SLING CHAIR
A sling chair may include a frame having one or more side rails, each side rail having a J-channel, and a fabric having one or more edges. The J-channel may include a neck and a foot, and be configured to receive a rod connected to a fabric edge. A locking strip may be inserted and force fit into the J-channel to lock the fabric edge and rod in the J-channel. The locking strip may include one or more lateral protrusions for mating with a ridge along an inner surface of the side rail.
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FIELDThe present disclosure relates to sling chairs, and more particularly to a sling chair wherein the side rails are adapted to receive and secure a fabric seat panel, even if attached to a cross member spanning both side rails. This eliminates the need for separate chair and web frames, and greatly enhances the packing efficiency and assembly of the sling chair.
BACKGROUNDInformal outdoor furniture, particularly of the type intended for use on decks and patios, has become quite popular. Manufactures of such furniture are called upon to offer practical, comfortable products to the consumer. Because outdoor furniture is subjected to the weather, it is not feasible to employ cushions to attain desired comfort. Cushions are subject to retaining water from rain and dew, dust, pollen, and other contaminants, and to become malodorous and discolored as a consequence.
To avoid reliance upon cushions, contemporary products include furniture such as a chair, on which a supporting web is suspended on a frame which is in turn suspended on a frame of the chair. The sling frame is removable from the chair, which is known as a sling chair. This construction arose since it is easier and less expensive to construct the sling and chair frame separately. Examples of sling chairs are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,101, issued to Richard D. Frinier et al. On Feb. 10, 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,478, issued to Lloyd Goodman on Jun. 15, 1999. These prior art sling chairs lack a side rail adapted to receive and retain a cross member spanning both side rails, while also retaining a fabric seating member, as seen in the present invention. Other chair designs include those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,226, issued to Donald B. Colby on Nov. 18, 1980, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,094,507 and 5,224,760, both issued to Terence Gibbs respectively on Mar. 10, 1992. These prior art sling chairs lack side rails adapted to receive and retain a cross member spanning both side rails, while also retaining a fabric seating member, as seen in the present invention.
Prior art conventional sling chair construction arose since it is easier and less expensive to construct the sling and chair frame separately. However, it is apparent that conventional construction of sling chairs entails costly duplication. There remains a need to simplify construction of sling chairs, in particular, to eliminate duplicative members.
Applicant's prior solutions to these challenges, shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,293,624 and 6,585,323, both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety, described sling chairs having side rails which connect to a cross member spanning the side rails. In those solutions, each side rail included an extension bearing a socket to receive one end of the cross member. The chair has a fabric seating member retained to the side rails. The cross member and side rails provide both a structural frame for the sling chair as well as a frame for the fabric seating member. These solutions reduce the traditional redundant separate chair and sling frames to one frame.
Those solutions, while valuable improvements over the available alternatives, are not without their drawbacks. For example, due to the shape of the channel in the side rails, assembling the chair first requires sliding the fabric seating member into the side rail. As a consequence, the cross member and side rails must be assembled after inserting the fabric seating member into the side rail.
BRIEF SUMMARYThe present disclosure relates to sling chairs, and more particularly to a sling chair wherein the side rails are adapted to receive and secure a fabric seat panel, even if attached to a cross member spanning both side rails. This eliminates the need for separate chair and web frames, and greatly enhances the packing efficiency and assembly of the sling chair.
In some embodiments, a sling chair may have a frame having a side rails with an interior side, such that two side rails are generally parallel. Some embodiments may include an additional pair of parallel side rails. A side rail may have has a J-channel along a length of the rail, though the length of the J-channel may be less than the length of the side rail. A fabric panel having edges, one or more edges connected to a rod, may form the seat and/or back portions of the sling chair. The rod and fabric edge may be inserted into the J-channel, and a locking strip may be inserted into the J-channel and configured to lock the rod and fabric edge into the J-channel. It should be appreciated that more than one edge of the fabric may be connected to a rod and inserted into a J-channel in this manner.
A J-channel may include a neck and a laterally offset foot. The cross-sectional width of the J-channel neck may be less than the cross-section width of the J-channel foot, thereby providing space for receiving the fabric edge and rod when the locking strip is force fit into the J-channel. In some embodiments, the laterally offset foot may be laterally offset inward toward the interior side of the rail. The rod and fabric edge may be received in the foot, and locked in position with the locking strip. In some embodiments, the fabric edge includes a loop, and the rod may be inserted into the loop. In some embodiments, the rod may be stapled or adhered to the fabric edge.
