US20250151917A1

US20250151917A1 - modular system for rocking furniture

Info

Publication number: US20250151917A1
Application number: US18/509,270
Authority: US
Inventors: Daniel Lubrich
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2023-11-14
Filing date: 2023-11-14
Publication date: 2025-05-15

Abstract

The invention is a modular system for rocking furniture. It comprises one active pad and several passive pads. Active and passive pads contain a linear rail and slider riding on the rail. A platform is mounted on the linear slider of the active and passive pads. The support points or legs of the furniture stand on these platforms. Optional platform fencing prevents the support points from moving relative to the platform. Platform fences are held on the platform via partial or full insertion into suitably shaped holes in the platform. The active pad contains an electric motor, a gearing system, an arm or piston attached to the final gear or pulley on one end, and attached to a linear slider on the other. The system is controlled wirelessly via a computing device, and/or via a remote control. Automation is via motion sensors in the active pad.

Description

DESCRIPTION

This application claims priority of the provisional application 63/425,306 filed on 14, Nov. 2023.

BACKGROUND

Side to side rocking can be highly beneficial to the quality and quantity of sleep. Due to their small size it is relatively easy to build rocking systems for baby beds or cribs. The task is harder for larger beds suitable for adults. There are so many different designs of beds that it would be useful to have a system that works with many or most of them. The described invention works such that furniture can simply be placed on top of a number of modules or pads. Passive pads allow motion while an active pad causes it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows one active pad supporting a center bed leg and 4 passive pads supporting one of the 4 corner bed legs each. The bed is shown semi-transparent.

FIG. 2 shows the active pad, covered by a lid. The moveable platform is connected to the linear slider via spacers which ride in slots of the lid.

FIG. 3 shows the active pad from above, with the lid and platform removed, revealing the mechanism on the inside of the active pad.

FIG. 4 shows a passive pad without lid, revealing the linear rail and slider. The figure also shows the platform with two platform fences inserted into some of the holes of the platform.

FIG. 5 shows the platform and four platform fences inserted into it via some of the holes in the platform.

FIG. 6 shows a passive pad without lid, revealing the linear rail and slider. The figure allows a side view of stoppers that prevent the slider from running off the rail.

FIG. 7 shows the platform with round, threaded holes used to insert set screws in order to form a demarcated area on top of the platform.

FIG. 8 shows an active unit with a bed leg with wheel on top of its platform ad also shows how stretchy fabric is attached to the lid via hooks integrated into the lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a system for inducing motion in the xy plane of a piece of furniture put on top of it, comprising in a preferred embodiment one active pad 100 and one or more passive pads 200. An alternative embodiment has two or more active pads. This alternative requires the coordination between the active pads to ensure they all move synchronously. Active and passive pads comprise a box with 5 sides with the top mostly or completely open, comprising four sidewalls 113 and a bottom wall 112. The bottom wall 112 is attached, at the bottom, to one or several sheets of non slip material 114 or feet which ensure that it is not flat but has a profile that prevents sliding on the floor. The motion permitting support includes a linear rail 107 and a slider 108 riding on the support including a linear bearing block or slider 108. Spacers 109 sit between the linear slider 108 and platform 400 and ride forth and back in slots in the lid 101. The platform 400 is for placing or mounting furniture upon. A lid 101 including a lid with five sides surrounds the box and closes the box at the top. Slots in the lid allow the spacers between slider 108 and platform 400 to ride in them. Fabric including stretchy fabric 116 draped around the lid 101 and attached to or under the platform 400 prevents dust from entering the inside of the active and passive pads. It and also serves as decoration, hiding the materials and mechanisms underneath that would otherwise be visible. The active pad 100 is further comprising a round disc 103 including a pinion gear or a pulley, an arm 104 or piston connecting the slider 108 riding on the linear rail 107 to the disc 103 thereby translating continuous rotary movement of the disc 103 to reciprocating linear motion of the slider 108. An electric motor 102 converts electrical energy into rotary mechanical energy. It is connected to the rotary disc by a pulley/belt system, worm type gears, bevel gears, and/or pinion gearing. Control electronics including a microcontroller 110 and a motor driver are built into the active pad. This avoids the need to have a separate control module although having an external control module is an alternative embodiment. Other electrical and electronic devices built into the active pad 100 include a wireless module which may be integrated into the microcontroller 110, power circuitry to step down a DC voltage and/or convert AC voltage to DC voltage. A power supply may be external or internal to the active pad. A user control unit 300 may be connected to the active pad via wire or wirelessly.
In a preferred embodiment there is one active pad 100 and three or more passive pads 200. The number of passive pads 200 required depends on the number of points at which a piece of furniture, for example a bed, has to be supported. Many beds need 4 points but it is also common that 5 or more are needed. If there are 5 support points 500, then in a preferred embodiment the active pad 100 would ideally be placed under the support point at or near the center of the bed, although other placements are also possible and conceivable. Typically, the larger a bed gets, the more support points 500 or legs it needs. The invention allows for flexibility in this regard, one simply adds relatively inexpensive passive pads under all required support points 500. The continuously rotating disc 103 of the active pad, connected via an arm 104 or piston to the slider 108 on a linear support, guide or rail 107, has several advantages. It allows the electric motor 102 to operate at continuous speed in the same direction which leads to a lower noise profile than if it had to be ramped up and down and change direction in order to achieve a reciprocal linear motion on the linear end of the mechanism. The use of the disc 103 leads to varying linear acceleration being smallest when the arm 104 is exactly parallel to the linear rail 107. This also allows the mechanism to generate very large forces in this position due to mechanical advantage and hence makes it easier to start linear motion and change the direction of the linear motion. In addition, the position where the arm 104 is parallel to the rail 107 serves as a natural stop position in which the application of an external force will not, or not easily, lead to a rotation of the disc 103, even if the electric motor 102 is disengaged or switched off. The continuous motion of the disc 103 does not require there to be any limit switches in order to determine end points of the linear motion because the rotating disc 103 in conjunction with the arm 104 naturally constrains it. However, the use of pins, ratchets and/or magnets to constrain linear or rotary movement in the active pad is an alternative embodiment.
An inertial measurement unit 106 is mounted to the am/piston 104 via a mounting bracket 105 in the active pad 100. It can be used to measure motion caused by the active pad as well as external motion that is not caused by the active pad 100 but by an external force, for example a person sleeping restlessly on top of the bed.
In a preferred embodiment, the platform 400 upon which the support points 500 of furniture stand is perforated by holes 402 allowing the insertion of objects such as pins, screws or fences 401 in order to form a demarcated and secured area for placing a support point 500 of a piece of furniture, such as a bed leg, within it. Once in this area, the support point 500 is prevented from leaving it by the objects such as platform fences 401, pushed into the holes 402 in the platform 400. This approach does not require any hardware to be mounted on the furniture support point 500 or points. The holes 402 may be square, round, or other shapes. They may be threaded, allowing screws 405 to be twisted in, or not threaded, allowing objects such as a fence 401 to be pushed into them and held there by friction. In an alternative embodiment the holes are keyed so that an object can be inserted and removed freely, but is locked in place if it is twisted after insertion. The platform may comprise a base 404 made of a material that is able to resist bending under weight, such as steel, and a platform cover 403 made of a material that dampens vibrations, such as rubber. The purpose of the platform cover 403 is also to provide a non-slip surface so that furniture support points do not easily slip on it. In conjunction with platform fencing 401 or 405, this helps keep furniture support points in place on the moveable platform 400.
In an alternative embodiment, a thermoplastic block is heated up and pressed onto the bottom of some or all furniture support points for a perfect fit of the support point in the plastic, encasing it. The thermoplastic block is then placed and/or fastened to the platform 400.
