EP4056074B1

EP4056074B1 - Reclining furniture with hiding mechanism

Info

Publication number: EP4056074B1
Application number: EP21383079.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Felix Lopez Gil
Original assignee: Fama Sofas SL
Current assignee: Fama Sofas SL
Priority date: 2021-03-10
Filing date: 2021-11-30
Publication date: 2023-07-12
Anticipated expiration: 2041-11-30
Also published as: EP4056074A1; ES1268269U; EP4056074C0; ES2952327T3; ES1268269Y

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention falls within the technical field of motorised tilting/reclining upholstered furniture.

TECHNICAL PROBLEM TO BE RESOLVED AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

From the state of the art, a multitude of items of furniture with motorised tilting/reclining elements are known. These include seating furniture with tilting backrests and/or footrests such as, for example, reclining chairs, club chairs, modules, sofas, armchairs, etc.
Seating furniture with reclining backrests is in great demand as it offers several resting positions in the same furniture. At rest, the backrest of the furniture is usually in a vertical (or substantially vertical) position and can be reclined to different angles depending on the wishes or needs of the user at any given moment. Thus, the user may recline the backrest a little, to read, for example, or he/she can recline it even further if he/she wants to sleep comfortably or relax.
This type of furniture with tilting elements usually comprises an electronic circuit with a plurality of components by means of which the angle of the backrest inclination is controlled. In this way, the user can comfortably choose the inclination of the backrest and he/she does not need to physically push the backrest backwards. In other words, when the furniture comprises an electronic circuit, the circuit itself and its constituent elements control the movement of the backrest of the furniture.
Such seating furniture may additionally comprise, for example, a movable footrest, which can also be tilted. In this case, the resting position of the footrest is vertical, or substantially vertical, and extends forwards when the user wants to rest his/her feet comfortably. This movement can also be controlled with an electrical circuit, which may be the same as the one controlling the backrest, or a different one.
The main problem with furniture with a tilting backrest and/or footrest is that the electronic circuits and tilting mechanisms associated with the tilting backrest and/or footrest are arranged chaotically under the furniture seat, with cables, levers, springs etc. all mixed together. This makes it extremely difficult to carry out repairs, change the battery or replace any of the components of the electronic circuit and/or the tilting mechanism.
In other cases, these mechanisms of the electronic circuit are concealed inside the furniture upholstery, or the cables are simply left hanging, resting on the floor, with the consequent problem that it is difficult to access, repair and clean them.
In one possible embodiment, the electronic circuit associated with the furniture's tilting mechanism can be connected directly, by means of a plug, to the mains power supply. However, in cases wherein the furniture is to be placed, for example, in the centre of a room or at a distance from an electrical socket, the electronic circuit can be equipped with a battery. In these cases, it is even more advantageous to provide easy access to the electronic circuit because the battery needs to be changed frequently. In the case of battery use, handling is very inconvenient as it is necessary to turn the furniture on its side or reach underneath the element in order to plug in or unplug the cables and other electronic elements.
One solution from the prior art describes furniture with an opening in the fabric of the furniture upholstery. In this case, the opening is covered by the fabric which conceals said elements but can be removed manually to allow access to the area where the furniture's electronic circuit and tilting mechanism are located. This facilitates component replacement operations, but this solution implies that, as the opening is covered by a single layer of fabric, any possible blow to this area could perforate the fabric and/or damage any of the components of the tilting mechanism or the electronic circuit.
The document US 2017/332800 A1 discloses an electric motor dual drive for adjusting supporting parts pivot-mounted relative to one another of a support device to support a box spring mattress or upholstered bed, comprising: (a) a base, on which two drive units are arranged, which each includes an output member interacting with a pivot lever in the installation position of the dual drive, which is disposed in an operative connection with an adjustable supporting part to pivot the same; and (b) each of the pivot levers being attached pivot-mounted to the base, such that the base, together with the pivot levers, forms a unit attachable to a support device.
Finally, document EP 2 160 961 A1 describes a bed comprising a support plane for a mattress, a frame, and an articulated mechanism, wherein the articulated mechanism allows to lift the support plane to a certain height from ground and/or in respect of the frame and comprises: (i) two substantially parallel segments one being a rigid bar, each hinged at an extremity thereof to a side of the frame and at the other extremity to the support plane so as to constitute as a whole an articulated parallelogram; (ii) a first linear actuator that is hinged to the frame and has a movable part hinged to one of the two segments so as to be able to move it thereby making the two segments rotate around their hinging points on the frame for lifting the support plane, characterized in that the articulated mechanism further comprises a second linear actuator adapted to move the support plane making it rotate in respect of the frame around a point of hinging with one of the two segments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to furniture that can be tilted or reclined with a concealment mechanism with a movable door. The concealment mechanism allows, during normal use of the furniture, to conceal the tilting mechanism, and the electronic circuit associated therewith, without interfering with component exchange and/or maintenance operations.
The electronic circuit that allows the furniture to be tilted/reclined comprises a motor, a motor transformer, a control box for tactile push buttons, if there are any, and, optionally, a battery so that it can work without needing to be connected to the power supply.
This solves the usual problems of access to the furniture's tilting mechanisms and electronic circuits found in tilting furniture from the state of the art wherein access to said components is a headache.
The concealment mechanism proposed allows all these electronic components to be housed and the cables to be fastened in an orderly fashion, allowing them to be accessed in an easy and accessible manner, enabling them to be interacted with during battery charging operations and for easy replacement of elements in the event of breakdowns.
The furniture's concealment mechanism comprises a movable door, which is the element responsible for concealing the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit. This door can move between a closed position, wherein said components are concealed, and an open position, wherein access to them is enabled. The door can be moved in different ways, preferably by pivoting (tilting) on the frame of the furniture.
According to the invention, in order to actuate the opening movement of the door, the concealment mechanism comprises a traction element that is attached to the door. In an exemplary embodiment, this may be a strip that protrudes from the furniture housing and is therefore conveniently accessible to the user.
The concealment mechanism may also have at least one brace (preferably two, each associated with one side of the door), which is attached to the door and the frame and whose length determines the maximum displacement of the door. The, at least one, brace also has a stabilising function.
A further element that the concealment mechanism may comprise of may be a spring-loaded locking device that allows the door to be secured to the furniture frame when the door is in the closed position. This prevents the door from falling or opening accidentally.
In other exemplary embodiments, the movable door can be operated by means of other types of mechanisms, including, for example, pneumatic shock absorbers or electrical actuators instead of the braces described above, or it could be opened by means of a push button, without the need for a traction element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complete the description and in order to help to understand the characteristics of the invention better, a set of drawings is attached to this description, as an integral part of the same, that, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, show the following:

