Design of a Height Adjustable Bunker Bed Using a Gas Spring

A bunker bed is a type of furniture that efficiently utilizes a narrow indoor space by having a high bed and using the empty space below as a living and storage space. The demand for multi-purpose furniture is increasing due to the recent increase in single-person households and wide-spread shared accommodation. According to the consumer research, one of the major drawbacks of a bunker bed was to get on and off the bed through a ladder or stairs. In order to overcome these problems, it was confirmed that the height adjustment function that can easily adjust the minimum and maximum heights of the bed was necessary. In this study, a height adjustable bunker bed was designed by using a gas spring that generates a repulsive force by the compressed gas inside. The design process consisted of the following three steps: Firstly, the hysteresis characteristics due to a friction and spring constant of a commercial gas spring were confirmed by measuring the repulsive force vs. compressed displacement. Secondly, requirements of the vertical lifting force exerted on the bed against gravity force were derived. Finally, the height-adjustable bed using the four-bar link mechanism was designed with 4 parameters so that the bed weight of 60-70 kgf could be adjusted to 800 mm in height by an affordable initial operation force. The performance was verified through prototype production and the results of vertical displacement and force to move were nearly the same as designed. In addition, an electrically operated height-adjustable bed was also designed with linear actuators and the performance was proved with the prototype.

가스 스프링을 이용한 높이조절 벙커침대 설계