US3508283A

US3508283A - Sofa bed

Info

Publication number: US3508283A
Application number: US724188A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert M Dukellis; Arthur R Fiori
Original assignee: Interlake Steel Corp
Current assignee: Interlake Steel Corp
Priority date: 1968-04-25
Filing date: 1968-04-25
Publication date: 1970-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 1987-04-28

Description

April 28, 1970 R'. M. DUKELLIS ET AL 3,508,283

SOFA BED 6 Sheetqs-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1968 April 28, 1970 R. M. DUKELLIS ET AL 3,508,283

SOFA BED Filed April 25, 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 g!!! (ign QI 5 N April 28, 1970 R, M DUKELUS ET AL 3,508,283

SOFA BED Filed April 25, 1968 GSheets-Sheet 5 April 2s, 1970 Filed April 25. 1968 R. M. DUKELLls ET Al.

SOFA BED 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 2s, 1970 R M DUKELLIS l ET AL 3,508,283

SOFA BED Filed April 25, 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 prl 28, 1970 R, M DUKELLIS ET A1. 3,508,283

SOFA BED Filed April 25, 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 /A/VENTOPS 7' TORNEI United States Patent O 3,508,283 SOFA BED Robert M. Dukellis, Whittier, and Arthur R. Fiori,

Downey, Calif., assignors to Interlake Steel Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 724,188 Int. Cl. A47c 17/22 U.S. Cl. 5-13 11 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A sofa bed of a type having folding bed mechanism concealed behind a iixed front rail on the base of the sofa bed when the folded bed mechanism is in its folded position. The folding bed mechanism includes improved linkage :arranged to minimize the vertical range of movement of the mechanism for lower seat and bed heights and to accommodate thicker mattresses and pillows and still permit convenient folding and unfolding over the irst front rail.- A double spring means is also provided for facilitating initiation of both folding and unfolding of the sofa bed.

This invention relates to an improved folding bed mechanism for a sofa bed of a type wherein the folding bed mechanism is entirely concealed behind a fixed front rail on the base of the sofa bed when the folding bed mechanism is in its folded position.

An important goal of furniture manufacturers is to produce sofa beds which have the outward appearance of standard sofas or davenports with no evidence that the sofa contains a folding bed structure. In the early development of convertible sofas, they were styled with a relatively high and square appearance with ample room behind the sofa bed front rail to conceal the folding bed mechanism that folded in four sections to a position above the sofa bed frame and which could be simply pivoted over to drop into a position behind the front rail. These four sectioned structures were practical because the innerspring mattress was then a novelty and users were satisfied even with a relatively thin pad or mattress that was easily rolled to accommodate the folding mechanism.

The high and bulky appearance in furniture styling is no longer the full vogue. Instead, the trend is to relatively low and deeply upholstered pieces and there has been greater demand for more comfortable sofa beds, thus requiring a thicker and more comfortable folding mattress which has imposed a greater difficulty in the design of the folding bed structure for sofa beds. Although some of the problems were overcome by the use of two front rails on the sofa bed with the upper front rail attached to the folding bed mechanism and the lower of the rails mounted in a iixed position on the sofa bed frame, with both rails being upholstered with trim boards, this longitudinal split caused by the use of two rails has made it obvious that the unit is a sofa bed rather than sa c-onventional sofa or davenport. Consequently, folding bed mechanisms have been provided which have eliminated the use of two front rails, but they have had other disadvantages.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved folding bed structure for a sofa bed which overcomes s-ome of the major difficulties associated with prior art folding bed structures.

Some of the disadvantages of known prior art structures are as follows:

(l) The low level of the hinge connection between the head section and the inner section of the folding bed frame part of the folding bed structure mechanism pivots or swings too low to the Hoor when the structure is being moved between its folded and unfolded positions. In fact, this level is so low that such mechanism commonly scrape the floor or rug, especially .a rug of deep pile. This is not only injurious to the oor or carpeting but the dragging makes it more difficult to operate the folding mechanism.

(2) It is common to have part of the folding linkage extending into the upper reaches of the sofa bed back where it minimizes the facility for accommodating the sofa bed to desirable styling, deeper and more comfortable sofa backs or the use of loose pillow backs.

(3) Both the seat and bed levels of existing sofas are higher than desired and this makes it difficult to provide thicker and more comfortable seat pillows and mattresses.

It is another object of this invention to overcome these disadvantages by providing higher low level swinging of the hinge connection between the head section and the inner section of the bed frame, by elimination of substantially all of the linkage mechanism in the upper reaches of the sofa back, and by providing improved mechanism with both lower seat and bed positions to permit the use of thicker and more comfortable seat pillows and mattresses and more versatile styling of sofa beds.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a folding bed mechanism for a sofa bed which is generally movable through a smaller vertical range of movement when folded or unfolded to thereby provide the lower seat and bed positions.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a folding bed mechanism which permits the head section of the mechanism to travel a path maximizing clearance l tween it and the back portions of the sofa bed frame in order to accommodate a thick mattress and clearance for it when the mechanism is moved between its sofa and bed positions.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved spring biasing arrangement for sofa bed employing two sets of springs. The iirst set is :arranged to assist in lifting the folded bed structure out of the sofa bed frame when it is desired to unfold the mechanism. The second set of springs is employed for assisting in lifting the outer bed section of the structure when folding the bed against the weight of the mattress and the mechanism. It also assists in preventing the bed, when being unfolded from dropping heavily on its center legs which can cause injury to the floor or carpeting.

Other advantages and objects of the invention can be understood upon reference to the accompanying drawings in which: j,

FIGURE 1 shows a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a sofa bed embodying the invention, the section being taken substantially along the line 1-1 of PIG. 7 with the upholstery illustrated in dotted outline;

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal vertical sectional view similar to FIG. l except with a portion of the outer sections of the folding mechanism partially folded;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIGS. l and 2, except that the folding structure is shown in an inclined partially folded position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 except that the folding mechanism is shown entirely folded into its position within the sofa bed frame;

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, except with part of the mechanism not in view and with the parts shown in positions with the folding mechanism slightly folded beyond the fully unfolded condition;

FIG. V6 shows a perspective view of the parts shown in their positions in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a horizontal sectional view viewed along the line 7 7 of FIG. l;

FIG. 8 shows a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 7, lon :an enlarged scale, illustrating particularly the supporting mechanism for the bed structure;

FIG. 9 shows a fragmenntary section view taken along the lines 9 9 of FIG. 3 and FIG. 10 shows a fragmentnary plan view of a corner portion of the bed as viewed along the line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

With reference to the drawings in greater detail, and referring first to FIGS. 1 and 9, the sofa bed of the present invention is provided 'with a wooden sofa bed frame, indicated generally at 10, the frame including a base 11, a back structure indicated generally at 12, and arm structures indicated generally at 13. The base portion includes a fixed front rail 14 having a planar top surface 14a, a fixed back panel 15, and xed end rails 16. The back structure 12 includes a slightly inclined top member 12a that extends forwardly from the back panel 15, and at the forward edge of the top member 12a are a plurality of inclined front frame bars 12b, the lower ends of.` which are connected by a bottom cross member 12C. The lower end of cross member 12C terminates in a plane which is spaced above the plane of the top surface 14a of front rail 14 by a distance which is only a small fraction of the height of the front rail. It will become evident from a description appearing hereinafter of the folding bed structure that the relationship between the top of the fixed front rail and the bottom crossbar of the back rest provides a very restricted space within which the bed structure must move between a fully folded position within the base of the frame and a partially unfolded position with certain portions of the bed structure disposed above the plane of the upper surface of the front rail. Heretofore, those skilled in the art did not think it was possible to utilize a fixed front rail of the height shown in the drawings with a folding bed structure of the type hereafter described. The inclined frame bars 12b occupy the proper position with respect to a vertical plane to afford a comfortable back position; and conventional upholstering U, illustrated in dot-dash lines in FIG. l, is secured to the upright frame bars 12b and the bottom cross member 12C. The arm structures 13 include end panels 13a and horizontal top rails 13b which are upholstered in the finished sofa bed unit.

Since the mechanism at both sides of the folding bed structure is identical, only the complete mechanism at one side of the structure is illustrated in the drawings, and it is to be understood that the side of the bed structure not shown in the drawings has an identical set of elements with those illustrated in the drawings and here described.

The folding hed mechanism includes a pair of mounting bracket :means indicated generally at 17, each said means including a main bracket 18 which is secured to one of the base end rails 16 by means of fasteners 18a. Adjacent the rear of the main bracket 18 is an upright bracket member 20 which is rigidly fixed in position by means of a xed brace 20a.

The folding bed structure, indicated generally at 21, includes a head bed section 22 having side rails 22b, an inner bed section 23, a hinged bed section 24 and an outer or foot bed section 25, which are foldably connected to one another by means of

pivots

22a, 23a and 24a. The folding bed structure is supported in the sofa bed frame for movement between the bed position of FIG. 1 and the sofa position of FIG. 4 by means of inner support arms, or

hanger links

26a and 26b which are pivoted together at pivot 26C. The first hanger link 26a is pivoted to the upright bracket member 20 at pivot 27 while the hanger link 26h is pivoted to the head bed section 22 at pivot 26d.

Also supporting the bed structure 21 in the sofa frame are forward support arms 29 which are pivoted at 30 on the bracket 18 and have pivots 31 at their upper ends. Head suspension links 32 are connected to the pivots 31 at one end to the head bed section 22 at the other `end by means of pivots 33. Bell crank levers 34 are pivotally connected at 35 to the inner bed section 23 and have arms 36 that are also pivotally connected to the upright supports arms 29 at the pivots 33. Also, the suspension means for the bed structure 21 includes first and second coordinating links 37a and 37b. First coordinating link 37a is pivoted on hanger link 26b at pivot 37C at one end and at its other end at pivot 37d to the support arm 29. The second coordinating link 37b is pivoted at pivot 37e to the hanger link 36a at one end and at its other end at pivot 37f to the support arm 29.

The bell crank lever 34 is guided on a headed stud 34a traveling in an arcuate slot 34b in the bell crank lever 34 in order to prevent lateral shifting of the bell crank lever 34 and the other links attached to it as the mechanism is folded and unfolded. Likewise, as seen iin FIG. 1, the head suspension links 32 are offset in their intermediate regions so that they rest upon the head section 22 and the inner section 23 in the region of the pivot 22a to lock the

bed sections

22 and 23 against upward movement past the horizontal at the pivot 22a when weight is concentrated near the head of the bed, as by a person sitting up in bed leaning against the upholstered back.

As is customary in four-section folding beds, the bed first unfolds from the sofa position of FIG. 4 through the partially folded position of FIG. 3 and the intermediate position of FIG. 5 to a further intermediate position shown in FIG. 2 in which the head bed section 22 and the inner bed section 23 are coplanar and extend forwardly over the first front rail 14, While the hinge bed section 24 is substantially at right angles to the inner bed section 23 and the outer bed section 25 is inverted above the inner bed section 23. In this position, and in the bed position of FIG. l, intermediate legs 47 which are carried on the bed section pivots 23a occupy an upright supporting position with respect to the inner bed position 23 and movement of the intermediate legs 47 between their folded and supporting positions isproduced by intermediate leg actuating links 48 -which are pivotally connected at 49 to second arms 50 of the bell cranks 34 and which are pivotally connected at 51 to the intermediate legs 47.

Comparison of FIGS. l, 3 and 4 shows that in moving from folded position to bed position the pivots 26d that connect the second hanger link 26b with the head bed frame 22 move from a position rear of and substantially above the pivots 27, to a position forward of and substantially above the pivots 27. This differs from other folding bed structures in which the pivotal connection between the hanger links and the head bed section 22b has commonly been either a substantial distance below the pivots 27 or in horizontal alignment therewith in bed position. With this arrangement, the inner end of the head bed section 22b, and the top edge of a mattress supported on the folding bed structure can easily clear the lower edge of the back frame bottom cross-member 12C during movement of the bed structure between intermediate position and sofa position.

It will be noted that when moving from the fully folded position shown in FIG. 4 to the partially folded position shown in FIG. 3, the bed sections 22-25 swing as a unit on the

hanger arms

26a and 26b and forward support arms 29, and therey is no relative movement between the bed sections 22-25 so that they occupy the same relative relationship in the partially folded position in FIG. 3 as in the fully folded position of FIG. 4. The lengths of

hanger arms

26a and 26b are related to the lengths of the forward support arms 29 in such a manner that the locus of pivots

23a connecting sections

23 and 24 is substantially vertical in moving from the fully folded position of FIG. 4 to the partially folded position of FIG. 3. The relationship of the length of

hanger arms

26a and 26b to the lengths of the forward supporting arms 29 enables the bed structure 21 to move to the steeply inclined position shown in FIG. 3 'without interference with the fixed front rail 14 or the backrest crossbar 12C. Additionally, it will be noted that bell crank 34 occupies the same position relative to inner bed section 23 in both the FIGS. 3 and 4 positions, so that the unfolding of the intermediate legs 47 is not initiated until after the bed structure 21 reaches the position of FIG. 3. It is important that the unfolding of legs 47 is delayed until the bed structure 21 is moved to a position where the unfolding of legs 47 will not interfere with the fixed front rail 14.

When the bed structure 21 is in the intermediate position, wherein the head bed section 22 and the inner bed section 23 are coplanar and extend forwardly over the fixed front rail 14, while the hinge bed section 24 is substantially at right angles to the inner bed section 23, it may be further converted to bed position by grasping the end of the outer bed section 25 and turning said bed section and the hinge bed section 24 outwardly to the bed position of FIG. 1, in which they are coplanar with the other bed sections. As best seen in FIG. 1, in bed position the outer bed section 25 is supported by outer legs 53 that are pivoted at 54 on said bed section, and folding or unfolding of the legs 53 is accomplished through links 55 that are pivotally connected at S6 to said outer legs and at 57 t0 the hinge bed section 24.

The use of two coordinating links, first coordinating link 37a and second coordinating link 37b, in combination with the two hanger links 26a and 2617 instead of a single hanger link, provides a linkage motion in which the low level indicated at 100 in FIG. 3 of the pivot connection between

bed sections

22 and 23 is higher than on prior devices using other linkage arrangements. This is advantageous because it permits the sofa bed to be constructed lower to the floor without deleterious rubbing of this pivot portion on the oor or carpet. This linkage also provides the advantage of lower seat and bed positions which permits the use of thicker and more comfortable seat pillows and mattress. In other words, even though the bed mechanism must be elevated over the front rail 14 to move -between the bed and sofa positions, the linkage provided permits this to be accomplished within a smaller vertical range of movement of the

bed sections

22 and 23.

When folding and unfolding the 4bed structure, it is desirable to minimize the effort required in either direction. In order to assist in the elevation of the unfolded bed structure in bed position, as shown in FIG. l, a tension spring 58 is provided between a projecting portion 20b on the upright bracket member 20 and the support arm 29. As an example, it has been determined that the use of this spring can reduce the lifting force from about 65 pounds to 30 pounds at the end of the outer bed section 25 when a mattress is in place. A double set of springs `59 is provided between a bracket 60 at the inner end of second coordinating link 37b and a `bracket 61 attached to the forward support arm 29. A double set is employed because one spring would require too large a diameter. This set of springs '9 assist in urging the folded bed section from its completely folded position of FIG. 4 to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 3. Furthermore, these

springs

58 and 59, when under tension, keep the linkage mechanism tight by eliminating any play or free movement at the pivots caused by loose fits of the parts. It should be observed that the springs 58 are under tension and the spring sets 59 are slackened when the bed fram-e is in the position as shown in FIG. l. The opposite condition exists when the bed frame is in the position as shown in FIG. 4 where the springs 58 are slackened and the spring sets 59 are under tension.

The invention is defined by the appending claims in which we claim:

1. In a folding sofa bed, in combination: a base having a fixed rear rail, a pair of fixed end rails, and a fixed front rail; a folding 4bed structure including a head bed section,

an inner bed section pivoted on the outer end of the head section, a hinge bed section pivoted on the outer end of the inner section, and an outer bed section pivoted on the outer end of the hinge section, said hinge and outer sections being movable between a coplanar bed position and a partially folded position with the hinge section generally upright and the outer section inverted above the inner section; bed supporting means including a pair of first and second hanger links supporting the inner end of the head bed section on the end rails near the rear rail, a pair of support arms pivoted on the end rails near the front rail, a pair of head suspension links connecting the free ends of the support arms to the head section, a pair of first coordinating links connected between upper portions of the support arms and the second hanger links, and a pair of second coordinating links connected between intermediate portions of the support arms and the first hanger links, said bed supporting means being swingable to move the head and inner sections between a coplanar bed position and a folded position with the head section generally upright at the rear of the base and the inner section within and at the bottom of the =base.

2. In a folding sofa bed as defined by claim 1 characterized by, and a pulling linkage actuated by swinging movement of th-e bed supporting means to pull the outer section substantially into parallelism with the inner section as the bed is folded into the base, said bed supporting means and said pulling linkage being coordinated to position the outer section wholly beneath the plane of the top surface of the base front rail in folded position.

3. In a folding sofa :bed as defined by claim 1 characterized by, first bias means reacting against the support arms to urge them into one direction to assist in overcoming the forces resisting folding of the folding bed structure, and second bias means reacting against the support arms to urge them into the opposite direction to assist in overcoming the forces resisting unfolding of the folding :bed structure.

4. In a folding sofa bed as defined by claim 3 characterized by, said rst and second bias means being springs.

5. In a folding sofa bed as defined by claim 2 characterized by, first bias means reacting against the support arms to urge them into one direction to assist in overcoming the forces resisting folding of the folding .bed structure, and second bias means reacting against the support arms to urge them into the opposite direction -to assist in overcoming the forces resisting unfolding of the folding bed structure.

