US2842777A

US2842777A - Combination article of furniture

Info

Publication number: US2842777A
Application number: US386206A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wheeler William Henry
Original assignee: EDNA K WHEELER
Current assignee: EDNA K WHEELER
Priority date: 1953-10-15
Filing date: 1953-10-15
Publication date: 1958-07-15
Anticipated expiration: 1975-07-15

Description

July 15, 1958 W. H. WHEELER COMBINATION ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed Oct. 15, 1953 INVENTOR WILLIAM H. WHEELER 6/ 9 ATTORNEY 7 4 2 a I! l 2 3 8 w a! I a W 9 m m 3 /l l I M H i \{\m x u wwwwwgaw 2 HT 0%, 4 l

COMBINATION ARTICLE OF William Henry Wheeler-{New York, N. Y., assigndr to Edna 'K. Wheeler, New York, N. Y.

Application ctober15,*1953, Serial No.i386,206

3 Claims. (Cl."5+-159) This invention relates to "a 'conibination'article of furniture embodying a fold-away bed unit. More-particularly, the invention relatesto a combinationarticle of furniture of the class described having anelongat'ed shelf or mantel portion and a movable front section forming storage'compartrnents when in the'vertical position, and

' providing abed'unitwhen in the'horizontalposition.

In the furnishing of modern homes, and particularly rooms 'whichare to function as dual .purposerootns, for example as living orrecreational rooms in the daytime an'dproviding sleeping facilities at night, various types of convertible'units have beenavail'able' such aschairs,-sofas,

and the like which convert into bedsto provide sleeping facilities. In general, however; convertible furniture of the type heretoforeavailable hasbeenrather awkward-in use, both because of the need for rearranging at least part Patented July 15, 1958 with part of the structure'broken away and indicating the parts thereof oriented for night-time use as a bed; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of part of the unit as viewed 'in the direction of the arrows 4 4 inFig. 3.

As shown in the drawing, my combinationfurniture unit comprises acabinet 10 having atop wall ormantel surface 11, end walls 12, a bottom wall '13, a rear wall'l4,

and a front wall portion '15 at the lower portion only of the'unit. The

wall parts

11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are so fashioned and secured together as to provide a rigid boxlike-unitwhich can be lifted and moved about in much the same manner as abookcase, chest of drawers or the like. Arranged within the cabinet unit 10 and'pivotally secured to the front wall portion15 by-suita'ble hinges '16 is a movable storage unit 17, comprising aperipheral frame 18 and partitioning means 19 centrally of said frame dividing the unit 17 into outer storage compartments 20 and 'an inner compartment 21 adapted to receive aconventional mattress 22. The mattress '22 preferably pr otrudes beyond the frame 18 (above the frame 18 as shown in'Fig. 3) so as to minimize contact with the frame 18by one reclining on the mattress.

The storage compartments 20 can be fashioned to "store and support articles of different types and kinds and 'rner'ely forpurp'ose of illustration I have shown the compartments -29 as adapted for the storage of bedding,

"pillows, and the like as indicated at 23. 'For this purpose the compartmentsfiil are separated bymeansof a shelf 24'andtransversesupports 25 may be employed to aid in of the room in makingthe conversion and because the be'd'must generally bemade up each time thefurniture'is converted for sleepingpurposes.

There have of course in apartments and other confined quartersbeen-various types of disappearing beds of-what might be referred to as a built innature' wherein a closet or alcove is provided in a room for storage of abed during the daytime. This type of installationfhas' the disadvantage of being in a fixed-or definite location and requiring that the .remainder of the room be planned and-arranged to conform with the space required by the disappearing.

bed.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved type of furnitureembodying in combination a-wall cabinet including a relatively low shelf or mantel surfaceand a disappearing bedpivotally mounted in said cabinet. Another object of the invention is to provide a combination article of furniture of the class described in the form of a unit or assemblage which can readily be moved from place to place within a room, or from one room to another, and which lends itself to the creating of attractive room arrangements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combination article of furniture which can be quickly and easily converted to a bed and in which the bed in the stored position can be completely made up and ready for use, and which may include supplementary storage compartments.

These and other objects of the invention will be more readily apparent from a consideration of the following description, together with the accompanying drawing illustrating one adaptation of my invention in which the various parts are identified by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view from the front of the combination article of furniture showing the same in the normal daytime position, with one storage compartment thereof being open for illustrative purposes;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the unit as shown in Fig. l

the arrangement of articles in the compartments 20.

"The outer-side-ofthe frame'IS, as seen in Figs. 1 arid'2, is provided with peripheral front wall parts 26 and a'plurality ot posts or wall "parts 27 providing at the frontof thennit a plurality of openings'28 adapted' to' be closed 'by swinging'doors 29 in providing a neatly paneled-front tothe cabinet un'it. The lower front Wall par t 26 is secured to a stiffenin'g memb'erl8'as-seen in Fig. Z' Which eiiten'ds throughout fh6 lel-lgih-ofthe frame 18.

The doors 29arc provided with suitable 113116165 30,

which are preferably of the combination handle -andlatch type, to retain' the doors in the closed position, particularly when "the unit-17 is lowered as seen inFig. 3; The

handle 30 on a-central door 29 is preferably zn'ranged 'at the top of the door as shown in Fig. -l to'facilita te initial tilting inovement or the unit 17.

' While the' foregoing description has' referred to compartrnents ztl and swinging doors 2% toricontroliling access ,advantageous in providing more comfortable sleeping facilities if the unit is to be used regularly as a bed.

A significant feature of my device, which provides means for properly supporting the tiltable unit 17 in both the vertical and horizontal positions thereof, is the combination leg and stop member 31 which is pivotally secured to the outer edge of the frame 18 by suitable hinges 32. The leg or stop member 31 is of L-shaped contour in cross section, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, and extends throughout the length of the frame 18 as seen in Fig. l. The leg and stop member 31 swings from a position as shown in Fig. 3 wherein the short rail 33 is in bearing engagement with the frame part 26 and the long rail 34 protrudes outwardly from the frame 18 to form a leg, to the position as shown in Fig. 2 in which the long rail 34 is in bearing engagement with the frame 18 and the narrow rail 33 protrudes upwardly from the frame 18 for bearing engagement with a stop member 35 secured to the underside of the shelf or mantel 11. The engagement between the swinging leg and stop member 31 and the fixed stop 35 provides positive orientation of the swinging unit 17 when in the vertical tilted position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It will be apparent that the width of the wide rail 34 of the leg member 31 and the width of the front frame part 15 are so proportioned as to provide level support of the bed unit when in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 3. If desired the rail 34 may be provided with cutout portions 36 as seen in Fig. 4 of the drawing forming spaced legs 34' for contact with the floor. The cut-out portions 36 form space for the foot to extend under the unit, thus facilitating the making up of the bed. Legs 34 can be positioned at the ends of the rail 34 or at the ends and center as indicated in the drawing.

The outer side of the frame 18 preferably includes an elongated cut-out portion 37 centrally thereof forming a hand grip 38 for grasping the unit 17 in raising it from the horizontal position to the vertical position. In this connection it will be noted that the elevation of the hinge 16 and the extension of the unit 17 inwardly of the cabinet 10, beyond the hinge 16 provides a partial counterbalancing of the unit 17 so that relatively little effort is required in tilting the unit 17 from one position to the other.

The

hinges

16 and 32 have for purposes of illustration been shown as the elongated piano hinge type. It is to be understood, however, that various types of hinges can be employed, and suitable hinges of the concealed type which are invisible from the front of the unit. The doors 29 can also be mounted by various types of hinges including those of the invisible type.

- of the unit permit wide variation in the external design and styling which can be employed in adapting the unit to different interior decorating schemes.

Various changes and modifications in the combination furniture device herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the art and to the extent that such changes and modifications are embraced by the appended claims it is to be understood that they constitute part of my invention.

I claim:

1. A convertible bed and cabinet device comprising a cabinet part having a bottom member, end and rear walls, a narrow front wall portion transversing said cabinet part adjacent said bottom member, and an elongated and relatively low top shelf portion, the front of said cabinet comprising a panel section extending between and flush with said end walls and pivoted along one lower edge thereof to said narrow front wall portion for swinging movement from a vertical position to a horizontal position, movable means providing a vertical support for the free edge of said panel section when the same is in a horizontal position, a frame secured to said panel section forming a mattress compartment spaced inwardly from said panel section, said frame extending beyond the pivoted edge of said panel section when said panel section is in horizontal position and substantially to said bottom member when said panel section is in vertical position, and said mattress compartment being open at the side thereof opposed to said panel section exposing a mattress as a sleeping surface when in the horizontal position.

2. A convertible bed and cabinet device as defined in claim 1, wherein the movable means providing vertical support for the free edge of said panel section is an elongated member of L-shaped cross-sectional form extending the full length of said panel section, and pivotally secured thereto for swinging movement through an arc of one longer portion of said L-shaped member comprising leg means, and the other shorter position of said L-shaped member acting in one pivoted position thereof as a leg bracing means, and in the other position thereof as a closure and aligning means between the upper edge of said panel section and said top shelf portion.

3. A convertible bed and cabinet device as defined in claim 1, wherein the frame on said panel section includes partitioning means forming storage compartments between said mattress compartment and panel section, and said panel section having a plurality of doors providing access to said storage compartments.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS