US20120248835A1

US20120248835A1 - Sofa lovers' sofa

Info

Publication number: US20120248835A1
Application number: US13/078,463
Authority: US
Inventors: Kevin Williams
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-04-01
Filing date: 2011-04-01
Publication date: 2012-10-04

Abstract

Disclosed is a sofa or the like that has an end cushion having a lower stationary member approximating the height of an armrest of the sofa and a rotatable upper member that may be rotated to overlie an armrest of the sofa. A back support may be provided for sitting crosswise on the sofa. A lower front panel that is rotatable to a position overlying a seat cushion so as to act as an armrest for a person sitting crosswise on the sofa is also possible.

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to adjustable sofas and more particularly to a sofa that is configurable to be a sofa, a lounger, or a sofa-bench.

BACKGROUND

People often lie across a sofa; that is, with their head resting on a standard armrest of the sofa and their bodies stretched lengthwise across the sofa, from armrest to armrest. Lying this way, at times, is for comfort and at other times, is for viewing TV or conversing with someone located generally seated near an opposite armrest of the sofa so that both people are seated likewise on the sofa facing each other.
Generally, when a person is seated in such a manner, he cannot comfortably rest his head and upper body on the sofa's armrest as the armrest is typically not at a comfortable height for such use. The only option is to attempt to provide support for the otherwise unsupported head and upper body using a firm cushion or other object that is unconnected to the couch such as a pillow, wall or another firm article.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the Sofa Lover's Sofa permit a person to enjoy support for both arms while sitting lengthwise across a sofa with the person's back resting against the rotated backrest atop the traditional standard armrest of the sofa and the person's feet extended toward an opposite armrest of the sofa. For example, support for a person's unsupported arm (referred to herein as the “outward arm”) can be provided by rotating a front lower panel upward so that a resulting upper edge thereof is at a height generally equal to that of a standard armrest of the sofa. Equality of armrests is not necessary, as an embodiment of the present sofa includes armrests that are adjustable in height.
Also, an upper portion of a rear backrest of a sofa can rotate or slide to a position overlying the sofa armrest thereby providing backrest support and possibly a headrest for a person sitting lengthwise on the sofa. The remaining stationary (lower) portion of the traditional backrest (which remains after the upper portion has been rotated away) becomes an armrest for the person's arm now resting at the traditional rear/back of the sofa.
Further, a rotatable rod can be positioned within a front lower panel such that the front lower panel can rotate up, with the rotatable rod as an axis of rotation of the front lower panel, the panel, so raised then serves as an armrest for a person's outward arm. The front, lower panel can lock into place using a locking mechanism such as a ball- and socket. A torsion spring can be wrapped around the rod to bias the front lower panel to either a stowed position or a raised position.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the present sofa, a four-bar linkage can be attached to the front lower panel and to the sofa's frame such that the front lower panel can rotate up to serve as an armrest for a person's outward arm. The front lower panel can lock into place in this embodiment with a spring.
Yet another embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa is a sofa-bench. A sofa-bench is a sofa having no standard armrests or backrest. Front, rear and side panel end portions can be used on the sofa-bench to rotate upward and lock in place in any manner described above to serve as armrests.
A particular embodiment of the inventive sofa includes a sofa that is usable as a lounge chair and includes a backrest that has a backrest upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the upper section and is vertically adjustable. The backrest lower section has a backrest guide track in a top surface thereof. At least one armrest extends perpendicularly from the backrest. The armrest has an upper armrest portion and a lower armrest portion. The upper armrest portion has an armrest guide track located in a top surface of the upper armrest portion that corresponds with the backrest guide track when the backrest lower section is in a raised position. And, a support post extends from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track such that the support post is slidable to the armrest guide track to a position where the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.
A further particular embodiment of the inventive sofa includes a sofa that is usable as a lounge chair and includes a backrest having an L-shaped upper section that is vertically adjustable and a backrest lower section that supports the L-shaped upper section. The backrest lower section has a backrest guide track in its top surface. The L-shaped upper section extends in a wrapped fashion from the backrest such that a first portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as a backrest and a second portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as an armrest. At least one lower armrest portion extends perpendicularly from the backrest. The lower armrest portion has an armrest guide track located in its top surface that corresponds with a backrest guide track located in the lower portion of the backrest. A support post extends down from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the guide track such that the upper section is slidable to a position overlying the lower armrest portion where the first portion of the L-shaped upper portion overlies the armrest lower portion and the second portion of the L-shaped upper portion is parallel with the center portion of the backrest.
Yet another particular embodiment of the inventive sofa includes a bench that is useable as a sofa having a center portion having a lower end and a frame anchored to and surrounding the center portion at its lower end. The frame conforms to the shape of the center portion and has four side frame sections and four corner frame sections. Each of the four side frame sections and four corner frame sections has a telescoping member base beam extending out from the center portion. Each of a plurality of corner portions is connected to a respective base beam of the frame. And each of a plurality of outer portions is connected to the frame at a respective side section of the frame such that the corner portions and the outer portions are all raiseable to a position with respect to the center portion to be usable as an armrest.
The above and other features, objects, and advantages, together with the best means contemplated by the inventor hereof will become more apparent from reading the following description of embodiments and perusing the associated drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a preferred embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa in a sofa configuration;

