SOFA LOVERS' SOFA
Disclosed is a sofa or the like that has an end cushion having a lower stationary member approximating the height of an armrest of the sofa and a rotatable upper member that may be rotated to overlie an armrest of the sofa. A back support may be provided for sitting crosswise on the sofa. A lower front panel that is rotatable to a position overlying a seat cushion so as to act as an armrest for a person sitting crosswise on the sofa is also possible.
The present disclosure relates to adjustable sofas and more particularly to a sofa that is configurable to be a sofa, a lounger, or a sofa-bench.
BACKGROUNDPeople often lie across a sofa; that is, with their head resting on a standard armrest of the sofa and their bodies stretched lengthwise across the sofa, from armrest to armrest. Lying this way, at times, is for comfort and at other times, is for viewing TV or conversing with someone located generally seated near an opposite armrest of the sofa so that both people are seated likewise on the sofa facing each other.
Generally, when a person is seated in such a manner, he cannot comfortably rest his head and upper body on the sofa's armrest as the armrest is typically not at a comfortable height for such use. The only option is to attempt to provide support for the otherwise unsupported head and upper body using a firm cushion or other object that is unconnected to the couch such as a pillow, wall or another firm article.
SUMMARYEmbodiments of the Sofa Lover's Sofa permit a person to enjoy support for both arms while sitting lengthwise across a sofa with the person's back resting against the rotated backrest atop the traditional standard armrest of the sofa and the person's feet extended toward an opposite armrest of the sofa. For example, support for a person's unsupported arm (referred to herein as the “outward arm”) can be provided by rotating a front lower panel upward so that a resulting upper edge thereof is at a height generally equal to that of a standard armrest of the sofa. Equality of armrests is not necessary, as an embodiment of the present sofa includes armrests that are adjustable in height.
Also, an upper portion of a rear backrest of a sofa can rotate or slide to a position overlying the sofa armrest thereby providing backrest support and possibly a headrest for a person sitting lengthwise on the sofa. The remaining stationary (lower) portion of the traditional backrest (which remains after the upper portion has been rotated away) becomes an armrest for the person's arm now resting at the traditional rear/back of the sofa.
Further, a rotatable rod can be positioned within a front lower panel such that the front lower panel can rotate up, with the rotatable rod as an axis of rotation of the front lower panel, the panel, so raised then serves as an armrest for a person's outward arm. The front, lower panel can lock into place using a locking mechanism such as a ball- and socket. A torsion spring can be wrapped around the rod to bias the front lower panel to either a stowed position or a raised position.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the present sofa, a four-bar linkage can be attached to the front lower panel and to the sofa's frame such that the front lower panel can rotate up to serve as an armrest for a person's outward arm. The front lower panel can lock into place in this embodiment with a spring.
Yet another embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa is a sofa-bench. A sofa-bench is a sofa having no standard armrests or backrest. Front, rear and side panel end portions can be used on the sofa-bench to rotate upward and lock in place in any manner described above to serve as armrests.
A particular embodiment of the inventive sofa includes a sofa that is usable as a lounge chair and includes a backrest that has a backrest upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the upper section and is vertically adjustable. The backrest lower section has a backrest guide track in a top surface thereof. At least one armrest extends perpendicularly from the backrest. The armrest has an upper armrest portion and a lower armrest portion. The upper armrest portion has an armrest guide track located in a top surface of the upper armrest portion that corresponds with the backrest guide track when the backrest lower section is in a raised position. And, a support post extends from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track such that the support post is slidable to the armrest guide track to a position where the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.
A further particular embodiment of the inventive sofa includes a sofa that is usable as a lounge chair and includes a backrest having an L-shaped upper section that is vertically adjustable and a backrest lower section that supports the L-shaped upper section. The backrest lower section has a backrest guide track in its top surface. The L-shaped upper section extends in a wrapped fashion from the backrest such that a first portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as a backrest and a second portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as an armrest. At least one lower armrest portion extends perpendicularly from the backrest. The lower armrest portion has an armrest guide track located in its top surface that corresponds with a backrest guide track located in the lower portion of the backrest. A support post extends down from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the guide track such that the upper section is slidable to a position overlying the lower armrest portion where the first portion of the L-shaped upper portion overlies the armrest lower portion and the second portion of the L-shaped upper portion is parallel with the center portion of the backrest.
