEMBLY Walter V. Slominski, Lexington, Ky., assignor to Hoover Ball and Bearing Company, Saline, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed June 7, 1967, Ser. No. 644,358 Int. Cl. A47c 23/00 US. Cl. 5-247 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A box spring assembly in which a plurality of main springs are arranged crisscross fashion on a rectangular supporting frame, each main spring having a straight wire load supporting portion and resilient end mounting portions. Similarly constructed intermediate support springs extend between the frame and pairs of adjacent main spring load supporting portions for resiliently supporting intermediate portions of the main springs. The mounting portions for all of the springs in the assembly are shaped so that with only a minor variation in the springs, a desired height for a particular spring assembly is achieved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to wire spring assemblies which are especially adapted for manufacturing box springs of the type normally used on beds, although the springs of this invention can be used in other environments. The conventional box spring consists of a rectangular wooden frame on which a plurality of coil springs and border wires are mounted, and a fabric cover and pad are positioned over the springs and the border wires and attached to the frame. Such a box spring is heavy, and unnecessarily expensive, because of the amount of wire used in the coil springs. The box spring assembly shown in US. Patent No. 3,286,281, owned by the assignee of this application, overcomes the above described disadvantages inherent in conventional box spring assemblies and is advantageous because it utilizes a plurality of readily manufacturable springs which are substantially identical. The box spring assembly of this invention is an improvement on the one shown in the aforementioned patent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Box spring assemblies are marketed in different heights, the height being the distance between the frame and the plane of the load supporting deck of the assembly. The reason box spring assemblies are marketed in different heights is because mattresses of different thicknesses are used on box springs, and the combined height of the box spring and thickness of the mattress must be uniform in order to achieve uniform bed height. In the past, this necessity for making box spring assemblies of different heights required the manufacture of a standard box spring assembly of minimum height, and when one of greater height was desired this was accomplished by either adding additional Wood to the frame, or making a substantial change in the construction of the individual springs in the assembly. The addition of wood to the frame is undesirable because it adds unnecessary weight to the assembly and this solution is becoming more and more expensive as lumber becomes more expensive. A substantial change in the spring construction involves very high costs for changes in manufacturing machinery.

In the box spring assembly of this invention, all of the main springs and the intermediate support springs are constructed so that they consist of a straight wire load supporting portion, which cooperate to form the spring assembly deck, and end mounting portions which are FE i i 7 Ce 3,487,480

Patented Jan. 6, 1970 attached to the frame. The mounting portions in all of the springs are substantially identical, thereby facilitating manufacture of the springs. The mounting portions are also constructed so that each includes a pair of parallel torsion bars which are vertically spaced and connected by a vertical leg disposed adjacent the spring assembly deck. By making only a minor variation in the setup of the spring making machinery, the length of this leg can be adjusted to thereby adjust the overall height of the resulting spring assembly without affecting any foldangles or any other parts of the springs. As a result, the machinery for making the springs is readily setup to make spring assemblies of varying heights at practically no additional cost. This is accomplished while also providing improved spring characteristics for the spring assembly which will impart the desirable resilient firmness to the spring assembly deck.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved box spring assembly which incorporates improved springs.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the box spring assembly of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of a portion of the box spring assembly of this invention as seen from substantially the line 22 in FIG. 1, illustrating in broken lines the shape of the spring for achieving an increased spring assembly height;

FIGURE 3 is a foreshortened developed view of the intermediate support spring shown in FIG. 2 illustrating in broken lines the shape of the spring for achieving the increased spring height shown in broken lines in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the spring assembly of this invention illustrating the intermediate support spring shown in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 5 is'an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view of a portion of the spring assembly of this invention as seen from substantially the line 55 in FIG. 1, illustrating in broken lines the shape of the spring for obtaining an increased spring assembly height; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the portion of the spring assembly of this invention illustrated in FIG. 5.