The following description is of the best currently contemplated mode of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the present approach. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present approach.
The contemporary approach requires a free end of a side rail to slide the fabric loop and rod into the C-channel. As a consequence, the range of suitable rail and frame designs is limited. Additionally, the contemporary approach generally requires inserting the fabric panel into two opposing sides, such that the front and back portions may be left free. Some embodiments may include additional elements to receive and/or cover such free ends of the fabric panel. The contemporary approach also requires significant time to assemble, especially if the C-channel provides relatively little free space for the fabric loop and rod to easily slide into the side rail, and also if the side rail has numerous bends and/or sharp turns.
The present approach allows for the convenient assembly of a sling chair with a fabric panel having a plurality of fabric edges inserted into channels in the frame. Generally, one or more edges of a fabric panel may include a rod, such as a rod inserted into a loop in the fabric panel, or a rod connected to an edge of the panel, to form a fabric edge and rod assembly. One or more frame members may include a J-channel having a neck region wider than the diameter or width of the edge and rod assembly. The fabric edge and rod assembly may be inserted into a J-channel in a frame member, and re-positioned to occupy a foot region of the J-channel. A locking strip may be force-fit into the neck of the J-channel, thereby locking the fabric edge and rod assembly in the J-channel. This approach may be implemented for more than one edge of the fabric panel, and may be performed sequentially or simultaneously on multiple fabric panel edges.
It should be appreciated that the shapes of the J-channel, rod, and locking strip may vary between embodiments, without departing from the principles described herein. The following description covers demonstrative embodiments of various aspects of the present approach.
Loop 605 may be a complete loop, i.e., an end of the fabric panel 601 may connect to another portion of the fabric panel. In other embodiments, the loop 605 may be an incomplete loop, i.e., an end of the fabric panel 601 may connect to the rod 606. In some embodiments, for example, rod 606 may be stapled and/or nailed to an edge of fabric panel 601. Loop 605 and rod 606—the fabric and rod assembly—may be inserted into the J-channel 607 through neck 604, and occupy a lower portion of the J-channel referenced as the foot 613. As shown in
A locking strip 609 is inserted into the J-channel 607 and prevents the loop 605 and rod 606 assembly from exiting through the neck 604. The locking strip 609 may be a length of material, such as aluminum, wood, or plastic. In some embodiments, the locking strip may extend the full length of the J-channel 607 to provide a tight force-fit. In other embodiments, the length of the locking strip 609 may be less than the length of the J-channel 607. Some embodiments may include multiple locking strips 609 in a J-channel 607, arranged end-to-end and/or side-by-side, as may be appropriate for the embodiment. The cross-sectional profile of the locking strip 609 may vary in different embodiments. For example, the locking strip 609 shown in
The J-channel 607 in the embodiment shown in
The J-channel 605 may take a number of shapes. For example, the neck 604 may have generally parallel side walls, or nonparallel side walls, forming a wedge or v-shaped profile. Additionally, one or more surfaces defining the neck may be curved. For example,
Additionally, a side wall of the J-channel 605 may include one or more longitudinal ridges 611 along a length of the J-channel 605. Longitudinal ridge 611 may provide a mating surface for a corresponding one or more longitudinal protrusions on locking strip 609. It should be appreciated that the relative positions of the longitudinal protrusion and longitudinal ridge 611 may be reversed. The locking strip 609 may be inserted into J-channel 607, forming a force-fit at the neck 604. The force-fit prevents the loop 605 and rod 606 assembly and the locking strip 609 from exiting the J-channel. In embodiments with one or more corresponding longitudinal protrusions and ridges 611, the mating of the protrusion and the ridge increases the force-fit of the locking strip 609 in the J-channel 607, thereby enhancing the integrity of the overall assembly. It should be appreciated that the corresponding longitudinal protrusions and ridges 611 may take the form of a single structure along the length of the J-channel, or individual structures repeated at one or more intervals in the J-channel and corresponding structures along the rod 606. For example, a sequence of bumps and depressions may be used in some embodiments.
