GB2043439A - Seat cover - Google Patents

Abstract

A seat cover, particularly for a car seat, comprising a seat back covering portion and a seat base covering portion 16, 17, 18 in which the seat base covering portion is provided with a pair of strip portions 20 and at least one hole (slit) 22, said strip portions 20 being passed about the seat base to which the cover is applied and through the holes 22 and tied together or to the base portion to hold the base portion to the seat base. The cover is double-walled and comprises a top panel 16 and bottom panel 17, 18 separated by a slit 19. In use, the slit 19 is opened and the panel 16 pulled over the upper surface of the seat base, and the panel 17, 18 pulled down over and under the front of the seat base, being secured there by tying the strips 20. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Seat cover This invention relates to covers for seats of all kinds; chairs, settees, car-seats and so on.

Although generally applicable to seats in general, it is primarily intended for use as a carseat cover, whether the seats are of the bucket or bench type. Covers according to the present invention may be usable as permanent seat covers but are primarily intended for use as cheap throw-away covers to protect car seats temporarily; for example, during car manufacture or repair.

In view of the foregoing the invention is described herein mainly in terms of a cheap, throw-away cover for a car bucket seat. Such covers may be made of any pliant, sheet or film material, but for preference they are made of a plastics film material such as high or low density polyethylene.

An example of a seat cover, of the kind under discussion, which has long been in use to protect car seats during the finishing stages of car manufacture, is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a doublewalled seat cover, laid out flat as it is blanked from an extruded tube of polyethylene. The longitudinal direction of the tube (the direction of extrusion) is indicated by arrows 2.

Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation taken on line 2-2 indicated in Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the seat cover is shown in full lines and the amount of extruded tube from which it is blanked is shown in dotted lines. The cover is blanked out, in known manner, in one working stroke of a conventional heat sealing and cutting press.

In this single stroke the cover sides 7 are severed from the tube 8 and closed by heat sealing; and a slit 9, extending across the maximum width portion of one side of the cover, is also formed. The bag-like cover is closed along line 1 0. It is of no importance whether the cover is closed along line 11 but it may well be closed during severance of the cover from the tube 8.

When applying the cover to a car seat, the slit 9- provides the access necessary to permit the car seat to be enveloped by the cover.

When the cover had been applied, a back panel 1 2 (also indicated as span A) extends over the rear surface of the seat back, from the top of the back, or the top of the head rest if provided thereon, down to car floor level or almost so. The cover front panel 13, (also indicated by spans B and C) extends over the front surface of the seat back and the upper surface of the seat "base" (that being the term used herein for that portion of the seat whereof the upper surface is that which is sat upon during use). Span B covers the forward surface of the seat back and span C lies over the base. A second front panel 14 (span D) covers the front surface of the base; it hangs apron-like, being suspended with its lower edge, being that defined by slit 9, touching or almost touching the car floor.

The prior art seat covers as described above in relation to Figs. 1 and 2, provide the required seat coverage satisfactorily for so long as they remain in the intended enveloping position. They are however, easily disturbed from that position so that their protective function is lost or at least impaired; and that, often unconsciously on the part of a workman dealing with some aspect of the car interior not related to the seats; and, experience has shown, that when such a cover is displaced from its required coverage position, the displacement almost invariably starts at the front end of the cover base portion.

According to the present invention there is provided a seat cover comprising a seat back covering portion and a seat base covering portion, in which the seat base covering portion incorporates: (a) a pair of strip portions each joined at one end to the cover at a part thereof which in use is at one of the sides of the seat base to which the cover is applied, and (b) at least one hole formed in said base covering portion, said strip portions being capable of being passed about the seat base to which the cover is applied and through at least one hole and tied together or tied to the base portion to hold said base portion to said seat base.

Two embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of examples, with reference to Figs. 3 to 6 of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1, of a seat cover base covering portion by itself.

This is used with a separately formed back covering portion. The separate back portion may be of ordinary rectangular bag form, with its open end at the bottom of the seat back when applied to that back, Figure 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 indicated in Fig. 3, Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 showing a one-piece seat cover which can envelope both the base and back of a car seat, and Figure 6 is a section taken along line 6-6 indicated in Fig. 5.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the seat base portion is shown (as before) in full lines and the length of extruded tube from which it is blanked is indicated by dotted lines 1 5. The base portion is double-walled, consisting of a top panel 1 6 which in use overlies the upper surface of a seat base, and an under panel composed of two parts 1 7 and 1 8 separated by a transverse slit 1 9. In the blanking out, a pair of double-walled strip portiosn 20 are formed and also a pair of double-walled ears 21 each having a hole in it constituted by Ushaped slits 22.

