Sofa Bed With Roll Out Bed Mechanism

Abstract

A method and sofa for converting the sofa into a bed. A seat back of a sofa bed is pulled and rolled out using roll out wheels concealed underneath the seat back as they glide across a track mechanism (also concealed underneath the seat back) until the roll out wheels lock into place. The back rest is pushed down until the back rest is level with the pulled-out seat bed thereby forming a regular-sized bed. In this manner, a sofa bed may be easily converted from the "sofa" position to the "bed" position while forming a regular-sized bed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to sofa beds, and more particularly to a sofa bed with a roll out mechanism under its seat deck used in connection with convenient roll out wheels that are concealed beneath the seat deck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A sofa is an upholstered item of furniture for the comfortable seating of more than one person and typically has an armrest on both sides of the sofa along with a back rest. Sofas are usually to be found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge. They are covered in a variety of textiles or in leather.

[0003] Sofas may be convertible into a bed. This type of furniture is often referred to as a "sofa bed." Many of these sofas require substantial effort to open the sofa, to convert the sofa to a bed or to close the bed to form a sofa. The substantial effort may be due in part to having the frames require intricate mechanisms to maintain the bed in a rigid position when the sofa is open into a bed and to maintain the sofa back and seat firmly in position when the sofa is in the closed position.

[0004] Further, when these sofas are converted into a bed, the size of the bed is small, much smaller than a typical sized bed. People often prefer sleeping in a "regular bed," such as a full-size bed.

[0005] Hence, there is a need in the art for a sofa bed that can be easily converted to a bed as well as easily returned to the sofa position. Further, there is a need in the art for a sofa bed which can be converted into a regular bed, such as a full-sized bed. In addition, there is a need for a sofa bed that retains the good qualities of a sofa, when the sofa bed is in the sofa position, and retains the good qualities of a bed, when the sofa bed is in the bed position.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for converting a sofa into a bed comprises lifting up a seat deck of the sofa off the ground from its resting horizontal position. The method further comprises pulling and rolling out the seat deck until roll out wheels underneath the seat dock lock into place. Additionally, the method comprises placing the seat deck back into its resting horizontal position. Furthermore, the method comprises pushing down an approximately vertical back rest of the sofa towards the pulled out seat deck until the back rest is level with the pulled-out seat deck thereby forming a bed.

[0007] In another embodiment of the present invention, a sofa that converts into a bed, comprises a frame that includes a horizontal track mechanism. The sofa further comprises a horizontal seat deck having a top side and a bottom side comprising at least two roll out wheels attached to and engaged with the seat deck, where the roll out wheels are placed on the track mechanism. Additionally, the sofa comprises a back rest rotatably engaged with the frame to allow rotation of the back rest from an approximately vertical position to a horizontal position. Upon the seat deck being pulled and rolled out, the roll out wheels roll out along the track mechanism until the roll out wheels are locked into place at a location on the track mechanism furthest away from the back rest and upon the back rest being collapsed into the horizontal position, a bed is formed.

[0008] In another embodiment of the present invention, a sofa that converts into a bed, comprises a frame that includes a horizontal track mechanism. The sofa further comprises a horizontal seat deck having a top side and a bottom side comprising at least two roll out wheels attached to and engaged with the seat deck, where the roll out wheels are placed on the track mechanism. In addition, the sofa comprises a back rest rotatably engaged with the frame to allow rotation of the back rest from an approximately vertical position to a horizontal position, where the back rest is rotatably engaged with the frame by using at least one hinge. Furthermore, the sofa comprises a left and a right armrest, where the right and left armrests are each connected to the frame via a metal hook plate attached to the frame. Upon the seat deck being pulled and rolled out, the roll out wheels roll out along the track mechanism until the roll out wheels are locked into place at a location on the track mechanism furthest away from the back rest and upon the back rest being collapsed into the horizontal position, a bed is formed.

[0009] The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technical advantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the present invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be described hereinafter which may form the subject of the claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0010] A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a view of a sofa bed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for converting the sofa bed from the "sofa" position to the "bed" position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates pulling out the seat deck in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates a tracking mechanism concealed underneath a seat deck in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] FIGS. 4A-D illustrate close-up views of a butterfly hinge, a roll-out wheel and a metal plate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a close-up view of the frame being connected to the back rest and armrests in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIGS. 5A-B illustrate close-up views of a butterfly hinge and a metal hook plate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates pushing down and collapsing the back rest to be level with the seat deck in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates a regular-sized bed formed upon collapsing the back rest to be level with the seat deck in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The present invention comprises a method and sofa for converting the sofa into a bed. In one embodiment of the present invention, a seat back of a sofa bed is pulled and rolled out using roll out wheels concealed underneath the seat back as they glide across a track mechanism (also concealed underneath the seat back) until the roll out wheels lock into place. The back rest is pushed down until the back rest is level with the pulled-out seat bed thereby forming a regular-sized bed. In this manner, a sofa bed may be easily converted from the "sofa" position to the "bed" position while forming a regular-sized bed.

[0021] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details.

[0022] As discussed in the Background section, sofas may be convertible into a bed. This type of furniture is often referred to as a "sofa bed." Many of these sofas require substantial effort to open the sofa, to convert the sofa to a bed or to close the bed to form a sofa. The substantial effort may be due in part to having the frames require intricate mechanisms to maintain the bed in a rigid position when the sofa is open into a bed and to maintain the sofa back and seat firmly in position when the sofa is in the closed position. Further, when these sofas are converted into a bed, the size of the bed is small, much smaller than a typical sized bed. People often prefer sleeping in a "regular bed," such as a full-size bed. Hence, there is a need in the art for a sofa bed that can be easily converted to a bed as well as easily returned to the sofa position. Further, there is a need in the art for a sofa bed which can be converted into a regular bed, such as a full-sized bed. In addition, there is a need for a sofa bed that retains the good qualities of a sofa, when the sofa bed is in the sofa position, and retains the good qualities of a bed, when the sofa bed is in the bed position.

[0023] The sofa bed of the present invention can be easily converted to a bed as well as easily returned to the sofa position as discussed below in connection with FIGS. 1-4, 4A-D, 5, 5A-B, 6 and 7. Further, the sofa bed of the present invention can be converted to a regular-sized bed, such as a full-sized bed, as discussed below in connection with FIGS. 1-4, 4A-D, 5, 5A-B, 6 and 7.

[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates a view of the sofa bed. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for converting the sofa of the present invention into a bed. FIG. 3 illustrates pulling out the seat deck. FIG. 4 illustrates the tracking mechanism and roll-out wheels of the sofa bed. FIGS. 4A-D illustrate close-up views of a butterfly hinge, a roll-out wheel and a metal plate. FIG. 5 illustrates a close-up view of the frame being connected to the back rest and armrests. FIGS. 5A-B illustrate close-up views of a butterfly hinge and a metal hook plate. FIG. 6 illustrates pushing down and collapsing the back rest to be level with the seat deck. FIG. 7 illustrates a regular-sized bed being formed upon collapsing the back rest to be level with the seat deck.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 illustrates a sofa bed 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Sofa bed 100 may include two main sections, a seat deck 101 and a back rest 102. Seat deck 101 is used primarily for sitting by the user of sofa bed 100. Back rest 102 is used primarily for resting the back of the user of sofa bed 100. Sofa bed 100 may further include pillows 103A-B placed in front of back rest 102 to add comfort to the user of sofa bed 100 when the user sits on seat deck 101. Pillows 103A-B may collectively or individually be referred to as pillows 103 or pillow 103, respectively.

[0026] Additionally, sofa bed 100 may include armrests 104A-B used primarily to rest the arms of the user of sofa bed 100. Armrests 104A-B may collectively or individually be referred to as armrests 104 or armrest 104, respectively. Armrests 104 may be connected to the frame via a metal hook plate as discussed further below in connection with FIG. 5.

[0027] Referring again to FIG. 1, seat deck 101 may include two front legs 105A-B to provide support to seat deck 101 when a user sits on seat deck 101. In one embodiment, legs 105A-B are connected to the two front corners on the bottom side of seat deck 101. Concealed underneath seat deck 101 is a track mechanism that is used to allow seat deck 101 to roll away from or roll towards back rest 102 using roller wheels concealed underneath seat deck 101 as explained and illustrated in further detail below.

[0028] Sofa bed 100 is not to be limited in scope to any one particular embodiment. Sofa bed 100 may include other components than depicted. Further, certain components depicted, such as pillows 103, may not be required for the functionality of sofa bed 100.

[0029] A method for converting sofa bed 100 from a "sofa" position to a "bed" position is discussed below in connection with FIG. 2.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method 200 for converting a sofa into a bed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 will be discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 3-4, 4A-D, 5, 5A-B and 6-7, which depict various views of sofa bed 100 of the present invention during the converting steps described in FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 2, in conjunction with FIGS. 3-4, 4A-D, 5, 5A-B and 6-7, in step 201, seat deck 101 is lifted off the ground (e.g., approximately 10 centimeters off the ground) from its resting horizontal position.

[0032] In step 202, seat deck 101 is pulled and rolled out until the roll out wheels are locked into position as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0033] FIG. 3 illustrates rolling and pulling out seat deck 101 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 further illustrates a frame 302 that includes a tracking mechanism 301 concealed underneath seat deck 101 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 further illustrates that back rest 102 is rotatably engaged with frame 302, such as via the use of a butterfly hinge as discussed below in connection with FIGS. 4, 4A, 5, 5A and 6, to allow rotation of back rest 102 from an approximately vertical position to a horizontal position. Once seat deck 101 is lifted off the ground, seat deck 101 is able to be pulled and rolled out using the roll-out wheels concealed underneath seat deck 101 as illustrated in FIG. 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, a roll-out wheel 401 is placed on the two bottom corners of seat deck 101 located on the side closest to back rest 102 as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 4B. These roll-out wheels 401 may simply glide smoothly on track mechanism 301 to provide ease of movement of seat deck 101. FIGS. 4, 4A, 5 and 5A further illustrate that a butterfly hinge 402 may be used to firmly connect frame 302 with back rest 102 as well as to allow rotation of back rest 102 from an approximately vertical position to a horizontal position. In one embodiment, two butterfly hinges 402 are used to firmly connect frame 302 with back rest 102 at two locations (opposite ends of back rest 102). It is noted that FIGS. 4 and 4A only illustrate the use of butterfly hinge 402 at one particular end of back rest 102; however, another butterfly hinge 402 may be used at the other end of back rest 102, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Also, FIGS. 4, 4C and 4D illustrates a metal plate 403 attached to the back bottom of armrest 104 to provide support for back rest 102. Further, in one embodiment, each armrest 104 may include a metal plate 403 to provide support/strength to back reset 102. In one embodiment, metal plate 403 can be flipped under armrest 104 when in the "bed" position as illustrated in FIG. 4D. Additionally, in one embodiment, armrests 104 may be connected to frame 302 via a metal hook plate 501 as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 5B. In one embodiment, right and left armrests 104 are each connected to frame 302 via two metal hook plates 501 attached to frame 302 as illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0034] Returning to FIG. 2, in conjunction with FIGS. 3-4, 4A-D, 5, 5A-B and 6-7, in step 203, seat deck 101 is placed into its resting horizontal position.

[0035] In step 204, back rest 102 is pushed down towards the pulled out seat deck 101 until back rest 102 is level with the pulled out seat deck 101 thereby forming a regular-sized bed as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 illustrates pushing down and collapsing back rest 102 to be level with seat deck 101 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates a regular-sized bed, such as a full-sized bed, being formed upon collapsing back rest 102 to be level with seat deck 101.

[0036] As a result of the above, it has been shown that sofa bed 100 can be easily converted from the "sofa" position to the "bed" position and that it can be converted to a regular-sized bed, such as a full-sized bed. Sofa bed 100 may be returned to the original "sofa" position by reversing the steps outlined above, such as by pulling up back rest 102 to its normal vertical resting position; and pushing and rolling seat deck 101 back towards back rest 102 until roll-out wheels 501 are locked into position.

[0037] Method 200 may include other and/or additional steps that, for clarity, are not depicted. Further, method 200 may be executed in a different order presented and the order presented in the discussion of FIG. 2 is illustrative. Additionally, certain steps in method 200 may be executed in a substantially simultaneous manner or may be omitted.

[0038] Although the method and sofa bed are described in connection with several embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for converting a sofa into a bed, the method comprising: lifting up a seat deck of said sofa off the ground from its resting horizontal position; pulling and rolling out said seat deck until roll out wheels underneath said seat dock lock into place; placing said seat deck back into its resting horizontal position; and pushing down an approximately vertical back rest of said sofa towards said pulled out seat deck until said back rest is level with said pulled-out seat deck thereby forming a bed.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said bed is a full-sized bed.

3. A sofa that converts into a bed, comprising: a frame that includes a horizontal track mechanism; a horizontal seat deck having a top side and a bottom side comprising at least two roll out wheels attached to and engaged with said seat deck, wherein said roll out wheels are placed on said track mechanism; and a back rest rotatably engaged with said frame to allow rotation of said back rest from an approximately vertical position to a horizontal position; wherein upon said seat deck being pulled and rolled out, said roll out wheels roll out along said track mechanism until said roll out wheels are locked into place at a location on said track mechanism furthest away from said back rest and upon said back rest being collapsed into said horizontal position, a bed is formed.

4. The sofa as recited in claim 3, wherein two roll out wheels are attached to two opposite back corners on the bottom side of said seat deck, wherein said two opposite back corners are located closest to said back rest.

5. The sofa as recited in claim 4, wherein said seat deck comprises two legs attached to two front corners on the bottom side of said seat deck, wherein said two front corners are located furthest away from said back rest.

6. The sofa as recited in claim 3 further comprises: a right and a left armrest, wherein said right and left armrests are each connected to said frame via a metal hook plate attached to said frame.

7. The sofa as recited in claim 6, wherein said right and left armrests are each connected to said frame via two metal hook plates attached to said frame.

8. The sofa as recited in claim 3, wherein said roll out wheels are concealed beneath said seat deck.

9. The sofa as recited in claim 3, wherein said bed is a full-sized bed.

10. The sofa as recited in claim 3, wherein said back rest is rotatably engaged with said frame by using at least one hinge.

11. The sofa as recited in claim 10, wherein said at least one hinge is a butterfly hinge.

12. A sofa that converts into a bed, comprising: a frame that includes a horizontal track mechanism; a horizontal seat deck having a top side and a bottom side comprising at least two roll out wheels attached to and engaged with said seat deck, wherein said roll out wheels are placed on said track mechanism; a back rest rotatably engaged with said frame to allow rotation of said back rest from an approximately vertical position to a horizontal position, wherein said back rest is rotatably engaged with said frame by using at least one hinge; and a left and a right armrest, wherein said right and left armrests are each connected to said frame via a metal hook plate attached to said frame; wherein upon said seat deck being pulled and rolled out, said roll out wheels roll out along said track mechanism until said roll out wheels are locked into place at a location on said track mechanism furthest away from said back rest and upon said back rest being collapsed into said horizontal position, a bed is formed.

13. The sofa as recited in claim 12, wherein two roll out wheels are attached to two opposite back corners on the bottom side of said seat deck, wherein said two opposite back corners are located closest to said back rest.

14. The sofa as recited in claim 13, wherein said seat deck comprises two legs attached to two front corners on the bottom side of said seat deck, wherein said two front corners are located furthest away from said back rest.

15. The sofa as recited in claim 12, wherein said right and left armrests are each connected to said frame via two metal hook plates attached to said frame.

16. The sofa as recited in claim 12, wherein said roll out wheels are concealed beneath said seat deck.

17. The sofa as recited in claim 12, wherein said bed is a full-sized bed.

18. The sofa as recited in claim 12, wherein said at least one hinge is a butterfly hinge.