Furniture

Jan. 9, 1940.

2,186,142

H. L. LIEBERMAN

FURNITURE

Filed March 20, 1939

<img file="US2186142A_D0001.tif" />

<img file="US2186142A_D0002.tif" />

ATTY

Patented Jan. 9, 1940

2,186,142

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,186,142...

FURNITURE Harry L. Lieberman, Chicago, Ill. Application March 20,1939, Serial No. 262,813 1 Claim. (Cl. 230—242) •This invention relates to improvements in furniture and more particularly to providing the headboard of a bed with means for circulating ,_r'_v air over an occupant thereof.

It is an object of this invention to provide the headboard of a bed with an aperture and mounting means on the back of the headboard for inducing an air current to pass through the aperture and. also to adjustably direct the flow of air ίϋ therethrough so as not to fall directly upon the head o'f the occupant unless it is so desired. It is’ al· further object of this invention to provide means for either cooling the air passing through . the. aperture for use in summertime or heating ¹⁸ the’ail· passing through the aperture for use in wintertime.

The advantages of this invention are that it may be applied to the customary wooden headboard of beds now generally in use and is also 20 readily adaptable to the headboards of beds made of metal which are now becoming very popular. It will add to the comfort of the occupant of the bed, may be so adjusted as to direct the air directly upon the occupant’s head if it is so de25 sired or cause the current to flow over the occupant’s head and mix with the surrounding air to produce a more comfortable temperature.

With these and other objects in view, reference is made to the accompanying sheet of draw30'ings which illustrates a preferred form of this invention, with the understanding that detail changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of the headboard of a metal bed illustrating the application, of this Invention.

Figure 2 is a view in vertical transverse section through the aperture in the headboard of the 40 bed illustrating the means for. controlling the flow of the air and a means for supporting upon the back of the bed a source of air current.

Figure 3 is a view in rear elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view simi45 lar to Figure 2 illustrating a means for controlling the flow of air through the headboard of the bed.

Figure 5 Is an enlarged fragmentary view in section illustrating the use of a container for 50 dry ice to cool the air passing through the headboard of the bed.

Figure 6 is a similar view illustrating the application of an electric heating coil for raising the temperature of the air current passing 55 through the headboard of the bed.

As heretofore stated, this invention is not limited to any particular form or material employed in making the headboard of a bed nor is it limited to the particular form of air circulator shown in the drawing nor the particular means 5 for directing the flow of the air current passing through the headboard of the bed from the air circulator.

In the embodiment of this invention, as illustrated, the headboard I Of the bed is preferably 10 formed of metal and is provided with a rectangular opening 2, shown in Figure 1 as being located centrally of the headboard and adjacent the top thereof, although it may be provided wherever desired. The opening 2 is provided with means M for controlling the direction of the flow of air passing through the opening 2 from the rear of the· headboard. While this means is illustrated upon the drawing as including a plurality of horizontal plates adapted to overlap each other and ²⁸pivoted at their outer ends to vertical members 3 in the manner of louver boards, any other means for directing the flow of air may be employed. The vertical members 3 are preferably mounted at the vertical edges of the opening 2 ²⁸and are preferably contained within a border or frame 4 surrounding the entire opening. Any desired means may be employed to cause the louver sections 5 to be rotated in unison about their pivots 6 such as by the rod 7 mounted to ³⁸reciprocate in a vertical plane within the frame 4. In the form shown the louver sections 5 are preferably made of metal, and as shown in Figure 4, the ends of each section adjacent the rod 7 are struck up to form a perforated ear 8 adj a- ³⁸cent the upper end of the section and the rod 7 is provided with a pin 9 passing through said ear so located upon the rod that when the rod is in its downward position, as shown in Figure 4, an air current passing through the opening 2 40 from the rear of the headboard will be directed in a downward direction. This air current may be directed to a horizontal flow by pushing the button 10 on the end of the rod 7 in an upward direction so that the louver sections will assume 45 the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 and a further push upon the rod causing a further rotation of the louver sections will direct a flow of air in an upward direction.

It is preferable to employ an electric fan as 50 the source or means for directing a flow of air through the opening 2 from the rear of the headboard. As illustrated, a small electric fan is mounted within a rectangular support I i which may be removably attached to the rear of the 55

2,186,142 metal headboard by providing vertical flanges f 2 extending outwardly from the top and bottom of the fan support adapted to be received within metal guides 13 secured to the rear of the 5 headboard in the manner shown in Figures 2 and 3. It is preferable to provide the casing or support open at the rear with horizontal cross braces 14 for supporting the motor 15 of the fan and for admitting access of air thereto. As 10 shown in Figure 3, the fan is centrally supported upon the center cross brace 14 of the rectangular support. If desired, the back of the support may be entirely closed and air inlet apertures provided in the top, bottom and sides of the sup15 port and still be within the scope of this invention.

As shown in Figure 1, the electric motor 15 is connected by wires 16 leading to a switch 17 and the switch is connected by wires 18 leading 20 therefrom to a source of electricity. While the switch shown in Figure 2 is a commercial form of socket containing a rotary switch with the operating: button 19 arranged on the front side of the headboard 1 passing through an aperture 25 aligned· with; the operating member of the switch, any other type of switch which may be operated from the front of the headboard is contemplated by this invention. While the wires leading from the motor are shown in Figure 2 as being con30 nected to the· switch 17 by an ordinary commercial electric light plug, any other type of connection may be made and be within the scope of this invention. Likewise, the wires leading from the switch may be provided with the ordinary 35 commercial plug for attachment to the commer cial light circuit, or any other form of connection may be made without departing from the scope of this invention.

This invention also contemplates means for lowering the temperature of the air current di- 5 rected through the opening 2 during the summertime, or whenever desired, and likewise, means for increasing the temperature of the air whenever desired, such as during the cold weather. As shown in Figure 5, provision is 10 made for the insertion of a tray 20 to be supported upon the bottom of the fan support adjacent the opening 2 in the headboard. This tray is designed to be filled with dry ice 21 or other cooling medium so that the temperature of the 15 air circulated thereover by the fan will be reduced. Figure 6 illustrates as electrical resistance heating element 22, similarly located, which may be provided with electrical connections to the source of electricity operating the fan so that 20 when the same is in operation the heating element will be energized and increase the temperature of the air circulated by the fan through the opening 2.