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I want to make a bed for my daughter with springs. (the bed, not my daughter).
She is a very active little baby and she therefore has some trouble getting to sleep which usually involves a lot of rocking on my part. If I can get her to do her own rocking it would save me a couple of hours a day.
EDIT:
The bed consists of a free floating square wich is mounted on planks a few centimeters wider than the bedsquare which in turn are supported only by springs. The springs are attached to the outer ends of the two planks of the bed and bolted into cavaties which have a groove on the inside to allow the bed to rock up and down on the springs unhindered.
The cavaties itself are only slightly bigger than the springs (to prevent them drifting), square shaped and mounted on legs which are attached to a solid wooden frame.
The floating square is a few square centimeters smaller than the surrounding frame so the bed can go a little sideways also. To prevent the baby from rolling out or against the bed, the square has a framework with nice soft padding on the inside.
Work is in progress on creating impetus
Old idea (kept for reference of annotations
The idea was to put the four supporting legs in springs that are about as rigid as shockbreakers.
I want to be able to change from bouncing mode (bed resting on springs) to stationary mode (bed resting on legs). Its easier to change the sheets on a stationary bed.
Since it is very unsafe to rest the bed on unsupported springs (the bed will be able to 'drift') I'm looking for a mechanism that can push the springs down to achieve stationary and release upwards to get the bed on bouncing mode.
[edit:the legs are inside the springs making it impossible for the springs to go where ever they feel like bouncing. It is the bed itself that needs to 'float' so at some point I need to get the legs disconnected from the floor (or just lower than the springs) so the springs pick up the weight and start bouncing when there is movement]
I'm thinking that I don't need a system that locks/unlocks at least 1 adjacent leg because If I push the first lever down the bed is still supported steady on the other 3. If I then push the adjacent leg I think I'm also in the clear.
The tricky part is that it has to be makeable out of wood and it mustn't be to bulky. (her room is 4 by 5 meters so big levers won't do much for economic interior building) and preferably not to ugly looking.
the springs don't have to be shockbreakers because I know they are quite hard to push down.
I would like some ideas on a lever system.
Electromagnet Mattress
Electromagnet_20Mattress
by hippo. [calum, May 23 2005]
Hushabye Baby Rocker
http://www.abc.net....rs/txt/s1109656.htm
Sounds promising, but you need the evil RealPlayer to see exactly how it works. [wagster, May 25 2005]
bungee cord tie down
http://www.polstein...m/keep36inx9mm.html
In case these are not commonly known. [Zimmy, May 28 2005]
could you adapt this at all?
baby_92s_20mobile_2...g_20infant_20energy
[po, May 30 2005]
[link]
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How about using pneumatics, like the gas lift in a swivel chair? |
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alternately a water bed/crib would probably do this for you. |
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[Adze] that would be difficult to incorporate in a wooden structure. Plus it would mean I'd have to use pressurized gas. which would either mean replaceable containers or a compressor. Neither options appeal to me. I'm thinking more along the lines of a pritt stift
The end of the legs could be made into a screw which could be turned upwards while placing a pin
underneath (this for stationary). But then screwing it down, I would somehow have to find a way to prevent the legs from touching the ground, only then can the bed rest on the springs. |
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[Dentworth] a waterbed is not safe for a baby. Also it would be to expensive. If I could afford a waterbed, I would have one for my elf |
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well ok, then I would not object to loose and bouncy springs, with no locking mechanism. The mattress could have a couple of handles for easy lifting and resheeting. You have to suffer a little to gain a little. |
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Nonono, you are missing the point. I want the suffering to end, not to exchange it for another.
