Chair with interchangeable upholstery

Abstract

The chair with interchangeable upholstery includes a chair frame, a seat cushion, a back cushion, a pair of arm cushions, and a plurality of upholstery covers. The chair frame has a pair of rear legs, a pair of front legs, a seat portion supported by the front and rear legs, and a pair of armrests. The seat cushion is supported by the seat portion of the chair and the back cushion is supported between the pair of rear legs of the chair frame. The arm cushions are supported by one of the armrests of the chair frame. The plurality of upholstery covers include at least a seat upholstery cover adapted for fitting tightly over the seat cushion, a back upholstery cover adapted for fitting tightly over the back cushion, and a pair of armrest upholstery covers adapted for fitting tightly over the armrest cushions.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/797,688, filed May 5, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to furniture, and more specifically to a chair having padded portions that are capable of being covered with interchangeable upholstery covers.

2. Description of the Related Art

In many public settings, and even residential settings, it is desirable to provide some sort of body support, such as chairs, for example, upon which people may sit and rest. In the interest of comfort, many of these chairs are provided with padding, with this padding usually being equipped with some sort of external upholstery. It is readily apparent that with the large numbers of people using such chairs, the upholstery soon becomes worn or unsightly in appearance, and quickly soiled and dirty because of the nature of the use.

What is needed is a chair that maintains the comfort of padded seating, yet allows the owner to easily remove the upholstery for either cleaning or to change the decorative appearance of the chair. The upholstery, however, must not only be removable and interchangeable, but it must also fit the chair and present a tailored appearance that is similar to non-removable upholstery. Thus a chair with interchangeable upholstery solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The chair with interchangeable upholstery includes a chair frame, a seat cushion, a back cushion, a pair of arm cushions, and a plurality of upholstery covers. The chair frame has a pair of rear legs, a pair of front legs, a seat portion supported by the front and rear legs, and a pair of armrests. Each of the armrests extend from a top portion of each of the front legs, resulting in a single, curved front leg and armrest member. The chair may also include an additional support structure beneath the seat portion.

The seat cushion is supported by the seat portion of the chair and is designed to hold the weight of a user wishing to sit in the chair. The back cushion is supported between the pair of rear legs of the chair frame. The arm cushions are supported by one of the armrests of the chair frame. The plurality of upholstery covers include at least a seat upholstery cover adapted for fitting tightly over the seat cushion, a back upholstery cover adapted for fitting tightly over the back cushion, and a pair of armrest upholstery covers adapted for fitting tightly over the armrest cushions.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded, perspective view of a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded, perspective view of a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded, perspective view of a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of a seat cushion for use with a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a bottom plan view of an arm cushion for use with a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of a seat cushion with attached upholstery cover for use with a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a bottom plan view of an arm cushion with attached upholstery cover for use with a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a first alternate embodiment of a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a second alternate embodiment of a chair with interchangeable upholstery according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed towards a chair with interchangeable upholstery, designated generally as 10 in the drawings. Referring to FIGS. 1-6A, the chair with interchangeable upholstery 10 is shown as having a chair frame that includes a pair of rear legs 12, a pair of front legs 14, a seat portion 16, and a pair of armrests 18. Seat portion 16 is supported by rear legs 12 and front legs 14, and armrests 18 extend from top ends of front legs 14. In the preferred embodiment, the chair frame also includes an additional support member 20 that is supported by rear legs 12 and front legs 14 and adds stability to chair with interchangeable upholstery 10. Support member 20 preferably has a substantially H-shaped contour, as shown, with two slats extending between each set of front and rear legs, and a third slat, extending between the first two slats.

Chair 10 also includes seat cushion 26 (shown best in FIG. 4), back cushion 22, and arm cushions 28. Seat cushion 26 is supported by seat portion 16 and is designed to hold the weight of a user wishing to sit in chair 10. Seat portion 16 may be further equipped with a plurality of support brackets for added support. Seat cushion 26 is a single, self-contained piece including a support board 26c, a foam pad 26b, and permanent cover 26a. Back cushion 22 is permanently supported between rear legs 12 and is designed to support the back of a user wishing to sit in chair 10. In the preferred embodiment, rear legs 12 are taller than front legs 14, resulting in chair 10 that most similarly resembles a standard chair structure. Arm cushions 28 are supported by armrests 18 in a permanent position. Each arm cushion 28 is a single, self-contained piece including a support board 28c, a foam pad 28b, and permanent cover 28a.

Chair 10 is also provided with a plurality of upholstery covers including a seat upholstery cover 36 adapted for fitting tightly over seat cushion 26, a back upholstery cover 32 adapted for fitting tightly over back cushion 22, and a pair of armrest upholstery covers 38 adapted for fitting tightly over arm cushions 28.

As best shown in FIG. 2, back upholstery cover 32 is provided with a fastener 34, such as a hook-and-loop type fastener, for example, at an open end thereof, for securing it in place over back cushion 22. Seat upholstery cover 36 is provided with an elastic band for fitting tightly over seat cushion 26, in a manner similar to the way a fitted bed sheet conventionally fits over a mattress. Similarly, armrest upholstery covers 38 are each provided with an elastic band for fitting tightly over arm cushions 28, in a manner similar to the way a fitted bed sheet conventionally fits over a mattress. This plurality of interchangeable upholstery covers allows the owner to easily remove the upholstery of chair 10 for either cleaning or to change the decorative appearance of the chair.

Turning now to FIG. 7, a first alternate embodiment of the chair with interchangeable upholstery 10a is shown. Chair 10a is provided with a plurality of upholstery covers including a seat upholstery cover 36a, a back upholstery cover 32a, and a pair of armrest upholstery covers 38a. Seat upholstery cover 36a, back upholstery cover 32a, and armrest upholstery covers 38a are provided with ruffles extending from a bottom edge in order to increase the decorative appeal of chair 10a. Chair 10a also includes wheels 40 extending from rear legs 12 and front legs 14.

FIG. 8 shows a second alternate embodiment of the chair with interchangeable upholstery 10b. Chair 10b includes front legs 14b that are provided without the armrests that were present in other embodiments. Chair 10b also shows a larger back rest 22, as would be desired for use in dining room type chairs.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A chair with interchangeable upholstery, comprising:

a chair frame, the chair frame having a pair of rear legs, a pair of front legs, a seat portion supported by the pair of front legs and the pair of back legs, and a pair of armrests, each of the armrests extending from a top portion of each of the front legs;

a seat cushion supported by the seat portion of the chair frame;

a back cushion supported between the pair of rear legs of the chair frame;

a pair of arm cushions, each arm cushion being supported by a respective one of the pair of armrests; and,

a plurality of upholstery covers including at least a seat upholstery cover adapted for fitting tightly over the seat cushion, a back upholstery cover adapted for fitting tightly over the back cushion, and a pair of armrest upholstery covers adapted for fitting tightly over the armrest cushions.

2. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 1, further comprising a chair support member.

3. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 2, wherein the chair support member comprises:

a pair of longitudinally extending slats, each said longitudinally extending slat extending between one of said rear legs and a corresponding one of said front legs; and,

a laterally extending slat secured to, and extending between, said pair of longitudinally extending slats.

4. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 1, wherein said seat upholstery cover includes a lower edge defining an open lower end thereof for receiving said seat cushion, said lower edge being contoured for releasable securement about said seat cushion.

5. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 4, wherein said lower edge of said seat upholstery cover has a substantially ruffled contour.

6. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 4, further comprising an elastic band joined to the lower edge of said seat upholstery cover for releasably securing said seat upholstery cover about said seat cushion.

7. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 1, wherein each said armrest upholstery cover includes a lower edge defining an open lower end thereof for receiving a respective one of said armrest cushions, said lower edge being contoured for releasable securement about the respective one of said armrest cushions.

8. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 7, wherein each said lower edge of each said armrest upholstery cover has a substantially ruffled contour.

9. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 7, further comprising an elastic band joined to each said lower edge of each said armrest upholstery cover for releasably securing each said armrest upholstery cover about each said armrest cushion.

10. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 1, wherein said back upholstery cover includes a lower edge defining an open lower end thereof for receiving said back cushion, said lower edge being contoured for releasable securement about the back cushion.

11. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 10, wherein said lower edge of said back upholstery cover has a substantially ruffled contour.

12. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 10, further comprising means for releasably securing said back upholstery cover to said back cushion.

13. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 12, wherein said means for releasably securing said back upholstery cover to said back cushion comprise at least one hook-and-loop type fastener joined to the lower edge of said back upholstery cover.

14. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 10, further comprising an elastic band joined to the lower edge of said back upholstery cover for releasably securing said back upholstery cover about said back cushion.

15. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 1, wherein the seat cushion comprises:

a support board having an upper surface and a lower surface;

a foam pad mounted on the upper surface of said support board; and,

a permanent cover covering said support board and said foam pad.

16. The chair with interchangeable upholstery as recited in claim 15, further comprising at least one bracket secured to said seat portion of said chair frame, the lower surface of said support board being secured to said at least one bracket, the support board being supported by said seat portion and said at least one bracket.