This disclosure relates to a chair, preferably for outdoor use, having a chair frame with a seat cushion and a back cushion. The chair frame has at least one biased, window-shade type spring roller provided at a location in the chair frame, so that a web of water-proof covering may be selectively payed out therefrom, deployed over at least one of the cushions, and secured in place. Upon being unsecured, the web can be stowed by rewinding upon the at least one roller.
Outdoor furniture is a very popular item. Some of this furniture, when constructed from wood, metal or a polymeric material, can be left out in the weather without significant adverse effects. However, when cushions are used on seating surfaces of the furniture, it is customary to either remove the cushions or cover them with a separate cover during periods of inclement weather or extended non-use.
Furniture covers present at least a few problems. In strong winds, they can be blown away. When removed, they need to be stowed away. This latter problem can be particularly troublesome when the furniture is used on a terrace of a high-rise building, for example, where the owner may be short on storage space
Some examples of furniture covers in the prior art include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,309,017 and 6,709,055. However, neither of these patents teach a furniture cover that is stored inside the piece of outdoor furniture, from which it can deployed into a protective condition on the furniture.
This and other unmet goals of the prior art are met by the embodiments of the cover assembly for a chair, as well as by a chair embodying the cover assembly.
The chair with which the cover assembly is employed has a chair frame with a seat base, a seat cushion, sized and adapted for removable placement in the seat base and a chair back, attached to the seat base.
The cover assembly, in a first embodiment, comprises a web of water-resistant material, having first and second ends; and a biased, window-shade type spring roller, positioned in the seat base, wherein the first end of the web of water resistant material is attached to the spring roller and the second end of the web of water resistant material is provided with means for removably attaching the second end to the chair frame.
In some embodiments of the cover assembly, the water-resistant material is a polymeric material, and, especially, the polymeric material impregnates the web, which comprises a woven fabric.
In many of the embodiments of the cover assembly, the web of water-resistant material, in a first, deployed condition, extends across a top surface of the seat cushion, and, in a second, non-deployed condition, the web of water-resistant material is rolled onto the biased, window-shade type spring roller.
In many of the embodiments of the cover assembly, the biased, window-shade type spring roller is mounted to the seat base, below the seat cushion.
In some embodiments of the cover assembly, the cover assembly further comprises a second cover assembly with a second web of water-resistant material, having first and second ends, and a second biased, window-shade type spring roller (60), positioned in the seat base, wherein the first end of the second web of water resistant material is attached to the second spring roller and the second end of the second web of water resistant material is provided with means for removably attaching the second end to the chair frame.
As in the first cover assembly, many of the second cover assemblies will use a polymeric material as the water-resistant web material, especially where the polymeric material impregnates the second web, which comprises a woven fabric.
Also, it is preferred that the second web of water-resistant material will extend, in a first, deployed condition, across a top surface of chair back, and, in a second, non-deployed condition, the web of water-resistant material is rolled onto the biased, window-shade type spring roller.
It is preferred that the second biased, window-shade type spring roller, when present, is mounted to the seat base, below the seat cushion.
Other objects of the inventive concept are provided by a chair, comprising: a chair frame, with a seat base, legs that are attached to the seat base and a chair back, also attached to the seat base; a seat cushion, removably placed in the seat base; and a seat cushion cover assembly that comprises a web of water-resistant material, having first and second ends; and a biased, window-shade type spring roller, positioned in the seat base, wherein the first end of the web of water resistant material is attached to the spring roller and the second end of the web of water resistant material is provided with means for removably attaching the second end to the chair frame.
In some embodiments, the chair also comprises a back cushion, removably attached to the chair back; and a second seat cushion cover assembly that comprises a second web of water-resistant material, having first and second ends; and a second biased, window-shade type spring roller (60), positioned in the seat base, wherein the first end of the second web of water resistant material is attached to the spring roller and the second end of the second web of water resistant material is provided with means for removably attaching the second end to the chair frame.
In some embodiments of the cover assembly, there is provided, for at least one of the cover assemblies, a brush means for brushing the web of water resistant material as the web is moved between the first, deployed condition and the second, non-deployed condition, the brush means being positioned to bear, adjustably and tangentially, against the outer circumference of the roller.
The invention will be better understood when reference is made to the drawings filed herewith, wherein identical parts are identified with identical reference numbers and wherein:
As would be common with an outdoor chair 10, a seat cushion 30 and a back cushion 40 are also provided and depicted in
In order to protect the cushions 30, 40 from the weather are, in this embodiment, a first cushion cover 32 and a second cushion cover 42. These cushion covers 32, 42 are depicted in a deployed condition in
While not clearly shown in
In one embodiment, roller 50 is associated with cushion cover 32 and roller 60 is associated with cushion cover 42. The preferred roller 50, 60 is a biased, window-shade type spring roller of the kind known in the prior art. Such a roller 50, 60 will be arranged so that the bias provided by the spring of the roller normally holds the cushion cover associated with it in a rolled-up or non-deployed condition. The second ends 36, 46 are each preferably provided with a means for securing the second end to a portion of the frame 20 when the cushion covers 32, 42 are deployed. In many embodiments, each second end will also preferably have a rigid linear element passing across the cushion cover 32, 42, to provide rigidity to the transverse aspect of the cushion cover as it is deployed. Such a rigid linear element may also provide a useful gripping surface for extracting the cushion cover for deployment from inside the frame 20.
With regard to the need to provide a means for securing the deployed cushion covers 32, 42 to the frame 20, it is noted that there are at least two different types of biased, window-shade type spring roller that can be useful in the embodiments of the invention. In a first of these types, the rotation of the roller in deploying the web increases the amount of bias on the spring associated with the roller, so releasing the deploying force will allow the web to be rolled back onto the roller, unless the end of the web is secured. This is the older type of roller. In a newer type of biased, window-shade type spring roller, the web deploys while under a force, but the web does not retract upon release of the deploying force. Instead, a rather quick or sudden pull on the web in the deploying direction actuates the biasing force of the roller spring, causing the web to be retracted onto the roller, under what is usually a smooth, slow manner. While a securing means may be used in either case, the securing means is required when the first type of roller is used, but it is probably optional when the second type of roller is used. When used, the securing means can be a mechanical type of latch or hook, a pair of magnetic elements, and other known securing means. Selection of the type of roller and the securing means will be well within the skills of one having skill in this art.
Directing attention now to
The elements of
In yet another embodiment that is not depicted here, a single roller may be used to deploy a single cushion cover over both cushions 30, 40. In such an embodiment, the cushion cover would be secured around a roller placed in a similar position to roller 60. However, instead of initially running up across the back cushion 40, the cover would extend horizontally back to the rear of the chair back 26, vertically up the back surface of back 26, take a short frontward horizontal path and then vertically down atop back cushion 40. At the bottom of the back cushion, a simple rod or roller, typically not spring-biased, would allow the cushion cover to move horizontally across seat cushion 30 and to be secured to a front surface of the seat base 24. In such a circumstance, the single cushion cover would be significantly longer than either cushion cover 32, 42 of the depicted embodiments.
Another feature that is generally considered optional to the primary invention is a brush means that is provided to remove dust, leaves and other debris from the cushion covers, particularly when the covers are rolled up onto the spring rollers. In the embodiment depicted in
A further feature is depicted in
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2018/058336 | 10/31/2018 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2019/089679 | 5/9/2019 | WO | A |
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