FIG. 1B is an alternative embodiment of the sofa shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa in a lounge configuration;

FIG. 3 shows wheel-and-post assembly of the sofa lover's sofa;

FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa having an L-shaped backrest in a raised position;

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa in a lounge configuration;

FIG. 6 shows the further embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa having raiseable side panel in a raised position;

FIG. 7 shows an additional embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa in a partial lounge configuration;

FIG. 8 shows a frame of the additional embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa;

FIG. 9 shows the additional embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa in a lounge configuration;

FIG. 10 shows a bracket-and-pin assembly attached to the frame of the additional embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa;

FIG. 11 shows the bracket of the additional embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa having a through hole and a slot; and

FIG. 12 shows an alternative frame of the additional embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa having base beams.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present inventive sofa is 2 generally depicted in FIGS. 1 a, 1 b and 2 of the accompanying drawings and includes at least one slideable backrest 4, at least one armrest 6, at least one raiseable rear panel 8, and a center portion 10. For the sake of discussion, only the right side 12 of the sofa when viewing the sofa from the back is discussed herein; however, a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that the opposite side 14 of the sofa 2 can be made and used by applying the principles disclosed herein in an oppositely oriented fashion.
The disclosed sofa can rest in two ultimate configurations: 1) a conventional sofa configuration as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B and 2) a lounge configuration as shown in FIG. 2. Optionally, a third configuration (shown in FIG. 1 b) is available wherein the sofa 2 can be configured as a sofa with a raised backrest 4. In the sofa configuration, the raiseable rear panel 8 is positioned beneath the slideable backrest 4. FIG. 1B shows an alternative of this embodiment 2′ includes a back rest portion 4′ that is slidable along track 24′ to a position overlaying the armrest 6′. As many conventional sofas are configured such that the back rest portion thereof extends higher than the armrest portions, the user of the sofa will not find any dissimilarity between the present embodiment and a conventional sofa when the backrest is in a position overlying a rear-panel.
With reference to FIG. 2, positioning rods 16 and 18 are used to raise and lower rear panel 8. Both the raiseable rear panel 8 and the slideable backrest 4 are vertically adjustable along positioning rods 16 and 18. As shown in FIG. 2, an inner positioning rod 16 is connected to the sofa 2 at the inner positioning rod's lower end 28 to a base frame 30 and at the inner position rod's upper end 32 to a center frame (not shown) contained within the center portion 10 of the sofa 2; and an outer positioning rod 18 is connected to the base frame 30 of the sofa 2 at the outer positioning rod's lower end 34 and to a side arm rest 6 at the outer positioning rod's upper end 36. The raiseable rear panel 8 connects to the positioning rods 16 and 18 through the use of sliding tubular brackets 38 and 40.
In this embodiment of the present inventive sofa, the raiseable rear panel 8 and the slideable backrest 4 can be raised and lowered together. As such, in a raised position, the slideable backrest 4 serves as a headrest and the raiseable rear panel 8 serves as a backrest. The sliding tubular brackets 38 and 40 are positioned at lower ends 28 and 34 of each of the positioning rods 16 and 18 when the raiseable rear panel 8 and the slideable backrest 4 are in a standard sofa configuration and are positioned at upper ends 32 and 36 when the raiseable rear panel 8 and the slideable backrest 4 are in a sofa configuration having a raised backrest. A locking means (not shown) keeps the tubular members 38 and 40 in place when they are positioned at the upper ends 32 and 36 of the positioning rods 16 and 18. The locking means can include, for example, a ball-and-socket assembly, an engaging pin type of assembly, and a frictional screw type of assembly; however, a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that the locking means will be any type of mechanism, which is mechanically, electronically or electromechanically controlled, and that serves to maintain the slideable backrest 4 in a raised position while a person is leaning against it.
With further reference to FIG. 2, a recessed raiseable rear panel guide track 20 is located in the top surface 22 of the raiseable rear panel 8 and a recessed side arm guide track 24 (shown in FIG. 1) is located in the top surface 26 of the armrest 6. The tracks 20 and 24 are positioned in the raiseable rear panel 8 and the armrest 6 such that when the raiseable rear panel 8 is in a raised position, the guide track 20 of the raiseable rear panel 8 corresponds with the guide track 24 of the armrest 6 such that a single continuous guide track 42 is formed.
