EP3340837B1

EP3340837B1 - Mountable seat

Info

Publication number: EP3340837B1
Application number: EP16766993.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Andreu Carulla Callis
Original assignee: Iniciativa Exterior 3i SA
Current assignee: Iniciativa Exterior 3i SA
Priority date: 2015-08-27
Filing date: 2016-08-25
Publication date: 2019-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 2036-08-25
Also published as: EP3340837A1; ES1143559U; ES1143559Y; WO2017032913A1; ES2738418T3

Description

Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to a mountable seat that allows easy storage and assembly and enables the seat and backrest portions to be easily changed.

Background of the invention

There are a great variety of seats essentially provided with a chair-shaped structure with a padded covering that forms the seat and backrest portions, adapted to support the weight of the user.
However, seats that already incorporate the seat and backrest portion in their structure are difficult to store, since it is impossible to stack them without taking up too much space. Moreover, in case of wear or breakage of the seat or backrest portion because of their use, they are difficult or costly to repair because the entire structure has to be repaired, additionally having to temporarily withdraw the seat for its repair, therefore making it necessary to have spare seats available.
There are also seats formed by a frame and a canvas attached between two crossbars of the frame, such as those described in patent documents ES1004368U or ES1009675U . However, the canvas on this type of seat, in addition to not making it possible to define a seat portion and a backrest portion, must be firmly attached to the crossbars, for example, sewn around them, thus preventing the canvas from being separated from the frame, and making it very hard to replace.
US 2 765 480 A1 discloses a seat according to the preamble of claim 1. It is therefore an object of the present invention to introduce a seat that is an alternative to known seats and allows quick assembly, in addition to enabling the seat and backrest portion thereof to be easily replaceable, and facilitating optimal storage.

Description of the invention

The mountable seat of the present invention comprises at least two crossbar elements at different levels, one at a lower and one at an upper level; and a band adapted to be fitted between said crossbars.
In essence, the seat is characterized in that the band has at least two distinguishable functional ends and a central or intermediate linking portion between said functional ends, said band being long enough to be arranged below the crossbar elements and folded up around said lower and upper crossbar elements, one functional end determining one seat or backrest portion, which is preferably supported on the central portion, all of this such that the weight of a user, resting on the seat, prevents the band from unfolding. Naturally, although reference is made to a central linking portion between the functional ends, any intermediate portion of band between the functional ends would be equivalent.
In an alternative embodiment, the band is long enough to be arranged below the two crossbar elements and folded up around said lower and upper crossbar elements, the functional ends determining each seat or backrest portion respectively, which are found or are adjacent to them, the functional ends being preferably supported on the central portion, all of this such that the weight of a user, resting on the seat, prevents the band from unfolding.
According to another feature of the invention, the band has a transversal axis of symmetry and a longitudinal axis of symmetry, facilitating its manufacture as well as its assembly since the operator does not have to know beforehand which functional end has to be fitted in the seat as a seat portion and which functional end has to be fitted in the seat as a backrest portion, because they are interchangeable and the order in which they are fitted is irrelevant. Naturally, in other embodiments of the seat, for example, if you want it to adopt the shape of a sofa, a lounger or a chaise longue when assembled, in which the seat portion has to be longer than the backrest portion, the operator will previously position the functional end that has to form the seat portion, so that it wraps around the lower crossbar, and the backrest portion so that it wraps around the upper crossbar, thus being correctly positioned on the frame.
According to another feature of the invention, the functional ends are provided with attachment means to each other, like strips of Velcro or a set of buttons and buttonholes, making it possible to strengthen the join between the functional ends that make up the seat and backrest portions. Naturally, the fit between the functional ends that make up the seat and backrest portions may suffice to keep the seat assembled without requiring that they be supported on the central or intermediate portion of the band.
In an alternative embodiment, one of the functional ends of the band comprises means of coupling to one of the crossbar elements, so that the band remains attached or suspended from one of the crossbar elements, the band being long enough to be arranged below the other crossbar element and folded up around said other crossbar element, the other functional end determining the seat or backrest portion, leaving the functional end that determines the seat or backrest portion preferably supported on the central portion of the band, all of this such that the weight of a user, resting on the seat, prevents the band from unfolding. In this case, it is provided that the central portion of the band performs the function of a seat or a backrest portion that is not determined by the functional end. Preferably the means of coupling of one functional end of the band will be a means of coupling to the upper crossbar element, so that the band can be suspended from said upper crossbar element and the other functional end can determine a seat portion as a result of being supported on the central portion of the band.
According to a feature of the invention, the means of coupling to the crossbar element are formed by a fold of the band, sewn or glued to the same band, forming a tubular hole through which one of the crossbars is inserted and is normally removable, and which will usually be provided with a stop that prevents the band from becoming accidentally detached, leaving the band suspended from said crossbar element. Naturally, other means of coupling are also provided, such as hooks attached to the band, which allow the band to be suspended from the crossbar element.
According to another feature of the invention, the functional end or ends that determine a seat or a backrest portion are essentially rigid. These should preferably be rigid enough to enable a person to sit and be supported comfortably on the seat. For example, the functional ends that determine a seat or backrest portion should be more rigid than the central portion of the band, on which they are preferably supported. In order to achieve this rigidity, the functional ends that determine a seat or backrest portion can comprise rigid sheets, like metal plates or wood panels. It is also provided that these functional ends be formed or provided with foam to give them sufficient rigidity.
According to another feature of the invention, the functional ends are padded, giving said functional ends greater rigidity while making it possible to create seat and backrest portions that are comfortable for the user resting on the seat.
According to another feature of the invention, the central linking portion between the functional ends is long enough to be extended without tension between the crossbar elements, thus allowing the band to fold up around the crossbar elements, leaving the central portion arranged between said crossbar elements with a certain amount of clearance.
According to another feature of the invention, the central linking portion between the functional ends is longer than the distance between crossbars, allowing said central portion to form a clearance between said crossbars when the band is folded up around the upper and lower crossbar elements, leaving seat and backrest portions that determine the functional end of the band supported on said clearance.
According to another feature of the invention, the crossbar elements are part of a same frame, thus making it possible to manufacture the frame in a single piece. These are also made up of transversal bars that, for example, protrude from a wall or a structure.
According to another feature of the invention, the central linking portion between functional ends is a flexible strip, making it easy to bend and robust enough to support the weight of the user seated on the seat and backrest portions.

Brief description of the drawings

The accompanying drawings show, by way of illustration and not limitation, the mountable seat object of the invention. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of the seat object of the invention, disassembled;
Fig. 2 shows a first step in the assembly of the seat shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 shows a second step in the assembly of the seat shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 shows the seat in Fig. 1, once assembled;
Fig. 5 shows a first step in the assembly in a second embodiment of the seat of the present invention;
Fig. 6 shows a second step in the assembly of the seat shown in Fig. 5; and
Fig. 7 shows the seat in Fig. 5, once assembled.

Detailed description of the drawings

The present invention has a mountable seat 1 like a chair, a sofa, a couch, etc., that can be formed by a frame 10 and a band 3 provided with functional ends 4 that will determine a seat portion 5 and a backrest portion 6 when said band 3 is folded up and assembled in the frame, leaving said band 3 supported in the frame 10. Advantageously, since the band 3 and the frame 10 are components that can be separated, both the band 3 and the frame 10 can be stored separately taking up the smallest possible space, expecting that several frames 10 can be stacked, fitting them together and taking up the smallest possible space, and the bands 3, which can adopt an essentially flat position, can be stacked. Naturally, it is also provided that the frame 10 be detachable and formed by a set of rods and connectors that should adequately join together in order to form the frame 10. In this case, the storage of the seat 1 would be even more optimal, although its structure would not be as robust as when the frame 10 is formed by a single piece.
It is highlighted that the functional ends 4 of the band 3 that will form the seat portion 5 and the backrest portion 6 of the seat in the assembly sequence of Figs. 1 to 4 are the same, therefore highlighting that the band 3 has a transversal axis A of symmetry and a longitudinal axis B of symmetry, which facilitates the manufacture and assembly of said band 3. In the sequence described hereafter, the seat 1 to be manufactured is a chair, but it is also provided that by varying the lengths of the functional ends, other types of seats 1 can also be made, such as for example a couch, a lounger or a chaise longue, if the seat portion 5 is longer than the backrest portion 6. Naturally the frame 10 and especially the distribution of the crossbars 2a, 2b should be adapted accordingly. It is also provided that the width of the band 3 can be different in order to form the width of the different types of seats. Thus, the band 3 shown in the sequence of Figs. 1 to 4 makes it possible to form a seat 1 in the form of a chair for one person, but if the width of the band 3 were greater, a wider seat could be made to accommodate more than one person, such as a sofa. Naturally, the length of the crossbar elements 2a 2b of the frame 10 on which the band 3 is supported must be at least equal to the width of the band 3.
Fig. 1 shows the components for assembly of the mountable seat 1 of the present invention. As can be seen, the seat 1 comprises at least two crossbar elements 2a 2b at different levels, a lower element 2a and an upper element 2b that are part of the same frame 10; and a band 3 in which at least two functional ends 4 can be distinguished, said band 3 being long enough to be arranged below the crossbar elements 2a 2b, and folded up around said lower crossbar 2a and upper crossbar 2b elements, the functional ends 4 defining the seat 5 and backrest 6 portions that will make up the seat and the backrest of the seat 1, as will be seen further on. It is further noted that the frame 10 has four legs 11, two arms 12 and reinforcement means 13 for the frame 10 formed by two crossed rods. Naturally, in different versions of the embodiment, the seat 1 can have another amount of legs or it can de devoid of arms or have other reinforcement means, or even forego the need for reinforcement means if the frame 10 is sufficiently robust.
In order to enhance the comfort of the user, it is provided that these functional ends 4 that will determine the seat 5 and backrest 6 portions of the seat, be padded, so that the thickness of the functional ends 4 exceeds the thickness of the central linking portion 7 of the band 3 arranged between the functional ends 4, which as shown in Fig. 1, is a flexible strip. It is provided that the functional ends 4 be essentially rigid, for example, rigid plates covered with a padding, such as foam, provided with an outer protective sleeve, the central linking portion 7 being a flexible strip attached, for example sewn or glued, to each of the functional ends 4 or integrally made up of the protective sleeves of the functional ends 4.
In order to assemble the mountable seat 1, an operator simply has to arrange the band 3 below the crossbar elements 2a, 2b, of the frame 10 and fold it up around the lower crossbar 2a and upper crossbar 2b elements, as illustrated in the first step of the seat 1 assembly in Fig. 2, so that the central linking portion 7 between the functional ends 4, which should be long enough to be extended without strain between the crossbar elements 2a, 2b, form a clearance between said crossbar elements 2a, 2b. In order to obtain said clearance, it is provided that the central linking portion 7 between the functional ends 4 be longer than the distance between the crossbars 2a, 2b of the frame 10. As will be seen further on, the functional ends 4 of the band 3 will be supported on this clearance, which will determine the seat 5 and backrest 6 portions of the seat 1.
After arranging the central portion 7 of the band 3 below the crossbar elements 2a, 2b and folding it up around the lower crossbar element 2a and the upper crossbar element 2b, the functional ends 4 of the band 3 should be lowered, wrapping them around said lower 2a and upper 2b crossbar elements, until the functional ends 4 respectively meet or are adjacent to each other, adopting the position shown in the second step in the assembly of the seat 1 in Fig. 3.