6. In a folding sofa bed, in combination: a sofa bed frame, a folding bed structure on said frame and including a head section, an inner bed section pivoted on the outer end of the inner section, and an outer bed section pivoted on the outer end of the hinge section, said sections being movable between a coplanar bed position and a fully folded position within the sofa bed frame, first bias means reacting against certain of said sections to urge them in a direction toward bed position, and second bias means reacting against certain of said sec-tions to urge them in a direction toward fully folded position. l

7. In a folding sofa bed as defined by claim 6 characterized by, said bias means being springs.

8. In a folding soft bed, in combination: a base having a fixed rear rail, a pair of fixed end rails, and a fixed front rail; a folding bed structure including a head bed section pivoted on the inner end of an inner section, a hinge bed section pivoted on the outer end of the inner section, and an outer bed section pivoted on the outer end of the hinge section, said bed sections being movable from a fully folded position in which the head bed section is upright immediately inside the rear rail, the inner section is generally horizontal at the bottom of the base, the hinge `section is generally upright immediately behind the front rail, and the outer section is inverted substantially parallel to the inner section and below the top surface of the front rail, through an inclined, partially folded position in which all the bed sections are in substantially the same relationship to each other as in said folded position and the inner section is partially above the top of the front rail, to an intermediate position in which the connecting links and the inner section are coplanar and the hinge section and foot section occupy substantially the same positions as when fully folded; bed supporting means including a pair of first and second hanger links supporting the inner end of the head bed section on the end rails near the rear rail, a pair of support arms pivoted on the end rails near the front rail and having free ends, a pair of first suspension links connecting the free ends of the support arms to the head bed section, -rneans including a pair of intermediate suspension links connecting the free ends of said support arms to the inner section, and a pair of first coordinating links connected `between the support arms and the second hanger links-and a pair of second coordinating links connected between the support arms and the first hanger links, the bed supporting means being swingable to move the head and inner fbed sections between a coplanar bed position and a folded position with the head bed section generally upright at the rear of the base and the inner section within and at the bottom of the base.

9. In a folding sofa bed as defined by clairn 8 characterized by, first bias means reacting to urge folding of the bed structure when in its unfolded bed position, and second bias means reacting to urge unfolding of the bed structure when in its folded sofa position.

10. In a folding sofa bed, in combination: a base having a fixed rear rail, a pair of fixed end rails, a fixed front rail with a planar top surface, and a back frame that includes a fixed crossbar forward of the rear rail and in a horizontal plane that is above the plane of said top surface by a distance which is only a small fraction of the height of said front rail; a folding bed structure including a head section, and an inner bed section pivoted on the outer end of the head section, a hinge bed section pivoted on the outer end of the inner section, and an outer bed section pivoted on the outer end of the hinge section, said bed sections being movable from a fully folded position in which the connecting links are upright immediately inside the .rear rail and behind the crossbar, the inner section is generally horizontal at the bottom of the base, the hinge section is generally upright immediately behind the front rail, and the outer section is inverted substantially parallel to the inner section and below the top surface of the front rail, through an inclined partially folded position in which all the bed sections are in substantially the same relationship to each other as in said folded position and the inner section is partially above the top of the front rail, to an intermediate position in which the connecting links and the inner section are coplanar and the hinge section and foot section occupy substantially the same positions as when fully folded; bed supporting means including a pair of first and second hanger links supporting the inner ends of the head section on the end rails near the rear rail, a pair of support arms pivoted on the end rails near the front rail and having free ends, a pair of first suspension links connected the free ends of the support arms to the head section, means including a pair of intermediate suspension links connecting the free ends of the support arms to the inner section, and a pair of first coordinating links connected between the support arms and the second hanger links, and a pair of second coordinating links connected between the support arms and the first hanger links, the first and second coordinating links extending substantially parallel to each other when the bed structure is in its unfolded bed position, the support arms and the link-s cooperating to permit the head bed section to be moved under the fixed crossbar on the soft bed with substantial clearance between the head bed section and the fixed crossbar, and with substantial clearance between the head bed section and the sofa bed support.

11. In a folding sofa :bed as defined by claim 10 characterized by, first bias means reacting to urge folding of the bed structure when in its unfolded bed position, and second bias means reacting to urge unfolding of the bed structure whenin its folded sofa position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,209,378 10/1965 Laemmle 5-13 3,247,526 4/1966 Rogers 5--13 3,321,777 5/1967 Pokorny 5-13 3,380,083 4/1968 Mikos 5-13 CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner