GB2349332A

GB2349332A - Tuft, upholstery and method.

Info

Publication number: GB2349332A
Application number: GB9909672A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nicholas Harland-Smith
Original assignee: HANDY Ltd
Current assignee: HANDY Ltd
Priority date: 1999-04-27
Filing date: 1999-04-27
Publication date: 2000-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 2019-04-27
Also published as: GB9909672D0; GB2349332B

Abstract

A tuft (10) is provided for fastening to upholstery. The tuft (10) has an attachment device (13), such as a ring (13), which allows a tie (15) to be attached to the tuft (10) to allow the tuft (10) to be fastened to upholstery by means of the tie (15).

Description

TUFT, UPHOLSTERY AND METHOD The present invention relates to a tuft, upholstery, and a method of fastening a tuft to upholstery.

There are many instances in which it is desirable to fasten a tuft to upholstery. For example, tufts are used in the bedding industry. In particular, traditionally, the fibre filling of a mattress was maintained in position by passing a tie through the mattress with each end of the tie being fastened off by attaching the end to a respective tuft. With modern mattresses, which use coiled compression springs with a reduced amount of fibre filling, the use of tufts and ties is not so important as the fibre filling is less likely to move within the mattress. However, tufts and ties are still used even with modern mattresses, partly to ensure that the fibre filling that is present in the mattress is retained in position and also partly because of the aesthetic value and perceived quality of a tufted mattress.

The known method of fastening tufts to mattresses is extremely slow and labour intensive. The known method is as follows. A tuft is first prepared. The preferred form of tuft is a so-called rosette tuft which is hand made from yarn which is looped back on itself repeatedly with the opposite ends of the individual loops radiating from a common centre to produce a disc-like tuft. The looped yarn is tied at its centre to keep the loops in position. A typical known rosette tuft of this type is shown schematically in Figure 1 in which there is shown a tuft 1 having loops 2 of yarn (only some of which are shown) radiating from a common centre and which are tied off at the common centre by a further piece 3 of the same yarn.

In the prior art fastening method, the rosette tuft 1 is passed through the centre of a pre-tied nylon loop tie 4 as shown in Figure 2. The loop tie 4 is then knotted to fix the loop tie 4 to the tuft 1 with the knot 5 being tightened up to the tuft 1 to be as close to the tuft 1 as possible. The mattress 6 to which the tuft 1 is to be fastened is then placed in a vertical orientation (though shown horizontally in Figure 3) and is compressed heavily from one side to another by means of a clamp (not shown).

The free end 4'of the loop tie 4 is pulled through the mattress 6 from the other side 6"by a needle (not shown), which draws the tuft 1 up to the one side 6'of the mattress 6. This is repeated for typically twenty to forty tufts 1 all arranged on the one side 6'of the mattress 6.

At this point, there are many loop ties 4 which have their free ends 4'hanging from the other side 6"of the mattress 6. Further tufts 1 are then passed through the looped ends 4'of the loop ties 4. However, it is not possible to tie the loop ties 4 to these further tufts 1 as there is insufficient slack in the length of the loop tie 4. There is therefore nothing which positively retains the second set of tufts 1 in the loop ties 4 on the second side 6"of the mattress 6 at this point and this particular part of the fastening process is extremely troublesome for the manufacturer. When all of the second tufts 1 have been fitted into their respective loop ties 4, the compressive force on the mattress 6 is released. This allows the mattress 6 to expand, thereby taking up any slack in the loop ties 4 and pulling the second tufts 1 tight against the mattress 6. As will be appreciated, and as mentioned, this is a very labour intensive process and at least two people are required to spend a long time fastening the tufts 1 to the mattress 6. Moreover, the second tufts 1 are not held positively in or by the loop ties 4, which makes assembly difficult and also means that the second tufts 1 can become detached in use. A detached tuft 1 is very troublesome as the mattress 6 has to be returned to the manufacturer so that it can be compressed and the tuft 1 refitted.

Despite these drawbacks, and the inevitably higher cost of a mattress manufactured in this way, such mattresses are preferred by many consumers because the tufts provide an attractive finish and emphasise the hand made nature of the mattress.

An alternative to the rosette tufts 1 and loop ties 4 described above is to use a so-called"long/long nylon tape". Such a tape comprises a ribbon of nylon at each end of which are relatively long plastic bars. These long plastic bars take the place of the tufts 1 described above with the ribbon part of the tape taking the place of the loop tie 4 described above. Such tapes are readily inserted into mattresses simply by being punched through with a suitable needle. However, the bars at the end of the tape are of course visible in the assembled mattress and are unsightly.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tuft for fastening to upholstery, the tuft having an attachment device for allowing a tie to be attached to the tuft to allow the tuft to be fastened to upholstery by means of a said tie.