Upon reaching this position, it will only be necessary to join the functional ends 4 together, finally lowering them over the central portion 7 so that they are adjacent to and supported by the clearance formed by the central portion 7. In addition, the functional ends 4 can be fitted together or joined by attachment means 9 to each other, such as strips of Velcro, or a set of buttons and buttonholes. However, it is provided that the weight of the functional ends 4 themselves be sufficient so that the functional ends 4 of the band 3 be arranged and supported on the clearance of the central linking portion 7 that passes under the crossbar elements 2a, 2b, these functional ends 4 forming the seat portion 5 and the backrest portion 6 of the seat 1, all of this such that the weight of a user resting on the seat 1 prevents the band 3 from unfolding. Thus, although it may seem intuitively that the band 3 can have a tendency to unfold due to the weight of the user when seated on the seat 1, said weight of the user when sitting actually further strengthens the join between the band 3 and the frame 10, creating a surprising effect in the user.
Fig. 5 shows a first step in the assembly a second embodiment of the mountable seat 1 of the present invention. As can be seen, in this second embodiment, the lower 2a and upper 2b crossbar elements are formed by two bars that protrude from a wall 16. As seen below, the band 3 will be arranged between said bars to form the seat 1, partly by following a process similar to the one described above.
As can be seen, one of the functional ends 4 of the band 3 comprises a means of coupling 14 to the upper crossbar element 2b, formed by a fold 15 of the band 3, which can be sewn to the band 3 itself, so as to form a tubular hole through which the bar that forms the upper crossbar elements 2b is introduced, so that the band 3 is suspended from this bar.
As can further be seen in Fig. 5, one of the functional ends 4 of the band 3 is fastened to the upper crossbar element 2b, the band 3 being long enough to be arranged below the lower crossbar element 2a and folded up under said lower crossbar element 2a, the other functional end 4 determining the seat portion 5 that is supported on the clearance formed by the central portion 7 of the band 3, as shown in the assembly sequence in Figs. 6 and 7, similar to the previous variant described above, all of this such that the weight of a user resting on the seat prevents the band from unfolding. In this case, the central portion 7 of the band 3 would form the backrest portion 6 of the seat. Naturally, it is also provided that the means of coupling 14 join the band 3 to the lower crossbar element 2a, leaving the other functional end 4 forming the backrest portion 6 of the seat, and the central portion 7 of the band forming the seat portion 5. It is provided that, for storage of the mountable seat 1, the bars can be detached from the wall 16, thus achieving optimal storage. It is also provided, for example, that by providing a plurality of insertion holes for the bars in the wall, the bars can be mounted at the most convenient height, thus achieving different heights depending of the type of seat 1 to be formed. It is also provided that after mounting the bars on a wall 16 or the like, the opposite end of the bars on the wall 16 can be supported on the ground by means of a structure, so that the user's weight is distributed and does not have to be supported exclusively by the wall 16.
Although in this second embodiment of the mountable seat 1, the lower crossbar element 2a and the upper crossbar element 2b are two bars that protrude from a wall 16, it is also provided that a band 3 such as the one in this second embodiment of the seat 1 can be mounted on a frame 10 as presented above. In this case, the means of coupling 14 may be removable, for example, the fold 15 can be sealed with a Velcro strip or other removable means or it could be formed by one or more hooks, so that the band 3 is securely suspended from the upper crossbar element 2b of the frame 10. Naturally, it is also provided that a band 3, as presented in the first embodiment of the seat 1, can be arranged on two bars that protrude from a wall like the one previously presented in the second embodiment of the seat 1. Naturally, any construction that would present two crossbar elements, although they would not necessarily have to be one upper and one lower element, for example, to form a hammock, could form a seat by means of one to the bands 3 presented above.
Although in this second embodiment of the seat 1, it may also seem intuitively that the band 3 can have a tendency to unfold due to the weight of the user when seated on the seat 1, said weight of the user when sitting actually further strengthens the join between the band 3 and the wall 16, creating the same surprising effect in the user as the one presented in the first embodiment.
One advantage provided by the mountable seat 1 of the present invention is that by being able to easily separate the band 3 from the frame 10 or the wall 16 by inversely carrying out the previously described assembly sequence, it can therefore be considered a removable band 3, thus facilitating the task of removing the seat portion 5 and the backrest portion 6 of the seat 1 by simply replacing the band 3 so that the seat 1 can be adapted to a specific decoration, by selecting a band 3 with an appropriate print. This way, the same frame 10 or wall 16 can be reused to form the seat 1 from the band 3 with the most appropriate print for each decor. Another advantage is that, in case the band 3 of the seat 1 is stained, both the seat portion 5 and the backrest portion 6 can easily be replaced, by immediately removing the band 3 from the frame 10 or wall 16 and fitting a new one in its place, causing minimal inconvenience to the user who might be occupying the seat 1 and making it possible to reuse the same frame 10 or wall 16.

