FOLDABLE AND CONVERTIBLE STRUCTURE ALLOWING THE ROTATION FOR CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE OR OTHER EXTERIOR OR INTERIOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION UNIT

FOLDABLE AND CONVERTIBLE STRUCTURE ALLOWING THE ROTATION FOR CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE OR OTHER EXTERIOR OR INTERIOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION UNIT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The proposed invention is in the technical field of furniture or other building construction units.

More specifically, the present invention is in the technical field of tables, sofa and chairs.

More specifically, the present invention is in the technical field hinges that allow transformable furniture or other visible building construction unit that are visible when put in place. For example, an exterior building construction unit is used as a part for a ventilated facade. An interior building construction unit can be attached to an inner wall of an apartment, office or shop floor to allow transformation and configuration of the inner wall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The proposed invention advances the methodology and design of convertible and transformable pieces of furniture or construction unit.

The proposed invention is based on a hinge system that allows the relative rotation of different components or links in order to achieve a new configuration of the object as a whole. This new configuration allows a different way to use of the piece of furniture or construction unit itself. For a simpler explanation the following paragraphs will refer to the field of furniture and analogous considerations can also be made for construction units.

As a general note, the system according to the present invention can be compared to a bicycle chain: a series of connected rollers can freely rotate until reaching an angular stop, which is given by the shape of the roller itself.

According to the present invention, the angular stop allows for the rotation of individual rollers up until predesigned angles, so that each single hinge has a maximum and a minimum angular stop.

The present invention can be applied to different pieces of furniture, linked by a common feature: tras formability . As an example, the proposed hinges system can be applied to tables, coffee tables and sofas/chairs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of different configurations of a furniture unit according to the present invention. From upper left corner, a first configuration is that of a table or a bed, a second configuration is that of a chaise longue and a third configuration is that of an armchair;

Fig. 2 and 3 are front view of selected link components of a frame or structure for furniture unit according to figure 1. Figures 2a and 3a show possible displacement of components of figures 2 and 3 respectively;

Figure 4 is a perspective exploded view of link components of a frame or structure for a furniture unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic and not in scale perspective view of link according to a variant of the structure of figure 4;

Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the application of a series of hinges and links to a closed chain-like structure ;

Figures 7 and 8 provide the details of hinges in the embodiment of figure 6A; Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view of a piece of furniture according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 is a partial front schematic view of a hinge and link module according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11 is a partial front schematic view of different configurations of the hinge and link module according to figure 10; and

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture manufactured using the module of figures 10 and 11; and

Figure 13 is a schematic front view of links of a frame or structure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention .

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The hinge system according to the present invention allows creating transformable furniture.

As an example, figure 1 shows as a whole a convertible furniture unit comprising a foldable frame or structure 2 and a plurality of covering elements 3 attached to frame 2 to define at least a seat 4 for a user and, more in general, an external furnishing surface that is visible by a user in normal use.

Covering elements 3 can be rigid such as wood or polycarbonate, or soft such as a foam, a filling or the like. Covering elements 3 can comprise webs of textile or the like attached to or stretched on ad acent links of frame 2.

Foldable frame 2 comprises a plurality of bars or trusts 5 having an axis A, or equivalent elongated structure, each of which preferably supports at least a covering element 3 and a plurality of plates 6, or equivalent connecting element, hinged to each other and connected to bars 5 to define a foldable chain-like structure where plates 6 are preferably external with respect to the relative covering element 3 along axis A and define a catching portion for a user to move the links of the chain-like structure and change the configuration. Foldable frame 2 is modular, i.e. links have longitudinal and transversal dimensions repeated link by link or there are two modules or more repeating along the frame. Alternatively or in combination, links are configured so that frame 2 is chain-like or caterpillar track-like foldable. For example, a link comprises a bar 5 and two plates 6 or transversal elements connected to respective end portions of bar 5.

