Easily operated sofa bed

A folding bed comprising:

• a frame having opposed sides, a back and a front;
• and an assembly, located between the sides of the frame, the assembly including:
• (a) a main bed section having a main panel and a main mattress section supported thereon, the main bed section having a pair of sides disposed between the sides of the frame, and having a width between the pair of sides of the main bed section;
• (b) a foot bed section having a foot panel and a foot mattress section supported thereon, the foot bed section having a pair of sides, and having a width between the pair of sides of the foot bed section;
• (c) a first pivotal connection connecting the main panel and the frame;
• (d) a second pivotal connection connecting the foot panel and the main panel;
• the panels and the pivotal connections being arranged such that:
• when the assembly is in a folded position, the main panel is oriented in a generally horizontal position and faces downward, and the foot panel is stacked above the main panel in a generally horizontal orientation and faces upward, and
• when the assembly is in an unfolded position, the main panel and the foot panel are adjacent each other and both are oriented in a generally horizontal orientation and face upward;
• and
• (e) a transmission that (i) when the assembly is in a folded position, is located between the main mattress section and the foot mattress section, and further located within at least one of (1) the width of the pair of sides of the main bed section, and (2) the width of the pair of sides of the foot bed section, (ii) connects the first pivotal connection to the second pivotal connection, and (iii) is configured to transmit torque from the first pivotal connection to the second pivotal connection, so as to counteract forces generated by weight of moving components of the assembly and thus to help a user move the foot panel between the folded position and the unfolded position.