Patent Application
20250176729
This present disclosure relates generally to extensions for furniture, such as a chair, sofa, loveseat, and the like, and more specifically, but not exclusively, to modular furniture cushions for providing additional user comfort.
Hospital couch beds are multi-functional pieces of furniture commonly found in healthcare settings such as hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities. Hospital couch beds play an important role in healthcare settings, providing a space for patients/guests of patients to rest, sleep, and recover. For example, these couch beds provide seating areas during the day and convert to beds for either patients or their guests during the night. This is particularly advantageous during child labor when a partner of the laboring patient is typically staying overnight in the same hospital room.
However, there are certain challenges associated with these beds that can make them difficult to manage and use effectively. Notably, hospital couch beds provide limited comfort and adjustability. In other words, although hospital couch beds serve a practical purpose, they often fall short in providing the same level of comfort as a conventional bed. Instead, these couch beds are designed to accommodate various needs of patients with varying medical conditions. As such, the padding used in these beds is minimal and less supportive than those found in conventional furniture. This can negatively impact the well-being and experience of the user, such as causing body aches and restless sleep.
As an additional drawback, conventional hospital couch beds lack certain features to provide optimal comfort and adjustability. For example, there is typically no option to fully recline or provide personalized positioning. Without such adjustability, patients and guests cannot accommodate their specific medical needs to promote rest.
As an even further drawback of conventional furniture, the maintenance and cleaning process can be complex and time-consuming. But the cleanliness of this furniture is critical for maintaining a hygienic and safe environment in a healthcare setting. One example difficulty for cleaning these hospital couch beds is because of the design and structure. The frequency of cleaning needed to upkeep this furniture can be challenging.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved system and method for providing furniture extension systems in an effort to overcome the aforementioned obstacles and deficiencies of conventional furniture.
It should be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale, and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments. The figures do not illustrate every aspect of the described embodiments and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Because currently available hospital furniture systems cannot provide the comfort and adjustability of a conventional mattress or couch, a modular furniture extension system comprising multiple segments and formed of a deformable resilient material enclosed within a removeable shell, with integral attachment components, is provided for the purpose of temporarily customizing or otherwise enhancing the comfort, support, style, and hygiene of existing furniture. Such result can be achieved, for example, using a modular furniture extension system 100 shown in
With reference to
In a preferred embodiment, the deformable resilient material 108 housed by the shell 102 comprises a medium high-density foam. This material is generally of some measurable thickness and, if used for a sloped central/body portion 101b, features one flat surface opposite a sloped surface, both of which may be textured to provide pressure relief and encourage air circulation. In a preferred embodiment, the measurable thickness of the material housed by the shell 102 is between 1.5″ and 3″ or greater. A primary advantage of the foam material is its shape which is specifically designed to correspond with the intended application of the transformable cushion based upon its purpose. For example, in the case of a transformable cushion intended for use by a spouse or partner who is accompanying the birthing person in a hospital setting where the spouse or partner is provided a stand-alone reclining chair in which to sit or sleep, the shape of the transformable cushion is designed to correspond with the dimensions and profile of the existing reclining chair such that the spouse or partner may temporarily apply the transformable cushion to enhance the comfort, support, and hygiene of the existing reclining chair. By way of example, the modular furniture extension system 100 can accommodate chairs in a healthcare setting with a width of 36″-38.5″, a depth of 35″-40″, and a height of 42″-50″. In a preferred embodiment, the modular furniture extension system 100 fits chairs with a width of 38.5″, depth of 38″, height of 47″, which provides a seat width of 29″, a seat depth of 21″, a seat height of 21.5″, a back height of 26″, and arm heights of 28″.
Each segment 101 features several components to establish a stable, yet temporary, connection to the existing furniture and to reduce the potential for slippage before, during, or after use. These components are one or more fabric strips 105, one or more non-slip strips 107, and one or more edge fasteners 103. Turning to
Each shell 102 can also include one or more fabric strips 105 for securely holding the furniture extension system 100 to existing furniture. The fabric strips 105 serve as the primary attachment component to the furniture and can include adjustable straps and clips which can be loosened or tightened to secure a selected segment 101 against an existing surface. These same straps and clips of the fabric strips 105 can also function as a mechanism by which to carry the cushion when transformed into its transport state (as shown in
These fabric strips 105 are optional and, because each segment 101 functions as a modular extension, placement is determined by the needs of the composition of segments 101 in assembling the modular furniture extension system 100. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, the shell 102 is made of sateen cotton fabric or other durable, washable material with one or more edge fasteners 104 at its edges to enclose and protect the internal resilient material, allowing a person to remove the shell so that it can be cleaned and maintained regularly or as needed. For example, as shown in
The segmented nature of the transformable cushion allows the user to customize its length or fit with the existing furniture. Using the above example, if the spouse or partner were to sit rather than lay down in a fully reclined position, then one segment 101 of the transformable cushion could be detached from the other segments for use of a single segment while the individual is in a sitting position. When reclining the chair to a fully reclined position, the individual may elect to re-attach the other segments to create an elongated cushion which supports a portion or all of the body.