The slideable backrest 4 includes at least a single post 44 or some other type of member that engages the raiseable rear panel guide track 20 when the sofa 2 is in a conventional configuration and which engages the recessed side arm guide track 24 when the sofa is in a lounge configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, the post 44 has a column 46, a horizontal wheel 48, and a vertical wheel 52. The rotation of each wheel 48 and 52 can be enhanced by the use of ball bearings 50. As shown more particularly in FIG. 3A, the post 44 is received and restrained inside the guide tracks 20 and 24 by the tracks themselves, which each have a plus-sign shaped cross-section 54. In order to change the slideable backrest 4 from a position overlying the raiseable rear panel 8 to a position overlying the armrest 6, a person must simply slide the slideable backrest 4 to such an overlying position. Alternatively, an additional post (not shown) or an additional plurality of posts (also not shown) can be used to increase the stability of the slideable backrest 4.
A further embodiment of the present inventive sofa is generally depicted in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings. With reference to FIG. 4, a sofa 102 includes at least one slideable L-shaped backrest 104, a raiseable rear panel 106, a raiseable side panel 108, and a center portion 110. For the sake of discussion, only the right side 112 of the sofa when viewed from the back is discussed herein; however, a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that the opposite side 114 can be made and used by applying the principles disclosed herein in an oppositely oriented fashion.
The sofa of the present embodiment can rest in two ultimate configurations: 1) a conventional sofa configuration (not shown) and 2) a lounge configuration as shown in FIG. 5. Optionally, a third configuration is available wherein the sofa can be configured conventionally with an L-shaped backrest 102 in a raised position as shown in FIG. 4. The raiseable rear panel 106 is vertically adjustable along positioning rods as described in the previous embodiment.
As can be seen in FIG. 6, positioning rods 116 and 118 are used to raise and lower the side panel 108. The raiseable side panel 108 is vertically adjustable along these positioning rods 116 and 118. The rear positioning rod 116 is connected to the base frame 120 of the sofa 102 at its lower end 122 and to a sofa cushion support frame 126, which supports the sofa's cushions 128, at the rearward positioning rod's upper end 124. And, a forward positioning rod 118 is connected to the base frame 120 of the sofa 102 at its lower end 130 and to a forward column 134 at the forward positioning rod's upper end 136.
A recessed raiseable rear panel guide track 136 is located in the top surface 138 of the raiseable rear panel 106 and, as best shown in FIG. 4, a recessed raiseable side panel guide track 140 is located in the top surface 142 of the raiseable side panel 108. The tracks 136 and 140 are positioned in the raiseable rear panel 106 and the raiseable side panel 108 such that when the raiseable rear panel 106 is in a raised position, the guide track 136 of the raiseable rear panel 106 corresponds with the guide track 140 on the raiseable side panel 108 such that a single continuous guide track is formed as shown in FIG. 4.
As further shown in FIG. 4, the slideable L-shaped backrest 104 includes at least one post 144 that engages the raiseable rear panel guide track 136 when the sofa 102 is in a conventional configuration and which engages raiseable side panel guide track 140 when the sofa 102 is in a lounge configuration. The post 144 has a column and a wheel, the rotation of which can be enhanced by the use of ball bearings. The post 144 is received inside the guide tracks 136 and 140 and is maintained therein by the track, which has an upside down plus-sign shaped cross-section. Alternately, the post can be provided with both vertically and horizontally oriented wheels to ease travel along the guide tracks.
The raiseable rear panel 106 and the raiseable side panel 108 are not necessarily formed integrally with one another, although they can be. The advantage to the raiseable rear panel 106 being separate from the raiseable side panel 108 is that when the slideable L-shaped backrest 104 is positioned over the raiseable side panel 106 such that the sofa is in the lounge configuration, the slideable L-shaped backrest 104 can rest at a standard level and the raiseable rear panel 106 can be raised to a level equal to the height of the slideable L-shaped backrest 104. As such, when the sofa 102 is in the lounge configuration, a person has support for both of the person's arms and the person's back.
A further embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa is a sofa-bench (backless sofa) 202 and is depicted in FIGS. 7 through 11. The sofa-bench 202 depicted in FIG. 7 includes a plurality of sections, which are the cushions for the bench. Including a center section 234, this particular embodiment of the sofa-bench 202 includes nine sections, some or all of which can be adjustable in various fashions. Corner sections 204, 206, 208, and 210 of the sofa-bench, a front center section 212 of the sofa-bench, and a rear center section 214 of the sofa-bench can each individually or collectively rotate out away from the center of the sofa-bench to an upward position to provide an armrest for a person lying in various positions on the sofa-bench 202. Each of the aforementioned sections is attached to a frame 216, shown in FIG. 8. Also, sections along a lateral side 218 of the sofa-bench, which would include two corner sections, for example section 206 and section 208 of the sofa-bench 202 and a corresponding center edge section 214 of the sofa-bench 202, can be raised collectively thereby creating a conventional sofa from the sofa-bench 202. Alternatively, sections along a transverse side 220, which would include two corner sections 204 and 206 of the sofa-bench 202 and a corresponding center section 222 of the sofa-bench 202 can be raised simultaneously thereby creating a lounge chair from the sofa-bench 202.