Preferably bars 5 are rigid, e.g. made of metal or wood or a structural polymer, and covering element 3 is a cylinder of an expanded polymeric material lined by a textile and surrounding the respective bar 5 so that plates 6 are uncovered, i.e. bar 5 is longer than filling or an attaching portion of covering element 3 fixed to bar 5.

In particular, two plates 6 are connected to respective end portions of each bar 5 and transversally project with respect to the latter to define a rigid link of the chain that is hinged to an adjacent link and so on. Bar 5 is coaxial to respective hinge axis A. A link comprises either plates or a combination of a bar 5 and two respective plates 6.

Furthermore, the relative angular position between plates 6 of adjacent links in two opposed directions of rotation is delimited between two predefined stops and depends on the position of each link along foldable frame 2. The angular position is not necessarily constant along foldable frame 2 or does not necessarily repeat in a uniform way along foldable frame 2.

Indeed, as shown in figure 1, furniture unit 1 preferably has a foldable frame 2 having a closed loop to form a track-like or chain-like structure and may be configured as a flat bed or couch for interior or exterior use, i.e. in a garden, terrace or the like, or as a chaise longue having a backrest inclined 45° or less with respect to a horizontal plane. In all instances any use requires a rest surface that is shaped according to the specific configuration. When switching from first to second configuration the user pushes forward the track-like structure so as to respectively move the links of foldable frame 2 when the latter rolls on the ground. When foldable frame 2 is pushed forward, each link changes its angular position with respect to the gravity load so that the weight of those links and those covering elements 3 that are spaced from the ground move and change the angular position of two adjacent links within the constraints defined by the angular stops cited above. In particular, in figure 1, the configuration as a bed or table is defined such that bars 5' having a maximum distance from the ground and from bars 5'' resting on the ground are co-planar. The chaise longue configuration is defined so that bars 5 ' ' ' ' above bars 5''' resting on the ground (figure 1) follow a wavy path. The arm chair or sofa configuration clearly identify the seat 4 and a backrest 8.

Advantageously, relative angular position between two adjacent plates 6 is delimited by a projection tilting about hinge axis A between two stops and defining an angular and reversible span of two links connected by a common hinge axis A. Referring to each hinge axis A, the projection is brought by a link and stops are brought by the adjacent link. In view of the fact that each link is connected to two adjacent links by two respective hinge axes, each link has any combination of a projection and a pair of stops to connect with an adjacent link. By setting the angular position of stops, it is possible to design link-by-link the angular span of two links about common hinge axis A and respective angular position of the stops with respect to an orthogonal reference frame R having an origin on the hinge axis and an axis aligned on a plane comprising hinge axis A and A' of a link ( figure 3 ) .

According to a preferred embodiment shown in figure 2, projection is a pin 10 brought by a bar 5' or a plate 6' and the relative pair of stops is defined by the angular extension or span along the circumferential dimension of a slot 11 having a preferably constant radius Rl centered about hinge axis A. Slot 11 houses pin 10 with a circumferential play and is defined by plate 6'' of a link adjacent to the link having pin 10. Each pin 10 and slot 11 is fixed with respect to the respective plate 6.

Figures 2 and 3 show that stops defined by slot 11 have a variable extension along foldable frame 2.

When user rolls foldable frame 2 on the ground, links move freely neglecting friction forces so as to decrease the effort of the user to change the configuration.

Figure 4 shows a portion of a further embodiment of foldable frame 2 wherein bar 5 is hollow and is connected to an insert 18. The latter is housed in an end portion 19 of bar 5. Insert 18 defines a relative axis A preferably through pin 20 mountable in a respective seat 21 of insert 18. Furthermore, according to the embodiment of figure 5, projection 10 is at the same time a shape coupling element to rigidly connect plate 6' to bar 5 in combination with pin 20 and insert 18 because projection 10 and pin 20 are distanced from one another; and a moving element inside slot 11 of plate 6'' adjacent to plate 6' . Insert 18 can be connected to end portion 19 without being housed inside the latter so that bar 5 defines a spacer between plates or connecting elements 6 along a direction parallel to axis A.

