IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFA-BEDS
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM ROBert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFA-BEDS" to be as follows :-
The object of this invention is to enable a sofa to be converted into a bed or
vice versa within a short time and with a small expenditure of power. The said
invention consists essentially in constructing the back of the sofa so as to form by
day a receptacle for the bedding and by night a mattress.
According to the said invention the back of the sofa forms the receptacle for the
bedding. The flap or lid of the said receptacle is pivotted or hinged at the bottom,
and, when turned up, closes the receptacle for the bedding, whilst, when turned
down, it allows immediate access to the bedding and forms the mattress for the
Bleeper.
Instead of providing the flap with pivots or hinges it may be sewn to, or
buttoned on, the sofa along the bottom.
Without departing from the nature of the invention the rear wall of the back
may be omitted, the wall against which the sofa is arranged taking its place. In
this case the flap is provided with sides which serve to cover the bedding entirely
when the flap is turned .up. The flap is attached to the wall by means of any
suitable attachments fixed to the wall. The said sides may be constructed of wood
or of flexible material, and may be attached either to the sides or the flap. Tho
flap may be provided with a wooden frame or made entirely of soft material.
Arms are sometimes provided which may be fixed, removable, or hinged.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, 'WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFA-BEDS" and in what manner the saine
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
This invention relates to sofa-beds, and has for its object to enable a sofa to be
converted into a bed, or vice versa, in a short space of time and with little
expenditure of power; and it consists essentially in so constructing the back of the
sofa as to form by day a receptacle for the bedding and by night a mattress.
In the accompanying drawings
Figures 1, 2 and 3 shew the sofa-bed arranged as a sofa, and
Figures 4, 5, and 6 shew the same arranged as a bed.
Figure 7 shews the sofa-bed with the arms lifted out.
Figure 8 shews the same with hinged arms.
Figure 9 shews a modified form of the back of the sofa-bed.
The back A, B, C of the sofa-bed forms the receptacle for bedding. The flap A
is hinged at D D, and when turned up as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, it closes the
receptacle for the bedding, whilst when turned down as shewn in Figures 4, 5
and 6, it allows immediate access to the bedding and forms the mattress for the
bed.
Instead of providing the flap A with pivots, it may be sewn or buttoned to the
sofa along the line D D.
If desired, the back B may be omitted without departing from the nature of this
invention; in this case the wall against which the sofa is arranged takes the place
of the back, and the flap A is provided with the sides C, C, C Figure 9, which
serve to cover the bedding entirely when the flap A is turned up. The flap A is
held against and attached to the wall by means of any suitable devices upon the
wall. The sides C, C, C may be constructed of wood or of flexible material, and
the flap A may be either provided with a wooden frame, as shown in Figure 3, or
be made entirely of soft material.
The arms E may be removable, as shown in Figure 7, or hinged as shewn in
Figure 8, and if desired they may be entirely dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First In a sofa-bed, the hollow back A, B, C, the front flap A of which, when
turned up, forms the cover to n receptacle for the bedding, while when turned
down it forms a mattress.
Second The flap A with or without the back B.
Third The flap A provided with the pivots D. D or their equivalents.

page_text: Fourth The projecting sides C C of the bedding receptacle, the said sides being
formed either of wood or of flexible material, and being attachod either to the
back B or to the flap A.
Fifth A sofa-bed having the hollow back A, B, C and constructed either without
arms or with the fixed arms E or hinged arins E'.