Claims

A mountable seat (1) comprising at least two crossbar elements (2a, 2b) at different levels, one lower element (2a) and one upper element (2b); and a band (3) adapted so as to be arranged between said crossbars, wherein the band has two distinguishable functional ends (4) and a central linking portion (7) between said functional ends (4), characterized in that said band being long enough to be arranged below at least one of said crossbar elements and folded up around said crossbar element, one functional end determining a seat portion (5) or a backrest portion (6), all of this such that the weight of a user, which rests on the seat, prevents the band from unfolding.
The mountable seat (1) according to the previous claim, characterized in that the band (3) is long enough to be arranged below the two crossbar elements (2a, 2b) and folded up around the lower (2a) and the upper (2b) crossbar elements, one functional end determining the respective seat portion (5) and backrest portion (6) which are found near or are adjacent to them, all of this such that the weight of a user, which rests on the seat, prevents the band from unfolding.
The seat (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the band (3) has a transversal axis (A) of symmetry and a longitudinal axis (B) of symmetry.
The seat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional ends (4) are provided with means of coupling (9) to each other.
The seat (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that one of the functional ends (4) of the band (3) comprises means of coupling (14) to one of the crossbar elements (2a, 2b), the band (3) being long enough to be arranged below the other crossbar element and folded up around said other crossbar element, the other functional end determining the seat portion (5) or the backrest portion (6), all of this such that the weight of a user, which rests on the seat, prevents the band from unfolding.
The seat (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that one of the functional ends (4) of the band (3) comprises means of coupling (14) to the upper crossbar elements (2b), the band (3) being long enough to be arranged below the lower crossbar element (2a) and folded up around said lower crossbar element, the other functional end (4) determining the seat portion (5), all of this such that the weight of a user, which rests on the seat, prevents the band from unfolding.
The seat (1) according to any one of claims 5 to 6, characterized in that the means of coupling (14) to the crossbar elements (2a, 2b) is formed by a fold (15) of the band (3).
The seat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional end or ends (4) that determine the seat portion (5) or the backrest portion (6) are essentially rigid.
The seat (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the functional end or ends (4) that determine the seat portion (5) or the backrest portion (6) comprise rigid sheets.
The seat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional end or ends (4) that determine a seat portion (5) or a backrest portion (6) are padded.
The seat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central linking portion (7) between the functional ends (4) is long enough to be extended without tension between the crossbar elements (2a, 2b).
The seat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central linking portion (7) between the functional ends (4) is longer than the distance between the crossbar elements (2a, 2b).
The seat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the crossbar elements (2a, 2b) are part of a same frame (10).
The seat (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central linking portion (7) between the functional ends (4) is a flexible strip.