CA1184842A - Seating furniture - Google Patents

Abstract

SEATING FURNITURE
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

This invention relates to furniture traditionally of the upholstered type which may be manufactured without utilization of traditional upholstery skills. The furniture comprises a base portion conveniently manu-factured from tubing over which fabric envelopes of pleasing upholstered appearance are placed. The envelope is held in place by fasteners such as zippers or VELCRO*.
Elements for supporting back cushions and arm panels for the furniture are removably affixed to the base portion by means of bolts passing through tubular members of the base. The elements for supporting back cushions and the arm panels are also comprised of tubular elements covered with fabric envelope enclosures.

* Trade Mark

Description

This invention relates to the field of furniture normally described as upholstered furniture. Such furniture is basically used for supporting individuals in a sitting position and may be of sufficient extent to support one person as in a chair or a plurality of persons in which case the furniture is identified by such names as a loveseat, a chesterfield or a sofa. In this patent the term 'seating furniture' is used to collectively describe all such furniture.
The traditional structure of seating furniture involves the construction of a wooden frame to which suitable springs are added and then the frame is upholstered with suitable paddin~ and fabric. The task of upholstering such furniture either in the initial manufacture of the furniture or rebuilding the furniture after excessive wear is a time consuming and expensive procedure involving the use of skilled craftsmen.
Typically, upholstery is attached to the frame of such furniture by means of tacks or staples or the like, and the installation of such upholstery on such frames is a time consuming and costly procedure.
Seating furniture, particularly, larger versions capable of seating two or more persons are relatively bulky items which are expensive to ship long distances.
By the nature of typical seating furniture the furniture cannot be made in a modular or knock-down fashion as the arms, back and base are normally permanently fastened ~8~8~2 together in the furniture manu-facturing facllity. With such typical furniture the completed chair or sofa must be shipped to the selling facility requiring an excessive amount of shipping room in vle~ of the nature of the product and the steps that must be taken to protect the upholstery during the course of shipping.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a form of seating furniture having the comfort and appearance of typical seating furniture which does not require the traditional skills and time of upholstery.
Another object of this invention is to provide seating furniture which is readily taken apart or knocked down for shipment between the manufacturing facility and the selling facility or between the selling facility and the 1~ user's premises.
According to the invention, seating furniture is provided comprising a base for supporting at least one seat cushion and an element for supporting at least one back portion. Fastening means are provided for removably securing the element to the base. The base comprises a plurality of members affixed to one another and defining the perimeter of a substantially rectangular prism. A sheet of resilient cushioning material is affixed to a plurality of the members of the base. Fabric defining an envelope surrounding the prism and having at least one closeable ~ening therein is provided, the opening being of sufficient extent to permit the prism to be passed through the opening.

The invention may be more clearly understood from the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the attached figures, and in which:
Figure l is a perspective view of a single arm multiplé seat sofa with seat and back cushions removed;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the structural element of the sofa of Figure l;
Figure 3 illustrates the envelope for covering the base of the sofa of Figure l, and Figure 4 illustrates the envelope for covering the element for supporting back cushions of Figure l.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated in 15 Figure l the seating furniture comprises a base por-tion 10 for supporting one or more seating cushions which are illustrated in phantom lines only for purposes of clarity of illustration of the structure of the base portion lO.
In addition, the furniture comprises an element 12 for 20 supporting one or more back cushions which are not illustrated for purposes of clarity in illustrating the structure of the element. The furniture also comprises an arm panel 14.
The construction of the various components 25 of the furniture is illustrated in Figure 2. Each of the components comprises a plurality of members defining a frame work. The base portion 10 comprises a plurality of members affixed to one another and defining the perimeter of the base portion which has the shape of a substantially rectangular prism. The base portion comprises four lower members 20, 22, 24 and 26 all lying in substantially the same plane. In addition, there are ~our similar upper members 28, 30, 32 and 34 all lying substantially in a second plane. The upper members are supported above the lower members by six upstanding members 36, 38,40, 42, 44 and 46.
All o the members comprising the base are advantageously manufactured from s~uare tubular metallic members readily available. The material is chosen such that these members may be readily affixed to one another such as by welding, Of course~ it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that any one or more of the various members may be from a single piece o~ tubing suitably bent to constitute the members described herein.
The upper plane of the base lO defined by members 28, 30, 32 and 34 cornprises the plane upon which the seat cushions will rest, Standard furniture springs 48 extending between the members 28 and 32 are illustrated. It will be obvious to those skilled in this field that the number and placement of such springs is a matter of choice depending upon the strength of the springs and the load to be supported by the furniture. Advantageously, the springs are retained in place by downturned elements of the spring wire which are received in apertures drilled in the upper surface of members 28 and 32 respectively.

