Patent Application
20080209776
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from provisional application No. 60/904,594 filed Mar. 2, 2007, which application is incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a system of providing adaptable, stand alone articles of furniture or other personal gear, which are finished, aesthetically pleasing products, but which optionally can accept interchangeable flexible logo or advertising panels. When the panels are removed, the removal in no way detracts from the original beauty and appearance of the original product, so that when the viewer is looking at the product, the user is unaware that the logo panels can be added, let alone interchanged.
Indicia attached to chairs or seat cushions is known in the art. Schneller et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,391 describes a flap extending from the top of a stadium seat support panel to present advertising to a person seated behind. Pontes describes an inflatable seat cushion with a display message or logo on one side in US Patent application number 2006/0175878. In US Patent application number 2006/0284438, Carty describes a single embodiment of flexible logo panel attached to the upper back of an upholstered chair using a hook and loop attachment method. Sapp in U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,909 describes a decorative interchangeable and reversible furniture and/or bed pillow, which can be turned inside-out.
The prior art does not reveal interchangeable fabric, leather, vinyl or other suitable natural or synthetic chair-covering material logo or advertising panels attached to upholstered chairs using methods which do not detract from the appearance or comfort, or visibility of the chair when the logo panel is not present.
None of the prior art logo attachable products can be utilized on anything other than their original products. In the prior art products, when an advertising logo is removed, it detracts from the products, and lack thereof detracts from the appearance and usefulness of the product.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for providing adaptable, stand alone personal or commercial product items, such as furniture, sports equipment or clothing, with or without removable interchangeable fabric logo panels of distinctive design.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a personal product item, which can receive one or more logo panels of distinctive designs, but which can alternatively remain exposed on an outer surface without the logo panel, without detracting from the style and appearance of the personal product item.
It is also an object to provide seating at public arenas with multiple venue events, whereby the seating can change to reflect differing venue events, with or without a logo located upon the seats.
It is also an object of the present invention to encourage collection of sports and other public event memorabilia by spectators.
Stadium seating for skyboxes has now progressed to the use of very comfortable upholstered chairs sometimes displaying a permanent home team logo on the seat back. One such chair is know as a Dreamseat™. Since skyboxes can also be purchased by a corporation, chairs can also have corporate or commemorative logos. Another business environment is to rent skyboxes to a corporation or business just for a single event; a theme for the skybox can be part of the rental fee. It is also desirable to be able to change displayed logo, signage or advertising panels on these chairs to accommodate multi-use on a short term basis such as different afternoon and evening events such as at shared-event stadiums, like the proposed new New York Jets and New York Giant's shared football stadium. A Dreamseat™ can also be retailed for use in a home theater or den. Note that panels can be commonly sized to go from a chair to a jacket and back or into an exhibit collectible storage picture frame. It can also be added to seasonal water cooler covers. Panels can also be common sized in a smaller version for use with smaller articles of clothing such as baseball caps or smaller gear items in general with an attachment feature.
This invention provides a method for attaching non-reversible, interchangeable fabric, leather, vinyl or other suitable natural or synthetic chair-covering material logo (or advertisement or art) panels to upholstered sports stadium chairs or to other personal gear, for example, soft-covered items such as leather jackets or golf bags, without detracting from their appearance, even if the panel is removed, thereby allowing their use without display of an insignia or other type of logo. The panels can also be applied to upholstered vehicle seats, office chairs, office furniture, office water coolers, or other domestic furniture. The system can also be extended to clothing outerwear or sports related accessories such as sports equipment. The attachment method is inconspicuous and keeps the attachment mechanism hidden from view and does not detract from comfort, style or wearability of the product. Such a logo panel can also cover an area emblazoned with a permanent different logo. These panels can be embroidered sports memorabilia with spaces for actual team member signatures or performer autographs, or they can be corporate logos or promotional advertising panels. Panels can also include storage pockets for remote controls or magazines or eye glasses.
The fabric, leather or other suitable chair-covering material panels can be attached by zippers, hook and loop strips, or by a series of fabric, leather or other suitable chair-covering material snaps which are hidden by flaps which blend in with the chair upholstery or adjacent material. In one embodiment, a pin lock engages a loop on the zipper pull to lock the logo panel in place to the chair with an embedded lock ferrule. These features on a skybox chair transform it from a Dreamseat™ to one with an Xzipit)™ feature. In another embodiment, the side of a chair can have vertical attachment strips under hiding flaps with an additional horizontal flap on the bottom to capture the bottom edge of the fabric, leather or other suitable chair-covering material logo panel thereby forming a convenient pocket for magazines or such items. The bottom edge strip is a sewn fabric, leather or other suitable chair-covering material blending in with the upholstery but encasing a flat flexible magnet that is attracted to an embedded similar magnet or to a ferromagnetic metal strip embedded under the chair upholstery in registration with it. This would keep the bottom flap neatly against the side of the chair resisting gravity with the logo panel in place or not. A similar magnetic retention method may be used at the top end of a logo panel which rests on the top edge of the seat back to keep it neatly in place. Also the present invention includes a picture frame Xzipit™ for storage of extra collectable panels. The panel can be placed anywhere on an article where placement thereof is most advantageous in its location for display.
Optionally, heating and/or massage circuitry can be added to the logo panels to provide comfort for the user. These can be set preferably with timers so that they turn off if inadvertently left on by the seat occupant.
The present invention can best be understood in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments or the precise placement of any logo or commemorative panels shown in drawings, in which:
The schematic diagram of
If the skybox or club area is rented for a corporate event, the skybox is typically booked and prepaid. As part of the theme for the corporate event either team/entertainment event logos or corporate logos, personal messages or photos are preinstalled on the Dreamseats™. Not limited to a current style. Xzipit™ can be fit on any furniture style including coaches and automobile seats as well as motorcycle seats and saddles. There may be an option for personalization as by autograph. The memorabilia for the corporate event is removed from the chair, optionally personalized, and then given to the occupant of that chair. If the skybox is owned by a corporation or seasonally leased, combination corporate/event logo panels can be installed and given as souvenirs to the corporate guests to commemorate their attendance.
Other business options not explicitly indicated in
Two other seating options with Xzipit™ features are shown in
In the foregoing description, certain terms and visual depictions are used to illustrate the preferred embodiment. However, no unnecessary limitations are to be construed by the terms used or illustrations depicted, beyond what is shown in the prior art, since the terms and illustrations are exemplary only, and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.
It is further known that other modifications may be made to the present invention, without departing the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60904594 | Mar 2007 | US |
