Upholstered furniture inserts

Abstract

An upholstered furniture component including a frame; a rigid foam insert attached to the frame; and upholstery material covering the foam insert. The rigid foam insert may be made from expanded polystyrene. And, a layer of padding may between the rigid foam insert and the upholstery material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/383,876, filed on May 28, 2002, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/360,798, filed on Feb. 10, 2003. The entire contents of both applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to furniture construction for upholstered furniture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Conventional construction techniques for upholstered furniture require substantial time and skill on the part of the workers fabricating the furniture. In one such technique, illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, a wooden frame or skeleton 2 is constructed for a chair arm (FIG. 1). Thereafter, the frame is covered with a stiff skin 4 (FIGS. 2-3) onto which a layer of foam or padding and then upholstery material can be applied. In order to obtain three-dimensional shapes the aforementioned wooden frame and cardboard skin are currently used. Because the wooden frame is complex and difficult to make, such a technique limits the shapes that can be made and requires much time to make.

SUMMARY

[0004] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, upholstered furniture is constructed having a wooden frame which is much simpler and requires less cross bracing parts, than a typical wooden frame. An insert is attached to the wooden frame to form the desired three-dimensional shape. Additionally, the upholstered material is applied to the insert. In some embodiments, a layer of soft or compressible foam or padding is arranged between the insert and the upholstered material.

[0005] According to another embodiment of the invention, an insert is provided for an upholstered furniture component. The upholstered furniture component includes a frame supporting the insert and an upholstery material covering the insert. The insert comprises a rigid foam material having one portion thereof shaped to conform to the frame so that the rigid foam material can be attached to the frame and another portion of the rigid foam material shaped to correspond to an outer shape of the upholstered furniture component.

[0006] Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional chair arm frame;

[0008] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a conventional chair arm skin;

[0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the chair arm skin of FIG. 2 applied to the chair arm frame of FIG. 1;

[0010] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a chair arm frame according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of foam inserts according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the foam inserts of FIG. 5 applied to the frame of FIG. 4 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the foam inserts as applied to the frame of FIG. 6 and including an additional insert according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the frame and insert combination of FIG. 7 having upholstery material applied; and

[0015] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Reference is made to FIGS. 4-8 which illustrate a chair arm comprising one embodiment of the present invention. Although a chair arm is shown and described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is applicable to other structural components for upholstered furniture and the like, such as the front stump.

[0017] As seen in FIG. 4, a frame 10 according to the present invention is disclosed. While the frame 10 as depicted in FIG. 4 is made of wood, the frame 10 could also be made of metal or other suitable structural components. The frame 10 comprises a plurality of structural components arranged in the shape required. FIG. 5 illustrates rigid foam inserts 12, 14, 16 used to complete the desired three-dimensional shapes.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5, the inserts are in the form of rigid foam components. The inserts are preferably formed from molded expanded polystyrene, but could be any expanded foam or any other lightweight structural or forming material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or a copolymer material.

[0019] The inserts can be made by any suitable process known to those of ordinary skill in the art, including molding, thermoforming, blow molding, or even carving or cutting. In one embodiment, the inserts can be formed from by cutting, molding, or by thermoforming a sheet of plastic material. One preferred method uses expanded polystyrene molding with standard foam molding techniques and a tool customized to the desired final shape due to the consistent repeatability of the desired shape.

[0020] In one embodiment, the inserts 12, 14, 16 are rigid, i.e., substantially incompressible under normal use. Whereas in other embodiments, the inserts 12, 14, 16 may be of a foam that, while providing significant support, does yield a little under pressure.

[0021] One preferred type of expanded polystyrene foam has a density in the range of 0.75 to 6.0 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive stress at 10% compression (strain) of 30 to 800 kPa, more preferably has a density in the range of 1 to 3 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive stress at 10% compression (strain) of 80 to 375 kPa, and most preferably has a density in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 120 to 280 kPa. Such compressive stress values are determined at ambient (room) temperatures. One acceptable test is set forth in EN 826.

[0022] In one embodiment the inserts include two top arm components 12, 14 and a side contour pad component 16. FIG. 6 shows the foam inserts 12, 14, 16 attached to the frame 10. The foam inserts 12, 14, 16 are preferably adhered to the frame 10 by staples but could also be adhered by adhesive, nails or tape.

