US587853A - Folding bed - Google Patents

Description

(N o Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 1. RA. OHLIGER.

FOLDING BED.

No. 587,853. Patented Aug. 10,1897.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. A. OHLIGER. FOLDING BED.

No. 587,853. Patented Aug. 10,1897.

1 w w we;

3 SheetsSheet 3. E. A. OHLIGER.

FOLDING BED.

(No Model.)

Patented Aug. 10, 1897.

UNITED STATES ERNEST A. OHLIGER, OF HARTFORD,

PATENT OFFI E- CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR or THREE- FOU'RTHS TO SAMUEL J. HUSSEY AND FRANK H. WHIPPLE, OF SAME PLACE, AND THOMAS M. SMITH, OF-WVEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

FOL-DING ee'o.

' srncrnrcarron forming er tor Letters went No. 587,853, dated August 10, 1897.

Application filed February 11, l89'i7. Serial No, 622,946. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: 7 Be it known that I, ERNEST A. OHLIGER, subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented-certain new and useful Improvements in Folding ,Beds, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a piece of furniture which has a bed hinged upon a pivot, so

that it can be turned up out of the way when not desired for use, and which has a part that forms a support for the bed when down and affords a sofa, lounge, or settee for use when the bed is up.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and light-weight balancing mechanism which is so arranged as'to permit the bed to be folded 0r unfolded with but little effort and yet prevent the bed from moving from either position accidentally,

the mechanism being so connected with the parts that the seat will be unfolded by the turning down of the bed and form a support for the bed and will be folded up by the turning up of the bed and arranged for use.

The embodiment of the invention which is shown has a case, a bed hinged upon a pivot supported by the case, springs connecting the case and the bed and brought into tension by the movement of the bed for balancing its weight, a seat hinged to the case, and mech anisms connecting the bed with the'seat in such manner that the-oscillation of the bed swings the seat on its hinge, as more particularly hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a front elevation of "an embodiment of the invention with the bed folded 0 out of the Way and the seat arranged for use.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a section on larger scale, taken through the lower portion, showing the mechanisms in the positions occupied when the bed is 5 raised andthe seat is in position for use.

Fig. 4: is a transverse section taken on the plane indicated by the broken line of Fig. 3, looking toward a small portion of the front. Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view on the same plane, looking toward the back. Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the pivot-shaft and the balancing-springs which it supports. Fig. 7 is a section of the pivot-shaft, looking toward the bearings on one side. Fig. 8 is a sectional view at one end of the pivot-shaft,

showing the arrangement of its bearings. In the views, 1 indicates the case. This case may be built of any suitable material in any approved design, but it is preferably put together in such manner that it can be readily taken apart for convenience in transporting. Mounted within the case is a bed 2.

shape, and its bottom is usually finished with panels of ,wood or glass and otherwise ornamented, so as to present a pleasing appearance when the bed is folded up. The bed is supported by a pivot-shaft 3, that extends from side to side and is held at .its ends by plates 4, secured to the side walls of the case. The supporting-plates 4 preferably have slots 5, and the ends of the pivot-shaft are flattened and fitted into the slots in the plates, so that the pivot-shaft is held against rotation. Secured to the sides of the bed are perforated plates 6, and the pivot-shaft passes through these plates, so that when the bed is oscillated the Weight is borne by these bearingplates.

