Padding protective arrangement for furniture
A padding protective arrangement for furniture includes an elastic connective member and a plurality of cushioning pads. The elastic connective member has first and second end connecting portions, and a connector provided on the first end connecting portions. Each of the cushioning pads has a thickness larger than that of the elastic connective member, and a through mounting slot formed on the cushioning pad, wherein the elastic connective member is arranged to penetrate the cushioning pads at the respective mounting slot in such a manner that the first and the second end connecting portions are detachably connecting with each other by the connector to define a cushioning loop within the elastic connective member and the cushioning pads, wherein the cushioning loop is arranged to fittedly encircle a rim portion of the furniture for providing a cushion effect to absorb shock when a user accidentally hits the rim of the furniture.
This is a Continuation-In-Part application of a non-provisional application having an application Ser. No. 11/256,336 and a filing date of Oct. 22, 2005.
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a cushioning device, and more particularly to a padding protective arrangement which is capable of encircling on a rim of furniture for providing a cushioning effect for preventing injury when a user accidentally hits that furniture.
2. Description of Related Arts
Conventional furniture, such as a conventional table, usually comprises a rim which is capable of causing severe injury when people, especially children, accidentally hit it. As a matter of fact, some parents may enclose the rim of the furniture by something which possesses certain amount of cushioning effect in order to prevent their children from being injured by the furniture. For example, some parents may enclose the furniture's rim by some sorts of plastic bands for softening the hardness of the rim in order to prevent their children from being accidentally injured.
On the other hand, some furniture manufacturers try to resolve this problem by filleting any sharp edges or corners present on their furniture so as to minimize the chance of causing accidents. Moreover, filleting any sharp corners or edges may enhance the sales of the relevant furniture because customers may after all prefer to buy furniture which is safer to their family members, especially children.
A major problem for the above-mentioned strategies in reducing the risk of accidental injury is that they may not be effective or desirable. For example, while enclosing the furniture's rim may actually reduce some risk of accidental injury, children may nevertheless get injured when hitting on the rim. On the other hand, enclosing the furniture's rim with plastic band may severely undermine the overall aesthetic effect of the furniture so that it may simply not be desirable, especially when the furniture is expensive and famous for its design. Therefore, in this scenario, there exists a tension between preserving furniture's design and reducing the risk of accidental injury.
With regards to the second practice (filleting of furniture's rim), it will not only increase the manufacturing cost of the furniture, but also limit the number of design which may be incorporated into the furniture because only filleted edges or corners are allowed. What is the most important point to raise here however, is that filleting the edges and corners of the relevant furniture does not necessarily has the effect of reducing the risk of accidental injury where children carelessly hit those edges or corners. In fact, those filleted edges and corners are still made of rigid (or even very hard) materials which may still be possible to inflict grievous bodily harm to people, especially children.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONA main object of the present invention is to provide a padding protective arrangement for furniture which is capable of encircling on a rim of the furniture for providing a cushioning effect so as to prevent injury when a user accidentally hits that furniture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a padding protective arrangement for furniture which comprises a plurality of cushioning pads spacedly encircling a rim of the furniture so as to constitute a physical non-destructive buffer between the furniture rim and the users of the present invention. In other words, the present invention substantially prevents the user from contacting the rim so as to substantially prevent accidental injury inflicted by sharp rim or edges of the furniture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a padding protective arrangement for furniture which is capable of detachably and adjustably attaching on a wide variety of furniture so that the present invention is adapted for widespread applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a padding protective arrangement for furniture which does not involve complicated mechanical components so as to minimize the manufacturing cost as well as the ultimate selling price of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a padding protective arrangement which does affect the original design and shape of the furniture so as not to jeopardize overall aesthetic appeal of the furniture. In other words, the present invention can be conveniently attached on the furniture to enhance children's safety, yet it may be conveniently detached for allowing aesthetic features of the furniture to be shown.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a padding protective arrangement for furniture which is easy to assemble and disassemble.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a padding protective arrangement for furniture, comprising:
an elastic connective member having first and second end connecting portions, and a connector provided on said first end connecting portion; and
a plurality of cushioning pads each having a thickness larger than that of the elastic connective member, and a through mounting slot formed on the cushioning pad, wherein the elastic connective member is arranged to penetrate the cushioning pads at the respective mounting slot in such a manner that the first and the second end connecting portions are detachably connecting with each other by the connector to define a cushioning loop within the elastic connective member, wherein the cushioning loop is arranged to fittedly encircle a rim portion of the furniture such that the cushioning pads are capable of providing a cushion effect to absorb shock when a user accidentally hits the rim of the furniture.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to
The elastic connective member 10 has first and second end connecting portions 11, 14, and a connector 12 provided on the first end connecting portion 11.