Figure 5 shows a further possible closed-chain configuration similar to that of figure 4. The foldable frame 2 is transformable thanks to the users' action: when rolling the chain, a user can change the shape of foldable frame 2 and, accordingly, its function. According to the embodiment of figure 6, hinges are connected by longer connecting elements or plates 6 with respect to those shown in figures 2, 3 and 4. In such a case, to increase the applicable loads, arrays of plates 6 (figure 5) are provided on the same end portion 19 of bar 5 and three bearing pins are provided, one indicated by numeral 20 defining the hinge axis and two symmetrical ones providing angular abutments or stops and indicated by numeral 10. Pins 10 are housed with circumferential play inside slots 11 defined by plates 6 . Closed chain foldable frame 2 of figure 6 provides in a first configuration a substantially horizontal and flat surface serving as a table or a bed, in a second configuration a chaise longue silhouette and in a third configuration a sofa or armchair silhouette. Preferably, the back rest of the chaise longue has an angular position of less than 45° with respect to a horizontal plane; instead, the backrest of the sofa has an angular position of more than 45° with respect to a horizontal plane, as shown in figures 6.

Figure 7 shows that the 7 links defining closed chain or track foldable frame 2 of figure 6 are connected by hinges having, one-by-one, a different angular span defined by the angular amplitude of the respective slot 11. Furthermore, figure 7 shows that connecting elements 6 of foldable frame 2 of figure 6 have different lengths from one another.

Figure 8 shows that each slot 11, given the angular amplitude of figure 7, has a stop SI having an angular position with respect to orthogonal reference frame R (see also figure 3) . The position of the other stop S2 is given considering the angular amplitude of the relevant slot 11. SI and

S2 respectively define the maximum and minimum angular position of two ad acent links.

Also the number of pins 10 can be increased to more than two in order to reduce the contact pressure.

Figure 9 shows a chain configuration in which the number of hinges per unit of length has been increased with respect to the foldable frame of figures 6 to 8. The furniture unit 30 of figure 9 has a foldable frame according to figure 2, in particular having two slots and two bearing pins for each hinge. Two links of the foldable frame have two stable preprogrammed positions that can vary proportionally to the angular length of each slot. As an example, foldable frame 2 of furniture unit 30 is configured to obtain in a first configuration a resting substantially horizontal surface (figure 9, left-hand image) at a first vertical height and in a second and third configurations with further resting substantially horizontal surfaces having a second vertical height greater than said first vertical height (figure 9, central or right-hand image) .

Figure 10 shows a configuration in which a geometric constraint or an external shaped portion of the links works as angular stop. One single bearing pin is subsequently required and defines the hinge. In particular, according to this embodiment, stops are defined by a peripheral face 40 of connecting elements or plates 6 that abut against one another and define side flanks of each link. In particular, each link may comprise a structural panel 41 defining, preferably in a single body, hinge axis and stops to define the maximum/minimum respective angular position between two adjacent panels 41. Structural panel 41 may or may not be associated to plates 6 in order to define abutments and stop positions. Furthermore, panels 41 may have a different dimension from one another along a direction perpendicular to that of hinge axis A. Furthermore, a panel 41 may define a link with or without a pair of plates 6.

According to figure 10, hinges overlap so that there is an abutment between adjacent links of the foldable frame. Each hinge defines an angular stop due to its specific shape. Every link allows a rotation about hinge axis (A) equal to a 90° rotation, abutting against the adjacent link. Two adjacent links have two stable preconfigured positions. In this embodiment, position of the bearing pin 20 defining hinge axis A within a panel provided between two opposed plates 6 (figure 10) is important to define the two abutments for the resting positions. As shown in the figures 10 and 11, abutments converges towards bearing pin 20 and hinge axis A and shall have a respective angular position in order to obtain the desired shape of the foldable frame. When considered with respect to orthogonal reference frame R, stop abutments 40 of hinge A have an angular span of 145° and respective positions of +90° and -45°. When the same is applied to stop abutments 40 of adjacent hinge A', the angular span is 145° and respective position is +45° and - 90° .

Preferably, panels P are configured to obtain in a first configuration a resting substantially horizontal surface (figure 12 left-hand image) at a first vertical height and in a second and third configuration with further respective resting substantially horizontal surfaces having a second vertical height greater than said first vertical height (figure 13 central or right-hand image) . Advantageously, the unit shown in figure 12 can be embedded as an armrest of a sofa .

Figure 14 shows a further embodiment of links for a foldable frame according to the present invention wherein links may also relatively move according to a rototranslation . For example it is possible that adjacent plates 6 rototranslate when plate 6 defines at least two curved slots or guides 11' and the adjacent plate has pins 10' sliding within the guides and maintaining a constant relative distance. The area circumscribing pins and guides defines a coupling area between two adjacent plates or links. In a rototranslation it is always possible to identify a rotation axis that, during rotation, also translates.

In view of the embodiments described above, a foldable frame 2 according to the present invention comprises:

- A slot with a predesigned dimension that allows the hinge to reach its maximum/minimum angular stop;

A bearing pin (20) that works as a rotation or hinge axis A;

One or more bearing pins (10) that, moving freely within the relative slot 11 until an abutment is reached, blocks the hinge in it maximum/minimum stable configuration; When foldable frame 2 is a closed loop, its basic structure can be compared to the one of a bicycle chain, where the individual hinges have one single degree of freedom (rotation) with two angular stops, a maximum and a minimum one. Therefore the hinge has a limited tilting or rotation range. The variation of the length of the slots allows a subsequent and proportional variation of the limited rotation range of the hinge.

When assembling a number of hinges in a linear sequence, it is possible to obtain a chain-like structure where every single element has a preprogrammed range of rotational freedom and two stable configurations .

Every hinge accomplishes consequently a defined rotation within a different rotation range with respect to adjacent ones. Such rotation, summed up with the relative rotations of all previous and following hinges on the chain line, creates a wider movement of the overall chain-like foldable frame. If every single hinge has no more than two stable configuration, corresponding to the abutment on stops SI and S2, the whole chain itself will have two or more stable configurations depending on how the whole system has been designed.

The number of hinges used can be increased or reduced according to design needs and criteria.

To determinate the different configurations that can be obtained, a kinematic analysis has to be performed.

The main issue in this sense is that the possible motion of the hinges is always opposite to the direction of the force applied while the object is in use, for example the weight of the foldable frame or of a user or an object resting on the frame. This principle allows having stable configurations, in relation to the use of the object. The rotation among adjacent hinges is free (neglecting friction) and reversible when the single bearing pin 10 is movable within its slot, in order to allow a simple and easy movement to the user to switch from a stable configuration to another one.

The simplicity of the single elements employed allows to use different advanced cutting systems (laser cutting, milling etc.) and different materials in order to achieve the necessary balance between structural performance and lightness, a fundamental requirement for a furniture that should be able to be operated whit minimal effort.

When the foldable frame 2 is applied in the building construction field the foldable frame comprises a series of at least three or more links connected by rotation hinges or roto- translation hinges and stops for defining the angular span of two adjacent links about a common hinge axis, the pair of stops of at least two hinges respectively within the frame being different from one another for either the angular span or the angular position with respect the orthogonal reference frame R that is fixed with respect to each link to obtain a convertible unit.

Preferably, links are such to obtain at least three different use configurations that differs one from one another because each use configuration stably maintains when loaded by gravity a portion defining an angle, such angle being different from each configuration. For example, referring to figure 1 and by analogy to a furniture unit, the table configuration defines a 180° angle, the chaise longue configuration defines an angle of 45° or lower with respect to a horizontal plane and the sofa / armchair configuration defines an angle greater than 45°.