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a left center section 224 or a right center section 222 can pop out of its sofa-bench position to a position that makes the right center section 222 or left center section 224 useable as a backrest or a headrest when a person is using the sofa-bench 202 as a lounger. For ease of illustration, the right side of the sofa-bench 226 will be discussed here. A slideable telescoping member 230 connects the right center section 222 to an anchoring section 252 of the frame 216. The anchoring section 252 has a track 254 in which the slideable telescopic member 230 is anchored such that it is allowed to slide away from the center section 234 of the sofa bench 202. To make the right center section 222 usable as a backrest or headrest, a person must simply cause the center section to elevate from its bench position, either manually or through an automatic means, to a level wherein the bottom of the right center section 222 is completely above the rest of the cushions as shown in FIG. 9. In this manner, a person can cause the right center section 222 to rotate ninety degrees and then slide back toward the transverse side 220 of the sofa-bench 202. Again this can be done manually or through some automatic means. When in the lounge position, a void is left by the absence of the right center section 222. The void left by the absence of the right center section is filled by a center flap 232, which can be attached to the center section 234 or the frame 216 to be at a level equal to the other sections. The center flap 232 can be locked in place by use of a locking means (not shown), which can be a pin, knob, lever, switch or other means that is strong enough to support the weight of an above average sized person resting on the sofa-bench in any of the aforementioned configurations. Each above-identified sections can be stiffened through the use of a stiff plate, panel or arm so that, when a section is used as an armrest, a headrest or a backrest, the section can provide firm support for a person's body.
As can be seen in FIG. 10, each cushion can be connected to the frame 216 of the sofa-bench 202 by means of a bracket-and-pin assembly 236 attached to the frame 216. The bracket-and-pin assembly 236 generally includes first and second pins (not shown), and a bracket 242, shown more particularly in FIG. 11, comprised of a hole 238 in a first end 244 and a slot 240. The slot 240 is comprised of a pin retaining portion 246 at a second end 248 of the bracket 242 and a constriction 250 separating the pin retaining portion 246 from the slot 240. A first pin is positioned in the frame 216 through a hole 238 in the bracket 240 such that it serves as an axis of rotation for each section and a second pin is positioned in each section such that it engages with the slot 240 in the bracket 242 and serves as a locking means when each section is in an raised position.
To rotate any of cushions, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, or 214 to a raised and locked position, the bracket 242 slides around the first pin until the second pin is in contact with the pin retaining portion 246. The first pin, and thus the corresponding cushion, can be held in a raised position with the slot constriction 250. Once the second pin slides past the slot constriction 250 in the bracket 242, the bracket 242 is locked in the raised position and cannot be replaced into a sofa position without human intervention.
An alternative frame used in this embodiment of the inventive sofa is shown in FIG. 12 and includes a frame 302 anchored to and surrounding the center section 234 at its lower end, the frame 302 conforms to the shape of the center section 234 and has four side frame sections 304 and four corner frame sections 306. Each of the four side frame sections 304 and each of the four corner frame sections 306 has a telescoping member base beam 308 extending out from the center portion 234; each of the cushions 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 222 and 224 is connected to a respective base beam 308 of the frame 302 through a telescoping member 310, whereby the cushions 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 222 and 224 are all separately raiseable to a heightened position with respect to the center portion 234 to be used as an armrest, backrest or headrest.
A person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that other locking means can be used in place of the bracket-and-pin assembly 236 such as a ball and spring assembly, a cotter-pin type assembly, etc. Further a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that, rather than using rotatable means, various extension means can be used in this embodiment of the sofa lovers' sofa to configure each section in a raised position. For example, an extendable rod or a sliding mechanism can be used in place of the bracket-and-pin assembly 236. In this manner, each cushion slides, rather than rotates, upward. Also, a person having ordinary skill in the art will also understand that movement of the cushion in any of the above embodiments can be motorized and powered either by direct- or alternating-current.
A person having ordinary skill in the art will further understand that variations on the sofa lover's sofa are possible. For example, the above inventive disclosure can be applied to chairs, and armless sofas. In the case of the sofa-bench, several lower panels can be raised to form a baby crib. And, in the case of a chair, a backrest can be lowered to form an ottoman or vice-versa.
Once given the above disclosure, many other features, modifications and improvements will become apparent to the skilled artisan. Such features, modifications and improvements are, therefore, considered to be a part of this invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A sofa usable as a lounge chair comprised of:

