PROTECTIVE COVER/SLEEVE FOR FURNITURE LEGS AND/OR FEET
A furniture leg/foot protective cover/sleeve is provided for placing on and/or around furniture legs/feet. The protective cover/sleeve can include a base for engaging a supporting surface, or in an alternative embodiment can be open at the base end. The cover/sleeve is flexibly shaped and preferably extends from a bottom edge of the cover/sleeve closest to the support surface to a top open edge defining an interior cavity for receiving the furniture leg/foot therein and substantially covers the furniture foot/leg.
Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:
It is common when manipulating furniture to inadvertently come in contact with a leg and/or foot of the furniture. For example, painful injury can result from hitting toes and feet on bed frame feet while making a bed, or just walking by the bed, particularly when there are sharp metal pieces and/or wheels attached to the furniture legs and/or feet.
A variety of coaster and furniture glides act as buffers between furniture legs/feet and the floor on which a piece of furniture rests. These devices focus on the placement of the coaster or glider on the terminal end of the furniture leg to prevent contact of the furniture leg with the floor and thus prevent damage to the floor or noises and vibrations as a result of contact of the leg with the floor.
Some devices further disclose extendable portions of the coaster or glider to aid positioning onto the furniture leg thus preventing disengagement of the coaster or glider while the furniture is in use. By way of example, a self-adjusting furniture guide with a sleeve to mount on to the terminal end of a furniture leg. In this example the sleeve snugly fits the furniture leg to keep the glider in position on the leg. While functional for its intended purpose, it has certain limitations, in particular the sleeve lacks padding to cover the furniture leg thus it does not protect a user from having injurious contact with the furniture legs/feet. Furniture glides and/or coasters fail to provide padding around the furniture leg/feet to prevent contact and injury to a furniture user.
In a preferred embodiment, a protective sleeve/cover is a pre-manufactured, low cost, and simple out of the box consumer product that can fit over and/or around the foot/leg of furniture to protect a furniture user's feet and toes from injury when coming in contact with the furniture leg/foot. The protective sleeve/cover can additionally reduce floor and carpet damage (floor scratches and indentation) from the furniture leg/feet, and keep the furniture leg/feet (e.g., beds, rack) from moving and/or sliding along the floor. Common residential uses of the sleeve/cover include, but are not limited to, placement on the feet of: metal bed frames, metal storage racks, cribs, free standing chopping blocks, dining tables, coffee tables, couches, and the like. For example, in use the protective sleeve/cover can prevent injury resulting from toes and feet bumping into a bed frame foot while making a bed, vacuuming around the bed, or just walking around the bed to get in it. Commercial uses include, but are not limited, to use in restaurants, retail establishments, healthcare facilities, daycare facilities, and retirements homes where any table, baking rack, free-standing chopping block, display rack, hospital birthing bed, child's bed/crib, or hospital bed.
In a preferred embodiment the product composition can be polyurethane, foam, rubber and/or plastic based. Some exemplary materials include, but not limited to, polyethylene foams, polyester foam, vinyl nitrile foams, and the like. Alternative flexible and hardwearing materials are also contemplated.
In one embodiment the protective sleeve/cover can be pre-designed to fit a standard sized foot of a piece of furniture (e.g., a metal bed frame with or without wheels). The material can be of a sufficient thickness, density, and resilience to provide ample padding and impact resistance to protect a user of the furniture from injury if their foot comes in contact with the foot/leg of the furniture. For example, in one embodiment a 0.1-4″ inch thickness polyurethane foam material is used to provide a cylindrically-shaped protective cover/sleeve having an interior cavity to accommodate the furniture foot. In this example, the protective cover/sleeve can be slipped onto leg/foot of furniture; encircling the furniture leg/foot. A complete range of sizes, hardness/flexibility of material, and/or colors and designs of the polyurethane foam material are contemplated depending on the application and furniture leg to be housed in the protective cover/sleeve.
In alternative embodiments a protective cover/sleeve 150, 200 as shown in
Referring now to
A single inflatable chamber, or multiple chambers in communication with each other are contemplated. In one alternative embodiment the protective cover/sleeve 300 can also have a base portion whereby said base and said side portions define a unitary construction for receiving the furniture leg. In use the cylindrical protective cover/sleeve can be slipped into place prior to inflation and then chambers inflated once the furniture leg is inserted into the interior cavity defined by the sleeve.
Referring now to
The product can be made of various combinations engineered of plastic rubber, polyurethane and foam extrusions, flexibly shaped (cylindrical, rectangular, triangular, and the like) as to fit specifically around furniture legs and or feet and thus substantially cover the furniture leg and/or feet. Other features include methods and process for shape, size, design and strength/durability, and fasteners, specific for the purpose of creating the flexibly shaped product for furniture legs and feet and for maximizing foot and toe protection. The product dimensions can vary based on size of furniture legs and feet.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the protective cover/sleeve composition, dimensions, and shape can vary based on the size of the furniture leg and feet. Moreover the choice of material in terms of flexibility, density, color, and external design details can vary depending on the environment and intended use of the protective cover/sleeve. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
Claims
1. A protective cover for a furniture leg comprising:
- a substantially hollow sleeve formed of padded material, the hollow sleeve having an upper edge and a lower base portion, wherein said upper edge defines an upper opening to an interior area sized and shaped to enable said sleeve to receive a furniture foot, and said lower base portion configured to rest on a surface;
- said hollow sleeve extending, in use, upwardly from the lower base portion terminating in the upper opening, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the furniture leg is substantially covered by the hollow sleeve.
2. The protective cover for a furniture leg, wherein the hollow sleeve is substantially cylindrical and formed of a flexible material.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 8, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 15, 2012
Inventor: Amannda Schneider (Kirkland, WA)
Application Number: 13/083,474
International Classification: A47B 96/00 (20060101);