GB2259446A

GB2259446A - Upholstering chairs

Info

Publication number: GB2259446A
Application number: GB9119376A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Anthony Gibbs
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-09-11
Filing date: 1991-09-11
Publication date: 1993-03-17
Also published as: GB9119376D0

Abstract

A chair includes a foamed plastics body 1 with removable side panels 8 secured by means of runners 10, 11 and 12. Further runners 18, 19 are provided for the attachment of separate arms. The body, side panels and arms are all provided with fastener elements 23, which can be engaged with complementary fastener elements secured to sections of upholstery so that the surfaces of the chair which are normally exposed to view are all covered by the upholstery. The upholstery sections are thus easily removable for cleaning or replacement. The fasteners may include magnets and keepers, snap-engageable plastics or metal fasteners, and fasteners of the kind employing a multiplicity of loops and hooks. The shape of the chair can be modified by sliding the arms and/or side panels off the respective runners and replacing them with different shaped items. <IMAGE>

Description

CHAIRS TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to chairs such as armchairs, settees and the like.

BACKGROUND Armchairs and settees generally represent major items of expenditure in the household budget and it is not uncommon for people to retain the same chairs for several decades. These items are generally of fixed shape, and the upholstery can only be changed at considerable expense. It is therefore out of the question to change the upholstery when a room is redecorated for example, and more often than not, people end up choosing room decorations and furnishings to match their chairs, which may themselves be out of date in appearance. The cleaning of the upholstery is also a difficult task requiring specialist in-situ cleaning techniques, and should the upholstery become damaged its repair is extremely costly.

This is considered to be a major shortcoming of existing chairs.

An aim of the present invention may be viewed as being to provide a chair which overcomes these shortcomings, and which, more particularly, has an appearance which can easily and inexpensively be changed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes a chair which includes an internal body structure covered by external upholstery, in which the upholstery is formed in a number of individual sections which are each removably secured to the body structure by releasable engagement means.

The upholstery can thus be easily removed for replacement or one or more sections or for cleaning purposes.

The releasable engagement means will normally comprise two mutually engageable parts, one being secured to the body structure and the other being secured to the upholstery. Examples of two-part engagement means which could be employed include magnets and keepers, snap-engageable plastics or metal parts (e.g. press studs), and two-part fasteners of the kind in which one part has a multiplicity of loops which are engageable with a multiplicity of hooks carried by the other part.

The body structure preferably includes removable arms and/or panels to which sections of the upholstery are releasably attached. The shape of the chair can thus be changed by replacement of the arms and/or panels to modernise the chair or simply to provide a change of shape.

The body structure preferably comprises a foamed plastics body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the internal body structure of a chair of the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a side panel of the chair, Figure 3 is a detailed view of a runner which is provided on the body structure, and Figure 4 is an end view of a removable arm of the chair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS As shown in Fig. 1, the chair includes an integrally moulded foamed plastics body 1 including a seat 2, a back 3 upstanding from the rear of the seat 2, and front and rear legs 4 and 5 which depend from the front and rear edges respectively of the seat 2. The legs 3 and 4 are of substantially the same width as the seat 2 and have inturned feet, 6 and 7 respectively, extending along their lower edges.

The chair also has removable side panels 8 (Fig. 2) which cover the two sides of the chair to fill in the gaps between the legs 3 and 4. Each of the side panels 8 can be secured to the body 1 by means of runners 10, 11 and 12 (Fig. 1) which are moulded on the body 1.

One of the runners is shown in more detail in Fig. 3 and, in transverse section, includes a head portion 15 which is secured to the body 1 by a narrower neck portion 16. The runners 10, 11 and 12 are slidably engaged with complementary channels (not shown) provided on the inwardly facing surface of each side panel 8.

The top surface of the seat 2 has a pair of further runners 18, 19, similar to that shown in Fig. 3, moulded along its opposite side edges. These are slidably engageable with arms 20, one of which is shown in Fig. 4. Each arm again incorporates a complementary channel 21 to receive the respective runner 18 or 19.

The body 1, side panels 8 and arms 20 are all provided with fastener elements (some of which are shown in Fig.

1 and referenced 23) which can be engaged with complementary fastener elements secured to respective sections of upholstery (not shown). Thus, the surfaces of the body, arms and side panels which are normally exposed to view are all covered by the upholstery sections.

As noted above, the fasteners could take various forms including magnets and keepers, snap-engageable plastics or metal fasteners, and fasteners of the kind employing a multiplicity of loops and a multiplicity of hooks. The important thing however is that the upholstery sections are easily removable for cleaning or replacement. Similarly, the shape of the chair can be modified by sliding the arms and/or side panels off the respective runners and replacing them with different shaped items.

Claims

1. A seat having an internal body structure covered by upholstery, in which the upholstery is formed in a number of separate sections which are each removably secured to the body structure by releasable engagement means.

2. A seat according to Claim 1, in which each releasable engagement means by which the upholstery is secured to the body structure comprises two mutually engageable parts, one being secured to the body structure and the other being secured to the respective upholstery section.

3. A seat according to Claim 2, in which the releasable engagement means comprise magnets and keepers

4. A seat according to Claim 2, in which the releasable engagement means comprise snap-engageable parts.

5. A seat according to Claim 2, in which the releasable engagement means comprise one part having a multiplicity of loops and another part having a multiplicity of hooks for engagement with the loops.

6. A seat according to any preceding claim, in which the body structure includes removable panels to which sections of the upholstery are releasably attached.

7. A seat according to Claim 6, in which the panels are secured by means of channels and runners.

8. A seat according to Claim 7, in which each runner comprises a head portion and a narrower connecting neck.

9. A seat according to any preceding claim, in which the body structure includes removable arms to which sections of upholstery are releasably attached.

10. A seat according to Claim 9, in which the arms are secured by means of channels and runners.

11. A seat according to Claim 10, in which each runner comprises a head portion connected via a narrower neck.

12. A seat according to any preceding claim, in which the body structure comprises foamed plastics.

13. A seat according to Claim 12, in which the foamed plastics is formed as an integrally moulded body.

14. A seat according to Claim 13, in which the foamed plastics body comprises a seat, a back upstanding from the rear of the seat, and support legs which depend from the seat.

15. A seat according to Claim 14, in which the legs have inturned feet.

16. A seat according to Claim 14 or 15, in which removable upholstery-covered panels are provided which bridge the legs.

17. A seat which is substantially as described with reference to the drawings.