This invention relates to covers useful in protecting outdoor furnishings from weather and other outdoor elements.
Furnishings used in outdoor areas are commonly left outside year-round. The furnishings are subject to a variety of weather conditions, including extreme heat, cold, rain, wind and snow, and other damaging elements, such as mold, mildew, dirt and debris. It is common to protect these furnishings with a cover to preserve their quality and longevity.
A variety of covers are available, from custom-fitted styles to unfitted tarpaulins. These covers are typically intended for off-season use, and therefore constructed primarily for long-term deployment. Many require fastening multiple hook-and-loop closures, zippers and/or ties. Placing them on furnishings can be time consuming and physically difficult. As a result, covers are typically placed onto the furnishing items in the Fall and removed in the Spring. The furnishings they cover go unused throughout the entire duration of the covers use.
But many parts of the country experience unseasonably pleasant days even during the late Fall, Winter, and early Spring months. On those days, a person may wish to use their outdoor furnishings, but is confronted with the difficulty of removing the off-season cover, and then later redeploying that cover. So, an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and use their outdoor furnishings is missed, where the effort or aggravation of dealing with the cover may not be deemed worthy of a limited use of the furnishing.
Conversely, a person may risk leaving their outdoor furnishings uncovered in the early Fall and late Spring months, only to experience an unseasonably inclement day. As a result the furnishings may become damaged or dirtied by the elements, and therefore additional time or effort must be spent to prepare or clean the furnishings for use.
Accordingly, it has been one objective of the invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover that provides adequate protection but can also be easily removed (or partially removed) and readily (fully) redeployed to allow for periodic use of outdoor furnishings throughout all the months of the year.
It is another objective of this invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover that is easy to store and deploy.
It is also an objective of this invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover that provides adequate protection from the weather and other outdoor elements while deployed.
It is another objective of this invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover that can quickly and easily be fully or partially removed to allow for periodic use of the furnishing item.
And it is a further objective of this invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover that can be quickly and easily fully redeployed after such periodic use to allow continued protection of the furnishing item.
The present invention comprises a semi-fitted furniture cover made of weather-resistant fabric with weighted hems, pleated corners with reinforced tabs, and an interior topline flange. Rust-resistant snaps are optionally included between the flange and cover.
Semi-fitted construction allows for quicker and easier use, eliminates the need to purchase custom fitted furniture covers that are costlier and more difficult to deploy, and maximizes airflow to prevent mold and mildew growth.
Performance fabric is weather resistant and extends the life of the cover and the outdoor furnishings it protects.
Weighted hems keep the cover in place without the need for more complicated fittings.
Pleated corners create subtle shaping to allow for better overall drape and fit. Reinforced tabs sewn at the origination point of each pleat ensure longevity of the construction. Pleats in the fabric are inverted structures which inherently force the entire length of the pleated fabric to fold onto itself, and the weighted hem at the bottom of the pleat folds along with it. While the cover is fully deployed, this inherent folding together of the weighted hem creates (an) area(s) of increased heaviness, and further ensures the cover will remain fully deployed even in high wind situations.
The interior top-line flange is oriented for use between the frame of the furniture item and its cushion(s) and/or pillow(s). The weight of the cushion(s) holds the flange in position, and the flange acts as an internal anchor for the furniture cover. Anchored in this manner, the user can draw aside only the front portion of the cover, use the furniture item while not needing to completely remove the rest of the cover, and later fully recover the item, thereby offering continuous protection and ultimate ease of use.
The flange is connected to the cover by rust resistant snaps. These snaps help ensure the flange will not tear away from the cover with general use or with abuse by natural outdoor elements (as it may if the flange were connected by a stitched seam) but will instead simply detach from the cover. Detaching in this manner increases overall durability and longevity of the furniture cover. The snaps also allow the user to keep the flange in place, unsnap it from the rest of the cover, remove the rest of the cover entirely from the furniture item, use the furniture item, and then later easily redeploy the cover, and reattach it to the flange without need to reposition the flange between the cushion and furniture frame.
These and other objectives and advantages will be readily apparent from the following written description and from the drawings in which:
Within
One embodiment of the present invention comprises an outdoor furniture cover 1 as shown in plan view from the topside in
The invention utilizes generally available performance fabrics, or other similar material. The performance and/or weather resistant qualities of the fabric may include but are not limited to stain-resistance and easy cleanability; fade-resistance due to a higher UV rating; and a back-side coating that provides tear-, abrasion-, and water-resistance, and limits raveling when cut. The fabric may be of woven or non-woven quality and may be regular-width or wide-width goods.