Yet another particular embodiment of the inventive sofa includes a bench that is useable as a sofa having a center portion having a lower end and a frame anchored to and surrounding the center portion at its lower end. The frame conforms to the shape of the center portion and has four side frame sections and four corner frame sections. Each of the four side frame sections and four corner frame sections has a telescoping member base beam extending out from the center portion. Each of a plurality of corner portions is connected to a respective base beam of the frame. And each of a plurality of outer portions is connected to the frame at a respective side section of the frame such that the corner portions and the outer portions are all raiseable to a position with respect to the center portion to be usable as an armrest.
The above and other features, objects, and advantages, together with the best means contemplated by the inventor hereof will become more apparent from reading the following description of embodiments and perusing the associated drawings.
An embodiment of the present inventive sofa is 2 generally depicted in
The disclosed sofa can rest in two ultimate configurations: 1) a conventional sofa configuration as shown in
With reference to
In this embodiment of the present inventive sofa, the raiseable rear panel 8 and the slideable backrest 4 can be raised and lowered together. As such, in a raised position, the slideable backrest 4 serves as a headrest and the raiseable rear panel 8 serves as a backrest. The sliding tubular brackets 38 and 40 are positioned at lower ends 28 and 34 of each of the positioning rods 16 and 18 when the raiseable rear panel 8 and the slideable backrest 4 are in a standard sofa configuration and are positioned at upper ends 32 and 36 when the raiseable rear panel 8 and the slideable backrest 4 are in a sofa configuration having a raised backrest. A locking means (not shown) keeps the tubular members 38 and 40 in place when they are positioned at the upper ends 32 and 36 of the positioning rods 16 and 18. The locking means can include, for example, a ball-and-socket assembly, an engaging pin type of assembly, and a frictional screw type of assembly; however, a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that the locking means will be any type of mechanism, which is mechanically, electronically or electromechanically controlled, and that serves to maintain the slideable backrest 4 in a raised position while a person is leaning against it.
With further reference to
The slideable backrest 4 includes at least a single post 44 or some other type of member that engages the raiseable rear panel guide track 20 when the sofa 2 is in a conventional configuration and which engages the recessed side arm guide track 24 when the sofa is in a lounge configuration. As shown in
A further embodiment of the present inventive sofa is generally depicted in
The sofa of the present embodiment can rest in two ultimate configurations: 1) a conventional sofa configuration (not shown) and 2) a lounge configuration as shown in
As can be seen in
A recessed raiseable rear panel guide track 136 is located in the top surface 138 of the raiseable rear panel 106 and, as best shown in
As further shown in
The raiseable rear panel 106 and the raiseable side panel 108 are not necessarily formed integrally with one another, although they can be. The advantage to the raiseable rear panel 106 being separate from the raiseable side panel 108 is that when the slideable L-shaped backrest 104 is positioned over the raiseable side panel 106 such that the sofa is in the lounge configuration, the slideable L-shaped backrest 104 can rest at a standard level and the raiseable rear panel 106 can be raised to a level equal to the height of the slideable L-shaped backrest 104. As such, when the sofa 102 is in the lounge configuration, a person has support for both of the person's arms and the person's back.
A further embodiment of the sofa lover's sofa is a sofa-bench (backless sofa) 202 and is depicted in
As shown in
As can be seen in
To rotate any of cushions, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, or 214 to a raised and locked position, the bracket 242 slides around the first pin until the second pin is in contact with the pin retaining portion 246. The first pin, and thus the corresponding cushion, can be held in a raised position with the slot constriction 250. Once the second pin slides past the slot constriction 250 in the bracket 242, the bracket 242 is locked in the raised position and cannot be replaced into a sofa position without human intervention.
An alternative frame used in this embodiment of the inventive sofa is shown in
A person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that other locking means can be used in place of the bracket-and-pin assembly 236 such as a ball and spring assembly, a cotter-pin type assembly, etc. Further a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that, rather than using rotatable means, various extension means can be used in this embodiment of the sofa lovers' sofa to configure each section in a raised position. For example, an extendable rod or a sliding mechanism can be used in place of the bracket-and-pin assembly 236. In this manner, each cushion slides, rather than rotates, upward. Also, a person having ordinary skill in the art will also understand that movement of the cushion in any of the above embodiments can be motorized and powered either by direct- or alternating-current.
A person having ordinary skill in the art will further understand that variations on the sofa lover's sofa are possible. For example, the above inventive disclosure can be applied to chairs, and armless sofas. In the case of the sofa-bench, several lower panels can be raised to form a baby crib. And, in the case of a chair, a backrest can be lowered to form an ottoman or vice-versa.