%

Members 36 and ~4 most readily apparent in Figure 2, include a series of holes extending completely through the tubing for receiving bolts~ ~ember 36 comprises two holes ~0 in the fron-t face and two holes 62 in the side face. It will be observed that holes 60 and 62 are each respectively offset vertically one from the other in order to permit a bolt to be passed horizontally through the member one through each of holes 60 and one through each of holes 62. Similar holes are provided in member 44. ~ember 46 may also have holes 60 if desired.
The front upstanding members 38 and 42 each comprise a pair of holes 62 extending completely through the tubular members in each case in the side face.
Holes 60 are provided in members 36 and 44 in order that screws may be passed through the holes to retain the element fo~ supporting the back cushions against the base. Holes 62 are provided for securing arm panels 14 to either end of the base. The manner of attaching the element and the arm panels will be more readily apparent after describing these individual structures.
~ he element for supporting the bac]c cushion 12 is clearly shown in Figure 2. The element 12 is most readily constructed from a tube bent into a downwardly opening U-shape having a substantially horizontal run 78 and two downwardly extending runs 80 and 82. The lower perimeter of the element comprises a tube 81 welded at either end to the extremity of runs 80 and 82. For additional support, member 83 is welded to run 78 and tube 81. Additional such members may be included as length requires.
The two runs 80 and ~2, and, if desired, member 83, are each provided in their front facing surface with a pair of apertures ~4. These apertures advantageously extend substantially horizontally direc-tly through members 80 and 82. Nuts 86 for receiving threaded fastene_s are retained at each of the front facing portions of the apertures 84. Such snap-in nuts for being retained in such apertures are readily available under the trade name SNAP-~lUTo Other types of nuts may be se~ured to the runs 80 and 82 if desired.
The element 12 may be fixed to the base portion 10 by simply passing bolts 88 horizontally through each of the apertures 60 and threading the bolt 88 into the nuts 86 recei.ved within apertures 84. This is shown in chain dotted lines in Figure 2. Thus, the back element is readily removably fixed to the base portion 10. T~le element 12 should preferrably be affixed by at least four bolts, more being utilized if length so requires.
The arm panels 14 may be constructed in a manner similar to the element 12. The arm panel 14 advantageously comprises a downwardly opening U-shaped tube having a substantially horizontal run 90 and two downwardly extending runs 92 and 94. The lower perimeter of the panel comprises a tube 96 welded at either end to the extremities of runs 92 and 94. The two xuns 92 and 94 are each provided in their inwardly facing surface with a pair of apertures 98 which extend substantially horizontally throug~ the runs. Each aperture contains a similar nut 86.
The panel 14 may be fixed to the base porticn 10 by simply passing four bolts 100 horizontally through each of the four apertures 62 and threading the bolts 100 into the nut 86 retained in apertures 98. This is shown in chain dotted lines in Figure 2~ Thus, the 10 arm panel is readily removably fixed to the base portion 10 .
The method of covering the structural portions of the furniture will now be explained. After metal assembly of base 10 is finished and springs 4~ are in 15 place, the upper surface of the prism is first covered with a supporting fabric 110 whlch may be affixed to the upper surface comprising elements 28, 30, 32 and 34 so as to extend completely over the plane constltuted by those four elements. The purpose of the supporting 20 fabric is to cover the springs and ~o provide support for the subsequent layers of material. It is suggested that in most cases the supporting fabric may be affixed to the base ~y gluing the fabric to -the elements 28, 30, 32 and 34. Examples of particularly suitable fabrics 25 include the sheet products identified by the DuPont company as FABR N~* and TYPAR*.
* Trade Marks ~8~8~

