US3205511A

US3205511A - Sofa bed

Info

Publication number: US3205511A
Application number: US220738A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fox Martin
Original assignee: Seng Co
Current assignee: Seng Co
Priority date: 1962-08-31
Filing date: 1962-08-31
Publication date: 1965-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 1982-09-14
Also published as: DE1429397A1; GB966669A; FR1353977A

Description

sept. 14, 1965 M, FOX 3,205,511

Jfffrzzeys Sept. 14, 1965 M. Fox 3,205,511

SOFA BED Filed Aug. 31, 1962 5 sheets-sheet 2 M. FOX

SOFA BED 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 WN NN 9N WN im #L ,\1QN

mK. m W u -U m s @d JKM@ www@ n f sept. 14, 1965 Filed Aug. 5l, 1962 United States Patent O 3,205,511 SOFA BED Martin Fox, Chicago, Ill., assigner to The Seng Company, a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 3l, 1962, Ser. No. 220,738 17 Claims. (Cl. 5-41) This invention relates to a sofa bed, and in particular it relates to an operating linkage for a sofa bed which permits it to be readily converted from sofa position to bed position by elevating the seat frame with respect to the base.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a linkage for a sofa bed which permits it to be readily converted from sofa to bed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide Va linkage which positively prevents movement of the sofa seat and back from sofa position toward bed position in response to a rearward force applied to any part of the back.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a linkage which permits movement of the sofa seat and back from sofa position toward bed position only when a force is applied which elevates the seat with respect to the base.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a linkage for a sofa bed in which a tension spring eases initial movement of the parts from sofa position toward bed position, and vice versa.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a linkage for a sofa bed which includes a foot pedal actuating lever which may be manually moved to give the seat frame an initial movement from sofa position toward bed position.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a sofa bed which includes the linkage of the present invention, the unit being in sofa position, and cushions being illustrated in broken lines;

FIG. 2 is a view like FIG. l with the unit in bed position;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken substantially as illustrated along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2; an-d FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section taken substantially as illustrated along the line 4 4 of FlG. 2.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, a sofa bed includes a rectangular, leg supported base frame l@ having ends il, a front rail 121, and a rear rail i3; a rectangular seat frame llt having ends 15, a front rail 16 and a rear rail 17; and a back frame i8 having ends 19, a top or rear rail 2t), and a bottom rail 2li. A seat cushion CS and a back cushion CB are shown in FIGS. l and 2 in broken lines. The seat frame M and back frame 18 are mounted on the base frame it) by means of linkage, indicated generally at Z2, which constitutes the subject matter of the present invention. Since there are identical linkages Z?. at opposite ends of the frames, only one is illustrated and described in detail.

A mounting plate 23 secured to base frame end rail 1l carries a forward pivot 24 for a forward link Z5, a rearward pivot 26 for a rearward link 27, and an intermediate pivot 28 for a guide link 29.

End rail of seat frame lli, adjacent the rear seat rail 17, has an upstanding seat hinge plate 30, while end rail 19 of back frame 18 carries a back hinge plate 3l adjacent the back trarne bottom rail Zi, said hinge plate 3l extending forwardly in sofa position, upwardly in bed position, and being connected to seat hinge plate 3@ by a hinge pivot pin 32.

The upper end of forward link 25 is pivoted on seat hinge plate 30 at 33, the upper end of rearward link 27 is pivoted on back hinge plate 3l at 34, while the upper 3,2ll5,5ll Patented Sept. 14,1965

ICC

end of guide link 29 is connected to hinge pivot 32. The location of the various pivots and the disposition of the links in sofa and in bed position provide the desired mode of operation.

Referring iirst to FIG. l, forward link 25 is seen to occupy a rearwardly inclined sofa position such that an extension of the line of the link 25 passes through the hinge pivot 32, while in that position the rearward link has its upper pivot 34 above said extension of the line of the link 2S, while the line of the guide link 29 is upwardly and rearwardly from the base pivot 28 to the hinge pivot 32, with an extension of said line of the guide link passing below and behind the upper pivot 34 for the rearward link 27. A stop 29a on mounting plate 23 prevents eX- cessive rearward movement of the link 29.

The foregoing disposition of the linkage 22, and in particular the positioning of the upper pivot 34 for the rearward link above the projected line through pivot-s 24, 33 and 32 and `above and forward of the projected line through

pivots

28 and 32, means that initial movement of the parts toward bed position requires that the seat frame ld be elevated with respect to the base frame 10, to move forward link pivot 33 and hinge pivot 32 both forwardly and upwardly past a line drawn from pivot 24 to pivot 34. Mere application of rearward pressure on any part of back frame 13 (even the extreme upper end thereof) annot start the movement from sofa position toward bed position.

Referring especially to FIG. 2, in bed position the elements of the linkage 22 act as a truss'support for the seat frame 14 and back frame 18 to hold said frames in horizontal position resting on the base front rail 12 and back rail 13, respectively.

