Convertible settee-bed

Claim 2

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: means for locking said back rest in the bed position including means producing interference between the first and second control links as the linkage nears bed position.

Claim 3

The settee-bed of claim 1 in which the means producing interference comprises means for locking one of the control links to the back rest to convert the linkage from a four bar linkage to a three bar linkage as it nears bed position.

Claim 4

The settee-bed of claim 2 in which the locking means includes a pin on the back rest which engages said one of the control links as the linkage means nears bed position.

Claim 5

The settee-bed of claim 1 in which the means producing interference places one control link in tension and the other in compression as the linkage means nears bed position.

Claim 6

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: means for locking one of the control links to the back rest to convert the linkage from a four bar linkage to a three bar linkage as it nears bed position.

Claim 7

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: means for locking one of the control links to the back rest to convert the linkage from a four bar linkage to a three bar linkage as it nears bed position.

Claim 8

The settee-bed of claim 5 in which the locking means includes a pin on the back rest which engages said one of the control links as the linkage means nears bed position.

Claim 9

The settee-bed of claim 5 in which one control link is in tension and the other is in compression after the one control link is locked to the back rest.

Claim 10

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, said first control link being pivoted adjacent the front of the fixed link and adjacent the side of the back rest that is down in settee position, and said second control link being pivoted adjacent the rear of the fixed link and adjacent the side of the back rest that is up in settee position, the improvement comprising: means for locking said first control link to said back rest while leaving the second control link free, and thus convert the linkage from a four bar linkage to a three bar linkage as it nears bed position.

Claim 11

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, said first control link being pivoted adjacent the front of the fixed link and adjacent the side of the back rest that is down in settee position, and said second control link being pivoted adjacent the rear of the fixed link and adjacent the side of the back rest that is up in settee position, the improvement comprising: means for locking said first control link to said back rest while leaving the second control link free, and thus convert the linkage from a four bar linkage to a three bar linkage as it nears bed position.

Claim 12

The settee-bed of claim 8 in which the pivotal connection between the second control link and the back rest, during final movement into bed position, goes below a dead-center position aligned with the pivotal connections of both control links with the fixed link.

Claim 13

The settee-bed of claim 9 in which the first control link is compressed slightly And the second control link is placed under tension in the three bar linkage condition, said compression and said tension being relieved slightly after the aforesaid pivotal connection moves past said dead-center position.

Claim 14

The settee-bed of claim 8 which includes means limiting movement of the back rest to a horizontal position after the aforesaid pivotal connection moves past said dead-center position.

Claim 15

The settee-bed of claim 8 which includes hinge means pivotally connecting the front of the cushioned seat to the base frame, and seat control linkage means including an actuating link at each end of the base frame which is pivotally connected to one of the second control links, said seat control linkage means supporting the rear of the cushioned seat for generally vertical movement about the hinge means to shift the cushioned seat between an inclined settee position and a horizontal bed position as the back rest is moved between said positions.

Claim 16

The settee-bed of claim 12 in which the seat control linkage means includes a pair of roller links pivoted on the base frame, each of said roller links having a roller beneath an end of the seat near the rear thereof.

Claim 17

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: hinge means pivotally connecting the front of the cushioned seat to the base frame; and seat control linkage means including an actuating link at each end of the base frame which is pivotally connected to one of the control links, said seat control linkage means supporting the rear of the cushioned seat for generally vertical movement about the hinge means to shift the cushioned seat between an inclined settee position and a horizontal bed position as the back rest is moved between said positions.

Claim 18

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: hinge means pivotally connecting the front of the cushioned seat to the base frame; and seat control linkage means including an actuating link at each end of the base frame which is pivotally connected to one of the control links, said seat control linkage means supporting the rear of the cushioned seat for generally vertical movement about the hinge means to shift the cushioned seat between an inclined settee position and a horizontal bed position as the back rest is moved between said positions.

Claim 19

The settee-bed of claim 14 in which the seat control linkage means includes a pair of roller links pivoted on the base frame, each of said roller links having a roller beneath an end of the seat near the rear thereof.

Claim 20

The settee-bed of claim 15 in which the second control link includes a portion that overhangs its pivotal connection with the base, and in which the actuating link is pivotally connected to said overhanging portion of the second link.

Claim 21

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: means for locking said back rest in the bed position including means producing interference between the first and second control links as the linkage nears bed position; hinge means pivotally connecting the front of the cushioned seat to the base frame; and seat control linkage means including an actuating link at each end of the base frame which is pivotally connected to one of the control links, said seat control linkage means supporting the rear of the cushioned seat for generally vertical movement about the hinge means to shift the cushioned seat between an inclined settee position and a horizontal bed position as the back rest is moved between said positions.

Claim 22

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, and first and second control links at each end of the base frame which connect the back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: means for locking said back rest in the bed position including means producing interference between the first and second control links as the linkage nears bed position; hinge means pivotally connecting the front of the cushioned seat to the base frame; and seat control linkage means including an actuating link at each end of the base frame which is pivotally connected to one of the control links, said seat control linkage means supporting the rear of the cushioned seat for generally vertical movement about the hinge means to shift the cushioned seat between an inclined settee position and a horizontal bed position as the back rest is moved between said positions.

Claim 23

A dinette-bed comprising, in combination: a pair of confronting, spaced settee base frame means each of which includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage; a cushioned seat on each of said base frame means; a cushioned back rest associated with each of said base frame means, each of said back rests being a shiftable link of one of said four bar linkages; a set of back control links at each end of each base frame, each of said sets comprising a first control link and a second control link connecting a back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position and a horizontal cushion-up bed position; a movable dinette table; and means on the settee base frame means for removably mounting said dinette table beneath the two back rests to support the latter in bed position, the adjacent ends of said back rests abutting one another in bed position.

Claim 24

A dinette-bed comprising, in combination: a pair of confronting, spaced settee base frame means each of which includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage; a cushioned seat on each of said base frame means; a cushioned back rest associated with each of said base frame means, each of said back rests being a shiftable link of one of said four bar linkages; a set of back control links at each end of each base frame, each of said sets comprising a first control link and a second control link connecting a back rest to the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position and a horizontal cushion-up bed position; a movable dinette table; and means on the settee base frame means for removably mounting said dinette table beneath the two back rests to support the latter in bed position, the adjacent ends of said back rests abutting one another in bed position.

Claim 25

The dinette-bed of claim 18 which includes hinge means pivotally connecting the front of each cushioned seat to the associated base frame, and a set of seat control linkage means at each end of each base frame, each of said sets including an actuating link which is pivoted to one of the back control links, said sets of seat control linkage means supporting the rear of the cushioned seats for generally vertical movement about the hinge means to shift the cushioned seats between inclined settee positions and horizontal bed positions.

Claim 26

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, first control links at each end of the base frame which are pivoted near the front of the base frame and near the bottom of the back rest, second control links at each end of the base frame which are pivoted near the rear of the base frame and near the top of the back rest, said control lines supporting the back frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: stops on the base frame which are below the pivots between the first control links and said base frame, said stops supporting the second control links in bed position, the first control links being substantially horizontal in said position and the back rest being suspended in cantilever fashion entirely forward of the base frame.

Claim 27

In a settee-bed of the type which has a base frame that includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage, a cushioned seat, a cushioned back rest which is a shiftable link of said linkage, first control links at each end of the base frame which are pivoted near the front of the base frame and near the bottom of the back rest, second control links at each end of the base frame which are pivoted near the rear of the base frame and near the top of the back rest, said control lines supporting the back frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position behind the seat and a horizontal cushion-up bed position forward of the seat, the improvement comprising: stops on the base frame which are below the pivots between the first control links and said base frame, said stops supporting the second control links in bed position, the first control links being substantially horizontal in said position and the back rest being suspended in cantilever fashion entirely forward of the base frame.

Claim 28

The settee-bed of claim 20 in which the stops are vertically adjustable.

Claim 29

A dinette-bed comprising, in combination: a pair of confronting, spaced settee base frame means each of which includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage; a cushioned seat on each of said base frame means; a cushioned back rest associated with each of said base frame means, each of said back rests being a shiftable link of one of said four bar linkages; a set of back control links at each end of each base frame, each of said sets comprising a first control link which is pivoted near the front of the base frame and near the bottom of the back rest, and a second control link which is pivoted near the rear of the base frame and near the top of the back rest, said links mounting the back rest on the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position and a horizontal cushion-up bed position; stops on the base frames which are below the pivots between the first control links and said base frames, said stops supporting the second control links in bed position, the first control links being substantially horizontal in said position and the back rests being suspended in cantilever fashion entirely forward of the base frame.

Claim 30

A dinette-bed comprising, in combination: a pair of confronting, spaced settee base frame means each of which includes a fixed link of a four bar linkage; a cushioned seat on each of said base frame means; a cushioned back rest associated with each of said base frame means, each of said back rests being a shiftable link of one of said four bar linkages; a set of back control links at each end of each base frame, each of said sets comprising a first control link which is pivoted near the front of the base frame and near the bottom of the back rest, and a second control link which is pivoted near the rear of the base frame and near the top of the back rest, said links mounting the back rest on the base frame for about 275* roll-over movement between a generally upright cushion-forward settee position and a horizontal cushion-up bed position; stops on the base frames which are below the pivots between the first control links and said base frames, said stops supporting the second control links in bed position, the first control links being substantially horizontal in said position and the back rests being suspended in cantilever fashion entirely forward of the base frame.

Claim 31

The dinette-bed of claim 22 which includes hinge means pivotally connecting the front of each cushioned seat to the associated base frame, and a set of seat control linkage means at each end of each base frame, each of said sets including an actuating link which is pivoted to one of the back control links, said sets of seat control linkage means supporting the rear of the cushionEd seats for generally vertical movement about the hinge means to shift the cushioned seats between inclined settee positions and horizontal bed positions.

Claim 32

The dinette-bed of claim 22 in which the relationship between the base frames, the links and the back rests is such that said back rests move nearly vertically, and in a nearly translatory fashion, as they near bed position.