With reference to the drawing, the spring assembly of this invention, indicated generally at 10, is illustrated in FIG. 1 as including a rectangular support frame 12, shown as being formed of wood but which can also be formed of metal, plastic or the like, a plurality of main springs 14 which extend lengthwise of the frame 12, and a plurality of main springs 16 which extend transversely of the main frame 12. A sectional border wire 18 is secured to the main springs 14 and 16 so that the border wire 18 is disposed above the periphery of the frame 12. A plurality of intermediate support springs 20, illustrated as being twelve in number, support intermediate portions of the main springs 14 and 16 on transversely extending slats or rails 22 which are arranged in pairs and form part of the frame 12.

Since the main springs 14 and 16 are substantially identical, differing only in that the springs 14 are longer than the springs 16, only a main spring 16 is described in detail hereinafter. Each main spring 16 includes a substantially straight wire load supporting portion 24 (FIG. 1 and 5 which is formed at its ends with integral mounting portions 26 which are substantially identical, being right and left hand versions of each other. Each mounting portion 26 extends in a direction generally normal to the load supporting portion 24 and functions to resiliently support one end of the load supporting portion 24 above the frame 12. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the spring 16 is formed, at the juncture of the load supporting portion 24 and the mounting portion 26, with a first torsion bar 28 which is parallel to and spaced above a second torsion bar 30. A leg 32, which is substantially perpendicular to the plane occupied by the load supporting portion 24 connects the torsion bars 28 and 30 at one of their ends, and the length of the leg 32 determines the spacing between the torsion bars 28 and 30. The opposite end of the torsion bar 30 is formed with an inclined connecting section 34 which is in turn formed integral with another torsion bar 36, another inclined connecting section 38, another torsion bar 40, another inclined connecting section 42, still another torsion bar 44, a final inclined connecting section 46, and a final torsion bar 48 which is positioned in engagement with the top side of the frame 12. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the mounting portion 26 is secured to the frame 12 by extending staples 50 through the torsion bar 48 and an L-shape leg 52 formed integral therewith.

As best appears in FIG. 5, the connecting sections 34, 38, 42 and 46 are arranged in a substantially W-formation for resiliently supporting the top torsion bar 28. Each torsion bar 28 is connected by a conventional spring clip 53 to the border Wire 18 which reinforces the torsion bar 28 so that it cannot tilt to any great extent toward the adjacent torsion bar 30. Furthermore, under load, the connecting sections 34, 38, 42 and 46 tend to be twisted by the relative movement of the torsion bars at the ends thereof so that the connecting sections also function to some extent as torsion bars. The net result is a desirable firm resistance to load with the amount of resilience associated with comfort.

Each support spring 20 also includes a straight wire load supporting portion 54 which, as shown in FIG. 1, extends somewhat diagonally across the rectangular space formed by intersecting pairs of main springs 14 and 16. The ends of the straight wire load support portion 54 are formed with straight wire attaching sections 56 which are secured by clips 58 to the main springs 14. These straight wire sections 56 are formed integral with the top torsion bars 60 in the resilient end mounting portions 62 for the intermediate support spring 20 which extend generally perpendicular to the load supporting portion 54. Since the mounting portions 62 for the springs 20 are substantially identical, being left and right hand versions of each other, only one mounting portion 62 is described in detail hereinafter.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the mounting portion 62 includes a torsion bar 64 which is substantially parallel to and spaced below the torsion bar 60. A leg 66 which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the load supporting portion 54 extends between the torsion bars 60 and 64 and the length of the leg 66 determines the spacing between the torsion bars at one end thereof. Clips 67 connect the torsion bars 60 to the springs 16 so as to reinforce the torsion bars 60. One end of the torsion bar 64 is also formed integral with an inclined connecting section 68 which is formed integral with a torsion bar 70, another inclined connecting section 72, another torsion bar 74, a final inclined connecting section 76, a final torsion bar 78, and a leg 80. Staples 82 are illustrated for attaching the leg 80 and the torsion bar 78 to a frame rail 22. It can thus be seen, that when the portion 54 of the spring 20 is loaded, the end mounting portions 62 will deflect so as to firmly resist the load with the desired degree of resiliency.

It can readily be seen from a-comparison of FIGS. 2 and 5 that the mounting portion 26 for the main spring 16 and the mounting portion 62 for the support spring 20 are different in the illustrated embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood that the usual practice is to make the mounting portions 26 and 62 identical for ease of manufacturing purposes, these spring portions being illustrated as being different only for illustrative purposes to illustrate two possible configurations for each of these springs. In \both, a substantially W-formation is achieved, the spring portion 26 having one more inclined connecting section and one more torsion bar and for that reason being advantageous from the standpoint of spring capability and length of service life.

The straight wire loading supporting spring portions 24 and 54 cooperate to form a load supporting Wire deck 90 which is in a plane substantially parallel to the frame 12 and on which the usual padding and fabric are mounted. The spring portions 24 may be slightly inclined at their ends, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, but when the fabric is applied it tends to straighten out these portions. Reference herein to the plane of the spring load supporting portions thus means the general plane parallel to the frame 12 in which the majority of these portions are found. As shown in FIGS. 2 and S, the deck 90 can be raised relative to the main frame 12 by forming the spring mounting portions 26 and 62 so that the legs 32 and 66,

respectively, are of an increased length as illustrated at 32a and 66a. FIG. 3 illustrates, in connection with spring 20, how this increased length for a spacer leg is easily obtained by merely bending the wire which forms the spring so as to relocate the top torsion bar, in this case the torsion bar 60. This necessitates the use of a longer length of Wire, but this can be readily accomplished and a change in the wire bending machine to achieve their different bend is also easily achieved since no changed angles or folds are necessary. It can thus be seen that a box spring assembly 10 of increased height, illustrated in broken lines in FIGS. 2 and 5, can readily be obtained without a costly change in the springs and without the use of additional material in the frame 12. The advantages of this arrangement are believed to be apparent.

This inherent ability of the springs 14, 16 and 20 to be easily modified so as to increase (or decrease) the spring height is due to the arrangement of the spring torsion bars so that the spacer legs 32 and 66 are substantially vertical and are relatively short relative to the height of the spring mounting portions 26 and 62. This is illustrated, by way of example, in FIG. 2 wherein the length of the spacer leg 66a is represented by the distance a and the length of the mounting portion 62 between the torsion bar 64 and the foot 80 is shown at b. When the spacer leg 66:; is of a length to extend the height of the spring 20 to its maximum a is still less than b and in all other cases a is substantially less than b. The same is true in the case of springs 14 and 16. It is to be understood that the specific structure for attaching the spring mounting portions 26 and 62 shown in the drawings, namely, the legs 52 and 80, forms no part of thepresent invention, but is the subject matter of another application. The mounting portions 26 and 62 can be attached to the frame 12 by structure other than that illustrated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a spring having a load supporting portion and a mounting portion at one end of said load supporting portion wherein said mounting portion extends generally normal to the plane of said load supporting portion and is of sufficient resilience to allow said load supporting portion to yieldably deflect under load, the improvement comprising providing a first torsion bar at the juncture of said portions and forming said mounting portion so that it has a leg of predetermined length extending substantially perpendicularly away from one end of said torsion bar, a. second torsion bar formed integral with said leg and arranged in a substantially parallel spaced relation with said first torsion bar, and a plurality of torsion bars and inclined connecting sections formed integral with said second torsion bar and extended away from said load supporting portion.

2. A spring according to claim 1 in which said plurality of torsion bars and inclined connecting sections are arranged. in a Substantially W-formation.

3. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of torsion bars and inclined connecting sections consists of at least three inclined connecting sections each of which is reversely inclined relative to the adjacent section and is connected thereto by a torsion bar.

4. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of torsion bars and inclined connecting sections consists of four connecting sections, each of which is connected to the adjacent connecting section by a torsion bar and is reversely inclined relative thereto.

5. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said leg is of a length less than one half the length of said mounting portion measured in a direction normal to the plane of said load supporting portion.

6. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said load supporting portion has said mounting portion at each end thereof and the torsion bars in said mounting portions are parallel to each other and inclined relative to said load supporting portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 535 1

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