Background of the Invention A known form of bed includes a bed frame having two parallel side rails formed of steel extending between end posts and a plurality of wooden slats arranged to bridge between the side rails, for supporting a mattress. The rails are formed as angle iron, with an L-shaped section. The rails are arranged such that a lower flange of the L-shaped section of each rail projects inwardly of the bed frame, to provide a ledge for supporting ends of the slats.

A disadvantage of such a bed frame is that the rails need to be formed of fairly thick steel in order to resist bending moments exerted on the flanges when a weight load is placed on the slats.

A further disadvantage is that the slats themselves need to be sufficiently thick to provide adequate support for the weight load, which further increases the load applied to the rails. It is known to provide wooden bed slats with centre reinforcement such as a centre beam which is nailed or stapled to each of the slats. The resultant structure is, however, rigid and somewhat unwieldy, cannot be readily disassembled and needs to be purchased in a pre- assembled form, otherwise tools need to be made available to allow for construction in situ.

Summary of the Invention The invention seeks to provide a support assembly and/or brace to address at least one of the above disadvantages.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rail for use in a support assembly, the rail including an elongate first portion, a ledge portion, for supporting a slat,

extending lengthwise of the first portion and arranged to project laterally thereof and an angled buttress portion connecting a free edge of the ledge portion to the first portion.

Preferably, the portions are intergrally formed by a process of roll forming.

Preferably, the rail includes apertures for receipt of a connector for attachment of a slat thereto.

In another aspect, there is provided a support assembly including the above described rail and a plurality of slats with respective ends adapted to be supported on the ledge portion of the rail, the rail including apertures therein for receiving a respective connector for attaching the slats to the rail.

Preferably the slats include apertures for registering with the apertures in the rail.

Preferably, the slats are coupled to the rail via connectors which pass through the apertures and are arranged to allow for restricted movement of the slats across the ledge portion, transverse to the direction of extent of the rail.

Preferably, each slat is formed of a main body portion with two depending flanges extending along lateral sides thereof and a recessed region, intermediate the lateral sides, in which the aperture is provided. Preferably, the depending flanges project downwardly from the respective body portions by a distance greater than the recessed region such that connection between the slat and the rail is effected by pressing the recessed region toward the slat so as to engage the connector in the aperture, whereby to pre-tension the slat as a result of the depending flanges resiliently biasing against the ledge portion of the rail.

Preferably, the slats includes a first camber in the widthwise direction and a second camber in the lengthwise direction so as to enable flexing of the slats to accommodate loads placed upon the assembly.

Preferably, the assembly includes two of the above described rails, with the slats extending therebetween.

In another aspect, there is provided a brace for supporting slats including: clasps arranged to engage a respective slat and to suspend the brace therebetween; and an elongate beam extending between the clasps, wherein the beam is provided with a platform region or regions recessed relative to the clasps, for supporting further slats between the clasps.

Preferably, the beam is adjustable in a length direction.

Preferably, the beam includes a channel section with an elongate opening defined between lateral arms and the clasps are formed of straps which are arranged to pass about the respective slat, the straps having rebates for receipt of the arms, for securing the straps to the beam.

Preferably, one end of each strap is bifurcated to allow the end to be inserted through the opening for subsequent expansion, to locate the arms in the associated rebates, and thereby lock the beam to the respective slat.

Alternatively, each clasp forms an upper jaw component of a clamp, the upper jaw component being coupled to the beam via a connection piece which is angled downwardly from the jaw component so as to recess the beam relative to the clasps.

Preferably, the upper jaw component is elongate along a direction of extent of the respective slat to enhance load distribution between the slat and the brace.

Preferably, the upper jaw component includes locating structure for embedded engagement in the upper surface of the respective slat.

Preferably, the beam is formed with a"U"shaped cross section.

In another aspect, there is provided a bed including a bed frame with side rails and a set of slats, with remote ends of the slats being supported on the side rails, and a brace, as described above, wherein the brace includes two clasps which engage first and last slats of the set of slats, and the remaining slats of the set are supported on the beam.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is more fully described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a support assembly in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of a slat used with the assembly in Figure 1; Figure 3 illustrates connection of a slat to a rail in the assembly in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the slat in a connected and pre-connected condition; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a bed with a brace; Figure 6 is a partial perspective view of the brace of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a partial perspective view of a modified brace; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a modified clasp; and Figure 9 is a perspective view of the clasp secured about a slat.

Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment The support assembly 1 of Figure 1 includes a pair of parallel rails 2, only one of which is shown, and plurality of slats 3 connected to the rails. Each rail includes a elongated first portion 4 with a ledge portion 5 extending lengthwise of the first portion and projecting laterally thereof. An angle buttress portion 6 connects the free edge 7 of the ledge portion to the first portion 4 to maximise rigidity and strength of the structure. The entire rail is formed by a process of roll forming.

Apertures 8 are provided at suitable locations along the length of the ledge portion 5 to provide for connection with the associated slats 3. Each slat 3, as shown more clearly in Figure 2, includes an aperture 9 configured the same as the associated aperture 8 in the rail 2. The slat 3 is formed of a main body portion 10 with a central recessed region 11 in which the aperture 9 is provided. Depending flanges 12 extend downwardly from lateral sides 13 of the slat 3. Each slat is formed with the first camber (indicated by dashed line 14) extending widthwise of the slat and a second camber (indicated by dashed line 15), along the length thereof. The second camber 15 provides flexibility to the slat when a weight forced is placed thereupon.

