Abstract:
One embodiment of an article of transformable furniture comprising movable and removable cushioned components that have specific relative dimensions and forms that allow for a minimum of three furniture configurations. Two of the components being wedge-like cushioned pieces ( 21   a,    21   b ) designed specifically to be arrangeable in manner providing one configuration selected from the group consisting of a couch, a chaise longue, or a small bed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH  
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM  
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0005]    The application relates to an article of furniture, and more specifically to a furniture piece that is transformable into one of several various furniture forms. 
         [0006]    2. Prior Art 
         [0007]    Furniture that is convertible between two forms is convenient for providing more options for different situations and for taking less room than two different pieces with singular functions. A furniture piece that has the versatility to convert back and forth between three or more forms is even superior. Unfortunately, a great number of the furniture currently available that are transformable from one furniture type to another require complex mechanical parts. For example, Bergstrom U.S. Pat. No. 2,328,411 (1943), Horenkamp U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,696 (1987), and Griepentrog U.S. Pat. No. 7607180 (2009) can be transformed into different types of furniture but require complex sets of levers, wheels, springs, and other components. Designs requiring such mechanical parts to function fully incur greater construction cost with greater complexity and may require the manipulation of strong springs, levers or a heavy piece of the furniture. 
         [0008]    Other pieces of furniture can be problematic when they consume varying floor space in different configurations. Delmestri U.S. Pat. No. 7,685,655 (2010) requires approximately twice the floor space when converted to a “sleeper mode.” Moreover, Delmestri U.S. Pat. No. 7,685,655 (2010) provides only two furniture types, “sleeper mode” and a “sofa mode.” 
         [0009]    Some furniture pieces require the user to move or lift the entire piece of the furniture to make the transformation such as Lillard U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,526 (1973) which is also limited to two modes, a chair and chaise longue. Moreover, the design of Lillard U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,526 (1973) ties the height of the furniture to the type of furniture, i.e. when the piece is arranged as a chaise longue its seating area is closer to the ground than the chair form which can be an inconvenience if the height relative to other furniture pieces such as a coffee table or an entertainment center is a factor. Lillard U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,526 (1973) also triples the amount of floor area required when converted into a chaise longue which can be disruptive if a room was arranged around the smaller footprint of the chair form. 
         [0010]    Thus several advantages of one or more aspects are to provide a furniture pieces as a platform and method for a user to obtain several configurations of its components to achieve one of three or more furniture types with fast and simple arranging of components that are not awkwardly large or substantially heavy. Other ideal advantages include achieving any one of several configurations without needing complex and expensive mechanical components and without substantial change in the required floor space. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    In accordance with one embodiment an article of furniture made of independent components that can easily be transformed into one of various furniture types afforded by the specially calibrated geometries of the components. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS-FIGURES 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective of the furniture piece in a couch formation. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the furniture piece in a couch formation with notation. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is an elevational view of the furniture piece in a couch formation. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is another elevational view of the furniture piece in a couch formation. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective of the wedge-like form component when separated from other components. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6A to 6C  are elevational views of the wedge-like form showing optional positioning on a horizontal surface. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6D  is an elevational view of two wedge-like forms stacked. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6E  is an elevational view of an alternative method of stacking two wedge-like forms. 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective of the furniture piece in a chaise longue formation. 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a elevational view of two components juxtaposed. 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is an elevational view of the furniture piece in a chaise longue formation. 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a perspective of the furniture piece in a bed formation. 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is an elevational view of the furniture piece in a bed formation. 
           [0025]      FIG. 12  is a perspective of the frame without cushioned components. 
           [0026]      FIG. 13  is a perspective detail of a method of attaching two components. 
           [0027]      FIG. 14  is a perspective of an alternative embodiment in couch formation. 
           [0028]      FIG. 15  is a perspective of an alternative embodiment in chaise longue formation. 
           [0029]      FIG. 16  is a perspective of an alternative embodiment in bed formation. 
           [0030]      FIG. 17A to 17C  are perspectives of alternative shapes of the wedge-like form. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0031]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of one embodiment comprising a base or frame  24  supporting several cushioned geometric forms such as the long horizontal piece  22 , comprising foam, and the vertical support piece  23 . Two wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b,  and rectangular side pieces  25   a  and  25   b  rest upon the long horizontal piece  22 . I presently contemplate that the long horizontal piece  22  and the two smaller rectangular side pieces  25   a  and  25   b  are connected while the cushioned wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b,  the vertical support piece  23 , and the frame  24  as shown in  FIG. 1  are independent and separable, however it is only necessary that components  21   a  and  21   b  be wholly independent for achieving the objective of transformability. Other valid embodiments can include effective fusions of two or more components like said frame  24  to said long horizontal piece  22 . 
         [0032]    The components of the first embodiment can be arranged into the form of a couch as can be seen in  FIG. 1 . The long horizontal piece  22  provides a seating surface. The wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  provide an area for a user or users to rest their backs. The wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  are supported by the vertical support piece  23  which in turn is supported by the frame  24 . The couch-forming arrangement of wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b,  the vertical support piece  23 , and the frame  24  can also be seen in plan view in  FIG. 2 . The rectangular side pieces  25   a  and  25   b  provide support as arm rests on the sides as illustrated in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 4  shows how long horizontal piece  22  and vertical support piece  23  are supported by the frame  24  in the first embodiment. 