In an alternative embodiment the platform 400 has panels panels attached to one or all sides via hinges. The panels can be folded up from a horizontal angle in which they lie in the plane of the platform, to a vertical or beyond vertical angle. The panels can be fixed or constrained at different angles by use of a ratchet, screw, bolt, or pin. The panels fixed in place so then demarcate an on the platform and hence prevent a furniture point placed inside the demarcated area from moving relative to the platform 400.
In a preferred embodiment stretchy fabric 116 is attached to the lid 101 and platform 400 of an active pad 100 or passive pad 200. Deviation of the movable platform 400 from the center of the allowable linear motion is then leading to a spring loading of said stretchy fabric pulling the movable platform back to or close to the centered position. In a preferred embodiment the spring force is enough to pull the platform 400 of a passive pad 200 back to the centered position when no or only a small force resists it, but is small enough not to impede the linear motion caused by the active pad 100. The stretchy fabric 116 may be attached via glue, buttons, hook and loop or via hooks 115 integrated into or attached to the lid. In a preferred embodiment, hooks or teeth 115 are integrated into the lid. Slots 117 cut into the stretchy fabric are then used to attach the fabric that drapes over the lid. In a preferred embodiment the fabric sits in between the platform 400 and the platform spacers 109 clamped in place by bolts holding the platform 400 to the linear slider 108. In a second embodiment, the platform 400 could have hooks, teeth, buttons, a hook and loop system or a sticky surface upon which the fabric, including stretchy fabric, can be attached to it. The stretchy fabric serves to keep dust and debris from entering the inside of active pads 100 and passive pads 200. In another embodiment, the fabric is non stretchy and installed with enough slack such as to allow the platform 400 and the slider 108 to which it is attached to move.
The extent of the linear motion of the active pad 100 is primarily determined by the distance the arm 104 is attached to the disc from the center of the disc 103. In the passive pad the allowable length of the linear motion is determined by the length of the rail 107 and the placement of the stoppers 201. In a preferred embodiment the allowable linear motion of the passive pads 200 is larger than the allowable linear motion of the active pad 100. It is necessary for proper operation of the apparatus that the end of the allowable range of linear motion of any pad is not reached before the linear motion induced by the active pad 100 reaches an end point or point of reciprocation. Making the allowable linear motion of the passive pads 200 longer than for the active pad 100 introduces a margin of error for the user to help accomplish this goal during installation.
It is possible to shorten the linear motion of the active pad by having the electric motor change direction and so turn the disc 103 the arm 104 is attached to not continuously, but forth and back by less than half a turn. The smaller the forth and back turn of the disc 103, the shorter the linear motion of the slider 108.
The disc 103 can have several attachment points for the arm, allowing in principle, a customization of the linear stroke length of the active pad 100.
A temperature sensor, possibly attached to the electric motor 102, may be connected to the microcontroller 110 and used to enhance safety. If the temperature sensor measures a temperature above a certain threshold, the firmware or application running on the microcontroller 110 can switch off the motor controller and/or the motor 102. Blower fans 111 are installed to help cool components prone to heating up like the electric motor, including a stepper motor, 102 and the motor driver. The microcontroller 110 can control the blower fans 111, for example via a motor driver. If the sensed temperature rises, the blower fans may be switched on, or, have their speed increased, while when the temperatures are lower they may be switched off. The precise behavior of these may be determined by parameters set in the firmware running on the microcontroller 110 and/or an application running on a connected computing device such as a mobile device or home computer.
In a preferred embodiment the user control unit 300 has one button. Pressing the button and allowing for at least one second in between button presses control the speed of the linear motion of the active pad in a number of speed stages, for example four stages: stop, slow, medium, fast. Holding the button controls the duration of the linear motion of the active pad, increasing, for example, the duration for every additional second the button is held down before it is released.
In an alternative embodiment the user control unit has one or more buttons, one or more switches, one or more dials, one or more sliders, one or more displays and/or one or more lights.
The firmware or application running on the microcontroller 110 can read out data from the inertial measurement unit 106, for example acceleration and gyroscopic data. Depending on the threshold set in the firmware or in the user interface of the application the linear motion can be started automatically, autostart. The goal he is to sense, for example, when a sleeper is restless and to induce bed rocking via the linear motion of the active pad 100, supported by passive pads 200, in order to help the sleeper back into deeper sleep.
An application or firmware running on the micro controller or an application running on a computing device such as a mobile device or home computer allows for the customization of a much wider range of parameters via the use of a user interface. Duration and speed of rocking motion, sensitivity of the autostart due to external motion feature, duration and speed of the linear motion after autostart, acceleration of the start of the linear motion, the speed setting for the different speed stages that can be set via the remote control 300, temperature threshold for safety shut off are example for parameters that can be set via a user interface running on the microcontroller 110 of the active pad or an application on a computing device which in turn is connected to and communicating with the microcontroller 110 of the active pad via wire or wirelessly.
The firmware on the microcontroller 110 and or the application running on a connected computing device may read out data the microcontroller 110 stored. Such data includes sensor data of external forces acting on the inertial measurement unit 106 of the active pad 100, as well as acceleration and gyroscopic data induced by the linear motion mechanism in the active pad 100. Such data can be used to deduce how restful or restless the sleep of a sleeper was, and how much the active pad 100 was actively moving the furniture, such as a bed, placed on it and on the passive pads 200. This data can be suitably displayed on a user interface that may be broadcast to a connected device via the firmware running on the microcontroller 110 or an application running on a connected device. A graphical display with time on the x axis, acceleration and speed data on the y axis and lines, points or bars to indicate data points, may be especially suitable. Other data displays for example via tables or text are also conceivable and possible.

