US3357030A

US3357030A - Foldable bed

Info

Publication number: US3357030A
Application number: US575352A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gary L George
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-08-26
Filing date: 1966-08-26
Publication date: 1967-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 1984-12-12

Description

Dec. 12, 1967 G. 1.. GEORGE FOLDABLE BED Filed Aug. 26, 1966 2 Sheets-Shee l u PM g m //v Viz N701? 64/24 A. 61501965 Dec. 12, 1967 G. 1.. GEORGE 3, 7,030

FOLDABLE BED Filed Aug. 26, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 5 .2 19. 8 Mum/70 I flrme/i/zs s United States Patent 3,357,030 FOLDABLE BED Gary L. George, 208 19th St. N., Northwood, Iowa 50459 Filed Aug. 26, 1966, Ser. No. 575,352 3 Claims. (Cl. ---41) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A foldable bed comprises a frame member having horizontal and vertical portions, three sheet members hingedly secured together and normally supported by the frame member, and three cushion members foldably secured together being supported by the sheet members. The cushion members and the sheet members are movable between a bed position with all sheet members and cushion members lying horizontally, and a chair position with at least one cushion member and one sheet member extending upwardly and rearwardly from a horizontal cushion member and a horizontal sheet member respectively.

This invention relates to a foldable bed and more particularly to a foldable bed of the couch type which may be either used as a couch or as a bed.

Conventional folding beds of the general type disclosed herein are not comfortable mainly because of the construction of the supporting frame and cushion. The supporting frame of the conventional folding beds do not provide the ultimate in the angular relationship between the seat and back portions thereof. The cushions do not provide a smooth flat surface when the device is folded to its bed position. Additionally, the conventional folding beds are of complicated design and the cost of manufacturing the same is quite high.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a foldable bed.

, A further object of this invention is to provide a foldable bed which is comprised of a supporting frame, a foldable sheet means and a foldable cushion means.

A further object of this invention is to provide a foldable bed which has a back portion and a seat portion, the back portion being inclined at approximately. 110 degrees with respect to the seat portion when the device is being used as a couch or the like.

A further object of this invention is to provide a foldable bed which is easily folded from one position to another position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a foldable bed which is of relatively simple design.

A further object of this invention is to provide a foldable bed which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the device;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the device as would be seen on line 2-2 of FIG. 1, at an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the device with the cushions removed therefrom;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the foldable sheet means;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the device in a bed position with the cushions removed;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the device when folded to its bed position, the cushions being provided thereon;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view as would be seen on line 7 7 of FIG. 6, at an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 8 is an end view of the cushions of the device illustrating the foldable relationship therebetween.

The numeral 10 generally designates the bed of this invention which may be folded from the seat position seen in FIG. 1 to the bed position of FIG. 6. Bed 10 is comprised of two end members 11 and 13 which are secured together by means of

lower frame members

15 and 17 and a back frame member 19, all of which extend therebetween. An end frame member 21 is secured to each of end members 11 and 13 and extend between the ends of

lower frame members

15 and 17. As best seen in FIG. 2, lower frame member 15 is spaced rearwardly of the front of the bed.

Three

sheet members

23, 25 and 27 are hingedly secured together as seen in the drawings. As seen in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7, sheet member 23 has a frame member 29 secured to its lower forward end by any convenient means and that a plurality of leg members 31 are secured thereto and extend downwardly therefrom.

Three

cushion members

33, 35 and 37 are pivotally secured together as best seen in FIG. 8. Preferably, each of

cushion members

33, 35 and 37 are constructed of a polyurethane and covered with upholstery material. When such is the case, the upholstery covers would be secured together in the manner seen in FIG. 8 by any convenient means such as stitching or the like. For purpose of description, cushion member 33 includes a front edge 39, back edge 41, top 43 and bottom 45; cushion member 35 includes a front edge 47, back edge 49, top 51 and bottom 53; and cushion member 37 includes a front edge 55, back edge 57, top 59 and bottom 61. It should be noted that the back edge 49 and the front edge 55 of

cushion members

35 and 37 respectively are not transverse to the planes of the top and bottom surfaces thereof, but on the contrary, are inclined with respect thereto. Preferably, back edge 49 of cushion member 35 is constructed so as to provide an approximate 70 degrees angle between it and the plane of bottom 53 while front edge 55 of cushion member 37 is inclined so as to provide an approximate degrees angle between it and the plane of bottom 61. Back edge 57 of cushion member 37 is parallel to front edge 55 and therefore forms an angle of approximately 70 degrees with the plane of bottom 61.

Sheet members

23 and 25 may be hinged together by means of an elongated piano hinge 63 extending between the upper surfaces of

sheet members

23 and 25 as best illustrated in FIG. 4.

Sheet members

25 and 27 are hingedly secured together by means of the piano hinge 65 secured to the abutting edges at the lower surfaces thereof.