--Attached to the wall of the bed-frame near the head adjacent to the pivot is a plate 7, with a perforation through which the pivot passes, and mounted upon the pivot adjacent tothis plate are a pair of springs 8. These springs have their outer ends connected With the shaft and their inner ends secured to the plate, and when the plate and the bed to which it is attached are rotated, as in unfolding the bed, the springs are coiled up in such manner as to offer resistance to this movement, and this resistance of course prevents the too rapid movement of the bed in unfolding and also aids in'rnoving the bedwhen it is being folded up. To further aid in balancone end connected with a plate 10, secured to the bed, and has its other end attached to a cord 11, that passes around a pulley 12 and is attached to one end of another spiral spring 13, that has its other end secured to the case The frame of the bed may be of ordinary ing the weight of the bed, a spiral spring!) has 5 by any suitable means at any convenient locality. Y The bed may be provided with any suitable form of mattress-frame and mattress. The wire mattress lat shown is connected across one end with a bar 15, which bar is held in place bybolts 16, that pass through the bar and through the end wall of the bed-frame or a bracket attached thereto, as shown in Fig. 3, in such manner that by the rotation of the bolts the bar may be moved and the mattress tightened or loosened as necessary. The case preferably does not extend to the outer end of the bed, and to give the sides of of the case.

the bed-frame a paneled appearance and to conceal the bedding along the low sides when the bed is raised "false edge boards 17 are provided. These boards are loosely held at their ends by cleats or moldings, so that they can be'slid toward the edges of the bed-frame to the position shown in Fig. 2 when the bed is not in use and is standing raised and so they can be slid .in from the edges to the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2,-thuslowering the sides of the bed when, it is to be used, the real sides of the bed-frame being of the customary shape of such parts--that is, being lower along the middle of their length than at their ends.

The bottom 18 of the seat-frame is hinged at its front edge to the top of the front wall This seat-frame is usually providedwith a suitably-upholstered cushion 19, supported upon seat-springs 20, and has posts 21 and 22, connected by bars 23, these latterparts forming the side arms of the seat when the bed is folded up, as shown in the views.

A shaft2-l is held in bearings formed in brackets 25, secured to the front wall of the case, and mounted upon this shaft is a lever 26. This lever is preferably formed of a flat bar of steel having some resiliency, and one of its ends is movably connected with a rod 27, secured to the bottom of the seat-frame, while the other end of the lever, isloosely connected with the end of a bar 28. The rod 27 is preferably round, and the end of the lever 26 is bent and provided with a central perfo-' ration which fits the rod. A small pivot or hinge-pin 29 connects one end of the bar 28 with the forked end of the lever 26, and the other end of this bar is by a pin 30 connected with the plate 10, attached to the bottom of the bed-frame. Secured to the hinge-pin 29 is an, arm 32, and to this arm is attached one end of a spring 33, the other end of which is secured to the case or a part attached to the case. The pin 30 passes through slots 34, formed in .parts of the plate 10, and to the ends of this pin are connected the ends of springs 35, that are connected with parts of the plate 10. This arrangement forms an elastic or yielding connection between the end of the bar 28 and the end of the bed-frame.

When the bed is turned from its upright position and oscillates on the pivot-shaft, the

movement of the end below the pivot causes end of the lever lifts the free edge of the seat I from the case and causes it to turn on its hinge until the ends of the posts 22' move over sufficiently to rest upon the floor and form the front legs of the structure that supports the bed when down. When the parts reach this position, the top edge of the frontportion of the'case and the bottom edge of the seat-frame,

which is now uppermost, form practically a. plane surface upon which the turned-down bed rests.

is turning the seat on its hinges. The bfl-PZB is connected with the bed at such a, distance Y from the pivot and is connected with the short arm of the lever 26 so near its fulcrum, and the long arm of the lever is connected with 1, the seat-frame at such a distance from itsful crum, that the seat moves faster in opening than the bed in turning down, and this-causes .the seat to move out of the way of the bed.

when being opened. As the lever 26 is somef what flexible, the movement of the'seat is easy and all slight irregularities of construction or 'unevennesses of surfaces upon which thebed stands are compensated for.

