Sofa provided with a sensor

• US 9,351,582 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2014
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Patrice Boccara
• Original Assignee: Patrice Boccara
• Inventors: Boccara, Patrice
• Primary Examiner(s): Quast, Elizabeth A
• Application Number:
  US14/255,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20140319892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 17/04 Seating furniture, e.g. sofas, couches, settees, or the like, with movable parts changeable to beds; Chair beds
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 20/041 by electric motors
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 31/126 for chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/38 for the head adjustable coupled to reclining or easy chairs A47C1/036

Abstract

A piece of furniture which is used to sit on which includes a seating part at least one element, distinct from the seating part, which can go between a position of use of the element and a position of non-use of the element and a control means designed to command the passage of the at least one element from one position to another. The piece of furniture further includes a sensor means designed to detect the presence of a person seated on the seating part; and the piece of furniture is arranged such that the control means command the passage of the at least one element from one position to another when the sensor means detects the presence of a person on the seating part.

Claims

1. A piece of furniture which is used to sit on comprising at least a seating part and at least one element, distinct from said seating part, which can go between a position of use of said at least one element and a position of non-use and a control means designed to command a passage of the said at least one element from one position to another wherein:

sensor means are provided to detect the presence of a person seated on the seating part;

the control means configured to command a passage of said at least one element from one position to another when said sensor means detects the presence of the person on the seating part; and

said at least one element is a headrest designed to support a head of the person seated on the seating part;

the headrest being fitted such as to be able to go between at least one lowered position in which the head of the person seated cannot be supported by the headrest and one raised position in which the head of the person seated is supported by the headrest.

2. The piece of furniture according to claim 1 wherein the sensor means comprises a pressure sensor.

3. The piece of furniture according to claim 2, wherein several pre-recorded positions of said at least one element are pre-recorded according to a plurality of weights, and the control means is configured to command a displacement of the at least one element into one of the pre-recorded positions according to the weight detected by the pressure sensor.

4. The piece of furniture according to claim 1 wherein the sensor means are placed in the seating part.

5. The piece of furniture according to claim 1 wherein a mechanical system connected to the headrest appears only in the raised position of the headrest.

6. The piece of furniture according to claim 1 wherein a mechanical system connected to the headrest appears in none of the positions of the headrest.

7. The piece of furniture of claim 1, wherein the piece of furniture is a sofa.

8. A piece of furniture which is used to sit on comprising at least a seating part and at least one element, distinct from said seating part, which can go between a position of use of said at least one element and a position of non-use and a control means designed to command a passage of the said at least one element from one position to another wherein:

sensor means are provided to detect the presence of a person seated on the seating part;

the control means configured to command a passage of said at least one element from one position to another when said sensor means detects the presence of the person on the seating part; and

wherein the furniture is configured such that when the sensor means does not detect the person seated on the seating part, for at least a certain interval of time determined in advance, the control means commands the passage of the at least one element into said position of non-use.

9. The piece of furniture of claim 8, wherein the piece of furniture is a sofa.

10. An assembly comprising a piece of furniture which is used to sit on comprising at least a seating part and at least one element, distinct from the piece of furniture, which can go from one position to another under the control of a control means wherein:

sensor means are provided for detecting a presence of a person seated on the seating part; and

the control means configured to command a passage of said at least one element from one position to another when the sensor means detect the presence of the person on the seating part; and

the assembly is configured such that when the sensor means does not detect the person seated on the seating part, for at least a certain interval of time determined in advance, the control means commands the passage of the at least one element into one of the positions.

11. The assembly according to claim 10 wherein the sensor means comprises a pressure sensor.

12. The assembly according to claim 11, wherein the sensor means are placed in the seating part.

13. The assembly according to claim 10 wherein several pre-recorded positions of said at least one element are pre-recorded according to a plurality of weights and the control means is configured to command a displacement of said at least one element into one of the pre-recorded positions according to the weight detected by the pressure sensor.

14. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the piece of furniture is a sofa.