~ fter the sheet of supporting fabric 110 is in place, a synthetic foam cushioning material 112 is used -to cover the upper surface and ~he exposed sides of the prism. The cushioning material may be polyurethane foam or the like. This materi~l is retained in place by gluing to the members of the base. The material is shown in partial section in Figure 2.
In order to provide the base with an upholstered appearance without actually undertakiny the usual steps of upholstery a special envelope 120 comprised of fabric is prepared. The envelope 120 shown most clearly in Figure 3 comprises a fabric having the appropriate appearance of the finished furniture. At least the panel 122 of the envelope 120 which will rest against members lS 38, 24, 42 and 32 will comprise a pleasing upholstered fabric. It is suggested that the remainder of the surfaces other than the lower panel 124 namely the upper surface 126, the end 128 and the corresponding end and back panels, also be manufactured from the same fabric.
Thus, the portion of the fabric o~ the envelope having the appearance of upholstery will cover all surfaces of the base 10 leaving only the lower or underneath portion of the base. The lower surface of the prism comprised of elements 20, 22, 24 and 26 is completed in the envelope by the lower panel 124 which may be made of any material such as the typical dust covering material used in typical upholstered furni-ture.

The panel 124 comprises three zippers 130A, 132A and 134A along its three free edges. The other half of the zipper track for each of these three elements is sewn to the surfaces of the envelope which will abut the dust cover when the dust cover is put in place. Two of these 130B and 132B are visible in Figure 3, the third element being on the end panel which is not vislble. It will also be observed that the dust cover is sufficiently large that the prism of members comprising the base may be passed into the envelope and the envelope thereafter closed under the prism by means of the zippers. Other fastening means other than zippers such as VELCRO* or buttons could also be advantageously used. It is suggested that the portions 122 and 128 of the envelope which are intended to cover the sldes and front of the base be made somewhat longer than the height of the base in order that the zippers may be tucked in under the base where they will not otherwise be visible.
Panel 128 of envelope 120 comprises four 'buttonl hole openings 140. The opposite end panel is similar to end panel 128 and is also provided with four button holes 140. These openings which are shown in exaggerated appearance overlie the apertures 62. The button holes 140 are relatively small, being just large enough to permit the passage of bolts 100 there-through and are otherwise not readily visible upon casual examination.

*Trade Mark If the panel 128 of the seating furniture was to remain visible that is to say, if no arm panel were desired for this end, then the '~utton' holes could be eliminated from the panel. Howeverr provision of the button holes provides a product which may be changed from time to time to suit the user.
The method of covering the element 12 for supporting back cushions and the arm panel 14 is essentially similar to the procedure used for the base 10.
The method will be further explained with reference to the arm panel 14.
The element 14 is first covered by passing an envelope llO of FABREIIE* or TYPAR* downwardly over the bent tubular member 90, 32 and 94. This fabric is strong enough to provide the support for any cushions supported by the arm panels 14. Next an envelope 112 comprised of synthetic foam cushioning material ls passed downwardly over the first envelope llO. Lastly, an envelope 150 of fabric having an upholstered appearance is passed downward-ly over the first and second envelopes.
Envelope 150 is illustrated in Figure 4. Theenvelope comprises a zipper 152A and 152B at its lower edge for retaining all envelopes in place. The envelope also comprises four 'butto~' holes 154 which are located so as ~o exactly overlie the apertures 98 in the runs 92 a~d 94, The envelopes of FABRENE or TYP,AR and of synthetic foam also comprise suitable openings overlying *Trade Marks apertures 98. These openings and 'button' holes provide unimpeded access of bolts 100 to nuts 86. The zipper 152 when closed will constitute the lower surface of the envelope covering the element 12 and hence is not readily visible even from the side of the seating furniture.
Closure means other than zippers may also be used, if desired.
rrhe back element 12 is essentially similar to the arm panel 14. The 'button' holes in the envelopes cover-ing the back element must overlie the apertures 84in order to permit unimpeded access of bolts 88 to nuts 86. It is to be noted that there is no re~uirement for either the element 12 or the arm panel 14 to he planar.
The only re~uirement is that apertures 84 and 60 must be adjacent and also apertures 98 and 62 must be adjacent.
Above the apertures 60 the element 14 may curve or extend angularly away from the base. Similarly, above the apertures 62, the arm panel 14 may curve or extend angularly away from the base as may be desired by the ~0 furniture designer. Similarly, the fabric material of the arm panel 14 may also comprise any form of ad~itional cushions, covers or the like sewn thereto to comprise arm cushions all as may be desired by the designer. One such example of an integral cushion forming part of envelope 150 is illustra~ed in Figure 4~ Additional or other forms of arm cushions placed on the arm panel 14 may also be used.