The tuft of the present invention can be fastened to upholstery very much more easily than the tufts of the prior art by virtue of the attachment device which allows a tie to be attached to the tuft.

In this specification,"upholstery"is used broadly to include any item of furniture or furnishings to which a tuft can be attached. Whilst the present invention has particular applicability to mattresses,"upholstery"is used in this specification to include cushions, pillows, seating cushions for indoor or garden furniture, futons, etc. Similarly,"tie"is to be taken to include any item which enables the tuft to be fastened to upholstery and includes for example long/long (nylon) tapes, so-called long/short (nylon) tapes, and pre-tied (nylon) strings.

The attachment device preferably comprises a loop through which at least a portion of a tie can be passed, or a hook over which at least a portion of a tie can be passed, to attach a said tie to the tuft. A loop or a hook provides a particularly convenient and easy-to-use device for allowing a tie to be attached to the tuft. For example, a tie can readily be fixed by knotting to a loop or passed over a hook to retain the tie on the loop or hook.

The loop or hook is preferably rigid or resilient.

In a preferred embodiment, the tuft is a rosette tuft.

Such tufts are highly desirable for aesthetic reasons and can be simply attached to upholstery in accordance with the present invention.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided upholstery having at least one tuft fastened thereto by a tie, the tuft having an attachment device to which the tie is attached.

The attachment device of the tuft preferably comprises a loop through which at least a portion of the tie is passed, or a hook over which at least a portion of the tie is passed, to attach the tie to the tuft.

The tie may be a loop of string which is attached to the attachment device. The loop of string can be tied or knotted onto the attachment device, for example.

The tie may have a retainer at at least one end for retaining the tie on the attachment device. The retainer may be a bar which provides a mechanical lock against removal in order to retain the tie on the attachment device.

In an embodiment, the tie passes through the upholstery from one side to an opposite side and is attached to a respective tuft at each end.

The upholstery may be a mattress.

The tuft may be a rosette tuft.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of fastening a tuft to upholstery, the method comprising the steps of: attaching a tie at a first end to an attachment device of the tuft; passing a second end of the tie through the upholstery so that the tuft is adjacent a first side of the upholstery; and, fixing the second end of the tie at an opposite side of the upholstery.

The attachment device preferably comprises a loop through which a portion of the tie is passed to attach the tie to the tuft.

The tie may be a loop of string which is attached to the attachment device.

The tie may have a retainer at at least one end for retaining the tie on the attachment device.

The step of fixing the second end of the tie at the opposite side of the upholstery preferably comprises the step of fastening the second end of the tie to a second tuft at the opposite side of the upholstery.

The upholstery may be a mattress.

The or at least one of the tufts may be a rosette tuft.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a known tuft and loop tie for fastening the tuft to upholstery; Fig. 2 is a schematic elevation of the tie attached to the tuft 1; Fig. 3 is a schematic partially sectioned elevation showing the fastening of tufts to a mattress according to the prior art; Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a tuft according to the present invention; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a known tie known as a long/long tape.

Fig. 6 is a partially sectioned elevation showing tufts according to the present invention fastened to a mattress using the long/long tape of Figure 5 ; Fig. 7 shows a tuft to which a tie in the form of a loop tie is being attached; Fig. 8 shows how the loop tie can be fastened to the tuft of Figure 7; and, Fig. 9 is a partially sectioned elevation of a mattress to which tufts according to the present invention have been fastened.

Referring to Figure 4, a tuft 10 according to the present invention is shown, the example shown in Figure 4 being a rosette tuft 10 which is of the type and which is manufactured in the manner described above. As such, the tuft 10 has loops 11 of yarn which are tied together at their centre. In this example, the loops 11 are tied at their centre by a short length of nylon string 12.

The tuft 10 has an attachment device 13 which allows a tie (to be described further below) to be attached to the tuft 10. In the example shown, the attachment device 13 is in the form of an attachment loop 13, which in the particular example shown is a circular ring. In this example, the attachment loop 13 is fixed to the tuft 10 by means of the nylon string 12 which ties together the loops 11 of the tuft 10. As an alternative to the attachment loop 13, the attachment device 13 may be a hook, T-bar or the like.

A so-called known long/long tape 15 is shown in Figure 5. The tape 15 has a length of nylon ribbon 16 at each end of which is an elongate bar or rod 17, the longitudinal axes of the bars 17 being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ribbon 16.

