Tanning bed top cover actuator

Claim 1

A tanning bed and an apparatus for supporting, raising and lowering a top cover of said tanning bed, comprising: a frame having an upper support structure supporting a top member; a bottom member on which a user reclines while in said tanning bed, said bottom member having a plurality of ultraviolet lights and being connected to said frame and located directly below said top member; a rotatable axle coupled to said frame at an upper region; a motor coupled to said axle for rotating said axle to lower or raise said top member; a plurality of reels attached to said axle said plurality of reels including a plurality of reels fixedly attached to said axle and a variable position reel; a plurality of flexible first support straps coupled to said fixed reels at one end thereof and to said top member at another end thereof, all of said first support straps being the same length; a flexible second support strap coupled at one end thereof to said variable position reel means, said variable position reel means capable of being fixed to said axle at a plurality of angular positions and to said top member at another end thereof, said second support strap being of a length longer than said first support straps, said first and second support straps being of such a length that if fully extended from said axle and coupled to said top member, permitting said top member to be in the lowest possible position, said top member is positioned a predetermined distance above said bottom member, said predetermined distance being greater than the expected size of a user's body when said user is reclined on said bottom member; and a locking member means for locking said variable position reel means in a desired fixed position on said axle, said second support strap being coupled to said variable position reel.