RETRACTABLE OUTDOOR FURNITURE COVER
Described is a retractable furniture cover. The cover is made of a retractable material stored inside of a housing. The housing can either be built into the furniture or have a mechanism for attaching on. The cover can be extracted from the housing in order to cover the furniture completely, or be extracted part way and attached to a rigid, upright rod to form a shade structure for the user.
The present application is a non-provisional application of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/521,195, filed on Jun. 16, 2017, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of InventionThe present invention relates to furniture covers and, more particularly, to a retractable outdoor furniture cover.
(2) Description of Related ArtOutdoor furniture used on patios and decks, for instance, can often be susceptible to elements such as rain and sun when exposed for extended periods of time. This exposure can cause wear and damage over time, so furniture covers are often used during periods of non-use. Furniture covers can be designed to fit a variety of furniture types, such as couches and reclining chairs, and can prevent the damage of sun and precipitation. However, these furniture covers are often bulky and large. This makes them time consuming to put on and hard to manage individually.
Thus, a continuing need exists for an outdoor furniture cover that is easier to put on, thereby reducing the time it takes to use.
SUMMARY OF INVENTIONThe present invention relates to furniture cover and, more specifically, a retractable outdoor furniture cover for protecting outdoor furniture during periods of non-use. The retractable furniture cover includes a housing and a retractable material attached with the housing that can be selectively drawn from the housing or retracted into the housing. In various aspects, the housing is built into the piece of outdoor furniture, the piece of outdoor furniture having a back, with the housing connected with the back of the piece of outdoor furniture.
In other aspects, a shade support is attached with the piece of outdoor furniture. The shade support is pivotally connected with the piece of outdoor furniture to transition between a first position and a second position, such that when in the second position, the shade support maintains the retractable material upright in a sustained elevated position above a seating area of the piece of outdoor such that a space exists between the piece of outdoor furniture and the retractable material to accommodate a user.
In yet another aspect, the piece of outdoor furniture includes two front legs and two rear legs, and further comprises a ball and socket wheel attached with each of the rear legs. In another aspect, the ball and socket wheels are attached with the front legs as well, or any combination thereof.
In yet another aspect, the shade support is a u-shaped bar.
Further and in another aspect, the piece of outdoor furniture includes a top surface, with a recess formed in the top surface to accommodate the shade support when in a first position.
Finally, as can be appreciated by one in the art, the present invention also comprises a method for forming and using the invention described herein.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed descriptions of the various aspects of the invention in conjunction with reference to the following drawings, where:
The present invention relates to furniture covers and, more particularly, to a retractable outdoor furniture cover. The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and to incorporate it in the context of particular applications. Various modifications, as well as a variety of uses in different applications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to a wide range of embodiments. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments presented, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without necessarily being limited to these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.
The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with this specification and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference. All the features disclosed in this specification, (including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only one example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Furthermore, any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. Section 12, Paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” or “act of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, Paragraph 6.
Please note, if used, the labels left, right, front, back, top, bottom, forward, reverse, clockwise and counter clockwise have been used for convenience purposes only and are not intended to imply any particular fixed direction. Instead, they are used to reflect relative locations and/or directions between various portions of an object.
(1) Description
The present invention relates to furniture covers and, more particularly, to a retractable outdoor furniture cover. The outdoor furniture cover is used to allow a user to easily draw out the retractable cover and cover any desired outdoor patio furniture. As a non-limiting example and as depicted in
The housing 104 or component can be built into the patio furniture or separately formed and attached with patio furniture using any suitable mechanism or device 106, such as clips, screws, etc. In various embodiments, the outdoor furniture cover 100 can include a handle 108 attached to the end of the retractable material 102 for ease of pulling the retractable material 102 out of the housing 104. The drawings submitted herewith provide a few non-limiting examples of a retractable outdoor furniture cover 100. Importantly, the retractable outdoor furniture cover 100 is any suitable mechanism or device that allows the retractable material 102 (e.g., sunshade, plastic, tarp, canvas, etc.) to retract or be selectively drawn from the housing 104 to cover the outdoor furniture.