a backrest having a backrest upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the upper section and is vertically adjustable, the backrest lower section having a backrest guide track in a top surface thereof;

at least one armrest extending perpendicularly from the backrest, said at least one armrest having an upper armrest portion and a lower armrest portion, the upper armrest portion having an armrest guide track located in a top surface thereof that mates with the backrest guide track of the backrest lower section when the backrest lower section is in a raised position; and

a support post extending from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the support post is slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.

2. The sofa as recited in claim 1 wherein the backrest upper section is vertically adjustable on the support post.

3. The sofa as recited in claim 1 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support post are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.

4. The sofa as recited in claim 1 wherein the support post is comprised of a metal column resting on a wheel-and-swivel mechanism that is in communication with either the backrest guide track or the armrest guide track depending on the location of the backrest upper section.

5. The sofa as recited in claim 4 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support post are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.

6. The sofa as recited in claim 1 whereby the backrest lower section is raised and lowered along at least one backrest positioning rod.

7. The sofa as recited in claim 1 wherein the backrest includes a left portion and a right portion, the right and left portions each having a backrest upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the upper section and is vertically adjustable.

8. A sofa usable as a lounge chair comprised of:

a backrest having an L-shaped upper section that is vertically adjustable and a backrest lower section that supports the L-shaped upper section, the backrest lower section having a backrest guide track in a top surface thereof;

wherein the L-shaped upper section extends in a wrapped fashion from the backrest such that a first portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as a backrest and a second portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as an armrest;

at least one lower armrest portion extending perpendicularly from the backrest, the lower armrest portion having an armrest guide track located in a top surface thereof that corresponds with a backrest guide track located in the lower portion of the backrest; and

a support post extending down from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the guide track, whereby the upper section can be slid to a position overlying the lower armrest portion such that the first portion of the L-shaped upper portion overlies the armrest lower portion and the second portion of the L-shaped upper portion is parallel with the center portion of the backrest.

9. The sofa as recited in claim 8 wherein the L-shaped upper section is vertically adjustable on the support post.

10. The sofa as recited in claim 8 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support posts are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.

11. The sofa as recited in claim 8 wherein the support post is comprised of a metal column resting on a wheel-and-swivel mechanism that is in communication with either the backrest guide track or the armrest guide track depending on the location of the L-shaped upper section.

12. The sofa as recited in claim 11 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support post are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the L-shaped upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.

13. The sofa as recited in claim 8 whereby the backrest lower section is raised and lowered along at least one backrest positioning rod.

14. The sofa as recited in claim 8 wherein the backrest includes a left portion and a right portion, the right and left portions each having an L-shaped upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the L-shaped upper section.

15. A bench useable as a sofa comprising:

a center portion having a lower end and a frame anchored to and surrounding the center portion at its lower end, the frame conforming to the shape of the center portion and having four side frame sections and four corner frame sections, each of the four side frame sections and four corner frame sections having a telescoping member base beam extending out from the center portion;

a plurality of corner portions, each corner portion connected to a respective base beam of the frame; and

a plurality of outer portions, each outer portion connected to the frame at a respective side section of the frame,

wherein the corner portions and the outer portions are all raiseable to a position with respect to the center portion to be usable as an armrest.

16. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for rotating a respective said outer portion to a raised position above the sofa.

17. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for telescoping a respective said outer portion to a raised position above the sofa.

18. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for rotating a respective said corner portion to a raised position above the sofa.

19. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for telescoping a respective said corner portion to a raised position above the sofa.

20. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein the center portion is removable to reveal a recess, the recess being useable as a seat.