~L8~%

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 the base 10 rests upon the floor and the arm portion 14 extends to the floor. It should be understood however that it is not necessary that the ~ase 10 sit on the floor 5 nor that the arm or back portions necessarily terminate flush with the lower surface of the base The lower surfaces of elements 20, 22, 24 and 26 of the base may be provided with any suitable means of socket for receiving legs, feet, pads or the like as the designer 10 may wish. Alternatively, the height of the base may be such that the base does not reach to the floor and the support from the floor is comprised of two arm panels 14 which may extend below the base to the desired amount.
~ithin the structure illustrated and claimed herein 15 substantlal freedom is offered to the designer to give the seating furniture any desired appearance and proportion. When it is desired to support the base on two arm panels, it is suggested that the construction of the arm panels would have to be slightly modified to 20 provide the required additional strength. This may be accomplished using heavier gauge materials or by using additional bracing and tubular elements. Although not absolutely necessary, it is suggested that with preferred embodiments loose or fitted cushions be used both on the 25 upper surface of the base 10 as seat cushions and on the for~ard surface as pictured in Figure 1 of the element 12 for supporting back cushions. The shape and number of such cushions is a matter of choice for the furniture designer.

It will be appreciated that a unique furniture structure has been provided. ~he structure results in seating furniture which has the appearance of being upholstered while not requiring the skills of the S traditional upholstererO The flnished product is easily assembled and disassembled for shipment and/or repair and recovering, In addition, the furnlture is particularly light being manufactured from tubular metallic members while still possessing all of the requisite strength for long life and high quality. Within the structure disclosed herein the designer has almost unlimited freedom for the appearance of the finished product, and accordingly, the structure is available for use with a wide range of seating furniture.
Finally, it should be realized that with the design provided assembly and disassembly may be readily accomplished with unskilled labour. All that is required is the opening of the zippers 130, 132 and 134 in the base 10 and the insertion or removal of bolts 88 and 100.
Thus, the furniture may be easily dismantled for shipment to the sales facilities or the premises of the user.

Claims (7)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. Seating furniture having:
a base for supporting at least one seat cushion, an element for supporting at least one back cushion and threaded fastening means for removably securing said element to said base, said base comprising, a plurality of tubular metallic members affixed to one another and defining the perimeter of a substantially rectangular prism, a sheet of resilient synthetic foamed cushioning material affixed to a plurality of said tubular members, and fabric defining an envelope for surrounding said prism having at least one closeable opening therein, said opening being of sufficient extent to permit said prism to be passed through said opening.

2. The furniture of claim 1, said element for supporting at least one back cushion comprising a metallic frame, resilient cushioning material affixed to said frame covering the surface of said element, and fabric defining an envelope for enclosing said element having at least one closeable opening therein, said opening being of sufficient extent to permit said element to be passed through said opening.

3. The furniture of claim 2 wherein said fastening means comprise bolts and nuts and said fabric surrounding said prism and said fabric for enclosing said element comprise openings therein whereby said fastening means may be installed and removed while each of said fabrics are in place on said prism and said element respectively.

4, The furniture of claim 3 wherein said opening of said fabric for surrounding said prism is of an extent substantially equal to the area of the lower surface of said prism whereby said fabric may be passed over said prism by passing downwardly on said prism.

5. The furniture of claim 4 comprising at least one arm panel, and threaded fastening means for removably securing said at least one arm panel to said base.

6. The furniture of claim 5 comprising two arm panels.

7. The furniture of claim 6 wherein said base is supported above a supporting floor by said arm panels.