Patent US2667065A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3867730A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Sofa-bed
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1973-09-13
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Granted: 1975-02-25
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Expires: 1993-09-13
Abstract
Abstract The sofa-bed consists of a base frame supporting convertible seating-and-bedding means in the form of three sections, - a seat section, a back-rest section and a rear section - hingeably interconnected and pivotably and slidably supported on the base frame. The sofa bed can be of any suitable width or may be provided in units connectable together side-by-side. Detachable arms are provided which may also be used to form a headboard in the bedding configuration.
Inventors
- 👤 Jerauld George Wright
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 07:15
CPC Classifications
A; A47; A47C; A47C17/00; A47C17/04; A47C17/16; A47C17/17
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 45
Claim 1
Independent Claim
190 words
A sofa-bed comprising a base, and convertible seating and bedding means including three generally planar sections supported on said base and comprising a back-rest section pivotally connected at opposite transverse edges to a seat section and rear section respectively, a support member mounted on the underside of said seat section and slidable upon said base, said support member having a rear end which extends rearwardly of said seat section, said convertible means being movable on said base between a seating configuration, in which the seat section is generally horizontal, the back-rest section extends upwardly at a slight rearward inclination and the rear section is generally upright, and a bedding configuration in which the tHree sections are generally horizontal and said seat section extends forwardly of said base, said seat section support member resting upon said base in both configurations wherein said seat section includes foot means to support the front portion thereof upon a floor when in the bedding configuration, said rear section being pivotally supported intermediate its length on said base such that in the seating configuration a portion of said rear section extends downwardly beyond said pivotal support.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
190 words
A sofa-bed comprising a base, and convertible seating and bedding means including three generally planar sections supported on said base and comprising a back-rest section pivotally connected at opposite transverse edges to a seat section and rear section respectively, a support member mounted on the underside of said seat section and slidable upon said base, said support member having a rear end which extends rearwardly of said seat section, said convertible means being movable on said base between a seating configuration, in which the seat section is generally horizontal, the back-rest section extends upwardly at a slight rearward inclination and the rear section is generally upright, and a bedding configuration in which the tHree sections are generally horizontal and said seat section extends forwardly of said base, said seat section support member resting upon said base in both configurations wherein said seat section includes foot means to support the front portion thereof upon a floor when in the bedding configuration, said rear section being pivotally supported intermediate its length on said base such that in the seating configuration a portion of said rear section extends downwardly beyond said pivotal support.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
66 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 further comprising three cushion sections corresponding to respective ones of said three sections of the seating and bedding means, said cushion sections being of generally uniform thickness and having a combined length equal to that of the three sections of the seating and bedding means, at least the cushion sections corresponding to said rear and backrest sections being interconnected.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
72 words
A sofa bed according to claim 2 wherein the seat cushion section has a length which is approximately equal to that of said seat section, the back-rest and rear cushion sections each being greater in length than the corresponding back-rest and rear sections by approximately half said uniform thickness, said back-rest cushion section being movable relative to said back-rest section and being interconnected to said rear cushion section through adjacent lower edges.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
105 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 wherein said seat section is supported on two spaced parallel stringers extending from front to rear on its underside, said stringers being slidably supported on the base of the sofa-bed to accommodate movement between the seating and bedding configurations, said stringers each having a rear end which, in the bedding configuration, extends rearwardly beyond the rear edge of the seat section whereby the rear end of each stringer rest upon the base and the pivotal connection of the seat and back-rest sections is supported by the stringers at a location spaced forwardly from the front of the base.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
48 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 4 wherein each stringer is of tapered form from front to rear such that, in the seating configuration the seat section is supported at a slight upwards inclination towards the front, and in the bedding configuration the seat section is substantially horizontal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 5 including disengageable retainer means operable between said stringers and said base to prevent accidental movement of said seat section out of the seating configuration.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
66 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 5 wherein said foot means comprises a transverse planar member disposed generally vertically at the front of the seat section, said planar member being adapted to engage the floor to support the front of the seat section when in the bedding configuration and being raised from the floor due to the tapered form of the stringers when in seating configuration.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 4 wherein said foot means comprises a pair of spaced legs, one leg being formed integrally with each stringer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 4 wherein said foot means comprises a pair of spaced retractable legs, one being mounted adjacent each stringer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 8 wherein each stringer is of extensible form.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
56 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 4 wherein each stringer is of a length substantially greater than the front-to-back length of the seat section, and in the seating configuration extends rearwards through an aperture in the rear section to restrain upwards movement of said rear section out of engagement with its pivotal support on the base.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
52 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 4 wherein said base is of box-like construction and defines a storage chamber, said seat section including a large displaceable panel providing access to said storage area, said panel having opposite lateral edges spaced above frame members extending along the lateral edges of the seat section.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
33 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in clAim 12 wherein each side of the base includes means adapted to be engaged by a coupling means whereby two such sofa-beds can be interconnected in side-by-side arrangement.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
63 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 including lifting means operable, when the sofa-bed is in bedding configuration with the three sections substantially horizontal, to initiate upwards movement of the pivotal connection between the rear section and the back-rest section, enabling the sofa-bed thereafter to be restored to the seating configuration solely by a generally horizontally directed force applied to the seat section.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
86 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 14 wherein said lifting means comprises a flexible linkage guided through said base and connected at one end of said rear section, at a location rearwards of the pivotal support of the rear section on the base, and at the other end to a forward part of the seat section, whereby raising of the front of the seat section transmits a force through said linkage to pivot said rear section with respect to said base and initiate said upwards movement.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 14 wherein said lifting means comprises a latchable spring-loaded element on said base releasable by means of a remote actuator to initiate said upwards movement.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
59 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 wherein said base includes means to support said back-rest and rear sections in the bedding configuration each at a slight inclination to the horizontal, so that these sections are mutually inclined and the sofa-bed can be restored to the seating configuration by a generally horizontally directed force applied to the seat section.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
116 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 wherein said base includes means to support said back-rest and rear sections in the bedding configuration each at a slight inclination to the horizontal, so that these sections are mutually inclined and the sofa-bed can be restored to the seating configuration by a generally horizontally directed force applied to the seat section, and further comprising three interconnected cushion section corresponding to respective ones of said rear, back-rest and seating sections, the three cushion sections being of generally uniform thickness but the rear and back-rest cushion sections tapering somewhat towards each other so that in the bedding configuration the horizontal upper surfaces of the three cushion sections are generally co-planar.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
22 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rear section is pivotally supported on said base upon freely separable pivot means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
29 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 19 wherein said pivot means comprises a rod member mounted on said rear section which cooperates with a U-shaped recess in said base.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
54 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 19 wherein said separable pivot means comprises at each end of said base a rearwardly projecting lug having a U-shaped recess, said lug extending through a complementary aperture in said planar rear section and said recess cooperating with one end of said recess to form said pivot means.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
98 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 21 wherein said lug has a generally horizontal free end to the rear of said recess, the width of the lug, in the direction perpendicular to the pivot axis, increasing progressively from the free end, said complementary aperture in the planar rear section having a length less than the sum of the depth of the recess and the width of the lug where it passes through the aperture when the rear section is in the upright seating configuration, such that in that configuration the rear section cannot be disengaged from the lug.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
54 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 22 wherein in the bedding configuration when the planar rear section is generally horizontal the free end of the lug still projects into said aperture thus locating the rear section in the horizontal plane while still permitting disengagement of the pivot means by lifting of the rear section.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 further comprising arms at opposite lAteral ends of base and releasbly engageable with the base.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
35 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 24 wherein each arm has an inboard side from which extend vertically spaced hook-like protrusions, insertable through, and engageable with complementary apertures in an end wall of the base.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
55 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 25 further comprising retaining means mounted to move with said seat section and operable when the seat section is in the seating configuration to block said protrusions to prevent removal of said arms, said retaining means being rendered inoperable upon movement of the seat section to the bedding configuration.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
55 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 26 wherein said retaining means comprises a forwardly extending elongated stringer mounted on the underside of the seat section and which registers in a vertical groove in a portion of one of said protrusions when the seat section is in the seating configuration thus preventing removal of the arm.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
43 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 24 wherein said arms and said rear section include complementary members interengageable when the sofa-bed is in the bedding configuration to locate said arms at the back of the rear section in the form of a headboard.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
25 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 25 wherein said protrusions are provided on a mounting structure detachably secured to the inboard side of said arm.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
55 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 24 wherein said arm is of laminated construction comprising adjacent layers of lightweight foamed plastics material and at least one stiffening panel of substantially rigid material, which are cemented together and devoid of metal fasteners so that the arm may readily be formed by sawing to any desired outline.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
53 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 30 wherein said arm has a large groove extending longitudinally in at least one peripheral edge surface thereof, and a bar-shaped plug adapted to be inserted in said groove to frictionally engage and retain in said groove the end portions of upholstery material spread over said arm.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
97 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 24 wherein each arm has a laterally extending structure on which are provided protrusions for engagement of the arm with end walls of said base, said structure having an upper surface provided with a notch positioned and adapted for engagement with a transverse lip on the underside of the rear section of the convertible seating and bedding means, whereby the arms can be positioned transversely at the back of the rear section in bedding configuration in the manner of a headboard and located by engagement of said notches with said lip.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
78 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 32 wherein said lip has an inclined cam surface on its underside operative to guide engagement of said notch with said lip to permit placement of the arms in headboard position by movement of said laterally extending structure in the back-to-front direction, said lip including discontinuities whereby said arm can be disengaged by transverse movement of the arm to register said notch with a discontinuity, and subsequent rearwards movement of the arm.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
52 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 26 wherein the configuration of said protrusions is such that the disengage said arm from said base the arm must first be tilted in one direction to withdraw one protrusion from its complementary aperture, and subsequently tilted in the opposite direction to withdraw the other protrusion.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
48 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 24 wherein said base is of box-like form and comprises upwardly extending front, rear, and opposite end walls detachably interconnected, and a planar horizontal bottom received and supported at its edges in grooves in at least an opposed pair of said walls.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
29 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 35 wherein the walls and other parts of the base are of interlocking form and can be interconnected without requiring any additional fasteners.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
68 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 36 wherein the base when erected said front and rear walls extend at an Inclination to the upright and diverge upwardly, said front and rear walls each having at opposite ends a plurality of hook-like protrusions adapted to extend through and engage over and end of a respective one of a plurality of corresponding slot-like apertures in each of said end walls.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
95 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 37 wherein each end of said front and rear walls has two spaced hook-like protrusions aligned in the plane of said wall, said front or rear wall being engageable with said end wall by insertion of said protrusions laterally through said corresponding two apertures and movement of the front or rear wall downwardly to engage said hook-like protrusions over the lower ends of said apertures, and wherein disengageable detent means in one of said apertures is operative to block removal of one of said protrusions from its corresponding aperture.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
102 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 38 wherein said one aperture comprises first and second portions respectively aligned and non-aligned with the other of said two apertures, said detent means comprising a step between said two portions, said first portion corresponding to the position occupied by said one protrusion when fully engaged with said one aperture, and said front or rear wall being resiliently deformable to move said one protrusion into register with said second portion of said one aperture to permit movement of the protrusion longitudinally of said one aperture to a position where it can be disengaged from the aperture.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
36 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 12 wherein said base includes end walls and further comprising means engageable with respective end walls of two such sofa-beds arranged in side-by-side relation to interconnect said two sofa beds.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
31 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 15 further comprising resilient restoring means operative to apply a force to said rear section in a direction urging the latter towards its upright position.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
24 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 further comprising disengageable means operative to retain and convertible seating and bedding means in its seating configuration.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
33 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 1 wherein said portion of the rear section extending beyond the pivotal support represents about 10% of the combined length of the rear, backrest and seating sections.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
36 words
A sofa-bed as claimed in claim 43 wherein the lengths of said three sections expressed as a percentage of said combined length are approximately: seat section, 35 percent; back-rest section, 25 percent; rear section 40 percent.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-02-24 | 1978-08-26 | 1979-02-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-02-24 | 1982-08-26 | 1983-02-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-02-24 | 1986-08-26 | 1987-02-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |