US2341616A - Convertible furniture - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 15, 1944. F. s. HOFFMAN CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 8, 1942 Feb. 15, 1944. 'F s, HOFFMAN 2,341,616

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed Dec. 8, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 15, 1944 UNITED STATES 2,341,616 I CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE 7 Application December 8, 1942, Serial No. 468,187

2 Claims.

This invention relates to convertible couch beds, sofas, chairs and the like articles of furniture having seat and back sections pivotally supported so that the back section may be swung from an upright position wherein it provides a back rest to a horizontal position wherein it forms a bed section or a part of a bed section.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide an article of furniture of the above type having pivotal supporting means and 1 associated locking device effective to hold the back section securely in upright position and adapted to be quickly and conveniently released so that the latter may be swung to a horizontal position, and to provide a couch, sofa, chair or the like article which, with the exception of the fastening elements, etc., may be of an all-wood construction.

Further objects relate to various features of the construction and will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a vertical section through a convertible couch constructed in accordance with the presentinvention, the back section being shown in its normal upright position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the couch shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the back section swung to a substantially horizontal position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the seat section swung to a position to effect release of the parts preparatory to being lowered to horizontal position; and

Fig. 5 is a detail showing the releasable locking device.

The embodiment herein shown comprises a box-like frame having front, rear and end or side walls I, 2 and 3, respectively, which may be of conventional design and construction and appropriately finished in any suitable manner. A seat 5 is supported on the frame and comprises front and rear longitudinal members 6 and l, and end or cross members 8 rigidly secured to each other in any suitable manner to provide a strong rigid structure for supporting a mattress spring and/ or cushion with appropriate up holstery (not shown). An upstanding side wall or bracket I0 is rigidly secured to each of the cross members 8 and the upper end of a link II is pivotally secured by a dowel or pin l2 to the outer face of the side wall Ill. The lower end of the link H is pivotally connected by a dowel or pin M to the outer face of the adjacent side wall 3, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the seat 5 is not only supported for pivotal movement from normal horizontal position (Fig. 1) to an upstanding or inclined position (Figs. 3 and 4), but also for lateral movement from its normal position, wherein it provides a seat, to an oflset position shown by the dot and dash lines of Fig.- 3, wherein it provides a bed section.

A back section I5 is pivotally supported relative to the seat section and frame and comprises top and bottom longitudinal members l6 and I1 and cross or end members'lfl. Each of the end members It carries a projecting side wall or bracket 2E! and a supporting arm 2| which extends inwardly and is pivotally connected with the side wall H) by the pin I2 which not only provides a pivotal support for the seat section, but also for the back section IS. A link 24 is pivotally connected at its upper end by a pin 25 to the outer face of side wall 20 and at its lower end to the outer face of the end wall of the frame by a pin 26, the arrangement being such that as the seat is swung from normalupstanding position to horizontal position, the links .24 may act simultaneously to move the section inwardly to an offset position wherein the lower frame member I1 is positioned substantially at the center of the frame, as shown in Fig. 4. The design and construction of the back rest is generally similar to that of the seat section, it being understood that it carries a mattress spring and/or cushion suitably upholstered to provide both a back rest when'in upstanding position and a bed section when in horizontal position.

A block 30 is carried by each longitudinal member l and provides a pivotal support for thelower end of a latch member 3|. The free end of the latch member is bifurcated, as shown in Fig. 5. and formed with a notch 32. The lower longi tudinal member I! of back section l5 carries a block 35 adjacent to each end, and this block is provided with projecting edgesdefimng abutments 36 and an intervening grooved portion 31 having an inclined bottom wall, the arrangement of parts being such that the abutments 36 are aligned with the bifurcated notched ends of the latch 3|, as shown in Fig. 5. A trip member 40 is pivotally mounted between the bifurcated ends of the latch 3| by a pin 4| in alignment with a groove 31, and a stop pin 42 is provided to prevent the trip from swinging to an inoperative position.

The construction and arrangement of parts are such that when the back section is in upstanding position, or when the two sections are swung relative to each other to a predetermined angular position, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the notched ends of the latch 3| engage the abutments 36 so that the back section may be securely locked in upstanding position; and with the parts thus positioned the back section may be swung downwardly or the seat section lifted upwardly, and in either case the two sections not only swing about the pins I2 and 25, but are also simultaneously carried laterally to offset position by the cooperative action of the links H and 24, the arm 2! and latch 3!, as will be seen by a comparison of the position of the parts shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. When the sections have been carried to offset positions, they still maintain the same angular relationship, as indicated in Fig. 3, and by swinging the seat section toward the back section to a second predetermined angular position, illustrated in Fig. 4, the trip 40 is thus brought to a position to engage the grooved portion 37 of the block 35 and when the seat section is swung away from the back section, the trip 43, acting against the grooved portion 31, operates to swing the latch 3i upwardly away from the abutments 35, thus disengaging these parts, whereupon the seat section may then be swung downwardly to horizontal position, as shown by the dotand dash lines of Fig. 4, in which position it forms a bed section. Thus, to convert the couch to a bed, it is simply necessary to swing the back section downwardly to horizontal position, then swing the seat section toward the back section to effect release of the latch, and finally lower the seat section to horizontal position.

In order to convert the bed back to a couch, the seat section is merely elevated to an angle sufficient to effect engagement of the latch 3| with the abutments 36 and then swing the seat section downwardly to normal horizontal position, which movement is effective to elevate the back section to upstanding position and simultaneously shift the two sections from offset position to normal position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be observed that the two sections tend to counterbalance eachother and hence there is but a slight force required for the aforementioned manipulations. It will also be noted that, with the exception of conventional fastening elements, the entire structure, apart from cushions, upholstery, etc., may be made from wood or other non-metallic materials.

While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes in shape,

proportion and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article of furniture of the convertible type comprising seatand back sections pivotally mounted with respect to each other so that the back section may be swung to and from upstanding and horizontal position, and releasable locking means for holding said seat section in upright position, said locking means comprising a block secured to one of said sections and shaped to provide a pair of spaced abutments having an intervening grooved portion, a latch member. pivotally mounted on the other of said sections, said latch member having a bifurcated end engageable with the abutments when the seat and back sections are swung to a predetermined angular position relative to each other so as to hold the back section in said angular position, and a trip member pivotally mounted on said latch member between its bifurcated ends and arranged to engage said grooved portion when the two sections are swung to another predetermined angular position relative to each other so as to swing said latch member clear of said abutments and thereby disengage the parts.

2. An article of furniture of the convertible type comprising a frame member, a seat section supported on said frame member, a link at each end of said seat section, one end of said link being pivotally secured to said frame member and its other end to said seat section so that the seat section may be moved laterally from a normal position when used as a seat'outwardly to an offset position when used as a bed and swung from a horizontal position to an upwardly inclined position, a back section pivotally connected to said section so that it may be swung from a normal upright position to a horizontal position, a second link at each end of said back section, one end of said link being pivotally secured to said frame member and its other end to said back section so that the back section may be moved inwardly to an offset position wherein its lower edge is substantially in the center of the frame member, and releasable locking means for holding said back-section in upright position, said means comprising a block secured to the back section and shaped to provide a pair of spaced abutments having an intervening grooved portion, a latch member pivotally mounted on said seat section, said latch member having a bifurcated end engageable with the abutments when the seat and back sections are swung to a predetermined angular position so as to hold the sections in said angular .position, said latch member and links cooperating so that when the latch memberis in engagement with the abutments either section maybe manipulated to swing the two sections to and from horizontal position and simultaneously effect lateral movement of the sections to and from offset position, and a trip member pivotally mounted on said latch member between its bifurcated ends and arranged to engage said .groovedportion when the two sections are swung to another predetermined angular position relative to each other so as to swing said latch member clear of said abutments and thereby disengage the .parts.

FRANK S. HOFFMAN.

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