When the bed It! is folded to the seat position of FIG. 2, frame member 29 abuts frame member 15 to limit the rearward movement of the sheet members with respect to the end members 11 and 13. A dust rufiie 67 is secured to the forward edge of sheet member 23 as seen in FIG. 2 if desired to create a more attractive bed. When the bed is used as a seat member, sheet member 23 rests upon the frame formed by

frame members

21 and 15. Sheet member 25 is inclined upwardly at approximately an angle of 110 degrees with respect to sheet member 23 while sheet member 27 hangs downwardly in a non-operative condition. As seen in FIG. 2, sheet member 27 engages back frame member 19 to limit the rearward pivotal movement of

sheet members

25 and 27. When the bed is used as a seat member, cushion member 33 rests upon sheet member 23 and cushion mernber 35 engages and is supported by sheet member 25 while cushion member 37 has been pivoted forwardly over in front of the middle cushion 35 as best seen in FIG. 2. It can be seen in FIG. 2 that the inclined back edge 5'7 of cushion member 37 abuts the upper surface of cushion member 33. It can also be seen in FIG. 2 that the

edges

49 and 55 of

cushion members

35 and 37 respectively form a continuous flat surface at the upper end of the cushions serving as a back supporting means. Thus, the angle between

cushion members

33 and 37 is approximately 110 degrees which is the optimum angle between seat and back portions in a chair device.

The bed is folded from the seat position of FIG. 2 to the bed position of FIG. 7 by simply grasping one of the legs 31 and sliding the sheet members outwardly to a point where hinge 63 rests on framemember and hinge 65 rests on end frame member 21, which causes the sheet members to assume the position seen in FIG. 7. The cushion members are then simply pivoted until they also assume the flat horizontal position seen in FIG. 7. It can be seen in FIG. 7 that the cushion members provide a continuous smooth upper surface as well as continuous joints between the individual cushion members to provide the ultimate in appearance and comfort. When it is desired to refold the bed so that it may be used as a seat member, it is simply necessary to lay

cushion members

35 and 37 on top of cushion member 32 and to grasp the hand-hold 69 which is formed in sheet member 25 and to pull the sheet members to the position seen in FIG. 3.

It can be appreciated that an extremely etficient and simple folding bed has been provided which provides the ultimate in appearance and comfort with a minimum of associated parts. The bed can be economically manufactured and will be extremely durable in use. The configuration of the cushion members insures that the cushion members will provide a continuous smooth upper surface when the cushion members are in the horizontal position and also insures that an angle of approximately 110 degrees will be formed between the cushion which serves as a seat cushion and the cushions which serve as back cushions.

Thus it can be seen that the device accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my foldable bed without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a foldable bed,

a supporting frame means including a horizontal disposed frame assembly and frame member disposed thereabove,

a sheet means comprised of a plurality of rigid sheet members secured together by hinge means, said sheet means being movable on said supporting frame means between first and second positions, said sheet means being horizontally disposed on said frame means with all of said hinge means resting on said horizontal frame assembly when in said first position thereby serving as a bed, said sheet means having one of its sheet members in a horizontal position on said frame assembly and a second sheet member extending upwardly therefrom and operatively supported by said frame member when in said second position,

and a cushion means comprised of front, intermediate, and rear cushion members pivotally secured together and being movable between first and second positions on said sheet means, said cushion means being horizontally disposed on said sheet means when said sheet means and said cushion means are in their first positions, said front cushion member being horizontal with said intermediate cushion member, said rear cushion member and said second sheet member parallel to each other and extending upwardly and rearwardly from said front cushion member when said cushion means and said sheet means are in their second positions.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said front, intermediate, and rear cushion members each have front and rear edges, said rear cushion member being positioned forwardly of said intermediate cushion member when said cushion means is in its second position, said front edge of said rear cushion member and said rear edge of said intermediate cushion member forming a horizontally disposed fiat surface.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein the rear edge of said rear cushion member engages the top horizontal surface of said front cushion member and is parallel thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5,641 6/1848 Emery 297-320 X 2,257,497 9/1941 Gertler 5-46 X 2,866,207 12/1958 Smilow ct a1. 5-18 3,002,198 10/1961 Kaiser 5-41 3,060,460 10/1962 Broyles 5-41 X 3,124,388 3/1964 Berlin 5-41 X CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A FOLDABLE BED, A SUPPORTING FRAME MEANS INCLUDING A HORIZONTAL DISPOSED FRAME ASSEMBLY AND FRAME MEMBER DISPOSED THEREABOVE, A SHEET MEANS COMPRISED OF A PLURALITY OF RIGID SHEET MEMBERS SECURED TOGETHER BY HINGE MEANS, SAID SHEET MEANS BEING MOVABLE ON SAID SUPPORTING FRAME MEANS BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, SAID SHEET MEANS BEING HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED ON SIAD FRAME MEANS WITH ALL OF SAID HINGE MEANS RESTING ON SAID HORIZONTAL FRAME ASSEMBLY WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION THEREBY SERVING AS A BED, SAID SHEET MEANS HAVING ONE OF ITS SHEET MEMBERS IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION ON SAID FRAME ASSEMBLY AND A SECOND SHEET MEMBER EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM AND OPERATIVELY SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAME MEMBER WHEN IN SAID SECOND POSITION, AND A CUSHION MEANS COMPRISED OF FRONT, INTERMEDIATE, AND REAR CUSHION MEMBERS PIVOTALLY SECURED TOGETHER AND BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS ON SAID SHEET MEANS, SAID CUSHION MEANS BEING HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED ON SAID SHEET MEANS WHEN SAID SHEET MEANS AND SAID CUSHION MEANS ARE IN THEIR FIRST POSITIONS, SAID FRONT CUSHION MEMBER BEING HORIZONTAL WITH SAID INTERMEDIATE CUSHION MEMBER, SAID REAR CUSHION MEMBER AND SAID SECOND SHEET MEMBER PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY FROM SAID FRONT CUSHION MEMBER WHEN SAID CUSHION MEANS AND SAID SHEET MEANS ARE IN THEIR SECOND POSITIONS.