         [0033]      FIG. 5  shows how each wedge-like piece  21   a  or  21   b  is independent from the other components which is key to the transformational abilities of the first embodiment. The wedge-like piece or pieces can be arranged in several positions as illustrated in  FIGS. 6A through 6E . As can be seen in  FIG. 7  the wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  can also be placed perpendicular to the long axis of the long horizontal piece  22 . 
         [0034]    In combination with the rotational variations, the geometry of the wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  allow for a variety of configurations because the dimensions of the components relative to each other provide for it. Specifically, the wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  have a width equivalent to the depth of the long horizontal piece  22  so that, as seen in  FIG. 7 , the wedge-like pieces fully span the long horizontal piece from front to back. The width of the vertical support piece  23 , as can be seen in  FIG. 2 , is equivalent to the combined widths of the two wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  juxtaposed. Transitively, the width of the vertical support piece  23  is equal to twice the depth of the long horizontal piece  22 . 
         [0035]    In detail,  FIG. 2 . illustrates key dimensions in relation to each other. The width value w of one wedge-like piece  21   a  or  21   b  is equal to the depth d of the long horizontal piece  22 . The width w of one wedge-like piece is also equal to one half of the width v of the vertical support piece  23 . 
         [0036]    One side of the wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  is of the same dimensions as a long side of the rectangular side pieces  25   a  and  25   b,  as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , so that the combination of one of the wedge-like pieces with one of the rectangular side pieces in this manner will create a continuous form that can provide a head rest. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , it can also provide a platform for creating a chaise longue by incorporating or stacking the second wedge-like piece to create an inclined surface. In this formation the adjacent rectangular side piece  25   a  provides a support for the user&#39;s elbow.  FIG. 7  also shows how the other rectangular form  25   b  is repositioned thereby completing the chaise longue form. A user can now use the chaise longue in a variety of ways including sitting along the long axis of the horizontal piece  22  and resting his or her back on the stacked wedge-like pieces  21   a  and  21   b  or alternatively resting to one side, higher up, with the torso on the wedge-like pieces and an elbow on the rectangular side piece  25   a.    
         [0037]      FIG. 9  illustrates how the rectangular side piece  25   b  (and  25   a ) is attached to the long horizontal piece  22  in the first embodiment. The attachment is solely along one corner edge of the long horizontal piece  22  to a corner edge of each rectangular side piece  25   a  and  25   b . This line of attachment creates an axis or pivoting line that allows the rectangular side pieces  25   a  and  25   b  to roll around to a lower position and hang from the line of attachment. 
         [0038]    Completely removing both of the wedge-like pieces and rolling both rectangular side pieces  25   a  and  25   b  to their lower hanging positions creates an unobstructed space across the long horizontal piece  22  as is illustrated in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . This arrangement creates a small comfortable bed. 
         [0039]    I presently contemplate the frame  24  in the first embodiment comprising steel tubing and plywood however it may be made of other materials such as plastic or simply metal only, or incorporated more permanently with some of the cushioned components as long as the functions heretofore described are not impeded. As illustrated in  FIG. 11 , the frame of the first embodiment, made of welded steel tubes  26 , supports and combines two planes of plywood, a horizontal plywood piece  27  and a vertical plywood piece  28 . 
         [0040]    I presently contemplate the rectangular side pieces  25   a  and  25   b  are attached along one corner&#39;s edge by being of the same continuous fabric material used in the long horizontal piece  22  but, as illustrated in  FIG. 12 , can be connected by a zipper  29  in an alternate embodiment. 
         [0041]    I presently contemplate the use of rectangular side pieces with first embodiment, however an alternative embodiment shown in  FIGS. 14 ,  15 , and  16  differs in that it functions fully without the use of the rectangular side pieces. This embodiment similarly provides a platform for a transformable furniture piece into the options of a couch form, a chaise longue form, or a small bed. The couch form of the this embodiment is a couch form without arm rests. The chaise longue form of the this embodiment is a chaise longue without an elbow support. 
         [0042]    I presently contemplate the wedge-like pieces to have a profile of an exact triangle however the wedge-like piece can have one more truncated corners as shown in  FIG. 17A  and  FIG. 17B  or rounded corners as shown in  FIG. 17C . 
       Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope 
       [0043]    Accordingly the reader will see that, according to one embodiment, I have provided a novel article of furniture that can be transformed into a minimum of three configurations, and can be transformed more easily without the need of expensive or complex mechanical components, and can be transformed without requiring a substantial change in occupied floor space. The unique geometry of the independent components, that can combine in various manners to create various furniture types, provides a more affordable transformable furniture piece for the average consumer. Employing unique geometry instead of complex mechanical components costs much less and is a major advantage over current transformable furniture pieces. 
         [0044]    While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any embodiment, but as exemplifications of the presently preferred embodiments thereof Many other ramifications and variations are possible within the teachings of the various embodiments. For example, variant but true forms of a couch, chaise longue, and bed are achievable without the presence of the rectangular side pieces; some of the various independent components can be effectively fused together in to singular forms such as the frame and the long horizontal piece, etc. 
         [0045]    Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given.