Mechanism for moving a footrest assembly between fully retracted and fully extended positions
A mechanism for moving a footrest assembly of a furniture piece between a fully retracted and a fully extended positions, comprises a base, a motor drive mounted upon the base, a footrest assembly operatively connected to the motor drive and adapted to be moved along the base such that the footrest assembly is movable from a first position defined along the base to a second position defined along the base whereby the footrest assembly will be disposed at a first fully retracted position beneath the base when the footrest assembly has been moved to the first position along the base, and will be disposed at a second fully extended position in front of the base when the footrest assembly has been moved to the second position along the base. An inclined plate is fixedly mounted upon the base, and a first pair of rollers are mounted upon the footrest assembly for engaging the inclined plate when the footrest assembly is moved from the first position along the base to the second position along the base such that the footrest assembly is moved from the fully retracted position beneath the base to the fully extended position in front of the base.
1 . A mechanism for moving a footrest assembly of a furniture piece between fully retracted and fully extended positions, comprising:
a base;
a motor drive mounted upon said base;
a footrest assembly operatively connected to said motor drive and adapted to be moved along said base such that said footrest assembly is movable from a first position defined along said base to a second position defined along said base whereby said footrest assembly will be disposed at a first fully retracted position beneath said base when said footrest assembly has been moved to said first position along said base, and will be disposed at a second fully extended position in front of said base when said footrest assembly has been moved to said second position along said base;
an inclined plate fixedly mounted upon said base; and
a first pair of rollers mounted upon said footrest assembly for engaging said inclined plate when said footrest assembly is moved from said first position along said base to said second position along said base such that said footrest assembly is moved from said fully retracted position beneath said base to said fully extended position in front of said base.
2 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 1 , wherein:
said base comprises a framework which includes a front cross-beam, a rear cross-beam, and a pair of oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending beams interconnecting said front cross-beam and said rear cross-beam and along which said footrest assembly is moved.
3 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 2 , wherein said motor drive comprises:
a linear actuator.
4 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 3 , wherein said linear actuator comprises:
a motor;
a housing having a lead screw disposed therein wherein the lead screw is operatively connected to said motor; and
a slide member operatively connected to the lead screw so as to be translatably moved along said housing as said motor drives the lead screw.
5 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 4 , wherein said footrest assembly comprises:
a movable cross-beam;
a pair of mounting brackets fixedly connecting said slide member and said movable cross-beam together.
6 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 5 , wherein:
each one of said pair of oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending beams of said base comprises an inwardly facing U-shaped track; and
said footrest assembly further comprises a pair of oppositely disposed sliding pieces slidably disposed within said inwardly facing U-shaped tracks defined upon each one of said pair of oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending beams of said base.
7 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 6 , wherein:
each one of said pair of oppositely disposed sliding pieces slidably disposed within said inwardly facing U-shaped tracks defined upon each one of said pair of oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending beams of said base comprises a second pair of rollers rollingly disposed within said inwardly facing U-shaped tracks defined upon each one of said pair of oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending beams of said base.
8 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 6 , wherein said footrest assembly further comprises:
a pair of oppositely disposed footrest mounting brackets; and
a pair of oppositely disposed L-shaped footrest lift links wherein said pair of oppositely disposed footrest mounting brackets are mounted upon first ends of said pair of oppositely disposed L-shaped footrest lift links, while said first pair of rollers, for engaging said inclined plate, are mounted upon second opposite ends of said pair of oppositely disposed L-shaped footrest lift links.
9 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 8 , wherein:
each one of said pair of oppositely disposed sliding pieces has a Z-shaped configuration comprising a vertically extending upper plate, a horizontally oriented intermediate plate, and a vertically extending lower plate.
10 . The mechanism as set forth in claim 9 , wherein:
a slotted portion is defined within each one of said pair of oppositely disposed Z-shaped sliding pieces, at the junction of said vertically extending upper plate and said horizontally oriented intermediate plate for accommodating said second opposite ends of said pair of oppositely disposed L-shaped footrest lift links upon which said first pair of rollers are mounted.