When the bed is being opened, the tension 20f the springs upon the pivot-shaft and the :springs connected between the end of the When the bed is. turned up from p a horizontal position, the end of the bed-frame x pushes the bar 28 in such manner that it 'oscillates the lever 26 on its fulcrum, S0 thattbe long arm pulls the free end of the seat-frame i over and causes it to close up. The endof TI the bar moves along the slots 34 in the plate Q 10, and the end of the long arm of the lever 26:

l moves freely along the rod 27 when the lever we f frame and the case balance its weight, so that I i it moves slowly and evenly, and these same, "springs aid in lifting when the. bedis. being I folded up. As the seat is connected withthe. ibed, these springs also counterbalance 10f the work necessary in moving the i The spring 33 prevents the seat frommoving :violently in opening and aids in closingthe seat, while the springs 35 tend to keep; end of the bar 28 as far as possible fromthe 1 axis of the pivot of the bed. To the bottom of the bed a cushion 36 is usually secured by any suitable upholstering to providea eom- .fortable back for the seat when the bed-is Iraised, and this cushion lies within the-case i when the bed is down. A bed provided with these spring connections arranged in this -manner can be turned up or down with but little effort, and the turning of the bed autoweight, simple, inexpensive, and can be readily assembled or can be easily replaced in case of wear. v I claim as my invention? 1. In a bed of the within-described class, in combination, a case, a bed-frame mounted upon a pivot supported by the case, mechanism for counterbalancing the weight of the bed-frame, a seat-frame hinged at one edge to the case, and levers connected with the bedframe and the free edge of the seat-frame whereby the oscillation of the bed-frame on its pivot reverses the seat-frame on its hinges, the seat-frame when turned down forming a support for the bed-frame and when turned up forming a seat, substantially as specified.

2. In a bed of the within-described class, in combination, a case, a bed-frame mounted upon a pivot supported bythe case, yielding connections between the bed-frame and the case for counterbalancing the weight of the bed-frame, a seat-frame hinged at one edge to the case, and yielding connections between the bed-frame and the seat-frame whereby the oscillation of the bed-frame on its pivot reverses the seat-frame on its hinges, the seatframe when turned down forminga support for the bed-frame and when turned up forming a seat, substantially as specified.

3. In a bed of the within-described class, in combination, a case, a bed-frame mounted upon a pivot supported bythe case, spiral springs mounted upon the pivot and connected with the bed-frame and springs connecting the bed-frame with the case, for counterbalancing its weight, a seat-frame hinged at one edge to the case, an oscillating lever connected with the free edge of the seatframe, and a link connecting the bed-frame with the lever whereby the oscillation of the bed-frame on its pivot reverses the seat-frame on its hinges, the seat-frame when turned down forming a support for the bed-frame and when turned up forming a seat, substantially as specified.

4. In a bed of the within-described class, in combination, a case, a bed-frame mounted upon a pivot supported by the case, mechanism for counterbalancing the weight of the bed-frame, a seat-frame hinged at one edge to the case, a spring-lever pivotally supported by the case and loosely connected with the seat-frame; and a link connecting the bedframe with the lever, substantially as specified.

5. In a bed of the within-described class,

- in combination, a case, a bed-frame mounted upon a pivot supported by the case, mechanism for counterbalancing the Weight of the bed-frame, a seat-frame hinged at one edge to the case, a lever pivotally supported by the case with one end loosely connected with the free edge of the seat-frame, a link connecting the bed-frame with the end of the lever that is not connected with the seatframe, and a spring connecting the case with the lever that is connected with the seatarm of the lever, a link yieldingly'connected at one end with the bed-frame and loosely connected at the opposite end with the other,

arm of the lever, and a spring connected with the lever adjacent to the point of attachment of the link, substantially as specified.

7. In a bed of the within-described class,

in combination, a case, a bed having side,

head and foot boards, mounted upon a pivot supported by the case, shield-boards with their ends loosely held connected with the side boards of the bed and having a movement bodily edgewise toward and from the top edges of the side boards in order to widen or narrow the sides of the bed, and mechanisms for counterbalancing the weight of the bed, substantially as specified.

ERNEST A. OHLIGER.

Witnesses:

H. R. WILLIAMS, E. J. HYDE.

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