This application claims priority on Provisional Application 62/085,987 filed Dec. 1, 2014 and having the same inventor and title as the present application.
The present invention relates generally to a furniture assembly, and more particularly, to a sofa bed or convertible bed having an articulated back permitting deployment and storage of the bed mechanism with minimal extension into a non-furniture area of the environment.
An articulated back sofa bed has a top pivoted back that is aligned at a downwardly forwardly aligned angle in a sitting position. The back is pivoted to the top of a vertical frame. A mattress supporting frame is stowed underneath the back and becomes the sofa cushion support surface. As the mattress supporting frame is deployed to a bed position an articulation mechanism displaces the seat back rearwardly, to a downwardly rearwardly aligned angle, thereby providing clearance for deployment of the mattress supporting frame clear of the bottom of the back. The crest of curvature of the deployment of the mattress supporting frame is formed and arranged so that the rearward displacement of the back provides sufficient clearance to accomplish the deployment, while the top pivot is fixed to the vertical frame. The rearward displacement of the back is accomplished by a series of links between the mattress support frame and the bottom of the back. This design allows for a compact overall footprint for the sofa.
A sofa bed is usually a sofa with a seating surface, a back surface, and arms, which includes a foldable bed located in the area below the seating surface. When being used as a sofa, it appears as any regular sofa designed for seating. When the user wishes to use the sofa bed to convert to a bed, he typically removes the seat and back cushions and pulls out and unfolds the foldable bed mechanism contained within. Examples of this type of arrangement are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,644,171 and 3,975,783.
These sofa beds, while providing a convenient way to provide for overnight guests, have their disadvantages. The mattress is typically thin so that it may be folded when the bed is stored in the sofa. This thin mattress is supported by a metal frame work between which is spread a fabric. Often times the fabric provides insufficient support causing the sleeping surface to sag while the rigid metal frame work causes ridges of hardness. The combination of the sag and the ridges provides an uncomfortable sleeping surface. Further, there is the matter of storing the sofa cushions that are removed. To access and deploy the bed, the seat cushion of the sofa must be removed. The cushions are light in weight, but they are bulky and must be stored somewhere while the bed is in use. Likewise, if the sofa has back cushions, those must be stored as well. Furniture may also have to be moved in order to deploy the bed as is the case if a coffee table is located in front of the sofa. Essentially the entire bed mechanism extends outwardly into a room or vehicle area or the like requiring substantial space in front of the fixed back.
Another type of sofa bed utilizes the rear of the seat back as the sleeping surface. The seat back is usually mounted on a pivot so that the seat back can be rotated to a horizontal position so that the front surface faces down and the rear surface faces up. This type of assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,137. This arrangement provides a better sleeping surface than the former as the bed or mattress does not need to be foldable. This does away with the associated folding metal framework that caused ridges of hardness across the sleeping surface. Another advantage is that the furniture does not need to be moved relative to the floor or room wall to deploy the bed. However, this arrangement is not without its disadvantages as the seat cushions and any back cushions must still be removed to deploy the bed. While this may not be an onerous burden to all, there may not be a convenient place to store the cushions. If the bed is being used in a hotel where housekeeping staff is expected to prepare the bedding, time may be lost in removing or replacing the cushions each time the bedding is changed. Likewise, a hotel guest does not want to be burdened with a cumbersome conversion from one configuration to the other and storage of seating components such as cushions. When used in a vehicle, in particular, storage of extraneous, unused components is difficult.
In addition, many sofa beds and lounge chairs are intended to be situated in certain locations. For example, a sofa bed may be configured for placement against a wall. US Application Pub. No. 20040051350 and Pat. No. 8,806,672 are examples. In both of these the back frame is fixed, but hollow, to receive part of the mattress. These exemplify the need for the piece of furniture to be located proximate a wall to maximize living space in a room or vehicle, but still require extension of the mechanism into the living space and a fixed back frame.
The present invention solves the problems described above. The sofa bed described herein provides a superior sleeping surface over that of the foldable beds. The sofa bed is easily convertible from the seating configuration to the sleeping configuration without the need for a hollow back or undue need for space for extension into living space due to the articulation of the back to provide clearance for the bed mechanism. Where total space is at a premium, it is wasted by the fixed, spaced, or hollow backs in the prior art.
An articulated back sofa bed 10 has a top pivoted back frame 12 that is aligned at a downwardly forwardly aligned angle in a sitting position. In
In
Articulation mechanism 38 displaces the seat back 12 about pivot 40 so that the bottom of back 12 moves rearwardly. More particularly mechanism 38 is formed and arranged with bracket 42 attached to side plates or legs 32. Pivotally attached to bracket 42 is C-shaped link 44 having a top arm 46, center portion 48 and lower arm 50. Link 44 acts through thrust link 52 which is horizontally offset. Thrust link 52 is, in turn, pivotally attached to angled link 54. Link 54 is formed with lower portion 56, center portion 58 and upper portion 60. Link 54 is pivotally mounted to bracket 62, itself mounted to back 12.
In operation, as shown in
This movement rotates C-shaped link 44 around its fixed pivot 64 at bracket fixed pivot 66 and accordingly, translational pivot 68 is pulled, with link 52 moving generally horizontally, in turn pulling translational pivot 70 and lower portion 56. As lower portion moves, angled link 54 rotates about second fixed pivot 72. Thus, as link 52 moves forwardly, relative to the sofa, leftward in
In
Number | Date | Country | |
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62085987 | Dec 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14954562 | Nov 2015 | US |
Child | 16253990 | US |