To fix the tuft 10 to a mattress 6 using the tie 15 in the form of the long/long tape 15 shown in Figure 5, one of the bars 17 is passed through the attachment loop 13 and then twisted to lie against the plane of the attachment loop 13 so that the bar 17 cannot be withdrawn again through the attachment loop 13, as shown in Figure 6. The bar 17 at the opposite end of the tie 15 is then punched through the mattress 6 using a known punch needle or gun (not shown) whilst the mattress 6 is compressed from one side 6'to the other side 6". The bar 17 that has been punched through the mattress 6 is then passed through the attachment loop 13 of a second tuft 10 and then twisted to lie against the plane of the attachment loop 13 so that the second bar 17 cannot be withdrawn back through the loop 13 of the second tuft 10. The tufts 10 are therefore simply and very rapidly fastened to the mattress 6. This process is repeated for all of the pairs of tufts 10 across the mattress 6. The compression on the mattress 6 is then released. This allows the mattress 6 to relax and tighten the ties 15. In this tightened condition, the tufts 10 practically cannot be removed from the ties 15 without breaking either the ribbon 16 or bars 17 of the tie 15 or the attachment loop 13. The tufts 10 are therefore held in a positive and very secure manner to the mattress 6.

As an alternative to the tie 15 in the form of a long/long tape, a tie in the form of a loop tie 4 as described above can be used. This will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 9.

First, an end of the loop tie 4 is passed through the attachment loop 13 as shown in Figure 7. That end of the loop tie 4 is then opened out and passed over and around the tuft 10 as shown in Figure 8. The loop tie 4 is then withdrawn slightly back through the attachment loop 13 to provide a knot in order to attach the loop tie 4 to the tuft 10.

The other end of the loop tie 4 is then pulled through the compressed mattress 6 by a needle in a manner known in itself. That other end of the loop tie 4 is then attached to the attachment loop 13 of a second tuft 10 in the same manner as for the first tuft 10 as shown in Figure 9. This is repeated for all of the pairs of tufts 10 and loop ties 4 across the mattress 6. The compressive load on the mattress 6 is then released, which allows the mattress 6 to relax and tighten the loop ties 4. The tufts 10 are therefore held in a positive and very secure manner to the mattress 6.

The present invention provides a tuft and a method of fastening a tuft to upholstery which enables very much more rapid manufacture of tufted upholstery. The manufacture is very much less labour intensive and time-consuming than in the prior art. The attachment device 13 provides a means by which a tie can be positively and securely attached to a tuft 10. The risk of a tuft 10 becoming detached, either during the manufacturing process or in use of the upholstery, is very much reduced with the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the particular examples shown in the drawings. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be made to the examples described within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A tuft for fastening to upholstery, the tuft having an attachment device for allowing a tie to be attached to the tuft to allow the tuft to be fastened to upholstery by means of a said tie.
2. A tuft according to claim 1, wherein the attachment device comprises a loop through which at least a portion of a tie can be passed, or a hook over which at least a portion of a tie can be passed, to attach a said tie to the tuft.
3. A tuft according to claim 2, wherein the loop or hook is rigid or resilient.
4. A tuft according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tuft is a rosette tuft.
5. Upholstery having at least one tuft fastened thereto by a tie, the tuft having an attachment device to which the tie is attached.
6. Upholstery according to claim 5, wherein the attachment device of the tuft comprises a loop through which at least a portion of the tie is passed, or a hook over which at least a portion of the tie is passed, to attach the tie to the tuft.
7. Upholstery according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the tie is a loop of string which is attached to the attachment device.
8. Upholstery according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the tie has a retainer at at least one end for retaining the tie on the attachment device.
9. Upholstery according to any of claims 5 to 8, wherein the tie passes through the upholstery from one side to an opposite side and is attached to a respective tuft at each end.
10. Upholstery according to any of claims 5 to 9, wherein the upholstery is a mattress.
11. A tuft according to any of claims 5 to 10, wherein the tuft is a rosette tuft.
12. A method of fastening a tuft to upholstery, the method comprising the steps of: attaching a tie at a first end to an attachment device of the tuft; passing a second end of the tie through the upholstery so that the tuft is adjacent a first side of the upholstery; and, fixing the second end of the tie at an opposite side of the upholstery.
13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the attachment device comprises a loop through which a portion of the tie is passed to attach the tie to the tuft.
14. A method according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the tie is a loop of string which is attached to the attachment device.
15. A method according to any of claims 12 to 14, wherein the tie has a retainer at at least one end for retaining the tie on the attachment device.
16. A method according to any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the step of fixing the second end of the tie at the opposite side of the upholstery comprises the step of fastening the second end of the tie to a second tuft at the opposite side of the upholstery.
17. A method according to any of claims 12 to 16, wherein the upholstery is a mattress.
18. A method according to any of claims 12 to 17, wherein the or at least one of the tufts is a rosette tuft.
19. A tuft, substantially in accordance with any of the examples as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
20. A method of fastening a tuft to upholstery, substantially in accordance with any of the examples as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.