---

Futon sofa

The popularity of futons has increased over the past several years because they are relatively inexpensive while at the same time being capable of being used for both sitting and sleeping. The advantages of a futon is that it is large, flexible and cushionlike. It is large enough to be used as a sofa or a bed. Futon is flexible enough to be foldable, so that it may be stored and transported easily, but it is also firm enough so that it may be used with different furniture frames to form a sofa or a bed. Indeed, one of the most popular uses of futons is as an element of sofa-bed frames that can be converted between sofa and bed frame configurations. The futon is used on the sofa bed recliner as a combination seat cushion and mattress which can function without having to be removed as the sofa bed recliner transforms from a sofa to a bed and to a recliner. The sofa bed recliner of the present invention is in effect an adaptable futon or mattress or cushion support styled to function as a unique sofa bed recliner. In the sofa configuration, the futon is firm enough to be propped up as the seat and back cushions. In the bed configuration, the futon is flexible enough to be a comfortable mattress. Futon frames have been widely used for decades. Like sofas they provide a place to sit. They also can be converted into a bed by causing the seat portion and the back portion to become coplanar. In almost all cases they must be purchased unassembled and then assembled in the home of the end user, by the end user. The futon sofa bed is a convertible product, converting from a bed position to a sofa position and back again. Accordingly, the futon sofa bed requires moving and mechanical parts to achieve these conversions. There are a variety of futon frames currently available that serve the dual function of providing a frame for a sofa and a bed. Many of these frames employ guide posts mounted on the back of the sofa which ride in guide slots in the base of the sofa. The guide posts, directed by the slots, assist in directing the back from an upright position to a horizontal position.

---