(pictures herself leaning over a bed trying to grab the sheet in one of the outer corners whilst bouncing gently away and eventually falling asleep from lack of) |
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I like the concept, but the description is very confusing to me for some reason. Any chance of getting a sketch? |
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I've elaborated some. Is it more understandable now? It will be difficult to sketch it, well not on paper but getting the picture on the computer will. I don't have a scanner. |
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Thanks for the link Calum. I am looking for something that can be made out of wood. |
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I think I understand now, but perhaps a bit too complex? Would it be better if the bed itself were attached by springs to the frame? The frame, in turn, would be bolted solidly to the legs which remain planted on the floor at all times. The bouncing bedframe-within-a-bedframe would be free to move up and down in a guided manner, and could be locked to the main bedframe using removable pins. |
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Impetus could be delivered via an old sewing machine foot treadle connected to the inner (bouncing) frame using, I suspect, much of the original pieces and design from said antique sewing machine. |
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That might solve both form and function issues. What think ye? |
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After all of these suggstions, I'm sure I must be missing the point. |
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Why do you want your kid bouncing in bed? Do you want her to be a mariner, earning her sealegs at an early age? |
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Can't fathom why you don't just put car springs in place of bed posts. |
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It's too simple. The kid has a prob. Maybe she's leaning to be an astronaut. |
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If it is for a baby, as I am assuming, then the invention is really more for a crib than a bed. Babies like motion - it soothes them to sleep. My 6 month old daughter goes to sleep much easier if I pick up one end of the crib and bounce it for a bit. Even if it is designed for an older child, the same principle applies. |
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Sorry for the delayed response; had trouble on the server yesterday:couldn't get in. |
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[MauiChuck] If I just use springs instead of springs reinforced by bedlegs or by any other means the bed will drift. Meaning it can go all the way down on one side. (imagine a trampoline without the supporting poles....) |
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Its just as [Justaguy] says: either I'm sitting by the crib, picking one end up and rocking it till she falls a sleep, or I find myself walking all over town to get her to fall asleep during the day. |
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[Justaguy] I find your idea excellent! The way you discribe it, It will only take up the space of the bed and I can use the space under the bed for storage. |
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I imagine it thus:
the bed itself (the platform) is a square with springs bolted on the four corners. Each spring is then bolted into a cavity which is a few centimeters lower on the inside alowing the bed to rock for only the wanted length of the spring but also preventing the drift. |
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The cavities itself are integrated in a frame which can be nicely decorated and is solid and firm. |
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And the stationary mode can be easily achieved by inserting wedges.
<mummbling: now how do I get Zeno to make it?> |
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I've been itching to get back to my garage and start building since yesterday... I think this is one of the most useful ideas the bakery has ever seen. Of course, I'm a bit sleep deprived and biased as a result. |
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Justaguy's pins are all you need for the stationary mode. More reliable than wedges, too. |
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I see a spring losing tension as the baby rocks away. How will the tension be reset? Is the spring providing most of the tension, and the sewing machine resets it, or is the sewing machine providing the motion, and the springs just give against it? |
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What about having some weights suspended under the corners of the moving frame? They may help smooth the bounce.. |
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I'm thinking very loose springs. The treadle/lever assembly would push the frame upwards (full compression), then release the frame allowing gravity to pull the springs to extension. |
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There does need to be some sort of racheting system that allows the inner frame to drop freely at the top of the cycle while still being connected to the actuating lever, without actually transmitting the force of the drop through to the treadle. |
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I thought the motion of the baby should be enough to rock the bed. She is really, REALLY active and besides, I´m rather fond of my old sewing machine which is pedal powered anyway so it would still aquire effort on my part.
And also when she falls a sleep, the springs gently lose the tention according to plan. If she is disturbed (usually by bowel problems, I do a lot of rocking) the bed ´springs´into action because she raises her little legs. |
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But I can see how the bed may need to rock a little longer than the time she is active.
I think that a heavy ball on a length of strong yet light string could be attached to the center of the bed on the bottom side. It than swings like a pendulum. The weight distribution on the springs caused by the ball will make the bed rock.
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The only problem I can see with this is that Emma counteracts the force applied by the ball by counter rocking or kicking. (ball is on upper part of bed, Emma kicks down on lower part of bed). But by the same token she can increase the force of the ball |
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I have edited the idea with the solutions that will certainly work |
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Here's a very traditional halfbakery solution. Build the crib on rockers so that it can rock from side to side. Keep twenty or so hamsters in a large cage with a hamster wheel long enough to accomodate them all at once (or at least half of them, I'm sure they won't all want to run at once). Connect a pushrod from the top of the crib to the side of the hamster wheel, about halfway between the centre and the rim. The eccentric motion of the hamster wheel will then drive the rocking motion. The hamster that rocks the cradle... |
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I'll get back to you if I come up with a more practical solution. |
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Crap. I don't have evil player. pitty.