Each of the plurality of cushioning pads 20 has a thickness larger than that of the elastic connective member 10, and a through mounting slot 21 formed on the cushioning pad 20, wherein the elastic connective member 10 is arranged to penetrate the cushioning pads 20 at the respective mounting slot 21 in such a manner that the two end connecting portions are detachably connecting with each other by the connector 12 to define a cushioning loop 22 within the elastic connective member 10, wherein the cushioning loop 22 is arranged to fittedly encircle a rim portion 71 of the furniture 70 such that the cushioning pads 20 are capable of providing a cushion effect to absorb shock when a user accidentally hits the rim 71 of the furniture 70.
The present invention is provided for a wide variety of furniture 70, such as a table, which usually has at least one rim constituted by a plurality of sharp peripheral edges and/or corners. For example, a typical tabletop usually has four peripheral sharp edges and a corresponding number of sharp corners.
The elastic connective member 10 is preferably embodied as being made of plastic materials and is capable of being stretched to form the cushioning loop 22 for enclosing the rim 71 of the furniture 70, and automatically restored to its original shape when the stretching force is relieved. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elastic connective member 10 is flattened in shape so that it can be conveniently stored and easily attached on the rim 71 of the furniture 70.
In order to detachably connect the two end connecting portions 11 with each other for forming the cushioning loop 22, the elastic connective member 10 has a plurality of connecting holes 13 spacedly formed on the second end connecting portion 14 wherein the connector 12 provided on the first end connecting portion 11 is arranged to selectively couple with one of the connecting holes 13 formed on the second end connecting portion 14 for forming the cushioning loop 22. In other words, the user is able to selectively couple with one of the connecting holes 13 for adjustably forming the cushioning loop 22 having an optimal size fitted to the furniture 70 in question.
Each of the cushioning pads 20 is preferably made of elastic materials having predetermined shock resistance ability for absorbing impact when a user hits the furniture 70. Alternatively, the cushioning pads 20 may also be made of foaming materials having comparable characteristics in absorbing shock.
Referring to
As a result, the through mounting slot 21 is formed on the main cushioning portion 23 wherein the elastic connective member 10 is arrange to pass through each of the mounting slots 21 and connect the first and second end connecting portions 11, 14 for forming the cushioning loop 22.
In order to further facilitate easy attachment and detachment of the cushioning pads 20 to and from the elastic connective member 10, each of the cushioning pads 20 further has a transverse channel 26 transversely formed on the main cushioning portion 23 and communicated with the corresponding mounting slot 21, in such a manner that the cushioning pad 20 is adapted to be slightly deformed for allowing the elastic connective member 10 to penetrate the transverse channel 26 and receive into the mounting slot 21. Consequently, the cushioning pads 20 are allowed to selectively attach on and detach from the elastic connective member 10 via the transverse channel 26.
Therefore, the user is able to selective the optimal number of cushioning pads 20 for his particular furniture 70 and attach the corresponding cushioning pads 20 on the elastic connective member 10.
The operation of the present invention is as follows: the user simply needs to couple an optimal number of cushioning pads 20 on the elastic connective member 10 and encircle it along the rim 71 of the furniture 70. After that, the user simply needs to connect the first end connecting portion 11 with the second end connecting portion 14 for forming the cushioning loop 22. The cushioning pads 20 will form a buffer for absorbing impact when someone accidentally hit the furniture's rim 71, and since the majority of impact is absorbed, the risk of injury will be minimized. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive that a person would be hurt by, say, foaming materials. When the user desires that the padding protective arrangement should not in use, he can simply detach all the cushioning pads 20 from the elastic connective member 10, and detach the elastic connective member 10 from the furniture 70. As such, the original aesthetic appearance of the furniture 70 will not be affected by the present invention.
From the forgoing descriptions, it can be shown that the above objects have been substantially accomplished. The present invention effective provides a padding protective arrangement for furniture which is capable of encircling on a rim 71 of the furniture 70 for providing a cushioning effect so as to prevent injury when a user accidentally hits that furniture.
FIGS. 4 to 9 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Each cushioning pad 30 also comprises a connective member 35 which is adapt for retaining the cushioning pad 30 at a predetermined position on the rim 71′ of the furniture 70′. There are different methods for the connective member 35 to retain the cushioning pad 30. In the first embodiment, the connective member 35 is an elongated elastic band 36. This elongated elastic band 36 extends from the bottom holding portion 33 of one cushioning pad 30 to the bottom holding portion 33 of another cushioning pad 30. These two cushioning pads 30 are at the opposite portion of the two rims 71′ of the furniture 70′, or at the opposite corners of the furniture 70′.
Because the receiving cavity 34 can hold the rim 71′ of the furniture 70′ like a hook, the connective member 35 can fasten the cushioning pad 30 by pulling either the bottom holding porting 34 or the top holding porting 33. Preferably, if the furniture is a table, the connective member 35 crosses the furniture 70′ beneath the top surface, so it won't affect the usage of the furniture. The connective member 35 connects the two cushioning pads 30 tightly, so these two cushioning pads can be retained at their position by elastic force.
In the second embodiment, the connective member 35 comprises one or more first fasteners 351 which are adapted for affixing at the bottom side of the furniture. It also comprises one or more second fasteners 352 which are adapted for affixing at the bottom holding portion 33. The position of the first fasteners 351 and the second fasteners 352 are corresponded. When the first fasteners 351 and the second fasteners 352 are fastened together, the cushioning pad 30 will be retained at the preferred position of the rim 71′ of the furniture 70′. When the first fasteners 351 and the second fasteners 352 are disconnected, the cushioning pad 30 can be easily removed from the furniture.
Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, in a preferred embodiment, a piece of hook and loop fastener is applied as the connective member 35. For example, a piece of hook is affixed on the upper side of the bottom holding portion 33 as the second fastener 352, and a piece of loop is affixed on a corresponding position of the bottom of the furniture 70′ as the first fastener 351. When apply the cushioning pad 30 onto the rim 71′ of the furniture 70′, the receiving cavity 34 holds the rim 71′, and the hoop and the loop are fastened to secure the position of the cushioning pad 30. It is convenient to disconnect the hook and loop and remove the cushioning pad 30 when it is not needed. This will not affect the original function and appearance of the furniture.
For most of furniture, only the sharp corners are the dangerous portion which needs to be protected. Instead of covering the whole rim of the furniture, only four cushioning pads, in most situations, are enough for protection.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The present invention can be made of different materials, as long as the material is shock absorbing. For example, the cushioning pad can be made of elastic material, rubber, foaming material, cotton or plastic pad, and inflatable material such as air bag.
The flexible band 40 also comprises a holding portion 41 to hold the cushioning pads 50 in proper positions, wherein the cushioning pad 50 can be made of cushion material such as rubber, foaming material, cotton or plastic pad, air bag, or etc. The cushioning pads 50 can be places side by side to cover the whole rim 71. Alternatively, only particular portion of the rim 71 is protect by the cushioning pads 50, such as the corners. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the whole flexible band 40 is made of elastic material. When the flexible band 40 is connected into a loop through the loop connector 60 and encircle the rim 71 of the furniture 70 tightly, the cushioning pads 50 are held on the proper position by the elastic force provided by the flexible band 40.
In the second embodiment of the present invention, the flexible band 40 comprises a flexible sleeve 44 having a cavity 441. The cushioning pads 50 are stuffed into the cavity 441 and held by the flexible sleeve 44. In this manner, the cushioning pads 50 can be secured inside the flexible sleeve 44 and won't drop off easily. Also different materials can be made in different shape as cushioning pads 50 to be stuffed inside the flexible sleeve 44, this largely reduces the cost and increases the adaptability for various furniture 70.
In the second embodiment of the present invention, the width of the flexible band 40 is larger than the thickness of the rim 71 of the furniture 70. The flexible band 40 further comprises an upper edge portion 42 and a lower edge portion 43. When the flexible band 40 is encircling around the rim 71 of the furniture 70, the upper edge and lower edge portions are extend beyond the rim 71 and can be bent towards the upper surface and the lower surface of the furniture 70 respectively. Then by compressing the length of the upper edge and lower edge portion, the flexible band 40 can wrap around the rim 71 of the furniture 70, and by tightening the upper edge and lower edge portions, the flexible band 40 can be fixed around the rim 71 of the furniture 70 with holding the cushioning pads 50.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flexible band 40 also comprises two elastic elements, which are stretchably attached along the upper edge and lower edge portions of the flexible band 40. The elastic elements can be stretched along the edge of the flexible band 40, and when released, the elastic elements shrink back and compress the length of the edge of the flexible band 40 by folding the edge of the flexible band 40. In an embodiment, the elastic elements can be rubber bands, and are sewed along the edge portion.