The invention also utilizes generally available weighted hem tapes 10a, 10b or other similar material. Weighted hem tapes are traditionally used in window drapery construction and may be of various materials, widths, and weights. Such a weighted hem tape is sewn into hem pockets 10 at the finished edges of the cover 1. The hem pockets 10 are created by a stitch line 11a, 11b placed sufficient distance from the finished edge of the cover 1 to accommodate carrying the weighted hem tape within. The weighted hem tapes are intended to help the cover 1 remain fully deployed even in inclement weather. The weighted hem tapes are weather-resistant and of suitable width and weight to help maintain adequate coverage of the furnishings 16 even during windy conditions, and yet also be of tolerable lightless and flexibility to make deployment of the cover 1 as easy as possible.
In addition to the weighted hems 10, the invention also features pleated corners 2, 3, 4, 5 shown on respective sides by the suffix “a” or “b,” to enhance the drape and fit of the cover 1.
When the cover 1 is used with a chair 16 as in this example, a first set of shorter corner pleats 4a, 5a are oriented adjacent front panel 14 (
The upper points at which the pleats originate are reinforced with self-fabric patches 6, 7, 8, 9 shown on respective sides by the suffixes “a” or “b”, to ensure the pleat structure does not fail. The inverted structure of the pleats at corners 2, 3, 4, 5 inherently forces the entire length of the pleated fabric to fold onto itself, at the pleat and the weighted hem 10 at the bottom of the pleat corners 2, 3, 4, 5 folds along with it. While the cover 1 is fully deployed, this inherent folding-together of the weighted hem 10 creates (an) area(s) of increased heaviness, further ensuring the cover 1 will remain fully deployed even in high wind situations. Self-connecting fabric ties (not shown) can be positioned either on the top-side or under-side of the cover 1 at the pleat corner locations 2, 3, 4, 5 or other locations, and may also be incorporated to enhance the drape and fit of the cover 1.
The invention further utilizes generally available rust-resistant snaps 12, or other similar fasteners or material to removably attach the topline flange 15 to cover 1. As seen in
The cover 1 is intended for deployment over various styles and sizes of outdoor furnishings. Outdoor furnishings, for this example, a chair 16, as shown in
As shown in
To initiate deployment of the cover 1, the user is advised to remove the seat cushions(s) 18 and back cushion(s) 17 from the furniture item, grasp the cover 1 at the interior self-fabric patches 6b & 7b while facing the inside front panel 14b, approach the outside back of the furniture item 16, lay the flange 15 along the inside back of the chair 24 and along the chair seat-deck 22, return the seat cushions(s) 18 and back cushion(s) 17 to their original locations, and then simply pull the rest of the cover 1 into place.
To use the chair 16 or other such furnishings while the cover 1 is deployed, the user is advised to grasp the cover 1 by the bottom edge of a front pleated corner 4 or 5, and to simply draw the front panel 14 back and to the side of the chair 16 as shown in
To return the cover 1 to its fully deployed position, the user is advised to again grasp the cover 1 by the bottom edge of a front pleated corner 4 or 5 and to simply draw the front panel 14 back over the frame 19 of the chair 16 as shown in
While one embodiment of the invention cover described herein is shown for use with a chair, the invention may be produced in various dimensions or shapes and be used with other furniture types.
And while the materials are described herein as performance fabrics, weighted hem tapes, and rust-resistant snaps, other materials that perform in a similar manner may be used.
Further, specific elements of the invention have been described herein for the purposes of illustration. However, it is to be understood that such specific elements may be modified. For example, it will be appreciated that while the drawings illustrate one embodiment of the invention, many alternate embodiments are contemplated. In this regard, the dimensions and structural relationships of the cover elements can be varied to provide a cover, within the scope of the invention, for a wide variety of furniture or other items which differ significantly from the furniture structure shown in the drawings. For example, the cover of the invention can easily be modified or adapted for use with elongated furniture such as couches, benches, sectional sofas, lounges, tables or the like, as well as other structures. Width, length and component relationships of the cover can be changed. These include but are not limited to the length and/or width of the corner pleats, top flange, hem and panels. And for round items, such as ottomans or the like, there would be no express “corners”, but pleated sections can be positioned adequately around the items.
These and other modifications and advantages will become evident to those of skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention, and applicant intends to be bound only by the claims appended hereto.
Applicant claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/718,000 filed on Aug. 13, 2018. Such application is incorporated herein by this specific reference as if fully set out herein.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3115953 | Peras | Dec 1963 | A |
3557856 | Berman | Jan 1971 | A |
4842324 | Carden | Jun 1989 | A |
4910855 | Balarzs | Mar 1990 | A |
20100132595 | Gledhill | Jun 2010 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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74 28 318 | Dec 1974 | DE |
Entry |
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PCT/US2019/046131 International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Oct. 31, 2019. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20200046130 A1 | Feb 2020 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62718000 | Aug 2018 | US |