US20160045029A1

US20160045029A1 - Folding sofa

Info

Publication number: US20160045029A1
Application number: US14/461,458
Authority: US
Inventors: Andrew David Frankel; Shi-Ping Zheng; Tian-Xia Zheng
Original assignee: Zenithen USA LLC
Current assignee: Zenithen USA LLC
Priority date: 2014-08-18
Filing date: 2014-08-18
Publication date: 2016-02-18

Abstract

The present invention relates to a folding sofa, comprising a sofa body and support legs on both sides; the support leg is composed of movably, cross hinged front support rods and rear support rods, the front support rod is higher than the rear support rod, and the higher part forms a backrest section. The sofa body is made from a soft fabric through processing and forming, comprises an integrated seat cushion, armrest and backrest; where, the outer side of the backrest and armrest are respectively provided with a backrest cover and an armrest cover. The front and rear support rods directly support the sofa body, the seat cushion is lifted by the backrest and armrest for forming, is comfortable to sit, and forms the wide volume peculiar to sofa with the aid of the backrest cover and armrest cover.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of daily necessities, especially relates to a folding sofa, and more specifically, a folding sofa that can be folded to a flat structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of folding chairs. The folded chair is compact, is easy to collect and is portable. Therefore, folding chairs are frequently used at home and in offices. Common folding chair structure comprises support legs symmetrical on both sides, a seat cushion and a back cushion. Where, the support leg is composed of two hinged front support rods and rear support rods. The seat cushion is installed on the front and rear support rods, forming a stable triangular support structure. The front support rods extend above the seat cushion to form two backrest sections, on which back cushions are installed. In order to satisfy the folding function, the front and rear support rods are movably hinged, and form a triangle with the seat cushion, so there must be a movable point. Therefore, if the hinge point between the front support rods and rear support rods is in a different position from a movable point, a series of diverse folding chair products will be obtained to meet different needs.
For example, CN201718818U discloses a folding chair. The upper end of its rear support rods is hinged on the middle-upper part of its front support rods. The hard seat is pivoted near the middle part of the front support rods. A rear part of the seat is arranged on the rear support rods through a movable cover of a sleeve seat. A limit point is fixed on the rear support rods, and the sleeve seat forms a movable point for folding. A defect of the structure is that the seat is not stable, especially when the buttock gravity moves backward, the seat will tilt backward. Besides, folded front and rear support rods are side by side in front and rear, and occupy the space of thickness of two rods.
For example, CN101396209B discloses a folding chair, the front and rear chair legs of which form an X-type cross. The front part of the chair plate is articulated with the upper end part of the rear chair legs, both side edges are provided with symmetrical is sliding ways, and a support rod is fixed between the front chair legs on both sides. The support rod runs through the sliding way, and plays a role in supporting the rear side of the chair plate and folding with the help of the two. The folding chair in this scheme has a complex structure, and the folded chair still occupies the space of thickness of 2-3 rods.
In the prior art, the seat cushion of the folding chair is made from hard materials or needs reliable support, so that its structure is complex. If the support structure of the existing folding chair is improved, it will become the research object in the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims in at least one embodiment to provide a folding sofa with the front support rods and rear support rods movably cross hinged on both sides, and with the upper end part of the front support rods and upper end part of the rear support rods directly supporting the sofa body.
A technical scheme in this invention is realized as follows: a folding sofa comprises support legs equivalent or symmetrical on both sides, and also comprises a sofa body. The support leg comprises movably cross hinged front and rear support rods. The front support rods are higher than the rear support rods, and the higher part forms the backrest section. The front support rods on both sides are fixed by a front cross rod to become one (i.e., a “single unit”), and the rear support rods are fixed by a rear cross rod to become one. The sofa body is made from a soft fabric through processing and forming. It comprises an integrated seat cushion, armrest and backrest. Its characteristics may be is that the outer side of the backrest and armrest are respectively provided with a backrest cover and an armrest cover, and the backrest covers on the backrest section with the aid of the backrest cover. The armrest covers on the upper end of the rear support rods with the aid of the armrest cover, a horizontal reinforcing rib belt is arranged between the upper end of the rear support rods and front support rods, and the reinforcing rib belt is wrapped in the armrest cover. When the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the reinforcing rib belt is tightened and plays a role in supporting the armrest.
The reinforcing rib belt is directly sewn on the inner side of the armrest.
One end of the reinforcing rib belt is fixed on the upper end of the support rod, and the other end of it is fixed on the front support.
The lower edge of the armrest cover is preferably not higher than that of the seat cushion. The lower edge of the backrest cover is provided with a vertical skirt sweep, the lower edge of which is flushed with the lower edge of the armrest cover, and both sides of which are respectively sewn with the armrest cover.
The armrest cover is sewn with a shielding cloth along the front edge of the rear support rod, and when the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the shielding cloth can be used to drive the seat cushion to unfold.
The front support rod on both sides and the front cross rod are bent into a U-shaped frame by a rod, the front cross rod is arranged at one end of the backrest section to support the backrest cover; the two rear support rods and rear cross rod are bent into a U-shaped frame by a rod, and the rear cross rod touches the ground.
A link rod is also hinged between the hinge points of the front support rods on both is sides and the rear support rods.
The link rod is provided with a bending part on either end. Both bending parts are respectively clinging to the front support rods on both sides, and are fixed together through riveting or welding.
A belt is arranged on the outer side of the backrest cover. Both ends of the belt are respectively sewn on the backrest cover in the backrest sections on both sides. After the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the belt may be turned frontward to buckle the front end of the armrest and the upper end of the rear support rods.
The belt is an elastic tape, or a fabric tape with a buckle at the end.
The present invention is characterized by unique conception, light structure, smooth folding and unfolding operation, and small space occupation. The sofa body is directly supported by movably cross hinged front and rear support rods, and is made from a soft fabric through processing and forming. The seat cushion is lifted by the backrest and armrest for forming, is soft and comfortable to sit, forms the wide volume peculiar to sofa with the help of the backrest cover and armrest cover, and does not occupy collection space. Folded front and rear support rods can be mutually nested with the thickness equivalent to the caliber of front support rods, and presents a flat structure. A plurality of folding sofa can be conveniently superposed for collection, thereby occupying less space.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent upon review of the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. These objects of the present invention are not exhaustive and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention. Further, it must be understood that no one embodiment of the present invention need include all of the aforementioned objects of the present invention. Rather, a given embodiment may include one or none of the aforementioned objects. Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention is further illustrated in the light of specific figures as follows:

FIG. 1 is a 3D diagram of the folding sofa.

FIG. 2 is a Bottom view of the folding sofa.

FIG. 3 is a Side view of the folding sofa.

FIG. 4 is an Exploded view of the folding sofa.

FIG. 5 is a Bottom view of the sofa body.

FIG. 6 is a Schematic diagram of folded support legs.

Where the following reference numerals are associate with the following respective elements:

1—Sofa body
11—Seat cushion
12—Armrest
120—Armrest cover
121—Shielding cloth
13—Backrest
130—backrest cover
131—Skirt sweep
2—Front support rod
21—Front cross rod
22—Backrest section
3—Rear support rod
31—Rear cross rod
4—Link rod
41—bending part
5—Reinforcing rib belt
6—Belt

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

According to FIGS. 1-4, a folding sofa, comprising a sofa body 1 and support legs equivalent or symmetrical on both sides is shown. The support leg is composed of movably cross hinged front support rods 2 and rear support rods 3. The front support rod 2 is higher than the rear support rod 3, and the higher part forms a backrest section 22. The front support rods 2 on both sides are fixed with a front cross rod to become one, and the rear support rods 3 are fixed with a rear cross rod 31 to become one. More specifically, the front support rods 2 on both sides and the front cross rod 21 are bent into iii a U-shaped frame with a rod, the front cross rod 21 is arranged at one end of the backrest 22 to support the backrest cover. Both rear support rods 3 and the cross rod 31 are bent into a U-shaped frame with a rod, and the rear cross rod 31 touches the ground.
In order to strengthen the rigidity of the front support rods 2 and rear support rods 3 at the hinge points and avoid the support legs on both sides from folding inward after is being subjected to a force. A link rod 4 is also hinged between the hinge points of the front support rods 2 on both sides and the rear support rods 3. The link rod is provided with a bending part 41 at both ends. Both bending parts 41 are respectively clinging to the front support rods 2 on both sides, and are fixed together through riveting or welding.
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the sofa body 1 is made from a soft fabric through processing and forming, and has an integrated seat cushion 11, armrest 12 and backrest 13. The backrest 13 and armrest 12 are respectively provided with a backrest cover 130 and an armrest cover 120 on the outer side. The backrest 13 covers on the backrest section 22 with the aid of the backrest cover 130, and distributes the stress to the front cross rod 21. The armrest 12 covers on the upper end of the rear support rod 3 with the aid of the armrest cover 120. A horizontal reinforcing rib belt 5 is arranged between the upper end of the rear support rod 3 and the front support rod 2. The reinforcing rib belt 5 is wrapped in the armrest cover 120. When the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the reinforcing rib belt 5 is tightened up, and plays a role in supporting the armrest 12. More specifically, the reinforcing rib belt 5 includes two structures as follows:
One is that the reinforcing rib belt 5 is sewn directly on the inner side of the armrest 12 to increase the strength of the armrest 12, as shown in FIG. 3. The other is that one end of the reinforcing rib belt 5 is fixed on the upper end of the rear support rod 3, and the other end of it is fixed on the front support 2, as shown in FIG. 4. The reinforcing rib belt 5 plays a role in not only supporting the armrest 12, but also restricting the unfolding limit(s) of the folding sofa. The seat cushion 11 of the sofa body 1 is lifted relying on the is armrest 12 and backrest 13, so the force is mainly borne by the armrest cover 120 and backrest cover 130.
As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the lifted seat cushion 11 is very soft and comfortable. Considering that when the folding sofa is unfolded, the seat cushion 11 can follow to stretch forward for forming, it is necessary to provide a shielding cloth 121 that can be driven by the rear support rod 3 in the armrest cover 120, and its structure is that the armrest cover 120 is sewn with a shielding cloth 121 along the front edge of the rear support rod 3, and when the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the shielding cloth 121 can be used to drive the seat cushion 11 to unfold.
As shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, lower edge of the armrest cover 120 is not higher than that of the seat cushion 11. Lower edge of the backrest cover 130 is provided with a vertical skirt sweep 131, the lower edge of which is flushed with the lower edge of the armrest cover 120, and both sides of which are respectively sewn with the armrest cover 120. The armrest cover 120 and skirt sweep 131 around the outer side of the seat cushion 11 can not only increase the shape of the sofa body 1, but also improve the wide volume of the sofa body 1.
According to FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the sofa body 1 only covers on the support legs, thereby facilitating removing the sofa body 1 for collection or cleaning, as shown in FIG. 4. The sofa body 1 is made from a soft fabric, such as Oxford cloth. The Oxford cloth may be treated through surface flocking etc. to increase the features and comfort level of the sofa. The support leg is composed of hinged front support rod 2, rear support rod 3, and link rod 4. The front support rod 2 and rear support rod 3 can be folded along the hinge point. The three may be nested, and will be folded into a planar shape, as shown in FIG. 6. It is compact and is easy to collect. During assembly, the front support rod 2 and rear support rod 3 of the support leg are unfolded to a small angle, the backrest cover 130 covers on the backrest section 21, the upper end of the rear support rod 3 of the armrest cover 120 is adjusted in place, and then they are unfolded. Under the circumstance, the biggest unfolding angle of the front support rod 2 and rear support rod 3 is restricted to the reinforcing rib belt 5. With the human body gravity, the front support rod 2 and rear support rod 3 tend to unfold to a bigger angle, reacts on the reinforcing rib belt 5, so that it is tightened up to provide more solid support for the armrest 12.
According to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, a belt 6 is arranged on the outer side of the backrest cover 130. Both ends of the belt 6 are respectively sewn on the backrest cover 130 in the backrest section 22 on both sides. After the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the belt 6 may be turned frontward to buckle the front end of the armrest section 12 and the upper end of the rear support rod 3. The belt 6 may be an elastic tape with certain deformation, and can be easily turned over to buckle the armrest 12 and upper end of the rear support rod 3. The belt 6 may also be a fabric tape with a buckle at the end. After turning frontward, the belt binds the armrest 12 and upper end of the rear support rod 3 through buckling. With the design of the belt 6, the folded sofa will not automatically unfold, so as to facilitate collection/storage or transportation.
One biggest difference between the present invention and existing folding chairs is no support of the seat cushion is required, which not only simplifies the design of the is support leg, but also reduces weight. For the sofa body made from a soft fabric through processing and forming, its seat cushion is a lifting type structure, and is not only softer and more comfortable to sit, but also convenient for collection.
While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as maybe applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims. It is therefore to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A folding sofa, comprising a sofa body and support legs equivalent or symmetrical on both sides; the support leg is composed of movably cross hinged front support rods and rear support rods, the front support rod is higher than the rear support rod, and the higher part forms a backrest section; the front support rods on both sides are fixed with a front cross rod to become one, and the rear support rods are fixed with a rear cross rod to become one. The sofa body is made from a soft fabric through processing and forming, and comprises an integrated seat cushion, armrest and backrest. Its characteristics are that the outer side of the backrest and armrest are respectively provided with a backrest cover and an armrest cover, and the backrest covers on the backrest section with the aid of the backrest cover; the armrest covers on the upper end of the rear support rods with the aid the armrest cover, a horizontal reinforcing rib belt is arranged between the upper end of the rear support rods and front support rods, and the reinforcing rib belt is wrapped in the armrest cover. When the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the reinforcing rib belt is tightened up, and plays a role in supporting the armrest.

2. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, the reinforcing rib belt is sewn directly on the inner side of the armrest.

3. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, one end of the reinforcing rib belt is fixed on the upper end of the rear support rod, and the other end of it is fixed on the front support.

4. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, the lower edge of the armrest cover is not higher than that of the seat cushion; lower edge of the backrest cover is provided with a vertical skirt sweep, the lower edge of which is flushed with the lower edge of the armrest cover, and both sides of which are respectively sewn with the armrest cover.

5. A folding sofa defined in claim 4, wherein, the armrest cover is sewn with a shielding cloth along the front edge of the rear support rod, and when the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the shielding cloth can be used to drive the seat cushion to unfold.

6. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, the armrest cover is sewn with a shielding cloth along the front edge of the rear support rod, and when the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the shielding cloth can be used to drive the seat cushion to unfold.

7. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, the front support rod on both sides and the front cross rod are bent into a U-shaped frame by a rod, the front cross rod is arranged at one end of the backrest section to support the backrest cover; the two rear support rods and rear cross rod are bent into a U-shaped frame by a rod, and the rear cross rod touches the ground.

8. A folding sofa defined in claim 7, wherein, a link rod is also hinged between the hinge points of the front support rods on both sides and the rear support rods.

9. A folding sofa defined in claim 8, wherein, the link rod is provided with a bending part on either end. Both bending parts are respectively clinging to the front support rods on both sides, and are fixed together through riveting or welding.

10. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, a link rod is also hinged between the hinge points of the front support rods on both sides and the rear support rods.

11. A folding sofa defined in claim 10, wherein, the link rod is provided with a bending part on either end. Both bending parts are respectively clinging to the front support rods on both sides, and are fixed together through riveting or welding.

12. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, a belt is arranged on the outer side of the backrest cover. Both ends of the belt are respectively sewn on the backrest cover in the backrest section on both sides. After the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the belt may be turned frontward to buckle the front end of the armrest and the upper end of the rear support rod.

13. A folding sofa defined in claim 4, wherein, a belt is arranged on the outer side of the backrest cover. Both ends of the belt are respectively sewn on the backrest cover in the backrest section on both sides. After the folding sofa is unfolded in place, the belt may be turned frontward to buckle the front end of the armrest and the upper end of the rear support rod.

14. A folding sofa defined in claim 1, wherein, the belt is an elastic tape, or a fabric tape with a buckle at the end.