For further understanding,
The retractable cover 100, as described above, can be designed for use on any type of outdoor furniture. As a non-limiting example and as shown in
As noted above, the retractable outdoor furniture cover 100 can be implemented in any suitable outdoor furniture. As another non-limiting example, the retractable outdoor furniture cover 100 can be used on an outdoor reclining chair as well. Shown in
In some aspects and as depicted in
As yet another non-limiting example and only as shown in
In some aspects and as shown in
In various aspects, when the sunshade is not in use, the cover 100 can be rolled back into the housing (as shown in
It shall also be noted that the furniture with the retractable cover 100 can also have wheels attached. As seen in
In various aspects, the wheels 704 are configured as a rolling mechanism inside of a housing (e.g. ball and socket wheels). As a non-limiting example, the wheels are bearings housed in a flange, such as the Hudson Bearing LPBT-1 Series, produced by Hudson Bearings, LLC, located at 7060 Huntley Rd, Columbus, Ohio 43229.
Finally, while this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the invention may have other applications in other environments. It should be noted that many embodiments and implementations are possible. Further, the following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the specific embodiments described above. In addition, any recitation of “means for” is intended to evoke a means-plus-function reading of an element and a claim, whereas, any elements that do not specifically use the recitation “means for”, are not intended to be read as means-plus-function elements, even if the claim otherwise includes the word “means”. Further, while particular method steps have been recited in a particular order, the method steps may occur in any desired order and fall within the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A retractable outdoor furniture cover, comprising:
- a housing; and
- a retractable material attached with the housing that can be selectively drawn from the housing or retracted into the housing.
2. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a piece of outdoor furniture, such that housing is built into the piece of outdoor furniture, the piece of outdoor furniture having a back, with the housing connected with the back of the piece of outdoor furniture.
3. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 2, further comprising a shade support attached with the piece of outdoor furniture, the shade support being pivotally connected with the piece of outdoor furniture to transition between a first position and a second position, such that when in the second position, the shade support maintains the retractable material upright in a sustained elevated position above a seating area of the piece of outdoor such that a space exists between the piece of outdoor furniture and the retractable material to accommodate a user.
4. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 3, wherein the piece of outdoor furniture includes two front legs and two rear legs, and further comprising a ball and socket wheel attached with each of the rear legs.
5. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a ball and socket wheel attached with each of the front legs.
6. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 5, wherein the shade support is a u-shaped bar.
7. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 6, wherein the piece of outdoor furniture includes a top surface, with a recess formed in the top surface to accommodate the shade support when in a first position.
8. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a shade support for attaching with a piece of outdoor furniture, the shade support having a mechanism for pivotally connecting with the piece of outdoor furniture to transition between a first position and a second position, such that when in the second position, the shade support maintains the retractable material upright in a sustained elevated position above a seating area of the piece of outdoor such that a space exists between the piece of outdoor furniture and the retractable material to accommodate a user.
9. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 8, wherein the shade support is a u-shaped bar.
10. The retractable outdoor furniture cover as set forth in claim 8, wherein the piece of outdoor furniture includes a top surface, with a recess formed in the top surface to accommodate the shade support when in a first position.
11. A piece of outdoor furniture, comprising:
- a backrest section;
- a seating section;
- a housing attached with the back section;
- a retractable material attached with the housing that can be selectively drawn from the housing or retracted into the housing;
- a shade support, the shade support being pivotally connected with the piece of outdoor furniture to transition between a first position and a second position, such that when in the second position, the shade support maintains the retractable material upright in a sustained elevated position above the seating section of the piece of outdoor such that a space exists between the piece of outdoor furniture and the retractable material to accommodate a user;
- wherein the piece of outdoor furniture includes two front legs and two rear legs; and
- a ball and socket wheel attached with each of the rear legs.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 18, 2018
Publication Date: May 9, 2019
Inventor: G. Thomas Ennis (Inglewood, CA)
Application Number: 16/010,778