The embodiment shown in
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the approach. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The present approach may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the present approach being indicated by the claims of the application rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
Claims
1. A sling chair comprising:
- a frame having a first side rail having an interior side and a second side rail having an interior side, the first and second side rails are generally parallel, and each side rail has a J-channel along a length of the rail;
- a fabric panel having first and second edges, the first and second edges generally parallel;
- a first rod connected to the first edge and inserted into the first side rail J-channel; and
- a first locking strip inserted into the first side rail J-channel and configured to lock the first rod and first edge into the first side rail J-channel.
2. The sling chair of claim 1, further comprising a second rod connected to the second edge and inserted into the second side rail J-channel, and a second locking strip inserted into the second side rail J-channel and configured to lock the second rod and second edge into the second side rail J-channel.
3. The sling chair of claim 1, wherein the first side rail J-channel comprises a neck and a laterally offset foot, the laterally offset foot being laterally offset inward toward the first rail interior side.
4. The sling chair of claim 3, wherein the first rod and the first edge are received in the laterally offset foot.
5. The sling chair of claim 2, wherein the second side rail J-channel comprises a neck and a laterally offset foot, the laterally offset foot being laterally offset inward toward the second rail interior side.
6. The sling chair of claim 5, wherein the second rod and the second edge are received in the laterally offset foot.
7. The sling chair of claim 1, wherein the first edge comprises a loop, and the first rod is inserted in the loop.
8. The sling chair of claim 2, wherein the second edge comprises a loop, and the second rod is inserted in the loop.
9. The sling chair of claim 1, wherein the first rod is stapled to the first edge.
10. The sling chair of claim 2, wherein the second rod is stapled to the second edge.
11. The sling chair of claim 1, wherein the first locking strip comprises a lateral protrusion configured for mating with a corresponding ridge formed in the first side rail.
12. The sling chair of claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional width of the first J-channel neck is less than the cross-section width of the first J-channel foot.
13. A sling chair comprising:
- a frame having a first side rail having an interior side and an exterior side, and a second side rail having an interior side and an exterior side, the first and second side rails are generally parallel, and each side rail has a J-channel along a length of the rail;
- a fabric panel having first and second edges, the first and second edges generally parallel;
- a first rod connected to the first edge and inserted into the first side rail J-channel;
- a first locking strip inserted into the first side rail J-channel and configured to lock the first rod and first edge into the first side rail J-channel;
- a second rod connected to the second edge and inserted into the second side rail J-channel; and
- a second locking strip inserted into the second side rail J-channel and configured to lock the second rod and second edge into the second side rail J-channel.
14. The sling chair of claim 13, wherein the each J-channel comprises a neck and a laterally offset foot, the laterally offset foot being laterally offset inward toward the associated side rail interior side, such that the first edge and first rod are received in the first side rail J-channel foot, and the second edge and second rod are received in the second side rail J-channel foot.
15. The sling chair of claim 14, wherein the first locking strip is force fit in the first side rail J-channel between the fabric panel and the exterior side of the first side rail.
16. The sling chair of claim 15, wherein the first locking strip comprises a lateral protrusion configured for mating with a corresponding ridge formed in the first side rail J-channel.
17. A method for assembling a sling chair having a frame with a first side rail having an interior side and a second side rail having an interior side, the first and second side rails are generally parallel, and each side rail has a J-channel along a length of the rail, the method comprising:
- assembling a first fabric edge and rod assembly;
- inserting the first fabric edge and rod assembly into the first side rail J-channel; and
- force fitting a first locking strip in the first side rail J-channel, the first locking strip configured to lock the first rod and first edge into the first side rail J-channel.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
- assembling a second fabric edge and rod assembly;
- inserting the second fabric edge and rod assembly into the second side rail J-channel; and
- force fitting a second locking strip in the second side rail J-channel, the second locking strip configured to lock the second rod and second edge into the second side rail J-channel.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein inserting the second fabric edge and rod assembly into the second side rail J-channel and inserting the first fabric edge and rod assembly into the first side rail J-channel are performed simultaneously.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein the first side Jail J-channel comprises a neck and a laterally offset foot, and inserting the first fabric edge and rod assembly into the first side rail J-channel comprises receiving the first fabric edge and rod assembly in the laterally offset foot.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 8, 2016
Publication Date: Mar 8, 2018
Applicant: AGIO INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. (KOWLOON)
Inventor: Tsung-Ho WANG (Taipei)
Application Number: 15/260,009