Detachable upholstery furniture
Detachable upholstery for use and application in the context of furniture, and furniture adapted to receive detachable upholstery. Furniture components having a frame comprising at least one piece of upholstery fabric, and means securely engaged with the frame of the furniture component for temporarily and securely engaging the upholstery fabric to the frame of the furniture component.
The present invention relates to furniture, and more particularly relates to detachable upholstery for use and application in the context of furniture, and furniture adapted to receive detachable upholstery.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn the context of the present description, the word “Upholstery” will refer to those materials and fabrics, whether fitted or not, that may be used to cover un-stuffed, stuffed, padded, and/or spring-cushioned furniture, such as chairs and sofas and the like.
Upholstery is susceptible to wear, physical damage from stains, spills, sharp or heavy objects, extended periods of time in sunlight or bright lighting conditions, and other harm or damage due to a wide variety of activities. Furthermore, over time, a once desirable upholstery pattern or material may no longer be desirable. For example, changing trends in interior decorating may encourage the owner of upholstered furniture to modify the upholstery covering.
While furniture coverings have previously been used to protect and/or modify the appearance of a piece of furniture, such furniture coverings may be ill fitting and may not readily stay in place. Furthermore, such furniture coverings may only come in limited colors, designs and sizes.
It is desirable to have furniture the upholstery of which may be modified or changed or replaced from time to time without the expense and effort of having to re-upholster the furniture, which may be a time-consuming and difficult task to undertake. It is also desirable to have upholstery which, if it becomes stained, dirty or damaged, can be readily removed from the furniture for washing, dry cleaning and/or replacement.
It is also desirable to have furniture the upholstery of which may be readily altered from one color to another, from one fabric, to another, from one material to another, from one style, to another, or to permit the upholstery to be “mixed and matched” amongst various colors, fabrics, materials, and styles.
For example, in a hotel lobby, the upholstered furniture is subjected to extensive wear, and it may be desirable to be able to easily remove the worn upholstery and install new upholstery on the furniture. This is particularly desirable in circumstances where the furniture is otherwise still usable in its current condition (that is, that is not sagging or otherwise damaged). Furthermore, such upholstered furniture may become stained, dirty or damaged, it may be desirable to quickly and easily remove the stained, dirty or damaged upholstery for washing dry-cleaning and/or replacement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide furniture which is adapted to receive and secure replaceable upholstery.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide furniture upholstery which may be readily modified or changed or replaced from time to time.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide furniture upholstery which may be readily removed for cleaning and/or replacement in the event that it has become stained or dirty or damaged.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide furniture upholstery which may be readily altered or replaced with upholstery of another color, fabric, material or style.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a furniture component having a frame comprising at least one piece of upholstery fabric and means securely engaged with the frame of the furniture component for temporarily and securely engaging the upholstery fabric to the frame of the furniture component.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides furniture which is adapted to receive and secure replaceable upholstery.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides furniture upholstery which may be readily modified or changed or replaced from time to time.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides furniture upholstery which may be readily removed for cleaning and/or replacement in the event that it has become stained or dirty or damaged.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides furniture upholstery which may be readily altered or replaced with upholstery of another color, fabric, material or style.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention may be utilized in the context of a piece of furniture, or a part thereof, to be covered (or re-covered) in whole or in part with upholstery fabric in accordance with the present invention.
As illustrated in
In the preferred embodiment, lengths or strips of, for example, Velcro® tape or other similar hook and loop fastener material are sewn (in the case of the attachment to the broadcloth) onto or otherwise fastened to the broadcloth and/or chair structure, it being understood that a wide variety of different methods may be used to provide for the secure engagement of the Velcro® tape to the broadcloth and/or chair structure, as would be known to a person skilled in the art (including, for example in the case of attachment to the chair structure, by way of tacks, staples and/or glue). In the context of the description provided herein, the word “Velcro® ” and the expression “Velcro® tape” is understood to mean any form of hook and loop fastener system known to a person skilled in the art.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the Velcro® tape is sewn to the broadcloth prior to the installation of the broadcloth onto the chair structure, it being understood that in some circumstances, it may be possible to fasten the Velcro® tape to the broadcloth after the installation of the broadcloth to the chair structure.
In the context of the chair structure such as is illustrated in
In the context of the upholstery fabric, which may take the form of a single piece of fabric, such as is illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
As illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in
Referring to
The upholstery components may be installed by placing them in the appropriate position on the underlying chair structure, and thereafter, the Velcro® tape on the upholstery components, being aligned with the corresponding pieces of Velcro® tape on the chair structure, one may apply pressure to the pieces of Velcro® tape on the upholstery component, thereby securely engaging the Velcro® tape on the upholstery component with the Velcro® tape on the chair structure to thereby securely and temporarily engage the upholstery component to the chair structure. A chair upholstered in the manner of one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
In the context of implementing the invention, it may be desirable to hide those edges of the upholstery components on which the Velcro® tape is attached, and where possible, it may be desirable to hide these edges below cushion lines (such as, in the case of the Velcro® tape 6 and 6B being positioned beneath the cushion in the context of the arm chair in
It is to be understood that the Velcro® tape provides a secure, yet easy removal and reattachment mechanism and methodology, and that alternative mechanisms and methodologies are known in the art to provide such functionality, including, for example, zippers, it being understood that all such mechanisms and methodologies are included within the context of the present invention.
In the context of the description of the invention provided herein, it is to be understood that as Velcro®-type hook and loop fastening systems require two pieces of tape to act together to provide a fastener, one piece of tape having hooks thereon, and the other piece of tape having loops thereon, and that for reasons of simplicity in describing the present invention herein, reference has been made to the Velcro tape on the furniture having hooks presented thereon while the Velcro tape on the upholstery fabric has loops presented thereon, it is to be understood that this may be reversed, namely that the Velcro tape affixed to the furniture may have loops presented thereon, while the Velcro tape affixed to the upholstery may have hooks presented thereon.
It is understood that the upholstery and the process and methodology described herein may also be used in the context of car seats, camper furniture and other products where upholstery/fabric is utilized. It is also understood that the upholstery and process and methodology described herein may be used in the context of furniture having welts, buttons (which can be readily attached using snaps or in another known manner so as to allow them to be easily replaced or interchanged as desired), skirting, extra padding and other design characteristics. Where extra padding is used, such as in the case of head rests, additional reinforcement may be required. This may be accomplished by providing additional Velcro tape strips on the furniture and padding material as would be known to a person skilled in the art. Additionally, it may be necessary to provide additional or reinforced broadcloth to ensure proper and appropriate reinforcement and strength.
The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred embodiments. However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein.
Claims
1. A furniture component having a frame comprising:
- a. at least one piece of upholstery fabric;
- b. means securely engaged with the frame of the furniture component for temporarily and securely engaging the upholstery fabric to the frame of the furniture component.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 6, 2007
Publication Date: Jun 26, 2008
Inventor: Beverley Anne Callaghan (Prince Edward Island)
Application Number: 11/999,678
International Classification: A47C 31/00 (20060101);