figure

Claim 1

A FOLD-AWAY DEVICE FOR A BED UNIT, COMPRISING: A HOLLOW FRAME HAVING A FRONT OPENING THEREIN; A VERTICAL CLOSURE PANEL PIVOTED AT THE LOWER END THEREOF TO SAID FRAME TO BE SWINGABLE ABOUT A PIVOTAL AXIS FROM A VERTICAL RETRACTED POSITION OF THE PANEL CLOSING SAID OPENING TO A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDED POSITION OF THE PANEL; STOP MEANS ON SAID PANEL AND FRAME INTERENGAGEABLE IN THE RETRACTED POSITION OF THE PANEL; SAID PANEL HAVING MEANS ON THE INNER SIDE THEREOF FOR RETAINING THE BED UNIT THEREON TO BE INWARDLY OF A PLANE OF THE CLOSED PANEL; A FIRST COUNTERBALANCING MEANS INCLUDING A FIRST TENSION SPRING OF SUBSTANTIAL STRENGTH SUFFICIENT TO URGE SAID PANEL WITH THE BED UNIT THEREON TOWARD THE RETRACTED POSITION OF THE SAME WITH PROGRESSIVELY DIMINISHING POWER APPROACHING ZERO; THE WEIGHT OF SAID BED UNIT DISPOSED INWARDLY OF SAID VERTICAL PLANE OF THE RETRACTED PANEL TENDING TO RETAIN THE SAME RETRACTED; SAID CLOSURE PANEL HAVING A RIGID PORTION THEREON ADAPTED TO SWING THEREWITH IN AN ARC OF PREDETERMINED STROKE GENERALLY VERTICALLY ABOUT SAID PIVOTAL AXIS; AND A SECOND COUNTERBALANCING MEANS INCLUDING A RELATIVELY FIXED, VERTICALLY EXTENDING GUIDE PART WITHIN SAID FRAME INWARDLY OF THE ARCUATE PATH OF SAID RIGID PORTION, AND A SECOND TENSION SPRING DIRECTLY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID RIGID PORTION AND SAID GUIDE PART; THE INNER END OF SAID SECOND SPRING HAVING VERTICALLY SHIFTABLE ANCHORING CONNECTION TO SAID GUIDE PART, TO BE SHIFTABLE THEREON BETWEEN VERTICALLY SPACED UPPER AND LOWER ANCHORING POSITIONS OF SAID INNER END OF THE SECOND SPRING TO BE HORIZONTALLY OPPOSED WITH RESPECT TO THE UPPER AND LOWER LIMITS OF SAID ARCUATE STROKE OF SAID RIGID PORTION IN WHICH THE SECOND SPRING IS IN UNTENSIONED AND TENSIONED CONDITIONS FOR THE EXTENDED AND RETRACTED POSITIONS, RESPECTIVELY, OF SAID PANEL, WHEREBY THE SECOND SPRING IS SUBSTANTIALLY INEFFECTIVE TO RETARD OPERATION OF SAID FIRST TENSION SPRING UNTIL NEAR THE END OF THE PANEL CLOSING MOVEMENT AT WHICH THE SECOND TENSION SPRING IS TENSIONED BY MOVEMENT OF SAID RIGID PORTION AWAY FROM SAID GUIDE PART AND THEREBY TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF CLOSING INTERENGAGEMENT OF SAID STOP MEANS EMPHASIZED BY SAID INWARDLY DISPOSED WEIGHT OF THE BED UNIT.