None.
The present disclosure relates to wicker furniture, and more particularly to wicker furniture constructed from Q-shaped wicker lengths, among other possible shapes having one or more fins. This construction provides for certain appearance benefits, and permits easy manufacture and repair of the furniture while retaining all the benefits of wicker furniture.
Wicker refers to a technique used to assemble furniture out of natural materials (such as willow, rush, bamboo, and rattan) or synthetic materials. Natural wicker furniture is typically manufactured from plant parts that are first soaked in water in order to be made pliable, then woven onto a frame structure or support to form the furniture, and allowed to dry. Wicker furniture is quite popular due to its inherent pliability, light weight, and strength.
Wicker furniture does have some disadvantages. Setting the wet woven material renders the material less flexible and thus more difficult to conform and attach to the frame of an article of furniture. The woven nature of the furniture means if a portion of the weave is damaged, the furniture may have to be substantially deconstructed to replace the damaged weave. Normal wear on the furniture can also loosen or unravel the weave, also making repair difficult for the consumer. Further, wicker furniture can be quite expensive to purchase as it is often hand woven by skilled laborers, may require a long time to make, and is not amenable to automated manufacture. Thus, there remains a need for wicker furniture that is inexpensive, easy and quick to manufacture, and easy to repair.
The present disclosure relates to articles of wicker furniture comprising one or more wicker lengths, where the shape of the wicker includes a fin portion and a raised portion. Embodiments disclosed herein are based on Q-shaped wicker lengths, but it should be appreciated that other shapes may be used. For example, depending on the point of contact of the fin with the base, the wicker lengths may be Q-shaped, D-shaped, or P-shaped. The fin may be straight or curved, even to the point of interlocking its neighbor.
In one embodiment, the article comprises a first Q-shaped wicker length and a second Q-shaped wicker length, wherein each of the first Q-shaped wicker length and second Q-shaped wicker length comprises a base yarn coupled to a fin, wherein the first Q-shaped wicker length and second Q-shaped wicker length are affixed to a frame of the article, and wherein the base yarn of the second Q-shaped wicker length overlaps the fin of the first Q-shaped wicker length to form a nested configuration.
In one embodiment, the shape of the base yarn is selected from the group comprising a circular, ovular, rectangular, square, and elliptical cross sectional shape.
In one embodiment, at least one of the Q-shaped wicker lengths is affixed by a method selected from the group comprising stapling, nailing, friction and gluing.
In one embodiment, the material of the Q-shaped wicker length is selected from the group comprising willow, rush, bamboo, rattan, and synthetic material.
In one embodiment, the frame is made of a material selected from the group comprising medium density fiberboard (MDF), plywood, hardboard, wood, metal (such as, e.g., steel or aluminum), and plastic (such as, e.g., polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride).
In one embodiment, the article of wicker furniture is selected from the group comprising a chair, a stool, an ottoman, a bed, a storage shelf, a cabinet, a table, a wardrobe, a closet, a case, a couch, a bench, a dresser, a planter, a swing, a canopy, a divider, a privacy screen, a gazebo, a fire pit table and an umbrella table.
The present disclosure also relates to methods of manufacturing an article of wicker furniture comprising: providing a frame having a shape of the article of furniture; providing two or more Q-shaped wicker lengths, wherein each Q-shaped wicker length comprises a base yarn coupled to a fin; affixing a first Q-shaped wicker length to the frame; and affixing a second Q-shaped wicker length to the frame by the same or different method, wherein the second Q-shaped wicker length is attached such that a base yarn of the second Q-shaped wicker length overlaps the fin of the first Q-shaped wicker length.
In one embodiment, a plurality of Q-shaped wicker lengths is affixed to the frame.
In one embodiment, the Q-shaped wicker length of the method of manufacturing is affixed by a method selected from the group comprising stapling, nailing, and gluing.
In one embodiment, the frame of the method of manufacturing is made of a material selected from the group comprising MDF, plywood, hardboard, wood, metal, and plastic.
The following description includes various embodiments and method 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.
Embodiments have been described based on a Q-shaped wicker length, however the present approach may be employed using different wicker length shapes.
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. One of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that numerous possibilities are available, and that the scope of the present approach is not limited by the embodiments described herein.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/550,997, filed Aug. 28, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62550997 | Aug 2017 | US |