To ease initial movement of the unit both from sofa position and from bed position, a tension spring 35 has one end connected to an arm 25a of link 25, while its opposite end is connected to a Spring stud 36 at a more forward point on base end rail 11. Link 25 is actually a bell crank, the first arm Z5 of which is connected to the seat hinge plate 30 and the second arm 25a of which is seen to incline upwardly from pivot 24 in sofa position and downwardly from said pivot in bed position. Thus, spring 35 in moving between sofa and bed positions crosses a line between pivot 24 and spring stud 36, and is under tension in both said positions so as to resiliently urge the linkage 22 from each position toward the other, thus easing initial movement in either direction.

Likewise, initial movement from sofa position is facilitated by use of a pedal lever 37 which is pivoted at 38 on linkage mounting plate 23. A free end 39 of lever 37 extend rearwardly from beneath base frame 10 at one end of said frame so as to be readily accessible for application of foot pressure, and the opposite end 40 of the pedal lever is best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4 to be turned inwardly beneath the rear end portion of one of the seat frame end rails 15 so that pivoting the lever to bring its end 4G into contact with the seat frame elevates said frame and starts the movement of said frame and the back frame toward bed position. A tension spring 41 secured to lever 37 and to a stud 42 on back rail 13 of the base frame urges the lever to an idle position as seen in FIG. l, while foot pressure on the free end 39 pivots the lever to the broken line position vof FIG. 1 where it contacts the seat frame.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. ln a convertible sofa bed having rectangular base, seat and back frames, linkage means mounting said seat and back frames on said base frame for selective movement between a sofa position and a bed position, and linkage means comprising, in combination: a pair of hinge means each including a hinge pivot connecting the lower end of the back frame of the rear of the seat frame; a pair of forward links each of which is pivotally connected to one of the hinge means forward of and below the hinge pivot adjacent the rearward end of the seat frame and pivoted on the end of the base frame for movement between a rearwardly inclined sofa position and a forwardly inclined bed position; a pair of rearward links each of which is pivotally mounted on an end of the base frame near the rear thereof and pivotally connected to one of the hinge means at a point which is above and behind the hinge pivot in sofa position and below and behind said hinge pivot in bed position; and a pair of guide links each of which is pivotally connected to a hinge pivot and to an end of the base frame between the forward and rearward links, said guide links occupying a rearwardly inclined .sofa position and a slightly forwardly inclined bed position, said linkage means in sofa position locking the seat and back frames against being moved toward bed position by an application of rearward pressure on said back frame, whereby movement of the seat and back frames from sofa position toward bed position may be initiated only by elevating the rear of the seat frame relative to the base frame.

2. The combination of claim 1 which includes a tension spring connected to the forward link and to a more forward point on the base frame, said spring in its travel between sofa and bed positions moving from one side to the other of a straight line which connects the pivotal connection of the forward link on the base frame with said more forward point on the base frame.

3. The combination of claim 2 in which the connection of the spring onto the forward link is above said line in sofa position and below said line in bed position.

4. The combination of claim 1 which includes an loperating lever pivoted on the base frame with one free end projecting outwardly from the base frame and an opposite end positioned beneath the rear of the seat frame to elevate the rear of the seat frame relative to the base frame to start movement of the frame to bed position when the lever is pivoted from an idle position, and spring means urging said lever toward idle position.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which the operating lever is a foot pedal device pivoted on an end` of the base frame, the free end projects slightly to the rear of the base frame, and the opposite end in idle position is spaced slightly below the seat frame.

6. In a convertible sofa bed having rectangular basey sea-t and back frames, linkage means mounting said seat and back frames onsaid base frame for selective movement between a sofa position and a bed position, said linkage means comprising, in combination a pair of seat hinge plates secured to the ends of said seat frame near the rear thereof; a pair of back hinge plates secured to the ends of said back frame near the bottom thereof; a hinge pivot connecting each back hinge plate to a seat hinge plate; a pair of forward links each of which has an upper pivot connected to one of the seat hinge plates forward of and below said hinge pivot adjacent the rearward end of the seat frame and a lower pivot on an end of the base frame for movement between a rearwardly inclined sofa position and a forwardly inclined bed position; a pair of rearward links each of which has a lower pivot mounted on an end of the base frame adjacent the rear thereof and an upper pivot connected to one of the back hinge plates at a point which is above and behind the hinge pivot in a sofa position and below and behind said hinge pivot in bed position, a line projected from the forward link lower pivot to the rearward link upper pivot passing above the forward link upper pivot and the hinge pivot in sofa position; and a pair of guide links each of which is pivotally connected to one of the hinge pivots and to an end of the base between the forward and rearward links, said guide links occupying a rearwardly inclined sofa position and a slightly forwardly inclined bed position, said linkage means in sofa position locking the seat and back frames against being moved toward bed position by an application of rearward pressure on said back frame, whereby movement of the sea-t and back frames from sofa position toward bed position may be initiated only by elevating the rear of the seat frame relative to the base frame.

