U.S. patent application number 12/956105 was filed with the patent office on 2012-05-31 for rubber air cushion sofa.
Invention is credited to Chao-Hsiung Chiu.
Application Number | 20120133182 12/956105 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46126110 |
Filed Date | 2012-05-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120133182 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chiu; Chao-Hsiung |
May 31, 2012 |
Rubber Air Cushion Sofa
Abstract
A sofa includes a mounting frame, a plurality of air cushions
mounted on the mounting frame, a controller connected with the air
cushions, and an air compressor connected with the controller to
supply air into the air cushions. The mounting frame is made of
aluminum alloy. Each of the air cushions is made of rubber
material. The controller regulates the air pressure in each of the
air cushions so as to adjust hardness and tension of each of the
air cushions. Thus, the air cushions have different curvatures and
profiles so that when the air cushions can be used to support a
user's head, neck, back, hands, waist, hip and legs so as to
provide a comfortable sensation to the user.
Inventors: |
Chiu; Chao-Hsiung; (Gangshan
Township, TW) |
Family ID: |
46126110 |
Appl. No.: |
12/956105 |
Filed: |
November 30, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/232 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 4/54 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/232 |
International
Class: |
A47C 17/02 20060101
A47C017/02 |
Claims
1. A sofa, comprising: a mounting frame; a plurality of air
cushions mounted on the mounting frame; a controller connected with
the air cushions; and an air compressor connected with the
controller to supply air into the air cushions by operation of the
controller; wherein the mounting frame is made of metallic
material; the mounting frame is made of aluminum alloy; each of the
air cushions is made of rubber material and has a hollow inside;
each of the air cushions has a side provided with an air nozzle;
the controller includes a plurality of air pipes each connected
with the air nozzle of a respective one of the air cushions; the
controller regulates an air pressure in each of the air cushions so
as to adjust hardness and tension of each of the air cushions; each
of the air cushions has two open end portions each locked onto the
mounting frame by one of a plurality of clamping members.
2. The sofa of claim 1, wherein each of the air cushions has an
outer wall whose wall thickness is adjustable to adjust a curvature
of each of the air cushions.
3. The sofa of claim 1, wherein each of the two open end portions
of each of the air cushions has a lower end piece and an upper end
piece which has a length greater than that of the lower end piece.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a sofa and, more
particularly, to a rubber air cushion sofa.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A conventional sofa 1 in accordance with the prior art shown
in FIG. 1 comprises a seat portion 10, a back portion 11, two arms
12 and a plurality of legs 13. However, each of the seat portion 10
and the back portion 11 has a fixed profile and figure so that the
seat portion 10 and the back portion 11 cannot satisfy the
ergonomic design, thereby easily causing an uncomfortable sensation
to the user when seated on the sofa 1. In addition, the
conventional sofa 1 is made of sponge and wooden material so that
the conventional sofa 1 is not fireproof and is easily burnt out in
a fire accident. Further, the conventional sofa 1 is not waterproof
and will easily mildew or decay when touching water so that it
cannot be cleaned by water. Further, when the conventional sofa 1
is immersed in water due to flood or water accident, it has to be
thrown away, thereby causing waste of material.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided
a sofa, comprising a mounting frame, a plurality of air cushions
mounted on the mounting frame, a controller connected with the air
cushions, and an air compressor connected with the controller to
supply air into the air cushions by operation of the controller.
The mounting frame is made of metallic material. Preferably, the
mounting frame is made of aluminum alloy. Each of the air cushions
is made of rubber material and has a hollow inside. Each of the air
cushions has a side provided with an air nozzle. The controller
includes a plurality of air pipes each connected with the air
nozzle of a respective one of the air cushions. The controller
regulates an air pressure in each of the air cushions so as to
adjust hardness and tension of each of the air cushions. Each of
the air cushions has two open end portions each locked onto the
mounting frame by one of a plurality of clamping members.
[0006] Preferably, each of the air cushions has an outer wall whose
wall thickness is adjustable to adjust a curvature of each of the
air cushions.
[0007] Preferably, each of the two open end portions of each of the
air cushions has a lower end piece and an upper end piece which has
a length greater than that of the lower end piece.
[0008] According to the primary advantage of the present invention,
the air cushions have different curvatures and profiles to satisfy
the ergonomic design so that when a user is seated on the air
cushions, the air cushions can be used to support the user's head,
neck, back, hands, waist, hip and legs so as to provide a
comfortable sensation to the user.
[0009] According to another advantage of the present invention,
each of the air cushions is inflated and deflated individually so
that the tension of each of the air cushions can be adjusted freely
to satisfy the user's requirements.
[0010] According to a further advantage of the present invention,
the mounting frame is made of metallic material, and each of the
air cushions is made of rubber material so that the sofa is
refractory and fireproof to block a fire accident.
[0011] According to a further advantage of the present invention,
the mounting frame is made of aluminum alloy, and each of the air
cushions is made of rubber material so that the sofa has a lighter
weight and can function as a float that floats on the water level
when a water accident or flood happens.
[0012] According to a further advantage of the present invention,
the mounting frame and each of the air cushions are waterproof so
that the sofa has a waterproof function and can be washed directly
by water to facilitate the user cleaning the sofa.
[0013] Further benefits and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed
description with appropriate reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional sofa in
accordance with the prior art.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sofa in accordance with
the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a locally enlarged view of the sofa as shown in
FIG. 2.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a partially front cross-sectional view of the sofa
as shown in FIG. 2.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the sofa as shown
in FIG. 2.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic operational view of the sofa as shown
in FIG. 5 in use.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a partially cross-sectional view of an air cushion
of the sofa as shown in FIG. 2.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sofa in accordance with
another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a sofa in accordance with
another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 2-5, a sofa
4 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present
invention comprises a mounting frame 3, a plurality of air cushions
2 mounted on the mounting frame 3, a controller 6 connected with
the air cushions 2, and an air compressor 5 connected with the
controller 6 to supply air into the air cushions 2 by operation of
the controller 6.
[0024] The sofa 4 further comprises a covering (not shown)
encompassing the air cushions 2. Preferably, the covering is made
of leather or the like.
[0025] The mounting frame 3 is made of metallic material.
Preferably, the mounting frame 3 is made of aluminum alloy so that
the mounting frame 3 has a lighter weight. The mounting frame 3 has
a bottom provided with an antiskid pad (not shown) to increase
stability of the mounting frame 3.
[0026] Each of the air cushions 2 is made of rubber material and
has a hollow inside so that each of the air cushions 2 is elastic
and flexible. Each of the air cushions 2 has a side provided with
an air nozzle 22. The controller 6 includes a plurality of air
pipes 60 each connected with the air nozzle 22 of a respective one
of the air cushions 2. The controller 6 can regulate an air
pressure in each of the air cushions 2 so as to adjust hardness and
tension of each of the air cushions 2. The controller 6 further
includes a plurality of air taps 61 each connected with a
respective one of the air pipes 60. Thus, each of the air taps 61
of the controller 6 is connected to the air nozzle 22 of a
respective one of the air cushions 2 through a respective one of
the air pipes 60.
[0027] The air compressor 5 is mounted on the bottom of the
mounting frame 3 and includes a retractable hose 50 which is
connected to one of the air taps 61 of the controller 6. The air
compressor 5 further includes a plug 52 which is inserted into a
socket (not shown) to supply an electric power into the air
compressor 5. The retractable hose 50 of the air compressor 5 has a
free end provided with a control head 51 which has an inflation
terminal 511 and a deflation terminal 512 to fill air into or
release air from one of the air taps 61 of the controller 6 so as
to inflate or deflate one of the air cushions 2.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting frame 3 is provided with a
plurality of mounting slots 30, and each of the air cushions 2 has
two open end portions 21 each inserted into and locked in a
respective one of the mounting slots 30 of the mounting frame 3 by
one of a plurality of clamping members 31. Each of the two open end
portions 21 of each of the air cushions 2 has a lower end piece 212
and an upper end piece 211 which has a length greater than that of
the lower end piece 212 so that when each of the two open end
portions 21 of each of the air cushions 2 is bent and inserted into
the respective mounting slot 30 of the mounting frame 3, each of
the two open end portions 21 of each of the air cushions 2 has a
constant length. In addition, the upper end piece 211 has a length
greater than that of the lower end piece 212 so that when each of
the air cushions 2 is inflated, each of the two open end portions
21 of each of the air cushions 2 has a curved profile.
[0029] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the air cushions 2 have different
curvatures and profiles and include a head cushion 2a that is used
to support a user's head and neck, a back cushion 2b that is used
to support the user's back and hands, a waist cushion 2c that is
used to support the user's waist, a hip cushion 2d that is used to
support the user's hip, and a leg cushion 2e that is used to
support the user's legs. The air cushions 2 are arranged on a
backrest portion 33 and a seat portion 32 of the mounting frame 3
so that when a user is seated on the air cushions 2, the air
cushions 2 can be used to support the user's head, neck, back,
hands, waist, hip and legs.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 7, each of the air cushions 2 has an outer
wall 201 whose wall thickness is adjustable to adjust a curvature
of each of the air cushions 2 so that the sofa 4 has determined
curvatures and profiles to satisfy the user's figure and
stature.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 8, the controller 7 includes a plurality of
air pipes 710 each connected with the air nozzle 22 of a respective
one of the air cushions 2, and a plurality of push buttons 71 each
connected with a respective one of the air pipes 710. Thus, each of
the push buttons 71 of the controller 7 is connected to the air
nozzle 22 of a respective one of the air cushions 2 through a
respective one of the air pipes 710. The air compressor 8 is
mounted on the bottom of the mounting frame 3 and includes a
regulating device 81, a retractable hose 812 connected to the
regulating device 81, and a plurality of connecting hoses 811 each
connected to the regulating device 81. The connecting hoses 811 and
the retractable hose 812 of the air compressor 8 are connected to
the push buttons 71 of the controller 7 respectively. Thus, when
one of the push buttons 71 of the controller 7 is pressed, the air
from the air compressor 8 is delivered into a respective one of the
air nozzle 22 so as to inflate or deflate the respective the air
cushion 2.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 9, the sofa 4 is connected with a second
sofa 4a. The controller 7 on the second sofa 4a further includes an
air valve 72 connected to each of the push buttons 71. The
retractable hose 812 of the air compressor 8 on the sofa 4 is
connected to the air valve 72 of the controller 7 on the second
sofa 4a. Thus, when one of the push buttons 71 of the controller 7
on the second sofa 4a is pressed, the air from the air compressor 8
on the sofa 4 is delivered into a respective one of the air nozzle
22 on the second sofa 4a so as to inflate or deflate the respective
the air cushion 2 on the second sofa 4a.
[0033] Accordingly, the air cushions 2 have different curvatures
and profiles to satisfy the ergonomic design so that when a user is
seated on the air cushions 2, the air cushions 2 can be used to
support the user's head, neck, back, hands, waist, hip and legs so
as to provide a comfortable sensation to the user. In addition,
each of the air cushions 2 is inflated and deflated individually so
that the tension of each of the air cushions 2 can be adjusted
freely to satisfy the user's requirements. Further, the mounting
frame 3 is made of metallic material, and each of the air cushions
2 is made of rubber material so that the sofa 4 is refractory and
fireproof to block a fire accident. Further, the mounting frame 3
is made of aluminum alloy, and each of the air cushions 2 is made
of rubber material so that the sofa 4 has a lighter weight and can
function as a float that floats on the water level when a water
accident or flood happens. Further, the mounting frame 3 and each
of the air cushions 2 are waterproof so that the sofa 4 has a
waterproof function and can be washed directly by water to
facilitate the user cleaning the sofa 4.
[0034] Although the invention has been explained in relation to its
preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood
that many other possible modifications and variations can be made
without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is,
therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will
cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true
scope of the invention.
* * * * *