Once given the above disclosure, many other features, modifications and improvements will become apparent to the skilled artisan. Such features, modifications and improvements are, therefore, considered to be a part of this invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the following claims.
Claims
1. A sofa usable as a lounge chair comprised of:
- a backrest having a backrest upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the upper section and is vertically adjustable, the backrest lower section having a backrest guide track in a top surface thereof;
- at least one armrest extending perpendicularly from the backrest, said at least one armrest having an upper armrest portion and a lower armrest portion, the upper armrest portion having an armrest guide track located in a top surface thereof that mates with the backrest guide track of the backrest lower section when the backrest lower section is in a raised position; and
- a support post extending from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the support post is slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.
2. The sofa as recited in claim 1 wherein the backrest upper section is vertically adjustable on the support post.
3. The sofa as recited in claim 1 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support post are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.
4. The sofa as recited in claim 1 wherein the support post is comprised of a metal column resting on a wheel-and-swivel mechanism that is in communication with either the backrest guide track or the armrest guide track depending on the location of the backrest upper section.
5. The sofa as recited in claim 4 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the backrest upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support post are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.
6. The sofa as recited in claim 1 whereby the backrest lower section is raised and lowered along at least one backrest positioning rod.
7. The sofa as recited in claim 1 wherein the backrest includes a left portion and a right portion, the right and left portions each having a backrest upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the upper section and is vertically adjustable.
8. A sofa usable as a lounge chair comprised of:
- a backrest having an L-shaped upper section that is vertically adjustable and a backrest lower section that supports the L-shaped upper section, the backrest lower section having a backrest guide track in a top surface thereof;
- wherein the L-shaped upper section extends in a wrapped fashion from the backrest such that a first portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as a backrest and a second portion of the L-shaped upper section serves as an armrest;
- at least one lower armrest portion extending perpendicularly from the backrest, the lower armrest portion having an armrest guide track located in a top surface thereof that corresponds with a backrest guide track located in the lower portion of the backrest; and
- a support post extending down from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the guide track, whereby the upper section can be slid to a position overlying the lower armrest portion such that the first portion of the L-shaped upper portion overlies the armrest lower portion and the second portion of the L-shaped upper portion is parallel with the center portion of the backrest.
9. The sofa as recited in claim 8 wherein the L-shaped upper section is vertically adjustable on the support post.
10. The sofa as recited in claim 8 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support posts are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the backrest upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.
11. The sofa as recited in claim 8 wherein the support post is comprised of a metal column resting on a wheel-and-swivel mechanism that is in communication with either the backrest guide track or the armrest guide track depending on the location of the L-shaped upper section.
12. The sofa as recited in claim 11 having a plurality of support posts extending from a bottom surface of the L-shaped upper section into the backrest guide track, wherein the plurality of support post are slidable to the armrest guide track such that the L-shaped upper section overlies the upper armrest portion.
13. The sofa as recited in claim 8 whereby the backrest lower section is raised and lowered along at least one backrest positioning rod.
14. The sofa as recited in claim 8 wherein the backrest includes a left portion and a right portion, the right and left portions each having an L-shaped upper section that is vertically adjustable and a lower section that supports the L-shaped upper section.
15. A bench useable as a sofa comprising:
- a center portion having a lower end and a frame anchored to and surrounding the center portion at its lower end, the frame conforming to the shape of the center portion and having four side frame sections and four corner frame sections, each of the four side frame sections and four corner frame sections having a telescoping member base beam extending out from the center portion;
- a plurality of corner portions, each corner portion connected to a respective base beam of the frame; and
- a plurality of outer portions, each outer portion connected to the frame at a respective side section of the frame,
- wherein the corner portions and the outer portions are all raiseable to a position with respect to the center portion to be usable as an armrest.
16. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for rotating a respective said outer portion to a raised position above the sofa.
17. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for telescoping a respective said outer portion to a raised position above the sofa.
18. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for rotating a respective said corner portion to a raised position above the sofa.
19. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein each of the outer portions includes a means for telescoping a respective said corner portion to a raised position above the sofa.
20. The bench as recited in claim 15 wherein the center portion is removable to reveal a recess, the recess being useable as a seat.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 1, 2011
Publication Date: Oct 4, 2012
Inventor: Kevin WILLIAMS (Alexandria, VA)
Application Number: 13/078,463
International Classification: A47C 17/04 (20060101);