7. The combination of claim 6 in which each forward link is a bell crank having a irst arm pivotally connected to the hinge means and a second arm which is inclined up from the pivotal connection of said link on the base in sofa position and down from said pivotal connection in bed position, and in which a tension spring connects said second arm to a more 'forward point on the base frame which is generally in the same horizontal plane with said pivotal connection.

8. The combination of claim 7 which includes an operating lever pivoted on the base frame with one free end projecting outwardly from the base frame and an opposite end positioned to elevate the rear of the seat frame relative to the base to start movement of the frames to bed position when the lever is pivoted from an idle position, and spring means urging said lever toward idle position.

9. In a convertible sofa bed having rectangular base, seat and back frames, linkage means mounting said seat and back frames on said base frame for selective movement between a sofa position and a bed position, said linkage means comprising, in combination: a pair of hinge means each including a hinge pivot connecting the lower end of the back frame to the rear of the seat frame; a pair of forward links each pivotally connected -to one of the hinge means forward of and below the hinge pivot and pivoted on the ends of the base frame for movement between a rearwardly inclined sofa position and a forwardly inclined bed position, a projection of each of the line of said links in sofa position passing through the hinge pivot; a pair of rearward links each having a lower pivot on an end of the base frame near the rear thereof and an upper pivot on one of the hinge means at a point which is above said projection of the line of the forward link in sofa position, said point being below and behind the hinge pivot in bed position; and a pair of guide links each of which is pivotally connected to a hinge pivot and to an end of the base frame between the forward and rearward links, a projection of the line of each guide link in sofa position passing below and behind the upper pivot of a rearward link, said guide links in bed position being inclined slightly forward, said linkage means in sofa position locking the seat and back frames against being moved toward bed position by an application of rearward pressure on said back frame, whereby the seat and back frames may be moved from sofa to bed position only by elevating the seat frame relative to the base frame.

10. The combination of claim 9 which includes a tension spring connected to the forward link and to a more forward point on the base frame, said spring in its travel between sofa and bed positions moving from one side to the other of a straight line which connects the pivotal connection of the forward link on the base frame with said more forward point on the base frame.

11. The combination of claim 10 in which the connection of the spring onto the forward link is above the last named straight line in sofa position and below said line in bed position.

12. The combination of claimy 9 which includes an operating lever pivoted on the base frame with one free end projecting outwardly from the base frame and an opposite end positioned to elevate the seat frame relative to the base frame to start movement of the frames to bed position when the lever is pivoted from an idle position, and spring means urging said lever toward idle position.

13. The combination of claim 12 in which the operating lever is a foot pedal device pivoted on an end of the base frame, the free end projects slightly to the rear of the base frame, and the opposite end in idle position is spaced slightly below the seat frame.

14. The combination of claim 9 in which each forward link is a bell crank having a first arm pivotally connected to the hinge means and to the base frame and a second arm which is inclined up from the pivotal connection of said link on the base frame in sofa position and down from said pivotal connection in bed position, and in which a tension spring connects said second arm to a more forward point on the base frame which is generally in the same horizontal plane with said last named pivotal connection.

15. The combination of claim 14 which includes an operating lever pivoted on the base frame with one free end projecting outwardly from the base frame and an opposite end positioned to elevate the seat frame relative to the base frame to start movement of the frames to bed position when the lever is pivoted from an idle position, and spring means urging said lever toward idle position.

16. In a convertible sofa bed having rectangular base, seat and back frames, linkage means mounting said seat and back frames on said base frame for selective movement between a sofa position and a bed position, said linkage means comprising, in combination: a pair of hinge means each including a hinge pivot connecting the lower end of the back frame to the rear of the seat frame; a pair of forward links each pivotally connected to one of the hinge means forward of and below the hinge pivot adjacent the rearward end of the seat frame and pivoted on the ends of the base frame for movement between a rearwardly inclined sofa position and a forwardly inclined bed position; a pair of rearward links each having a lower pivot on an end of the base frame near the rear thereof and an upper pivot on one of the hinge means at a point which is above and behind the hinge pivot in sofa position and below and behind the hinge pivot in bed position; and a pair of guide links each of which is pivotally connected to a hinge pivot and to an end of the base frame between the forward and rearward links, a projection of the line of each guide link in sofa position passing below and behind the upper pivot of a rearward link in sofa position, said guide links in bed position being inclined slightly forward, said linkage means in sofa position locking the seat and back frames against being moved toward bed position by an application of rearward pressure on said back frame, whereby the seat and back frames may be moved from sofa to bed position only by elevating the seat frame relative to the base frame.

17. The combination of claim 16 in which each hinge pivot is below a line projected from the rearward link upper pivot to the forward link pivotal connection with the base frame in sofa position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,418,055 5/22 Bayer 5-18 2,340,845 2/ 44 Hampton 5-48 3,107,364 10/ 63 Simmons 5-41 FOREIGN PATENTS 222,830 8/ 62 Austria.

551,589 10/56 Belgium.

630,814 11/61 Canada.

806,416 12/58 Great Britain.

92,615 10/58 Norway.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.