Abstract:
An article of furniture including one or more decorative light members placed along the bottom or other portions of the article furniture is provided. In some embodiments, the article of furniture is a sofa. According to some embodiments, a light member is a light emitting diode (LED) tube. A light assembly including at least one light member that can be removably attached to the article of furniture is also provided. The operation of the light assembly can be controlled by at least one switch used to cut the light member(s) on and off and/or regulate the amount brightness of light emitted from the light member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The disclosure relates to furniture, and more particularly, a sofa or other such furniture including one or more light members configured to illuminate an area underneath the furniture. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Lighted furniture is disclosed in the prior art. Some of the prior art relating to furniture with lighting features is as follows: 
         [0005]    U.S. Patent Application No. 2009/0109661 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,559,667 (Holderman) disclose a lighted cushion for a chair and the like, including a couch, that includes a light string made of LEDs. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,932 (Morrison et al.) discloses illuminated furniture, including chairs, wherein the furniture is intended to eliminate the need for other lighting sources. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,654 (Washburn) discloses a multifunctional illumination system for furniture, particularly a bed, that includes a light string placed along the edges of the bed. The Washburn disclosure calls for the illumination source to be a halogen source. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,869 (Fernandez) discloses an illuminated motor vehicle seat cover. One or more LEDs are coupled to a fiber optic bundle to provide illumination effects to the seat cover. 
         [0009]    It is desirable to provide a lighted article of furniture that improves upon the prior art and provides decorative and/or functional illumination and facilitates maintenance, adjustment and replacement of the lighting equipment. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The disclosure generally relates to lighted furniture. According to one embodiment, an article of furniture includes a front side, a rear side, a first lateral side extending between front and rear sides, a second lateral side extending between the front and rear sides opposite the first lateral side, and a seating platform supported above a ground surface and configured to support a person&#39;s body. The article of furniture further includes a light assembly having a light member positioned below the seating platform, and a power supply configured to provide electric power to the light member. The light member is removably attached to the article of furniture by at least one mounting member, and is configured to illuminate an area between an underside of the seating platform and the ground surface at the front side. 
         [0011]    According to another embodiment, a light assembly for an article of furniture includes a light member, a mounting member connected to the light member and configured to releasably attach the light member to a mating surface on the article of furniture, and a power supply configured to provide electric power to the light member. 
         [0012]    Additional features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following specification, claims and appended drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a sofa including a light assembly configured to illuminate an area underneath the sofa. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of the sofa. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the sofa. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the sofa. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  shows a light member of the light assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  shows a detailed view of the light assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0019]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show a power cord connector of the light assembly, wherein the connector is disassembled. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  shows a light assembly according to another embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Referring to the appended drawing  FIGS. 1-9 , in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, respectively, the disclosure concerns an article of furniture including at least one light assembly configured to illuminate an area underneath the article of furniture. The light assembly includes one or more light members, each of the light members having one or more lighting elements, such as LEDs, that are used to illuminate the area underneath the article of furniture in a functional and/or decorative manner. The disclosure further concerns a light assembly mountable on an article of furniture for functional and/or decorative illumination purposes. 
         [0022]      FIGS. 1-4  show a sofa in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the sofa  100  includes a front side  102 , a rear side  104 , lateral sides  106  positioned opposite one another and extending between the front side  102  and the rear side  104 . The sofa  100  also includes a seating platform  108  supported above a ground surface  10  by support members  120 . The seating platform  108  is configured to support one or more persons&#39; bodies. Although a sofa  100  is depicted in the drawings, the invention also envisions other articles of furniture such as, but not limited to, chairs, loveseats and chaise lounges. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-4  and  6 , the sofa includes a light assembly  130  having a light member  132  mounted on the sofa  100  at an underside  110  of the sofa  100  below the seating platform  108 , and a power supply  140  for supplying electrical power to the light member  132 . The light assembly  130  includes mounting members  139  used to secure the light member  132  ( FIG. 3 ) to an underside  110  of the sofa  100 . The mounting members  139  can be permanently or releasably attached to the underside  110  of the sofa  100  and releasably secured around the light member  132 . In  FIGS. 1-4 , the light member  132  is turned on and is configured to illuminate the area between the underside  110  of the seating platform  108  and the ground surface  10  at the front side  102  of the sofa  100 . As will be described in more detail later, the light assembly  130  is operable such that the light member  132  can be selectively turned on and off by a user. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the light member  132  is attached to the underside  110  of the sofa  100  between the two support members  120 , generally towards the front side  102  of the sofa  100 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the mounting members  139  can be straps or strips of material having outer surfaces including fabric hooks and loops (i.e., Velcro® material). According to an embodiment, the mounting members  139  can have a first surface comprising hooks and a second, opposite surface including loops. The underside  110  of the sofa  100  can be constructed of a material including fabric loops or hooks configured to interface with the hooks or loops on the first or second surface of the mounting members  139 . Each mounting member  139  can be wrapped around the light member  132 , and portions of the mounting member  139  can be overlapped such that hooks on the first surface of the mounting member engage loops on the second surface of the mounting member  139 , thereby releasably securing the light member  132  within the mounting member  139 . Thus, the mounting members  139  and the underside  110  of the sofa  100  can form a hook-and-loop (Velcro®) fastening system for securing the light member  132  to the sofa  100 . According to other embodiments (not shown), the mounting members can be stitched onto the underside  110  of the sofa  100  or can include buttons, snap-fit members, screws or any other traditional fastening means configured to interface or interlock with mating members on the underside  110  of the sofa  100 . An advantage of the light assembly  130  is that a user can easily remove the light member  132  from the sofa  100  and/or replace the light member  132  when needed by unwrapping the mounting members  139  and releasing the light member  132  from the mounting members  139 . Optionally, in embodiments in which the mounting members  139  are releasably secured to the sofa  100 , the mounting members  139  can be detached from the sofa  100  in order to facilitate subsequently releasing the light member  132  from the mounting members  139 . 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the light member  132  can be an LED tube including a printed circuit board  134  having LEDs  136  mounted thereon, and a substantially clear or translucent plastic housing  138  encasing the circuit board  134  and LEDs  136 . The interior of the housing  138  can have an etched interior to promote more efficient refraction of light. The housing  138  can be configured to remain cool to the touch when the light member  132  is turned on to illuminate the LEDs  136 . According to other embodiments, the housing  138  can be tinted to provide a desired color effect. The LEDs  136  can be configured to emit white light or light of other colors to provide a desired color effect. 
         [0026]    According to other embodiments, other types of light members are possible. For example, instead of the LED tube  132  shown and described herein, the light member can include one or more fluorescent lighting elements, one or more incandescent lighting elements, one or more neon lighting elements, or any other type of lighting element(s) capable of providing a desired illumination effect. 
         [0027]    Turning to  FIG. 6 , the power supply  140  includes an end cap  142  attached to an end of the housing  138 , a power cord segment  144  electrically connected to the circuit board  134  and extending through the end cap  142 , a power (on/off) switch  146  connected to the power cord segment  144 , and a power cord segment  148  connected to the power switch  146  and terminating at a connector member  150 . The power supply  140  further includes an AC power adapter  152  configured to be inserted in a power outlet  4  ( FIG. 1 ), and a power cord segment  154  connected to the power adapter  152  and terminating at a second connector member  156 . The members  150 ,  156  attach to each other to form a connector  160  that establishes an electrical connection between the power adapter  152  and the power switch  146 . 
         [0028]    The end cap  142  can be releasably or permanently secured to an end of the housing. The end cap  142  is configured to cover a portion of the power cord segment  144  and secure the power cord segment  144  in the vicinity of the connection between the power cord segment  144  and the circuit board  134 . 
         [0029]    The power switch  146  can include a base  146   a  and an actuator  146   b  which can be actuated to turn the light member  132  on and off. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the base  146   a  can be configured to rest on the ground surface  10 , and the actuator  146   b  can be actuated by a user&#39;s foot or hand to move the actuator  146   b  between positions for turning the light member  132  on and off. According to an embodiment, the switch  146  can be positioned underneath the sofa such that it is generally hidden from plain view. The actuator  146   b  can be a push button, a sliding member, a rotary knob, a toggle member or a touch-sensitive pad, for example. According other embodiments, the base  146   a  can be mounted on any surface of the sofa  100 , or on a wall, to facilitate operation of the actuator  146   b  by a user&#39;s hand. 
