Bed frame mounted foot rest

Abstract

A bed-side structure that is mounted to the upright portion of the rail of a bed frame and extends outwardly to provide a platform for supporting a person's foot, the structure having a slot for fitting over the upright portion of the bed rail that is dimensioned to provide detachable mounting of said platform to said bed frame, minimize downward sloping of said platform, and to permit sliding of said member along said rail.

Description

BACKGROUND

The background of the invention will be discussed in two parts.

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to bedside foot rests and more particularly to a bed frame mounted foot rest that permits removal for portability and selective positioning along the bed frame.

2. Description of the Related Art

Prior art bedside foot rests were not found relating to a bed frame mounted foot rest as is taught by the present invention: Prior patents directed to bedside foot rests have been either bulky and cumbersome or unduly complex so as to be impractical in use and thus commercially unacceptable. An example of such prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,525 issued to Williams on 10 Jun. 1980 and entitled “Bedside Foot Rest” that discloses a pivotal support mounted to the bed frame. Other patents of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,215 which discloses a fold-up foot stool mounted on upright supports that is swung under the bed, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,975,436 which disclosing a stool-like step also adapted to swing under the bed.

SUMMARY

In view of the prior art there exists a need for an improved bedside foot rest as set forth by the present invention which addresses the continuing problems of ease of use, low cost, simplicity of construction, removal for portability and selective positioning along the bed frame. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a bed frame mounted foot rest that is easily mounted to and removed from the bed frame. It is a further object of the invention to provide a small, simple bed frame mounted foot rest that permits movement of the foot rest along the bed frame. Other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the specification taken in conjunction with the drawings.

The invention comprises an elongated one piece foot rest structure having a slot for fitting over the vertical portion of the bed frame and a cantilevered horizontally extending platform providing support for a foot of a person sitting on the side of the bed. The slot permits longitudinal positioning along the bed frame.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the bed frame mounted foot rest in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the foot rest of the invention as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the foot rest of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the foot rest of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the foot rest of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the foot rest of of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the foot rest of the invention.

DESCRIPTION

Briefly, the foot rest of the invention is comprised of a detachable elongated one piece structure having a slot for fitting over the outside upright portion of a bed rail and a contiguous outwardly extending platform for support of the foot of a person sitting on the bed. The slot provides means for mounting of the foot rest to the bed rail as well as means for sliding the foot rest along the bed rail. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the bed frame mounted foot rest, generally designated 10, in accordance with the invention. As illustrated, the footrest is mounted onto bed frame 11, as will be described, with top 12 of the invention shown supporting the foot 13 of the user. The foot rest 10 is detachably mounted onto the bed frame 11 and can be slid along the bed frame 11, thus allowing for selective positioning on the bed frame and removal for portability. As shown, the foot rest facilitates access to the foot for activities such as toenail clipping. Although nor shown, the surface of foot rest may be ergonomically configured for acceptance of the foot of the user. Also not shown, the foot rest facilitates access to a shoe worn by a person to facilitate activities such as tying of shoelaces.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the foot rest 10 of the invention. Briefly, the foot rest 10 is comprised of an elongated one piece structure having a slot 14 defined by a vertical rear portion 15 and the rear of a front portion, generally designated 16, front portion 16 cantilevered forwardly from the slot 14. Rear portion 15 and front portion 16 are covered by top 12 to form a platform for support of the foot of a person sitting on the bed. The surface of top 12 may be provided with an anti-slip material to foster firm footing of the surface. Foot rest 10 is mounted to bed frame 11 by fitting slot 14 down over the vertical portion 11a of the bed frame 11 with rear portion 15 on the inside of the vertical portion 11a and the front portion 16 on the outside of the vertical portion 11a of the bed frame 11. By means of slot 14, rear portion 15 and the rear of front portion 16 are configured to fit snugly onto the vertical portion 11a of the bed frame 11 to prevent the root rest 10 from slanting downwardly when weight of the user's foot is placed thereon. However, the rear portion 15 and the front portion 16 are configured loose enough to allow longitudinal positioning of the foot rest 10 along the bed frame 11. Front portion 16 has substantially identical vertical ends 16a, 16b and intermediate planar portion 16c that depend downwardly from top 12. Ends 16a, 16b are curved symmetrically outwardly from the rear of front portion 16 to meet intermediate vertical planar portion 16c. Downwardly depending ends 16a, 16b and planar portion 16c cooperate to provide a buttress for supporting top 12. The foot rest 10 can be of one-piece construction with suitable dimensions found to be approximately eight inches in length, two inches in width and two inches in height. I it is understood, however, that the invention can as well be constructed of multiple pieces with or without different dimensions.

FIG. 3 is a vertical front view of the foot rest 10 of FIG. 2. Since the ends 16b, 16c are symmetrically curved outwardly and slanted upwardly to meet intermediate vertical planar portion 16c, the bottom ribs 16d (three shown) can be seen. Ribs 16d add additional strength to the foot rest 10 to provide increased support and stability for the foot 13 of the user.

FIG. 4 illustrates the right end view of the foot rest of FIG. 2. In this view, the slot 14 as defined by rear portion 15 and front portion 16 can be clearly seen. Further, the manner in which the ends 16a, 16b are slanted upwardly to meet the intermediate vertical planar portion 16c is more apparent.

FIG. 5 illustrates the rear view of the foot rest of FIG. 2 wherein the top 12, the rear portion 15, and the front portion 16 are shown.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the foot rest of the invention taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3 showing the foot rest 10 mounted onto the bed frame 11, that is, the foot rest 10 placed over the vertical portion 11a with the portion 11a fitted into the slot 14 formed by the rear portion 15 and the front portion 16.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the foot rest 10 of the invention illustrating the top, or platform, 12, the rear portion 15, ends 16a, 16b and front planar portion 16c. As indicated the top 12 has an anti-slip material applied to foster firm footing.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the foot rest 10 of FIG. 2 illustrating the rear portion 15, front portion 16, slot 14, ends 16a, 16b, front planar portion 16c and ribs 16d.

Whereas the invention is illustrated and described with reference to a particular embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in adapting the invention to different embodiments without departing from the broader inventive concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A bed frame foot rest comprising:

an elongated member for mounting onto the frame of a bed;

said member including a longitudinal slot for detachable mounting onto said bed frame;

said member includes a contiguous platform extending outwardly from said slot, and

said platform provides support for the foot of a person sitting on a side of a bed.

2. The bed frame foot rest of claim 1 wherein said slot is dimensioned to permit sliding of said member along said bed frame.

3. The bed frame foot rest of claim 2 wherein said slot is dimensioned to minimize downward sloping of said platform in response to foot pressure by a person.

4. The bed frame foot rest of claim 3 wherein said outwardly extending structure is cantilevered from said slot.

5. The bed frame foot rest of claim 3 wherein said platform extends horizontally from the front side of said slot.

6. The bed frame foot rest of claim 3 wherein said platform includes an ergonomically formed surface.

7. A bed frame foot rest comprising an elongated member having a slot along the rear thereof for mounting said elongated member on a bed-frame such that a horizontally outwardly extending structure contiguous with and extending from the front side of said slot is supportable of a person's foot when a person is sitting on a side of a bed.

8. The bed frame foot rest of claim 7 wherein said outwardly extending structure is cantilevered from said slot.

9. The bed frame foot rest of claim 7 wherein said slot is dimensioned to provide detachable mounting of said elongated member to said bed frame.

10. The bed frame foot rest of claim 9 wherein said slot is dimensioned to minimize downward sloping of said outwardly extending structure.

11. The bed frame foot rest of claim 7 wherein said outwardly extending structure includes a top portion for placement of a person's foot, a front vertical planar portion depending from said top portion and parallel to said slot, and identical vertical curved member ends depending from said top portion and extending to meet said front planar portion.

12. A foot rest to be attached to a bed frame comprising:

a platform for supporting a person's foot;

said platform having means for mounting to the upright portion of the rail of a bed frame and extending outwardly from said bed frame; and

said means for mounting including a slot for fitting over said upright portion of said rail.

13. The foot rest of claim 12 wherein said slot is dimensioned to provide detachable mounting of said platform to said bed frame, minimize downward sloping of said platform, and to permit sliding of said member along said rail.

14. The bed frame foot rest of claim 13 wherein said outwardly extending structure is cantilevered from said slot.