Sofa bed construction
United States Patent [1 1 Darling SOFA BED CONSTRUCTION [76] Inventor: Michael E. Darling, 2735 Ladoga Ave., Long Beach, Calif. 90815 [22] Filed: Feb. 11, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 440,978  
 [52] US. Cl. 219/217; 5/348 WB; 297/180 [51] Int. Cl. H05b l/00 [58] Field ofSearch 219/217, 313; 5/347, 348 R, 5/348 WB, 284; 128/376, 377; 2-97/180 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 773,828 11/1904 Titus 5/348 WB 1,212,479 1/1917 Hall 5/284 1,891,903 12/1932 Bang... 128/376 X 3,585,356 6/1971 Hall 219/313 X 3,760,147 9/1973 Tyrey 219/217 [451 Apr. 22, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 932,779 7/1963 United Kingdom 5/348 WB Primary ExaminerC. L. Albritton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jack C. Munro [5 7] ABSTRACT A sofa bed construction wherein a sofa frame is provided which includes a liquid tank fixedly attached within the frame. A liquid fillable mattress, which is stored in a collapsed position within a storage compartment within the sofa frame, is to be fillable with liquid from the tank. When filled, the mattress is located on a supporting surface adjacent the sofa frame. The liquid filled mattress is to include a peripheral air frame for providing lateral support for the liquid filled mattress.  
 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SOFA BED CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION cisely resembles a conventional sofa. Upon extraction of the mattress into the extended&#39;position, the mattress is then used as a conventional bed.  
  The use of a liquid filled mattress, or as it is commonly known a water bed, has also been known for a substantial period of time. Such water beds are proving to be a desirable form of bedding to a significant number of people. However, it has not been known previously to satisfactorily incorporate a water bed into a sofa bed.  
  The summary of this invention is believed to be clearly described in the abstract of the disclosure and reference is to be had thereto.  
  The primary advantage of the structure of this invention is to incorporate a water bed and a sofa into a single unit. Such a sofa construction would be a desirable feature in cramped quarter situations such as apartments or the like.  
  The sofa of this invention is of simple construction which therefore facilitates ease and economy of manufacturing.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of the sofa bed construction of this invention;  
  FIG. 2 is a left side view of the sofa bed construction of this invention taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the sofa in phantom construction in order to see the interior portion of the sofa frame;  
  FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but of the right side of the sofa bed construction of this invention taken along 33 of FIG. 1;  
  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the sofa bed construction of this invention with the liquid filled mattress in an extended position showing the sofa in phantom position; and  
  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view through the liquid filled mattress incorporated within the sofa bed construction of this invention taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENT Referring particularly to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a sofa bed construction of this invention which includes a sofa frame which is formed into a sofa back 12, sofa base 14, arm rests 16 and 18. The upper surface of the sofa base 14 is formed into a seat base 20. Upon the seat base 20 is to be placed appropriate cushioning material including pillow cushions 22.  
  Fixedly mounted within the sofa base 14 is a liquid receiving tank 24. The tank 24 is to be formed of a thin walled, rigid material such as metal, but more than likely will be formed of a plastic material or a fiberglass material. Included within the tank 24 there maybe provided an appropriate electrical heating coils 26. The coils 26 may be mounted exteriorly of the tank 24 if desired.  
  The aft end of the tank 24 is shown displaced at a higher position than the front end of the tank 24 so that the tank 24 is slightly inclined toward the front. The reason for this is that there is a liquid access opening 28 located adjacent the front end of the tank 24. A conduit 30 is connected to the opening 28. The free end of the conduit 30 extends within a housing 32 which is also mounted within the sofa frame adjacent the tank 24. Included within the housing 32 is to be a conventional, electrically activated liquid pump 34. The pump 34 connects with conduit 30 and also connects with a second conduit 36 through a fitting 38.  
  Also included within the housing 32 is an air blower 40. The air blower 40 as well as the pump 34 and the heating coils 26 are to be activated from an appropriate electrical source by means of plug 42. The air blower 40 connects with third conduit 44 through a fitting 46.  
  Connected into the tank 32 at the back end of the tank (at the highest point of the tank) is a ventilation conduit 48. The conduit 48 is to supply air into the tank 24 when the liquid in the tank is being removed. During refilling of the tank 24 the air would be naturally expelled from the tank. The ventilation conduit 48 is conducted to the back end of the sofa to the sofa frame. A flat cover 50 is adapted to close over the ventilation conduit 48. The flat cover 50 may be moved to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 3 in order to facilitate the insertion of chlorine tablets or other types of tablets in order to keep the water contained within the tank 24 at a purified state. In other words, the ventilation conduit 48 functions not only as an air vent, but also as a means to permit access of purifying substances.  
  A storage compartment 52 is formed within the sofa frame forward of the tank 24 and interiorly of the base 14. The size of the storage compartment 52 is to be such as to facilitate storage of a liquid fillable mattress 54 when the mattress is empty. An access cover 56 is hingedly mounted to the front of the sofa frame. The cover 56 may include a series of snaps 58 to hold the cover 56 in a closed position.  
