US-12616167-B2 - Furniture bench with a pet ramp

US12616167B2US 12616167 B2US12616167 B2US 12616167B2US-12616167-B2

Abstract

A piece of household furniture constructed in the form of a bench seat that is equipped with a pet ramp. A portion or all of the seat forms the pet ramp when pivoted from a horizontal seat position to an inclined pet ramp position. A pet can thus move from the floor via the inclined pet ramp, and from the bench to a bed or other furniture. When the pet ramp is not in use, it is pivoted to a horizontal position to form the bench seat, which then appears as a typical piece of furniture.

Inventors

Jeffery J. Kacines

Assignees

Jeffery J. Kacines

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240605

Claims (15)

1 . A furniture bench, comprising: a two-part seat with a top horizontal surface for sitting on, a first part of said two-part seat being stationary and non-movable with respect to said furniture bench, said first seat part having an edge, and a second seat part of said two-part seat having an edge, the second seat part of said two-part seat comprises a pet ramp, the edges of said first and second seat parts having a hinged connection for allowing said second seat part to rotate about said hinged connection with respect to said first seat part; said pet ramp is rotatable so that an outer edge thereof moves from a horizontal position and approaches a floor on which said furniture bench rests, and a pet can ascend from the floor and up said pet ramp to said stationary first seat part; and a plurality of legs for supporting said seat on the floor.
2 . The furniture bench of claim 1 , wherein said first seat part comprises a stationary platform that does not move from the horizontal position, and said second seat part comprises said pet ramp, and when in horizontal positions, said first seat part and said second seat part have respective top surfaces that are coplanar to each other.
3 . The furniture bench of claim 1 , wherein said pet ramp moves in an arc less than 45 degrees to approach the floor.
4 . The furniture bench of claim 1 , further including a rack that is rectangular shaped having four corners, said rack having a structure spanning four sides thereof and constructed to hold household items in a central area thereof, and one leg of said plurality of legs of said furniture bench is located and fixed to a respective corner of said rack.
5 . The furniture bench of claim 1 , wherein said seat includes a non-movable section, and further including a hinge for connecting an edge of said pet ramp to said non-movable seat section.
6 . The furniture bench of claim 4 , further including an upper horizontal frame for supporting said seat and said pet ramp when said pet ramp is in a horizontal position, and further including a lower horizontal frame for supporting said rack, and said plurality of legs supporting both said upper horizontal frame and said lower horizontal frame.
7 . A furniture bench, comprising: a seat with a top horizontal surface for sitting on, and at least a portion of said seat comprises a pet ramp; a plurality of legs for supporting said seat on a floor; a rack that is rectangular shaped having four corners, said rack suitable for holding household items thereon, and one leg of said plurality of legs of said furniture bench is located and fixed to a respective corner of said rack, an upper horizontal frame for supporting said seat and said pet ramp when said pet ramp is in a horizontal position, and further including a lower horizontal frame for supporting said rack, and said plurality of legs supporting both said upper horizontal frame and said lower horizontal frame; and said pet ramp is rotatable so that an outer edge thereof moves from a horizontal position and approaches the floor on which said furniture bench rests, and a pet can ascend from the floor and up said sitting top surface of said pet ramp.
8 . The furniture bench of claim 1 , wherein said second seat part of said two-part seat has an end that is rotatable in an arc when said second seat part is hinged about said hinged connection, and further including a support rest for supporting the end of said second seat part when in a horizontal position so that the end of said second seat part allows a person to sit thereon.
9 . The furniture bench of 8 , wherein said support rest comprises a rod upon which the end of said second seat part rests when in a horizontal position.
10 . The furniture bench of claim 8 , wherein said support rest is constructed so as to be rotatable at one end thereof and removed from a path of hinged movement of said second seat part when hinged to form a ramp.
11 . The furniture bench of claim 1 , wherein said hinged connection includes a horizontal rod attached at said horizontal rod ends to a frame of said furniture bench, and said second seat part includes two brackets attached thereto, where said two brackets allow said horizontal rod to rotate therein.
12 . The furniture bench of claim 11 , wherein said hinged connection is constructed to allow a top surface of said first seat part to be in a horizontal plane that is the same as a horizontal plane of said second seat part.
13 . The furniture bench of claim 1 , further including a frame for supporting said first seat part and said second seat part, and a support rest on which a pivotal end of said second seat part rests when in a horizontal position, said support rest constructed so that the pivotal end of said second seat part is raised above the horizontal position to disengage said support rest from said second seat part.