The slit 1 9 is pulled apart when the cover is to be applied to a seat base, and the cover is applied to the seat base so that the panel 1 6 overlies the seating face or top of the base, with the panel part 1 7 pulled down over and under the front of the base. Strip portions 20 and the ears 21 then project towards the rear of the seat base. The ears 21 are long enough to permit them to be tucked down between the back of the base and the bottom of the seat back where they hug down at the back of the seat base. The strip portions 20 can then be directed outwardly around the supports for the seat back and then towards each other at the back of the base. The strip portions are then engaged through the holes 22, and then tied together, so effectively securing the cover to the seat base.

Referring to the embodiment shown in Figs: 5 and 6, the cover has all of the features of that shown in Fig. 1, but additionaily it is provided with a pair of double-walled strips 23 and the apron-like front portion of the cover formed by a panel 24 and the adjacent portion of the cover wall which backs panel 24 (the lower part of the panel 25 as shown in Fig. 6) includes triangular ears 26 having L-shaped slits 27 formed in them.

The entire double-walled seat cover, of Figs.

5 and 6, is produced by a single working stroke of the heat sealing and cutting press, and despite the additions according hereto no greater quantity of tubular stock is cdnsumed.

In this respect a minor advantage accrues in that by this form of embodiment a lesser quantity of waste stock material has to be disposed of.

For preference the strips 23 are formed largely separate from the body of the cover, being connected thereto at only a few tearable junction points, as indicated at 28. Thus the strips 23 may be easily torn from the body right down to anti-tear holes 29.

As a further preference the L-shaped slits 27 are helped to remain conveniently in register (in the two lapping panels in which they are formed) by defining the limits of ears 26 by lines of heat seal spots 30.

In use, the cover is applied to a seat as before. When so applied, the strips 23 (torn from the cover body as aforesaid) are extended under the seat, passed theough the slits 27 and are tied to the ears 26.

It will be appreciated that the seat covers as shown in Figs. 3 to 6 are described and shown by way of example, and that they could be varied extensively without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims. For example: (a) Seat covers according hereto could readily be made from two superimpcsed sheets of pliant material as distinct from a tubular extrusion of such a material.

(b) The front apron portion of the seat cover, instead of having holes such as 27 in ears such as 26 could have a single hole in it through which both of the strips can be passed and tied. Such a hole is indicated by dotted lines at 31 in Fig. 5.

(c) The general dimensions of the cover seats may vary depending upon the type of seat to which the cover is to be applied, for example a cover such as that of Fig. 3 or Fig. 5 would have to be about twice as wide as it is shown in order to fit a car bench-type seat base, and wider still if applied to an average sized settee.

Claims (8)

1. A seat cover comprising a seat back covering portion and a seat base covering portion, in which the seat base covering portion incorporates: (a) a pair of strip portions each joined at one end to the cover at a part thereof which in use is at one of the sides of the seat base to which the cover is applied, and (b) at least one hole formed in said base covering portion, said strip portions being capable of being passed about the seat base to which the cover is applied and through at least one hole and tied together or tied to the base portion to hold said base portion to said seat base.

2. A seat cover as claimed in claim 1, in which said base portion has a pair of ears formed thereon, each ear having a hole in it to receive one of said strips.

3. A seat cover as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which said seat back covering portion and said seat base covering portion are separately formed each from a tube of extruded plastics material.

4. A seat cover as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which said seat back covering portion and said seat base covering portion are formed in one piece from a tube of extruded plastics material.

5. A seat cover as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, in which the holes in said ears are formed by U-shaped slits.

6. A seat cover as claimed in claim 2 or claim 4, in wich the holes in said ears are formed by L-shaped slits, and wherein said ears are triangular with the hypotenuse of the triangle being defined by lines of heat seal spots.

7. A seat cover as claimed in claim 4 or claim 6, in which said strips are formed integrally with said back portion, each strip being connected atone end to the remainder of said back portion and also connected along its length to said back portion by way of a plurality of tearable junction points.

8. A seat cover substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 or Figs. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.