Murphy bed 1120181 225685608 2008-07-14T22:06:00Z Editor2020 6046894 cleanup A '''Murphy Bed''' or '''Wallbed''' is a [[bed (furniture)|bed]] that flips up at the head end<!-- Unclear --> for storage inside a [[closet]]. To achieve this, the [[mattress]] is attached to the [[bed frame]], often with a [[screw|bolt]] at each corner. Murphy beds are used for space-saving purposes, much like a [[trundle bed]] is. Due to space limitations, most Murphy beds do not have box springs. Instead, the mattress usually lies on wire mesh. Most Murphy beds are also not equipped with [[headboard|headboards]], footboards or bed rails. On the most well-known style of Murphy bed, the head end is permanently mounted inside a large closet located in the [[wall]] of a [[bedroom]] or [[living room]]. This type of Murphy bed (and its closet) is usually concealed behind a pair of closet [[door|doors]]. In some cases where construction budgets were tight, there are no doors. Instead, the bottom of the bed is a solid panel. When folded up, this solid panel appears to be part of the wall. Less typical variations of Murphy beds included one type that was mounted on a swing arm. This arm pivoted the bed between room and closet. On another type, the head end was on [[caster|casters]]. This allowed the bed to be stored in any large closet and rolled into any room for use. In many cases, the closet where the Murphy bed was stored doubled as a standard clothes closet. A similar type of bed is the [[hideaway bed]], first patented in 1885 by [[Sarah E. Goode]]. A hideaway bed also folds up when not in use, but is not concealed behind a wall or closet, instead serving double use as a shelf or desk. William L. Murphy applied for a patent for the Murphy bed on [[April 1]], [[1916]] and was granted Design Patent D49,273 on [[June 27]], [[1916]]. Murphy started the Murphy Wall Bed Company and began production in [[San Francisco]]. In January 1990 the company changed its name to the "Murphy Bed Co. Inc." These beds make appearances in movies, as they lend themselves to [[slapstick]] humor in which people are trapped when the bed folds into the upright position, carrying the person on the bed inside. For example, in [[Stanley Kramer]]'s comedy ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'', the smarmy Otto Meyer ([[Phil Silvers]]) gets thrown from the fire truck ladder, through a window and onto a Murphy bed, which promptly retracts into the wall. In [[Mel Brooks]]' ''[[Silent Movie]]'', a [[hotel]]'s [[neon]] sign advertises "Murphy Beds — Charming to the Unsophisticated". Modern Murphy beds utilize a counterbalance system making it near impossible to get trapped.{{fact|date=July 2008}} In 1989 an [[appellate court]] held that the term "Murphy bed" is no longer entitled to trademark cover because a substantial majority of the public perceive the term as a [[genericized trademark|generic term]] for a bed that folds into a wall, rather than the specific model made by the Murphy Bed Co. Murphy beds are now commonly in use in hotels as a second bed for families that have more than four people and cannot fit into one hotel room otherwise. While less frequently used in today's homes, Murphy beds can still be found in areas with limited square footage, such as [[mobile homes]] and [[apartments]]. Since the late 1900s, Murphy Beds have been incorporated into [[modular]] cabinetry with glass, mirrors, lighting, or additional units for entertainment storage or computer centers. ==External links== * [http://clarke.cmich.edu/aladdin/1922/aladdin106.htm Sales brochure article that describes swing-arm Murphy Beds] * [http://www.create-a-bed.com Murphy bed mechanism and step-by-step instructions for do-it-yourselfers] * [http://www.createmorespace.com Murphy Bed Manufacturer & Retailer] * [http://www.murphybedframe.com Website to Purchase Do-it-Yourself Murphy Bed/Panel Bed Mechanisms & Kits] [[Category:Beds]] [[Category:Interior design]] [[Category:Genericized trademarks]]