  The mattress 54 includes a center liquid fillable chamber 60. Laterally surrounding the periphery of the chamber 60 is an air (or gas) chamber 62. Conduit 36 cooperates with chamber 60 and with conduit 44 cooperating with chamber 62. In other words, the pump 34 is to remove the liquid from the tank 24 and supply such into the chamber 60 and it is also capable of being reversed to return the liquid 64 from the chamber 60 back into the tank 24 when it is desired not to use the mattress 54. The air blower 40 is to facilitate a supply of air into the air chamber 62. The air chamber 62 is inflated sufficiently so as to provide lateral support for the water chamber 60. A common wall 66 separates the air chamber 62 from the water chamber 60.  
  The use of the air chamber 62 greatly enhances the feasibility of use of this invention. It has been found that by using an air chamber 62 that a substantially less amount of liquid 64 can be employed while still achieving the satisfactory results of a water bed. The pressurized air within the chamber 62 functions to relieve the lateral pressure of the water within the chamber 60 which as a result provides an unrestrained top membrane of the water bed 54 so that in essence the person feels as though he is supported directly upon the water. Therefore, the person feels that he is obtaining maximum comfort from the water bed 54.  
  By using of the air chamber 62, a substantially less amount of water need be used. Previously, with a conventional water bed construction, the amount of water used would prohibit the use of combining a water bed into a convertible type of sofa. However, it is estimated that the quantity of water used within the mattress 54 will be approximately 135 gallons which can be readily stored within the tank 24 which need only be 3 feet deep, 6 feet long, and l foot high.  
  It is to be understood that appropriate switching means 68 is to be provided so as to activate the blower 40 or the pump 34. The switching means 68 should have convenient access exteriorly of the sofa bed frame.  
  The structure of this invention can readily incorporate certain additional features. For example, a colored liquid may be employed in order to fill up the mattress 54 in order to creat a desirable appearance. Numerous other features could be employed in combination with the structure of this invention without departing from the scope thereof.  
 What is claimed is:  
 I 1. A sofa bed construction comprising:  
  a sofa frame; a liquid tank included within said sofa frame, said I tank adapted to retain a quantity of liquid;  
 a liquid fillable mattress connected to said sofa frame *h&#39;avinga valve for supplying liquid into said mattress, said&#39;ma ttress being spaced from said tank, a conduit interconnecting said tank and said mattress, said conduit to conduct liquid between said tank and said mattress; and  
 pump means connectable between said tank and said I mattress, said pump means to remove the liquid from said tank and supply such into said mattress through said conduit, said pump means also to effectreturn of said liquid from said mattress into said tank.  
 2. &#39;The sofa bed construction as defined in claim 1 wherein:  
 said tank being positioned adjacent the bottom of said sofa frame between the bottom of said sofa frame and the seating area of said sofa.  
 3. The sofa bed construction as defined in claim 1 .wherein:  
 electrical heating means connected to said tank,  
 whereby the temperature of the liquid contained within said tank can be raised to a desirable temperature prior to being supplied into said liquid fillable mattress.  
 4. A sofa bed construction comprising:  
 a sofa frame; I  
 a liquid tank included within said sofa frame, said tank adapted to retain a quantity of liquid;  
 a liquid fillable mattress having a valve for supplying liquid into said mattress;  
 pump means connectable between said tank and said mattress, said pump means to remove the liquid from said tank and supply such into said mattress, said pump means also to effect return of said liquid from said mattress into said tank; and  
 a storage compartment located interiorly of said sofa frame and located adjacent the lower front of said.  
 sofa frame, an access cover provided into said storage compartment, when said liquid fillable mattress does not contain any liquid said mattress is capable of being folded and compactly stored in said storage compartment.  
 5. A sofa bed construction comprising:  
 a sofa frame;  
 a liquid tank included within said sofa frame, said tank adapted to retain a quantity of liquid;  
 a liquid fillable mattress having a valve for supplying liquid into said mattress;  
 pump means connectable between said tank and said mattress, said pump means to remove the liquid from said tank and supply such into said mattress, said pump means also to effect return of said liquid from said mattress into said tank; and  
 an air ventilation tube extending within said tank at a high point of said tank, said air ventilation tube also providing access of water purification tablets into said tank.  
 6. A sofa bed construction comprising:  
 a sofa frame;  
 a liquid tank included within said sofa frame, said tank adapted to retain a quantity of liquid;  
 a liquid fillable mattress having a valve for supplying liquid into said mattress;  
 pump means connectable between said tank and said mattress, said pump means to remove the liquid from said tank and supply such into said mattress, said pump means also to effect return of said liquid from said mattress into said tank; and  
 said tank being inclined with respect to said sofa, whereby when said sofa frame is supported upon a horizontal surface the back end of said tank is displaced higher than the front end of said tank to facilitate substantially complete removal of the liquid from said tank.  
 7. A sofa bed construction comprising:  
 a sofa frame;  
 a liquid tank included within said sofa frame, said tank adapted to retain a quantity of liquid;  
 a liquid fillable mattress having a valve for supplying liquid into said mattress; pump means connectable between said tank and said mattress, said pump means to remove the liquid from said tank and supply such into said mattress, said pump means also to effect return of said liquid from said mattress into said tank; and a gas chamber laterally surrounding said mattress,  
 blower means communicating with said gas chamber for inflating said gas chamber, said gas chamber providing lateral support for said liquid fillable mattress. 8. The sofa bed construction as defined in claim 6 wherein: I  
 said blower means and said pump means being mounted within said sofa frame. 9. The sofa bed construction as defined in claim 7 wherein:  
 said gas chamber and said liquid fillable mattress having a common membrane wall,