14 . A furniture bench, comprising: said furniture bench constructed with decorative wood to appear as household furniture; said furniture bench having a wood frame with a pair of spaced apart upper rails and a pair of spaced apart lower rails; a nonmovable seat fastened between said spaced apart upper rails, said seat fastened so as to be laterally nonmovable, and said nonmovable seat having an edge; a pivotal seat having an edge, said pivotal seat located adjacent said pair of spaced apart upper rails and said pivotal seat being coplanar with said nonmovable seat when in a horizontal position; a hinge connecting the edges of said nonmovable seat and said pivotal seat; a leg connecting a respective end of each upper rail to a respective end of each said lower rail, said furniture bench thus having four legs supporting said furniture bench on a floor; and said pivotal seat movable in an arc about said hinge to form a ramp allowing a pet to move from the floor to the nonmovabe seat.
15 . The furniture bench of claim 14 , further including a rack having four corners, each said rack corner fastened to a respective said leg, said rack adapted for holding magazines thereon.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to furniture and pet ramps, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for integrating a pet ramp into household furniture so that when not deployed, the pet ramp appears as a top of the furniture. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Pet ramps of all kinds are routinely available to enable pets to more easily negotiate their movement from the floor to a bed or couch, and vice versa. Some furniture is simply too high for small pets to jump thereon from the floor. Pet ramps are especially useful for older pets who have joint ailments and find that the movement of their bodies or jumping is stressful and painful. To that end, pet ramps of various types are available to assist pet movement between household furniture or vehicles and the floor or ground, as well as in other situations. Most pet ramps that are known in the industry are constructed of sturdy metal, plastic or wood and have the look or appearance of industrial or mechanical apparatus. Many of the pet ramps available are designed and constructed for a single purpose, i.e., an inclined ramp that serves a single purpose, namely to assist a pet in moving from the floor or ground to an elevated platform. As such, these types of pet ramps often include a ramp and at the upper end thereof a platform is formed. While this type of pet ramp functions for its desired purpose, it is often not aesthetically pleasing, and so much so that they are not often desired for use in a home along with other household furniture. The prior art includes a few attempts to simulate pet ramp structures as furniture. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,461, a pet house is disclosed. The pet house is constructed with wood that looks like furniture and has facilities for housing a pet, but nevertheless serves a single purpose for a pet and cannot also serve as furniture that one can sit on. A dual use structure is not available which is functional for pet use as well as human use. Further, the ramp disclosed in this patent is either part of a top or side of the pet house, and is moved about a hinged edge to either close a top or side opening of the pet house. As such, the pet ramp is always visible and cannot be disguised as part of the household furniture and appear as part of typical household furniture. It is well known that household furniture does not normally include ramp apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 8,978,177 describes a person's bed equipped with a pet ramp formed at the foot of the bed. While this affords an easy path for pets to gain access to the top of the bed, the pet ramp remains visible as an inclined structure and is always visible as such. This patent describes the pet ramp as being hidden, as the foot board hides the pet ramp from the frontal side thereof, but the top and end of the pet ramp apparatus is still visible. The bed cannot function as a bed alone without the pet ramp located alongside the bed. Thus, the bed constitutes a furniture piece, but the visible pet ramp cannot be disguised. Many other pet ramp structures are known in the prior art. U.S. Published patent application 2020/0060224 describes a stand-alone pet crate that is collapsible, and includes a ramp. Other pet ramps are described in the following patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. D736,484; D734,570; 6,732,676; 7,621,236; 8,117,994; 2014/0123910; 22016/0144759 and 2021/0146842. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the principles and concepts of the invention, disclosed is a piece of household furniture constructed as a bench seat used for sitting on, and with a pet ramp integrated therein. Thus, when the pet ramp is not deployed, the bench seat appears as a conventional piece of household furniture because the pet ramp is disguised as all or part of the bench seat. When the pet ramp is extended and inclined from the bench seat, a pet can easily move between the floor and a bed, or other furniture, depending on where the user chooses to place the bench seat. Even when the pet ramp is deployed, the household furniture may, in some instances, still be used by a person. According to an embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a bench seat that includes an upholstered cushion and finished wood components that include a cushion support, legs, a pet ramp and a magazine rack, all finished with a decorative furniture coating. Thus, the bench seat appears as a common piece of household furniture. A user can sit on the bench seat, and when the ramp is deployed, a pet can negotiate the pet ramp. A feature of the bench seat of the invention is that it is portable and can be moved adjacent to other pieces of furniture. For example, the bench seat of the invention can be moved and positioned adjacent a bed in order for the pet to move from the floor to the bed, and vice versa. Similarly, the bench seat of the invention can be moved adjacent a couch or chair so that a pet can negotiate movement between the floor and the couch or chair. With reg