Optional bed arrangement for ship stateroom use

A ship having staterooms that are readily convertible between a bed arrangement having a spaced-apart pair of beds and a bed arrangement having a bed larger than the total size of the spaced-apart pair of beds, for allowing flexibility in sleeping arrangements, comprising staterooms having:

• a) a spaced-apart pair of beds, generally fixedly positioned in a stateroom in generally longitudinally parallel congruent arrangement relative to each other, leaving an open space therebetween, and with the upper sleeping surfaces of the beds being disposed in generally coplanar relation in a first plane, in which the beds of the pair each have a long side disposed adjacent a stateroom wall, and wherein the beds of the pair are fixedly mounted relative to any of the stateroom walls adjacent thereto and deck, for preventing movement of any of the beds relative thereto;
• b) wherein at least one wall-mounted back support is mounted on a stateroom wall above at least one of the pair of beds, to facilitate use of at least one bed as a seating facility when a convertible bed portion is removed relative to the pair of bed;
• and
• c) a convertible center bed portion in addition to the narrow beds and the at least one back support, suitable for disposition between the pair of beds to be mounted in the normally open space therebetween, and means readily removably mounting said convertible center bed portion positioned between said pair of beds with its upper surface in substantially said first plane,
• whereby a pair of beds in any of a plurality of staterooms can readily, optionally by converted to a single large bed having a width generally equivalent to the width of the pair of beds and the width of the open space, without requiring movement of any of the narrow beds or the at least one back support, for flexibility in sleeping arrangements.

A process for optimizing shipboard bedding flexibility, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing staterooms with a pair of narrow beds and at least one wall-mounted back support mounted on a stateroom wall above at least one of the pair of beds, to facilitate use of at least one bed as a seating facility when the convertible bed portion is removed relative to the pair of beds;
• b) fixedly mounting the beds in the stateroom so that the beds are in spaced-apart, longitudinally parallel, generally congruent relation to each other with their long sides adjacent a stateroom wall, defining a longitudinal space there-between;
• c) providing an optional center bed portion of a size to fit between the beds, in addition to the narrow beds and the at least one back support;
• d) selectively and removably installing the center bed portion in the space between the beds, such that in the installed condition, the center bed portion and the two beds taken together define an upper bed surface in a generally common plane;
• and
• e) whereby a given stateroom may readily be converted between one providing spaced-apart separate smaller beds and one providing a single larger bed, for accommodating the needs of the user without requiring movement of any of the narrow beds or the at least one back support.