Suspension device for a bed or seat base of the multi-element type

Abstract

The invention provides an individual suspension device for a bed or seat base of the multi-element type, the device being for interposing between a platform determining a support surface and a padding element such as a mattress, and comprising a foot for fixing to an element of the platform, a suspension structure fixed to the foot, and a top plate carried by the suspension structure and serving as a support for the padding element, said suspension structure being circularly symmetrical about a vertical axis, wherein the suspension structure is a single hollow piece and is made of a flexible synthetic material or a vulcanized rubber having hardness lying in the range 40 on the Shore A scale to 70 on the Shore D scale.

1 - 22 . (canceled)  
   
   
       23 . An individual suspension device for a bed or seat base of the multi-element type, the device being for interposing between a platform determining a support surface and a padding element such as a mattress, and comprising a foot for fixing to an element of the platform, a suspension structure fixed to the foot, and a top plate carried by the suspension structure and serving as a support for the padding element, said suspension structure being circularly symmetrical about a vertical axis, 
 wherein the suspension structure is in the form of a one-piece hollow sphere comprising a plurality of sectors separated from one another by lateral openings and made of a flexible synthetic material or a vulcanized rubber of hardness lying in the range 40 on the Shore A scale to 70 on the Shore D scale, and    wherein the sectors are free of internal stress when the suspension structure is motionless and inactive.    
   
   
       24 . A device according to  claim 23 , wherein the foot has means for preventing it from turning after it has been fixed to the platform element.  
   
   
       25 . A device according to  claim 23 , wherein the suspension structure and the top plate have co-operating means for connecting them together in traction and in rotation about the axis of symmetry of said suspension structure.  
   
   
       26 . A device according to  claim 25 , wherein the connection between the suspension structure and the top plate is provided by a bayonet system.  
   
   
       27 . A device according to  claim 25 , wherein the suspension structure has a head at its top end for fixing the top plate which head is received in an orifice formed in the top plate.  
   
   
       28 . A device according to  claim 27 , wherein the fixing head has a through orifice formed on the axis of symmetry of the suspension structure.  
   
   
       29 . A device according to  claim 25 , wherein the foot and the suspension structure are made as a single piece.  
   
   
       30 . A device according to  claim 23 , wherein the suspension structure and the foot include co-operating means for connecting them together in traction and in rotation about the axis of symmetry of said suspension structure.  
   
   
       31 . A device according to  claim 30 , wherein the suspension structure is in the form of a sphere having a plurality of sectors separated by lateral openings that are regularly spaced apart around the axis of symmetry of said suspension structure.  
   
   
       32 . A device according to  claim 31 , wherein the sectors are connected to a bottom member situated in the bottom zone of the suspension structure.  
   
   
       33 . A device according to  claim 31 , wherein the co-operating means providing connection between the suspension structure and the foot are formed in the bottom and the top face of the foot.  
   
   
       34 . A device according to  claim 33 , wherein the co-operating means providing connection between the suspension structure and the foot comprise two lateral tongues forming clamps and formed on the top face of the foot, being designed to engage the bottom member, and a locking system for preventing the suspension structure from moving relative to the foot after assembly.  
   
   
       35 . A device according to  claim 34 , wherein the tongues are guided during assembly by a slideway system.  
   
   
       36 . A device according to  claim 34 , wherein the locking system comprises a hook co-operating with a flange.  
   
   
       37 . A device according to  claim 33 , wherein the co-operating means providing connection between the suspension structure and the foot comprise a bayonet system and a clip system.  
   
   
       38 . A device according to  claim 33 , wherein the co-operating means providing connection between the suspension structure and the foot comprise a groove and a rib of dovetail shape.  
   
   
       39 . A device according to  claim 33 , wherein the co-operating means providing connection between the suspension structure and the foot comprise a ball formed on one of said pieces and clipping in a housing formed in the other one of said pieces, and a tenon-and-mortise system for preventing the two pieces from turning relative to each other after the ball has been clipped into place.  
   
   
       40 . A device according to  claim 33 , wherein the co-operating means providing connection between the suspension structure and the foot comprise a ball formed on one of said pieces and suitable for sliding in a groove formed in the other one of said pieces.  
   
   
       41 . A device according to  claim 32 , wherein the sectors have free bottom ends capable of being splayed apart radially so as to be placed around a flared neck formed on the top face of the foot, the neck presenting actually-extending outwardly-projecting ribs which are received in the lateral openings of the sphere after assembly.  
   
   
       42 . A device according to  claim 23 , wherein the padding element is a mattress.  
   
   
       43 . A support for the end of a base slat having a plurality of devices according to  claim 23  mounted thereon, the support comprising a vertical wall for fixing against the inside wall of a long side of said base, a cradle extending horizontally from the bottom region of said wall and terminating in two upwardly-curved lateral zones, a resilient tongue supported by the middle zone of said cradle for supporting the end of said slat, a resilient lateral lip provided at the end of each lateral zone to bear against a respective flank of said slat, and a resilient element in the form of an upside-down U-shape whose free end is to come into abutment against the top face of said slat.  
   
   
       44 . A method for producing an individual suspension device for a bed or seat base of the multi-element type, the device being for interposing between a platform determining a support surface and a padding element such as a mattress, and comprising a foot for fixing to an element of the platform, a suspension structure fixed to the foot, and a top plate carried by the suspension structure and serving as a support for the padding element, said suspension structure being circularly symmetrical about a vertical axis, 
 wherein, the suspension structure is molded in the form of a one-piece hollow sphere comprising a plurality of sectors separated from one another by lateral openings and made of a flexible synthetic material or a vulcanized rubber of hardness lying in the range 40 on the Shore A scale to 70 on the Shore D scale, and    wherein the sectors are resiliently biased towards expansion only when the suspension device is compressed.