thanks for the link [Wagster] |
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Linear actuator, battery, outlet, switch. |
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[Blumster] I considered that, but one less motorized/battery operated device for your baby is a much more appealing solution to me. |
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[wagster] I like my version better. So there. |
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Oh, crap... I forgot to say "Nyah Nyah" |
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Ok then, be like that. <storms off in a huff> |
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Hey, someone's huffing and not sharing here! |
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[Wags], is there something you want to say to [justaguy]? |
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Uh oh, am I finally getting kicked out? |
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The ambiance would make the hamsters power more efficently, the dark blue glow making the hamster's hormones respond to harvest moon scavenging instincts, double bonus! |
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Plus, they make great pets and when they get old and feeble you can feed them to the snake. Ah, the cycle of life. |
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Electric motors hooked up to reduction gears are practical for this application, but she wants something she can homebake. |
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I'd suggest an exercycle and a chain drive, but the woman wants a chance to sleep herself. |
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The old donkey going in a circle powering the millstone? |
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know.....a vacuum cleaner, with a gearing mechanism hooked up to a long belt over the belt drive in the vacuum. |
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Oh, never mind, I was thinking in terms of power and she needs a lever system. Back to the drawing board. |
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[Susan] with twins, we tried everything we could think of to aid in the babies going to sleep. (Ocean & rainfall sounds, dragonflies/butterflies projected on the wall, singing, music, adding cereal to their milk, etc.) Most mornings I awoke on a couch holding one baby, while the wife was on another couch holding the other one.
After about 6-9 months, (I really don't remember the exact amount of time) My wife & I decided that No One in the family, including the twins, was getting enough sleep.
We decided to try the cry it out method. It was hard on my wife & I (and presumably the twins), but after about a week we all were able to sleep through the night and everyone seemed much happier. |
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[Zimmy]Sometimes that may work (babies can get overexcited which I think comes from the things you tried, no offence, and then letting them cry is all that is left). But I prefer the soft method which has worked sofar. |
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Sticking to the hamsters: the dung could be used to fertilize my garden. |
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For some odd reason I drifted off into a daydream about this concept.
I was thinking of a screw on attachment that would be a long "[" shaped bar with a square plate on the top and bottom to screw into the crib corner posts on the outside of the crib.
A small triangular piece with a hole would be welded? into the top of the "[" shape that would support a bungee chord tie.
The other end of the bungee chord tie would attach to a flat piece of wood with a hole and a loop piece (upside down "U") on plate screwed into it. The hole in the would piece would act as a guide allowing the crib base to travel up & down. The wood piece would be screwed into the bottom of the crib base.
Assuming that the wood connector piece is narrow enough to slide between the crib vertical pieces, you could put one of these assemblies at each corner post & have a bouncing bed.
The main concerns I had about this idea were a possiblility of pinching & also difficulty in maintaining an absolute level bed surface when at rest. I also wondered about how noisy it would be when bouncing. |
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Ok. I can follow you as far as // hole and a loop piece (upside down "U")//
How is the loop piece attached to the frame (horizontal or vertical) and what is its function?
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[Zimmy] - I think you need to do this with pictures. I got lost just after //For some odd reason I drifted off into a daydream about this concept.// |
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[Po] Alas. I cann nae tie the little lassie to the ceiling.
She has to be bound to the ground to be able to soar peacefully. |
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Sorry, I have yet to learn HTML (I know it's supposed to be easy, but I just haven't done it yet.) |
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"__TT_____" looks somewhat like the attachment I was thinking of. If this were a connection for the front, left side of the crib mattress support, you would screw through holes in the metal (to the right of the TT_ part) into the wooden mattress support part. |
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I probably could sketch something out, scan it, & e-mail to someone willing to make a link, but there's no guarantee that there is not a flaw in the concept. |
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Hmmmm....suppose you had a light weight bed. You might even try this with an aluminum framed lawn lounge. If you left the foot of the bed, leggs of the bed, resting on the floor and the head of the bed legs were removed. Then, you attach bungee cords to the head part of the bed and suspend them either from a sturdy barr attached to the wall or the ceiling. The bungees would be adjuted properly and of several cords to support the load. The head of the bed would spring gently while the foot simply rocked on the floor. As the baby gently bounced, the bed would give an up and down motion to match. Some adjustments and experimentation would be required to get the proper and safe motion. To dampen the bounce, if the baby became too boisterous, you could place a few blocks of foam. I might enjoy such a bed myself. |
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Believe it or not, I have (at a monthly basis) come back to this idea, trying to figure out what [Zimmy] meant because I figured he had to be on to something.
Also, as soon as he linked the 'bungee-cords' I thought of incorporating those but rejected it on the basis that there would be too much uncontroleable swing. |
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Reading your anno [blisterbob], it gave me an insight. If I use more than four cords the retraction/stretch motion could be dampened. |
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Using 8 cords, half of the cords strech/retraction force would be counteracted by the other half, thus dampening the swing (which was my main concern: to much swing). |
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Attaching it to my ceiling is not an option (just plasterboard) but a bar around the bed (with some very soft padding) is quite feasable. |
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Does this mean my trampoline bed was taken? |
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