[0023] FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment in which an additional foam insert 18 is adhered to the front of the chair arm frame 10 providing decorative ornamentation including concentric circles 20. It should be recognized to one having skill in the art that alternative decorative shapes can be provided. These decorative shapes can be of a more complex form than those made by traditional methods.

[0024] FIG. 8 shows a finished chair arm having upholstery material 22 attached to the frame 10 and inserts 12, 14, 16 and 18 using normal furniture industry standards.

[0025] According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the upholstery material 22 can be attached directly to the frame 10 and inserts 12, 14, 16, and 18. Alternatively, a layer of soft foam or other type of padding can be arranged between the inserts 12, 14, 16, 18 and the upholstery material 22. Such soft foam or padding is known to those of skill in the art.

[0026] While the embodiments illustrated in the FIGS. 4-8 include a portion of the frame 10 extending to the edge of the inserts 12, 14, 16, alternative embodiments may include foam inserts that completely cover the frame 10 such that the frame is not exposed. In such embodiments, it may not be necessary to use a layer of soft foam between the inserts and the upholstery material. In those embodiments, the inserts are preferably made of the rigid foam material, as described above.

[0027] FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment, wherein the frame 110 includes a top substantially planar surface 115 to which a semicylindrical insert 112 is attached. A second insert 114 is attached to a side surface 117 of the frame 110. According to this embodiment, manufacturing can be simplified by utilizing inserts having simple or complex geometric shapes and large planar surfaces. Another advantage of this embodiment is that the entire upper surface of the frame 110 is covered with a single insert 112. Accordingly, there is no wooden portion extending to the top part of the furniture component.

[0028] Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments in an application, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of the teachings herein, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of, or exceeding the scope of, the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is understood that the drawings and the descriptions herein are proffered only to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.

Claims

1. An upholstered furniture component comprising:

a frame;

a rigid foam insert attached to said frame; and

upholstery material covering said foam insert.

2. The component of claim 1, wherein, said rigid foam insert is formed of expanded polystyrene.

3. The component of claim 2, further comprising a layer of padding between the rigid foam insert and the upholstery material.

4. The component of claim 1, wherein the component is an arm of a chair or sofa.

5. An upholstered furniture component comprising:

a frame having a substantially flat planar upper surface;

a rigid foam insert attached to said flat planar upper surface; and

upholstery material covering said foam insert.

6. The component of claim 5, wherein, said rigid foam insert is formed of expanded polystyrene.

7. The component of claim 6, further comprising a layer of padding between the rigid foam insert and the upholstery material.

8. The component of claim 6, wherein the rigid foam insert has a density in the range of 0.75 to 6.0 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 30 to 800 kPa.

9. The component of claim 6, wherein the rigid foam insert has a density in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 120 to 280 kPa.

10. An insert in an upholstered furniture component, the upholstered furniture component including a frame supporting the insert and an upholstery material covering the insert, the insert comprising a rigid foam material having one portion thereof shaped to conform to the frame so that the rigid foam material can be attached to the frame and another portion of the rigid foam material shaped to correspond to an outer shape of the upholstered furniture component.

11. The insert of claim 10, wherein the insert is made of expanded polystyrene.

12. The insert of claim 10, wherein padding is arranged between the insert and the upholstery material.

13. The insert of claim 10, wherein the component is an arm of a chair or a sofa.

14. An insert in an upholstered furniture component, the upholstered furniture component including a frame having a substantially flat planar surface supporting the insert and an upholstery material covering the insert, the insert comprising a rigid foam material having a flat surface shaped to conform to the substantially flat planar surface of the frame so that the rigid foam material can be attached to the frame and another portion of the rigid foam material shaped to correspond to an outer shape of the upholstered furniture component.

15. The insert of claim 14, wherein the insert is made of expanded polystyrene.

16. The insert of claim 14, wherein padding is arranged between the insert and the upholstery material.

17. The component of claim 15, wherein the rigid foam insert has a density in the range of 0.75 to 6.0 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 30 to 800 kPa.

18. The component of claim 15, wherein the rigid foam insert has a density in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot and a compressive strength at 10% compression (strain) of 120 to 280 kPa.