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Innovation USA of Baltimore, MD, the American arm of
Denmark's Innovation Randers, uses a very similar mechanism
to the original Nippon frame. Rich and Cheryl DeBois,
the owners of the distribution rights here in the United
States, have come to the Futon Expo the past few years
and won handily the Best Booth Display with their engineering
and marketing marvels. The Innovation frames are designed
to appeal to Gen Xers and feature a solid metal ratchet
mechanism that works like a charm. The rest of the frame
is well designed and built to exacting specs. Two years ago Hickory Springs entered the category
with their hybrid seat and back mechanism called the
Comfort Lounger®. This mechanism, from a true industrial
bedding supplier, was picked up by several manufacturers
including Broyhill, who continue to produce a futon
frame under the Ridgewood brand name. Crestwood Leisure
Products is also making a great line of beautiful, upholstered
arm, convertible futon frames. Hickory Springs also
introduced its own line of frames featuring the mechanism
at the recent fall High Point market. In our search for information on manufacturers of metal mechanisms for futon furniture we discovered only one. Pat Davis, of RTA Systems, is now the manufacturer of several mechanisms that have been around for many years. Made and marketed by a company called Waterloo Springs, the mechanisms were a standard part for many sofa-bed makers. RTA Systems has purchased the rights and dies from the now defunct Waterloo Springs and is once again making the mechanisms . By George They've Got It! Today the negative drag on the industry produced by the $39, all metal, black tube frame from Asia seems to be subsiding. Dealers and vendors alike are finally seeing the light and hopefully now realize that this product will never serve their long term goals of growth and true customer satisfaction. The next generation of metal frames and mechanisms are of a much higher quality and target more substantial price points that keep margins at more traditional levels. The beauty of the cycle is apparent. As more and more quality dealers turn to the true value of a better frame and move away from the quick buck associated with these junk frames, consumers are getting “futons” that work well and in many cases “futons” that they can live with for years to come. We have always applauded quality and value with the understanding that they come at a price. It seems the current players in the metal game get it! This update of the Futon Primer for 1999, a Futon Life Exclusive, is copyright protected under applicable US copyright laws. It is available for re-print by permission of the author and Futon Life only. It is also available, with additional materials, on the world wide web at http://www.futonlife.com.-Editor
-Marcus Grimm, Marketing Director, Simmons Futon
Back to Top Back
to Mechanism Part 1 Mechanism
Patents
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Both
styles of frames employed the use of a horizontal and
vertical slider. The horizontal slider, which runs along
the inside of each arm stretcher, allows the seat rack
to move forward and back during conversion. The vertical
slider, which runs along the back leg of each arm, allows
the back rest to move from vertical to horizontal during
conversion. They also employed a form of the kicker
or a pivot bar of some kind. Both of these elements,
or fulcrum mechanisms, allowed the seat and backrest
to engage each other and move together in the conversion
process. (Figure 1) Others, like Pete Dodge and Dave
Chadbourn, brought us several designs that employed
springs to help their frames convert. Nikita Griegorev's
EZ used wheels to ease the conversion process. All of
this in the context of breaking new ground. This was
a new category of furniture which had no history to
build upon. Many of these early designers were solving
problems on the fly and making appropriate changes with
little or no background in the furniture design field.
In
1987 Nippon of Denmark introduced the first metal mechanism
for a convertible futon frame. The arm was fashioned
after the very successful Dove arm (Figure 2), but that
is where any similarity ended. The mechanism itself
was very “European”: elegant, functional,
and based on a simple ratchet system. It consisted of
the ratchet mechanism attached to the base of each arm.
The ratchet mechanism itself consisted of a complex
set of interactive arms. The ratcheting function, built
into the mechanism, allowed the frame to lock in the
sitting or sleeping position and to convert from sitting,
to reclining, to sleeping and back easily, from the
front. 
Though
it was revolutionary to the industry at the time, the
mechanism's principle had been around for years. The
application to a product in a growing category like
futon furniture was the key. The metal mechanism attached
to the metal base made the frame almost indestructible.
The price was another issue. Nippon remained in the
market through 1992, but has since decided to focus
on the European market. Today Innovation USA, one of
Europe's premier futon furniture manufacturers, is recommitting
to the US market with their line of Danish metal frames
with their own metal mechanism. 
Several
companies have attempted to fit metal mechanisms to
wooden frames with varying results. The typical design
application bolts the mechanism to the horizontal stretcher
on the leg assembly. Today August Lotz, Elite Furniture,
Otis and others (including the four companies mentioned
above) use some type of metal and wood combination on
some of their frames. Each of these companies, though,
uses proprietary engineering designed for their use
only. We attempted to get drawings of these mechanisms
but some of the manufacturers were reluctant to have
them printed here.
The
company manufactures several products which will work
very well on futon furniture designs. The DH-3 (Figure
4a) mounts to an under seat storage box or wood box
frame. The DH-6 (Figure 4b), a second design, operates
identically to the DH-3. The major difference between
the two is where the hinge mounts to the frame.The DH-6
can only be mounted to an arm or some other supporting
structure that is one-half inch from the ends of the
seat/back unit. No box base is required underneath;
therefore, a pair of “stretchers” that are
attached to each arm provide all the stability required
when in the seat or bed position. It is the obvious
choice for the futon frame manufacturer that wishes
to enter the “upscale” market without the
hassle of grooved arms or “kicker” blocks.
Naturally, upholstered arms can be used on this configuration
as well. 
“There
are certain aspects of frame construction where we like
to experiment, but the hinge hasn't been one of them.
We currently use an all-steel mechanism that I've seen
used on at least nine of our competitors' products,
so it's a real tried and true product. Now, we even
use the same hinge on our all-wood bodies, and the results
have been just as dependable. It's been an overall solid
performer.”
The
Comfort Lounger™ metal futon mechanism from Hickory
Springs Manufacturing Company has made a major impact,
not only on the futon industry, but the furniture industry
as well, because it offers the comfort and durability
of upholstered furniture while retaining the style and
simplicity of the basic futon frame. Hickory Springs
has been forming tubular metal since its conception
in 1944 so it was a natural fit for the company to begin
producing a tubular metal futon frame.
“Our
design, engineering and operations teams developed many
ideas and searched the world for innovative options.
The end result was the introduction of a patented mechanism;
Fashion Bed Group's Triple Ease™. This metal, spring-loaded
system, when applied to a wood deck, has proven to be
the easiest operating futon mechanism in the business.
We call it... 'The Smooth Operator' ”. -Ron Ainsworth,
President-FBG