Claims

1. A system for inducing motion in the horizontal plane of a piece of furniture put on top of it, comprising one active pad or several active pads and one or more passive pads where active and passive pads comprise:

a. a box with an open or partially open top;

b. a motion permitting support including a linear rail mounted into the box;

c. a movable slider riding on the linear support or rail including a linear bearing block;

d. a platform for placing or mounting furniture upon, mounted on top of the slider;

e. spacers between slider and platform.

2. An active pad according to claim 1 further comprising:

a. a round disc, including a pinion gear or a pulley;

b. an arm or piston connecting the slider to the disc thereby translating continuous; rotary movement of the disc to reciprocating linear motion of the slider;

c. an electric motor, including a stepper motor;

d. a reduction gear assembly such as pinion gears, bevel gears, or belt-pulley systems connecting the shaft of the electric motor to the disc.

3. An active pad according to claim 2 further comprising:

a. control electronics including a microcontroller and a motor driver;

b. a wireless module which may be integrated into the microcontroller;

c. an inertial measurement unit;

d. power circuitry;

e. a power supply;

f. one or more cooling fan motors;

g. a user control unit with at least one button connected to the active pad by wire or wirelessly,

h. a temperature sensor including a thermistor;

i. an app or firmware running on the microcontroller.

4. Active and passive pads according to claim 1 further comprising

a. a lid, including a lid with 5 sides to surround the box at the top and on the sides with slots in the top side of the lid in which the spacers ride;

b. fabric, including stretchy fabric, draped around the cover and attached to the cover, and attached to or under the platform.

5. The platform according to claim 1 whereby the platform is perforated by holes allowing the insertion of objects such as pins, screws or fences in order to form a demarcated and secured area for placing a support point of a piece of furniture such as a bed leg within it.

6. Active and passive pads according to claim 4 whereby the stretchy fabric is attached such that deviation of the movable platform from the center of the allowable linear motion is leading to a spring loading of said stretchy fabric pulling the movable platform back to or close to the centered position.

7. Active and passive pads according to claim 4 whereby the fabric is attached to the lid by means of slots in the fabric and teeth integrated into or attached to the lid, or by glue, or via a hook and loop system, or via buttons.

8. Active and passive pads according to claim 1 where the allowable linear motion of the passive pads is larger than the allowable linear motion of the active pads.

9. The platform according to claim 5 whereby the holes are threaded allowing the insertion of screws or other objects with a thread.

10. The platform according to claim 5 whereby the holes are not threaded allowing objects to be pushed into the holes and held therein by friction.

11. The platform according to claim 5 whereby the holes are keyed allowing objects to be inserted and removed from the holes at a specific angle of rotation relative to the keyed hole, but held therein when turned to another angle relative to the keyed hole.

12. The platform according to claim 9 where the threaded holes are used in conjunction with screws or other threaded objects in order to fasten platform fencing or other objects suitable for demarcation to the platform.

13. The platform according to claim 9 where the threaded holes are used to fasten a bracket which in turn can be connected to the furniture or a furniture support point.

14. The platform according to claim 9 where a block of thermoplastics is mounted on top, said block of thermoplastics allowing the precise molding to the shape of a furniture support point.

15. The platform according to claim 1 where panels are attached to the sides of the platform via hinges, and can be folded from a horizontal angle in which they lie in the plane of the platform to a vertical or beyond vertical angle, and which can be constrained at different angles by use of a ratchet, or screw, or bolt, or pin, thereby allowing the panels to demarcate an area on the platform and hence prevent a furniture point placed inside the demarcated area from moving relative to the platform.

16. A user control unit according to claim 3 which allows for control of the system by:

a. Reading out the sequence of button presses on the remote control;

b. starting the rocking motion with the first button press;

c. increasing the speed of the rocking motion with subsequent button presses;

d. stopping the rocking motion with a final button press;

e. setting the desired time of the rocking motion by holding the button.

17. An application or firmware according to claim 3 which allows for control of the system by:

a. transmitting settings to the active unit via a direct wireless connection or via the internet;

b. transmitting when a button is pressed, in the user interface or a setting otherwise changed, saved or confirmed;

c. receiving or reading out data from the microcontroller, temperature sensor and inertial measurement unit in the active pad.

18. An application or firmware according to claim 3 which allows for control of the system by:

a. receiving acceleration and/or gyroscopic data from the inertial measurement unit;

b. automatically turning on the linear motion of the active unit when acceleration or gyroscopic data are above a threshold set in the user interface of the application or firmware,

c. setting the speed and duration of the automatic linear motion according to settings set in the user interface of the application or firmware or directly in the firmware.

19. An application or firmware according to claim 3 which reads out data from the microcontroller and sensors of the active unit and presents these in graphic, table or text format in the user interface broadcast to a connected device by firmware running on the microcontroller of the active pad or an application running on a connected device.

20. An application or firmware according to claim 3 which reads out data from the temperature sensor and switches the motor driver off when the measured temperature is above a threshold set in the firmware or application and which can also switch the cooling fans on and off or control their speed.