         [0030]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show the connector  160  in greater detail. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the connector  160  can be a polarized threaded connector. More specifically, the connector member  150  can be a female threaded connector and the connector member  156  can be a male polarized dual-pin connector member. The male connector member  156  can include pins  156   a  configured to be inserted into sockets  150   a  located in the female connector member  150  to establish an electrical connection between the members  150 ,  156 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the male connector member  156  can have an internally threaded fastening ring  156   b  and the female connector member  150  can have an externally threaded outer portion  150   b  that can be screwed onto each other to secure the connector members  150 ,  156  together once the pins  156   a  are inserted in the sockets  150   a . The polarization of the connector member  156  ensures that voltage polarity does not get reversed when the connector member  156  is electrically connected to the light member  132 . Furthermore, the connector  160  enables the light member  132  to be disconnected from AC power by detaching the connector members  150 ,  156 . Thus, the sofa  100  can be moved for cleaning or other purposes, and the light member  132  can safely be replaced without having to unplug the power adapter  150  from the power outlet  4 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 9  shows a light assembly  230  according to another embodiment, which can be used in the place of the light assembly  130 . The light assembly  230  is similar to the light assembly  130 , with the exception that the light assembly  230  includes a power supply  240  having an illumination control switch  246 . The illumination control switch  246  is a combination power and dimmer switch including an actuator  146   b  configured to turn the light member  132  on and off and an actuator  146   c  configured to control the brightness of the light emitted by the light member  132 . The actuator  146   c  can be a toggle member, a push button, a rotary knob, a sliding member or a touch-sensitive pad, for example. According to an alternate embodiment (not shown), the actuators  146   b  and  146   c  can be provided on separate power and dimmer switches, respectively. 
         [0032]    It should be understood that, although the embodiments of  FIGS. 7-9  have the female connector member  150  attached to the power cord segment  148  and the male connector member  156  attached to the power cord segment  154 , it is possible to change the configuration of the power supply  140  such that the female connector member  150  is attached to the power cord segment  154  and the male connector member  156  is attached to the power cord segment  148 . 
         [0033]    Additionally, other types of power supplies are possible. For example, instead of a power supply  140  or  240 , a light assembly can be provided with a simple AC power cord. Alternatively, the power supply could be one or more batteries. Additionally, commonly used power and/or dimmer switches other than those explicitly described above can be employed. 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , the light member  132  is turned on, and thereby illuminates the area between the underside  110  of the seating platform and the ground surface  10 , generally at the front side  102  of the sofa. The illumination pattern generated by the light member  132  can be decorative in nature, and can also be functional in nature by lighting a path near the sofa  100 . Light of any color or brightness can be generated to create a desired illumination effect by using various types of LEDs  136  or other lighting elements. The illumination pattern can be, for example, an elongated pattern that substantially fills the space extending between the lateral sides  106  of the sofa  100  at the front edge of the sofa, and can optionally extend beyond the area underneath the sofa  100 . According to other embodiments, the light member  132  can be positioned and configured such that the illumination pattern illuminates a more localized region between the underside  110  of the sofa  100  and the ground surface  10 . According to other embodiments, the light member  132  can be positioned and configured to illuminate substantially the entire area underneath the sofa  100 . 
         [0035]    In the embodiments described above, only one light assembly  130  is provided. However, in other embodiments, multiple light assemblies  130  can be placed at various locations on the underside  110  of the sofa  100 , or a single light assembly can include several light members  132  positioned at various places on the underside  110  of the sofa  100  and wired together in series or parallel, for example. According to some embodiments, additional light members  132  can be placed on the underside  110  of the sofa  100  near the rear side  104  and/or the lateral sides  106  of the sofa  100  to illuminate areas near the rear side  104  and/or lateral sides  106 , respectively. 
         [0036]    The furniture described herein is advantageous in that the light assembly can be easily maintained, adjusted and/or replaced. If the light member fails, diminishes in performance, or if a different light member providing a different illumination effect is desired, the light element can be quickly replaced in a cost-effective manner without requiring replacement of the entire light assembly or article of furniture. 
         [0037]    It should be apparent that the foregoing describes only selected embodiments of the invention, and numerous changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the general spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims and equivalents thereof