To assist with customizing the modular segments, one or more segment connectors 103 can be used to couple one or more segments 101. As shown, for example in
Turning to
Those of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the location of the segment connectors 103 and seam 106 may vary as desired. For example, the location of the segment connectors 103 may be placed toward the bottom of the gap between segments along the seam 106 to further reduce the amount of labor required to produce a single segment 101 and save manufacturing costs.
In its transport form (as shown in
Turning to
Although the deformable resilient material 108 was previously described as being housed by the shell 102, the deformable resilient material 108 can be used independently from the shell 102, for example, serving as the finished surface which may or may not be covered by a separate linen or sheet. In this embodiment, each of the components of the housing 102 can be provided directly on the deformable resilient material 108. For example, although not shown, any of the fabric strips 105 and/or the non-slip strips 107 can be directly affixed to the deformable resilient material 108. In some embodiments, the deformable resilient material 108 comprises a medium high-density foam. This material is generally of some measurable thickness and, if used for a sloped central/body portion 101b, features one flat surface opposite a sloped surface, both of which may be textured to provide pressure relief and encourage air circulation. A primary advantage of the foam material is its shape which is specifically designed to correspond with the intended application of the transformable cushion based upon its purpose. As shown, the material is defined by variable spaced apart, parallel rows of foam material to provide for maximum flexibility. The variable spacing advantageously supports the deformability and flexibility of the internal material to best contour to existing furniture. Stated in another way, the variable spacing can optimize the relationship between the height of each row of foam material and the gaps therebetween to support the deformability of the transformable cushion and adjust to different furniture shapes while providing user comfort. As an additional advantage, the variable spacing can both lay flat and optimize rolling up the transformable cushion (in addition to folding flat as discussed above). However, in some embodiments, the parallel rows of foam material can be evenly spaced apart as desired. In other words, each segment 101 may comprise one or more sub-segments 201 of the deformable resilient material 108, each sub-segment 201 being separated by a channel 202 of the deformable resilient material 108. These sub-segments 201 are generally formed by the channels 202 of the deformable resilient material 108 and is typically a single component.
In the case of a transformable cushion intended for use by a spouse or partner who is accompanying the birthing person in a hospital setting where the spouse or partner is provided a stand-alone reclining chair in which to sit or sleep, the shape of the transformable cushion is designed to correspond with the dimensions and profile of the existing reclining chair such that the spouse or partner may temporarily apply the transformable cushion to enhance the comfort, support, and hygiene of the existing reclining chair.
In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and any documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in this document controls.
In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one, independent of any other instances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In this document, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that “A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unless otherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, device, article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements in addition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemed to fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.
Geometric terms, such as “parallel”, “perpendicular”, “round”, or “square”, are not intended to require absolute mathematical precision, unless the context indicates otherwise. Instead, such geometric terms allow for variations due to manufacturing or equivalent functions. For example, if an element is described as “round” or “generally round,” a component that is not precisely circular (e.g., one that is slightly oblong or is a many-sided polygon) is still encompassed by this description.
Method examples described herein can be machine or computer-implemented at least in part. Some examples can include a computer-readable medium or machine-readable medium encoded with instructions operable to configure an electronic device to perform methods as described in the above examples. An implementation of such methods can include code, such as microcode, assembly language code, a higher-level language code, or the like. Such code can include computer readable instructions for performing various methods. The code may form portions of computer program products. Further, in an example, the code can be tangibly stored on one or more volatile, non-transitory, or non-volatile tangible computer-readable media, such as during execution or at other times. Examples of these tangible computer-readable media can include, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable optical disks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic cassettes, memory cards or sticks, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs), and the like.
The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72 (b), to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description as examples or embodiments, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment, and it is contemplated that such embodiments can be combined with each other in various combinations or permutations. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/606,450, filed on Dec. 5, 2023. Priority to the provisional patent application is expressly claimed, and the disclosure of the provisional application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63606450 | Dec 2023 | US |