Figure 1 represents the tilting furniture with a concealment mechanism of this invention with the movable door in the closed position, concealing the housing of the furniture wherein the furniture's tilting mechanism and the associated electronic circuit are located.
Figure 2 represents the furniture of figure 1 with the movable door in the intermediate position during the opening operation to allow access to the components of the electronic circuit.
Figure 3 shows the furniture of figures 1 and 2 with the movable door in the open position, allowing access to the housing of the furniture and, therefore, to the tilting mechanism and the corresponding electronic circuit.

Below is a list of the different elements that make up the invention represented in the figures:

1.: Furniture
2.: Electronic circuit
3.: Frame
4.: Housing
5.: Door
6.: Opening element
7.: Fixing and guiding element
8.: Inner face
9.: Pivot element
10.: Rear face
11.: Locking device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention should not be seen to be limited to the embodiment described herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.
In the tilting furniture of the prior art, a flexible element is used to cover the space in which the tilting mechanism is located. This flexible element is usually a fabric. In this case, the electronic elements are housed in this space and, to gain access to them, it is only necessary to peel off a strip of velcro ^® (a joining element generally used to attach fabric) in order to gain access to the corresponding electronic elements (transformer, push button controller and/or battery). There is another type of tilting furniture wherein the backrest of the furniture, as the tilting movement is initiated, moves forward (known as the wall 0 mechanism). In this case, the backrest does not drop downwards and the lower part, where the tilting mechanism is located, can be concealed with a fixed element or panel. Figure 1 shows the tilting furniture (1) with a concealment mechanism. In this figure, the door (5) of the concealment mechanism is in the closed position and therefore concealed and protects the components of the electronic circuit (2) and the tilting mechanism of the furniture. Subsequently, figures 2 and 3 represent the same furniture (1) but with the door (5) of the concealment mechanism in an intermediate position and in the open position, respectively.
Thus, the furniture (1) that is the object of the invention comprises a tilting mechanism and an electronic circuit (2), with a plurality of components, associated therewith and comprises a main frame (3) and a housing (4), with an opening, wherein the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit (2) are arranged.
The key to the tilting furniture proposed is that it comprises a concealment mechanism with a movable door (5), arranged in correspondence with the housing (4) and which has the possibility of movement between a closed position wherein the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit (2) are concealed, and an open position which allows access to the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit (2). The furniture (1) also comprises an opening element (6), which may be, for example, a traction element, attached to the door (5) such that, when said opening element (6) is actuated, the door (5) moves to the open position.
As can also be seen in figures 2 and 3, the furniture (1) comprises at least one fixing and guiding element (7), which may be, for example, a brace, attached to the door (5) and the frame (3), and whose length determines the maximum displacement of the door (5). In the embodiment shown in the figures, it comprises two braces (7), one arranged on each side end of the cover (5) to ensure that, in addition to limiting the displacement, they make it more stable.
Thus, in the exemplary embodiment shown in the figures, to move the cover (5), the opening element (6) simply has to be pulled to move said cover (5) and gain access to the electronic circuit (2) and the tilting mechanism to carry out the necessary maintenance or component replacement operations. Subsequently, the door (5) is simply pushed in the opposite direction to move it back to the closed position, as shown in figure 1, wherein the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit (2) are completely concealed.
As we have already seen, said door actuation can be achieved, for example, by means of a push button that causes the same opening or closing movement of the door (5).
Preferably, the door (5) comprises an outer face and an inner face (8), opposite each other, and the inner face (8) is oriented towards the housing (4). The inner face (8) comprises the means to enable at least one of the components of the electronic circuit (2) to be attached to said inner face (8) as can be seen in figures 2 and 3.
Also preferably, the door (5) of the concealment mechanism is opened by a tilting movement. To this end, in one possible embodiment, the furniture (1) comprises pivot elements (9) that connect the door (5) and the frame (3) and are configured to control the tilting movement of the door (5) when it is actuated by the opening element (6). The pivot elements (9) may be hinges or another type of element that behaves in a similar fashion.
Figures 1 to 3 show an example wherein the door (5) of the concealment mechanism is arranged on the rear face (10) of the furniture (1). More preferably, in addition to being arranged on the rear face (10), it is located in a lower section of the furniture (1). This preferred arrangement can be seen in the aforementioned figures.
In an exemplary embodiment, in order to further increase the safety of the concealment mechanism, this comprises a locking device (11) with an anchor arranged on the inner face (8) of the door (5) configured to be attached to the frame (3) when the door is in the closed position. In this way, if children or pets are nearby, they are not going to be able to open the door (5). It also serves to ensure that said door does not open by itself involuntarily.
In the example shown in figures 2 and 3, the locking device (11) is a U-shaped element that is attached to the frame (3) by means of a clip-type connection. The frame (3) may be made up of a plurality of cylindrical tubes. In this case, the locking device (11) is attached to one of said cylindrical tubes.

Claims

Tilting furniture (1) with a concealment mechanism wherein the furniture (1) comprises a tilting mechanism and an electronic circuit (2) associated therewith, and comprises a main frame (3) and a housing (4) with an opening in which the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit (2) with a plurality of components are arranged, and comprising a concealment mechanism with:
- a movable door (5) arranged in correspondence with the housing (4), and which has the possibility of movement between a closed position wherein the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit (2) are concealed, and an open position which allows access to the tilting mechanism and the electronic circuit (2);

- an opening element (6) attached to the door (5) such that, when said opening element (6) is actuated, the door (5) moves to the open position;

- at least one fixing and guiding element (7) attached to the door (5) and the frame (3) and whose length determines the maximum displacement of the door (5);
characterised in that
the opening element (6) is a traction element that is attached to the door (5) and protrudes from the housing (4) of the furniture (1) such that it is accessible to the user from outside the furniture (1).
Tilting furniture with concealment mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the door (5) comprises an outer face and an inner face (8), opposite each other, and the inner face (8) is oriented towards the housing (4) and comprises attachment means to enable at least one of the components of the electronic circuit (2) to be attached to said inner face (8).
Tilting furniture with concealment mechanism according to any of the preceding claims comprising pivot elements (9) that attach the door (5) and the frame (3) and are configured to control a tilting movement of the door (5) when it is actuated by the opening element (6).
Tilting furniture with concealment mechanism according to any of the preceding claims wherein the door (5) of the tilting mechanism is arranged on a rear face (10) of the furniture (1).
Tilting furniture with concealment mechanism according to claim 4 wherein the door (5) of the concealment mechanism is arranged in a lower section of the furniture (1).
Tilting furniture with concealment mechanism according to any of the preceding claims comprising a locking device (11) with an anchor arranged on the inner face (8) of the door (5) configured to be attached to the frame (3) when the door is in the closed position.
Tilting furniture with concealment mechanism according to claim 6 wherein the locking device is a U-shaped element that is attached to the frame (3) by means of a clip-type connection.
Tilting furniture with concealment mechanism according to any of the preceding claims wherein the at least one fixing and guiding element (7) is a brace.