In an alternative preferred embodiment, the cavity 441 of the flexible sleeve 44 further comprises an upper socket 442, a lower socket 443, and a holding socket 444, and the holding socket 444 is located between the upper socket 442 and the lower socket 443. The flexible band 40 also comprises two elongate elastic elements 45 running through the upper socket 442 and lower socket 443 respectively, and one or more cushioning pads 50 held inside the holding socket 444. The upper socket 442, lower socket 443 and the holding socket 444 can be one single cavity, or be three separate cavities. When the flexible band 40 is encircling around the rim 71 of the furniture 70, the two elastic elements 45 can be tightened to compress the length of the edges of the flexible band 40 shorter than the perimeter of the rim 71 of the furniture 70 to wrap the rim 71 so as to hold the flexible band 40 on the rim 71. The two elastic elements 45 can be tightened by making a knot. Alternatively, the elastic element comprises two adjustable stoppers 451 clamped at each end thereof. Both of the adjustable stoppers 451 can be positioned to a suitable point of the elastic element 45 and clamp that point so that only the portion between the two stoppers 451 of the elastic element 45 remains inside the upper socket 442 or lower socket 443. In this way the length of the edges of the flexible band 40 are compressed.
The loop connector 60 further comprises a first connector 61 which is selectively mounted at one end of the flexible band 40, and a second connector 62 which is selectively mounted at another end of the flexible band 40. The first connector 61 and the second connector 62 can be interlocked with each other to connect the two ends of the flexible band 40 into a loop. Since the mounting position of the first connector 61 and the second connector 62 can be adjusted, the perimeter of the loop formed by the flexible band 40 can be adapted to encircling the rim 71 of the furniture 70 tightly. If one flexible band 40 is not long enough, two or more flexible band 40s can be connected through the loop connectors 60. This makes the present invention very flexible for a variety of sizes of different furniture 70.
When this embodiment is used, first the length of the flexible band 40 for encircling the rim 71 of the specific furniture 70 is decided. Then proper amount of cushioning pads 50 are stuffed into the holding socket 444 in particular position. After that, the flexible band 40 is encircled around the rim 71 with the cushioning pads 50 in the predetermined position related to the rim 71, interlock the first connector and the second connector to connect the flexible band 40 into a loop. Finally tighten the two elastic elements by making knots or using the stoppers to secure the flexible band 40 onto the rim 71 of the furniture 70.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A padding protective arrangement for a furniture, comprising:
- one or more cushioning pads each of which has an inner engaging surface for biasing against a rim of said furniture and a top holding portion protruding from said inner engaging surface for biasing against a top side of said furniture at said rim thereof; and
- a connective member extended from each of said cushioning pads for retaining said cushioning pad at said rim of said furniture by means of elastic force, such that cushioning pads are arranged for encircling said rim of said furniture to provide a cushion effect for shock absorption when a user accidentally hits said rim of said furniture.
2. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said cushioning pads, having a U-shaped cross section, further has a bottom holding portion protruding from said inner engaging surface to define a receiving cavity between said top and bottom holding portion, such that each of said cushioning pads is adapted for being held at said rim of said furniture via said connective member at a position that said top holding portion of said cushioning pad is biased at said top side of said furniture while said bottom holding portion of said cushioning pad is biased at a bottom side of said furniture.
3. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 2, wherein said receiving cavity of each of said cushioning pads has an L-shaped configuration for receiving one of corner portions of said rim of said furniture in said receiving cavity.
4. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 2, wherein said connective member is provided at said bottom holding portion of each of said cushioning pads for retaining said bottom holding portion of said respective cushioning pad at said bottom side of said rim of said furniture.
5. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 3, wherein said connective member is provided at said bottom holding portion of each of said cushioning pads for retaining said bottom holding portion of said respective cushioning pad at said bottom side of said rim of said furniture.
6. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 5, wherein said connective member comprises an elongated elastic band extended from said bottom holding portion of one of said cushioning pads to said bottom holding portion of another said cushioning pad at a diagonal position such that said elastic band is arranged for extending under said bottom side of said furniture to retain said two cushioning pads at said diagonally corner portions of said furniture.
7. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 4, wherein said connective member comprises a plurality of first fasteners adapted for spacedly affixing at said bottom side of said furniture and a plurality of second fasteners which are provided at said bottom holding portions of said cushioning pads respectively and are detachably fastened for retaining said cushioning pads at said rim of said furniture.
8. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 5, wherein said connective member comprises a plurality of first fasteners adapted for spacedly affixing at said bottom side of said furniture and a plurality of second fasteners which are provided at said bottom holding portions of said cushioning pads respectively and are detachably fastened for retaining said cushioning pads at said rim of said furniture.
9. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 8, wherein a length of said top holding portion of each of said cushioning pads is shorter than a length of said bottom portion thereof.
10. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 8, wherein said first and second fasteners are hook and loop fasteners.
11. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 9, wherein said first and second fasteners are hook and loop fasteners.
12. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 6, wherein each of said cushioning pads further has a through slit formed at a bottom wall of said receiving cavity for selectively adjusting a size of said receiving cavity.
13. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 11, wherein each of said cushioning pads further has a through slit formed at a bottom wall of said receiving cavity for selectively adjusting a size of said receiving cavity.
14. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said cushioning pads is made of shock absorbing material selected from a group consisting of elastic material, foaming material, and inflatable material.
15. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 12, wherein each of said cushioning pads is made of shock absorbing material selected from a group consisting of elastic material, foaming material, and inflatable material.
16. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 13, wherein each of said cushioning pads is made of shock absorbing material selected from a group consisting of elastic material, foaming material, and inflatable material.
17. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said cushioning pads has a through mounting slot transversely formed thereat, wherein said connective member comprises an elastic strap extending through said mounting slots of said cushioning pads to form a cushioning loop for encircling said rim of said furniture.
18. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 14, wherein each of said cushioning pads has a through mounting slot transversely formed thereat, wherein said connective member comprises an elastic strap extending through said mounting slots of said cushioning pads to form a cushioning loop for encircling said rim of said furniture.
19. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 17, wherein said elastic strap has first and second end connecting portions, and a connector provided at said first end connecting portion to detachably couple with said second end connecting portion so as to selectively adjust a size of said cushioning loop for encircling said rim of said furniture.
20. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 18, wherein said elastic strap has first and second end connecting portions, and a connector provided at said first end connecting portion to detachably couple with said second end connecting portion so as to selectively adjust a size of said cushioning loop for encircling said rim of said furniture.
21. A padding protective arrangement for a furniture, comprising:
- an elongated flexible band having a width larger than a thickness of a rim of said furniture, wherein said flexible band has an upper edge portion, a lower edge portion, and a holding portion defining between said upper and lower edge portions;
- one or more cushioning pads being held along said holding portion of said flexible band; and
- a loop connector connecting two ends of said flexible band to form an elastic loop for encircling said rim of said furniture, wherein said upper and lower edge portions of said flexible band are tightened for wrapping around said rim of said furniture at top and bottom sides thereof respectively to retain said cushioning pads at a rim surface of said furniture for providing a cushion effect when a user accidentally hits said rim of said furniture.
22. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 21, wherein said flexible band comprises a flexible sleeve having a cavity, and two spaced apart elongated elastic elements running along said cavity wherein each of said elastic elements are tightened for wrapping around said rim of said furniture when said elastic band is encircling said rim of said furniture.
23. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 22, wherein each of said two elongated elastic elements comprises two stoppers selectively defining the length of a portion of said elastic element running along said cavity in such a manner that said upper edge portion and said lower edge portion of said flexible band are tightened to hold said flexible band onto said rim of said furniture.
24. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 23, wherein said cavity forms an upper socket, a lower socket, and a holding socket, wherein one elongated elastic element is running through said upper socket, another elastic elements is running through said lower socket, and said cushioning pads are held by said holding socket.
25. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 24, wherein said cushioning pads are held by said cavity of said flexible sleeve of said flexible band.
26. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 25, wherein said cushioning pads are positioned in selective portion of said holding socket according to selective portion of said rim of said furniture for protection.
27. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 21, wherein said loop connector further comprises a first connector selectively mounted at one end of said flexible band, and a second connector mounted at another end of said flexible band to selectively adjust a size of said elastic loop for fitting said rim of said furniture.
28. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 23, wherein said loop connector further comprises a first connector selectively mounted at one end of said flexible band, and a second connector mounted at another end of said flexible band to selectively adjust a size of said elastic loop for fitting said rim of said furniture.
29. The padding protective arrangement, as recited in claim 26, wherein said loop connector further comprises a first connector selectively mounted at one end of said flexible band, and a second connector mounted at another end of said flexible band to selectively adjust a size of said elastic loop for fitting said rim of said furniture.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 16, 2008
Publication Date: May 15, 2008
Inventors: Jeffrey Chen (San Marino, CA), Christine Tung (San Marino, CA)
Application Number: 12/009,295
International Classification: A47B 95/00 (20060101);