To interconnect the slat 3 and rail 2, the slat 3 is firstly positioned on the rail 2 so that the aperture 8 of the slat 3 registers with the associated aperture 8 in the rail. The recessed region 11 of the slat is then pressed downwardly onto the rail 2 and a connector 16 inserted through the apertures 8,9. The connector 16 is shown in Figure 3a as including a head 17 and a base 18 which are interconnected via shaft 19. The head 17 and base 18 extend in a major width direction such that after being passed through the apertures 8,9, the head 17 may be rotated to also rotate the base, to a position shown in phantom lines 20 so as to engage the underside 21 of the ledge portion 5, while the head 17 abuts an upper surface 22 of the recessed region 11 of the slat. The slat is thereby tensioned against the rail 2.

As an alternative to connector 16, a simplified threaded type connector 30 may instead by used, as illustrated in Figure 3b. For that purpose, the aperture 8 need only be large

enough for threaded engagement with a shank 31 of the connector. Limited movement of the slat 3 may still, however be provided for between a head 32 of the connector and the rail 2.

The tensioning of the slat is more clearly shown in Figure 4. In the pre-connected condition, the depending flanges 12 project downwardly of the body portion 10 of the slat 3 to a greater extent than the recessed region 11. When the recessed region 11 is pressed downwardly for interconnection with the rail 2, the depending flanges 12 are deflected outwardly, to the position indicated by dashed lines 21, so as to be biased against the rail.

Such a configuration serves to increase the rigidity of the slat in a widthwise direction, with the depending flanges serving to brace the slat on either side of the recessed region to inhibit any warping or bending of the slat. However, although the slat is tensioned against the rail, the connector may be arranged to allow for limited movement of the slat across the rail in a lateral direction with respect to the rail to accommodate flexing of the slat in a lengthwise direction. The slat, like the rail may also be rollformed.

Referring now to Figure 5, a bed 100 is shown as including a frame 102 comprising a bedhead 103 and a bedfoot 104 supporting side rails 105 and 106 therebetween. Each of the side rails 105,106 includes a ledge 107 for supporting free ends 108 of slats 109. The slats are provided as a set comprising a first slat 110 a last slat 111 and a plurality of further slats 112. The bed 100 also includes a brace 120 which is described in more detail with reference to Figure 6.

The brace 120 includes clasps 121 which engage an associated upper surface 122 of the respective first and last slats 110,111. Each clasp 121 forms an upper jaw component 123 of an associated clamp 124 which engages about both the upper surface 122 and corresponding lower surface 125 of the associated slats. Each upper jaw portion 123 is coupled to an elongate beam 130, which extends between the clamps 124, via a connection piece 126. The beam 130 is coupled to a lower section of the connection piece 126 so as to recess the beam relative to the upper jaw component 123 of each clamp 124.

Each of the upper jaw portions also includes a locating element such as a sharp edge 133 for embedded engagement with the respective upper surface of the associated slat.

The beam provides a platform region 131 extending along the length thereof for support of the further slats between the clasps 121. Alternatively, individual platform portions may be provided along the length of the beam 130, as appropriate. The further slats may be anchored to the beam with the use of nylon ties, or the like. Alternatively, tabs may be provided to locate the slats in appropriate positions along the length of the beam 130. The beam 130 is preferably formed with an inverted"U"cross section from which the tabs 132 may be stamped.

In an alternative arrangement, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, the clasps 121 may be in the form of high tensile straps 150 arranged to anchor on to the beam 130 which is in the form of a"U"shaped section. More particularly, each strap 150 may be formed with rebates 151,152 at each end 153,154 thereof for locking engagement with lateral arms 155 of the beam 130. The arms 155 define an elongate opening 156 of the section for receipt of the ends 153,154 of the strap. The beam 130 is mounted to, for example, slat 110 by firstly inserting the end 153 through the opening and manipulating the strap to engage the arms in the rebates 151. The beam 130 is then placed under the slat 110 and the end 154 is passed therearound and pressed into the opening 156 until the rebates 152 register with the arms 155 to thereby lock the beam 130 to the slat 110. The end 154 is shown as being bifurcated to allow for same to be compressed for insertion through the opening.

As may be appreciated from the above, the recessed positioning of the platform region relative to the clasps allows for the slats to be mounted on the beam in a substantially coplanar manner relative to the first and last slats 110,111. The beam 120 is itself also adapted for ready coupling to the slats to provide substantial load bearing support to the slats, particularly for centre reinforcement of the slats. The brace may be installed without the need for pre- assembly or tools, as required with conventional centre reinforcement of slats. To further assist installation, the beam may be adjustable in a length direction such as in the manner

shown in Figure 7, where the body portion 130 is formed of telescopically connected sections 134,135. Such an arrangement also allows the brace 120 to be utilised with different length beds. Ideally, the brace 100 is used in combination with at lest the site rails 2 of the assembly 1, although it is equally applicable to conventional type beds where the support provided by the brace may allow for reduction in the width of the slats and thereby lead to a saving in material costs.

As may also be appreciated, the abovedescribed system provides a considerable advantage over existing systems in that the strength and rigidity of the support assembly is achieved using inherent flexibility and pre-stressing of the assembly. The buttress portion of the rail further provides rigidity of the structure which would not otherwise be available to a conventional angle iron formed of a similar amount of material. Accordingly, the invention allows for material cost savings in the structure of the bed frame itself. as well as providing a system which is easy to construct. A further advantage is that all the components may be of uniform profile as a result of being rollformed and this facilitates easy packing for storage purposes.

The above assembly has been described by way of example only and many modifications and variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.