GB2417894A

GB2417894A - Wheelchair seat cushion cover with pockets

Info

Publication number: GB2417894A
Application number: GB0420368A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dean Matthew Cutler
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-09-14
Filing date: 2004-09-14
Publication date: 2006-03-15
Also published as: GB0420368D0

Abstract

A cushion cover 34, e.g. for a seat cushion for a wheelchair, has a top panel 17 for covering a top face of the cushion 45, and at least one side panel 20 for covering at least one edge of the cushion. At least one side of the cushion cover is formed with a pocket 52, 54, 56, 58 having a pocket-opening adjacent the top panel, in which the wheelchair user can keep personal belongings.

Description

24 1 7894

TITLE

Wheelchair cushions

DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to wheelchairs, seat cushions for wheelchairs and covers for such seat cushions.

A typical folding wheelchair has a seat cushion that is placed on a seat base of the wheelchair, once the wheelchair has been unfolded, and is held in place by patches of Velcro or other hook-and-loop fastening on the underside of the cushion and on the seat base. A typical seat cushion comprises a slab of foam rubber or other wadding that is covered by a skin of canvass, vinyl, leatherette or similar material. Because of the hard use to which most wheelchairs are put, the skin material is by necessity fairly thick and stiff. Typically, in colour, it is a boring black.

Like anybody else, wheelchair users often have a need to take things with them, such as cash, a bunch of keys, mobile telephone, comb, packet of cigarettes, etc. Some wheelchairs have storage space for such things behind the seat back. However, many wheelchair users use their chairs, at least part of the time, without assistance, and in that case there are two problems. First, it is difficult, if not impossible, for many user's to reach around to the storage space behind the seat back. Second, there is an increased risk of their things being stolen. They could keep their things in their trouser pockets. However, many wheelchair users have difficulty reaching, or are unable to reach, into their trouser pockets when seated. Also, many wheelchairs have sides and armrests that limit even further the user's access to their trouser pockets. The user could wear a jacket or shirt with pockets, but then the range of clothing they can wear is restricted. They could take a handbag with them, but there is then a risk of the handbag falling from the wheelchair. Also some male wheelchair users may prefer not to be seen with a handbag.

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a cushion cover for a seat cushion of a wheelchair. The cushion cover has a top panel for covering a top face of the cushion and a side for covering an edge of the cushion. The side of the cushion cover is formed with a pocket having a pocket-opening adjacent the top panel. Accordingly, when fitted to the seat cushion, the cushion cover adds a pocket to the edge of the seat cushion, in which the wheelchair user can keep their things.

The cushion cover preferably has a second side for covering a second edge of the cushion, the second side of the cushion cover also being formed with a pocket having a pocket- opening adjacent the top panel. Furthermore, the cushion cover preferably has a third side for covering a third edge of the cushion, the third side of the cushion cover also being formed with a pocket having a pocket- opening adjacent the top panel. Accordingly, more space can be provided for storing the user's things.

In the case where the side, or one of the sides, of the cushion cover is a front side for covering a front edge of the cushion, its pocket is preferably arranged, in use of the cushion cover on a seat cushion of an occupied wheelchair, to be covered by a leg of the occupant of the wheelchair. This therefore makes it difficult to pickpocket the front pocket even if the front pocket is not fastened closed, and indeed, for reasons of manufacturing cost, the front pocket is preferably devoid of any means for fastening its pocket-opening closed.

Preferably, the side, or at least one of the sides, (and in particular the front side) of the cushion cover is formed with two such pockets.

Some wheelchairs have a structure to the sides of the seat cushion that does not project forwardly as far as the front edge of the wheelchair cushion. Particularly for use with such wheelchairs, in the case where the side, or at least one of the sides, of the cushion cover is a left or right side for covering a left or right edge of the cushion, its pocket is preferably disposed, in use of the cushion cover on a seat cushion of a wheelchair, adjacent the front edge of the cushion. The pocket is therefore more readily accessible. In this case, the left and/or right pocket preferably has means (such as a zip) for fastening its pocketopening closed, so as to deter pickpockets.

In a specific embodiment of the invention that will be described in detail below, the cushion cover has two open-topped front pockets arranged side-by-side over substantially the whole width of the cushion and each arranged in use to be covered by the user's legs, and zip- fastenable left and right pockets on the left and right sides but towards the front of the cushion.

The cushion cover preferably has a bottom panel for covering a bottom face of the cushion. The bottom panel may have means (such as VelcroX patches) for attaching the bottom panel to the seat base of the wheelchair, or it may have at least one aperture through which, in use, the cushion can be directly attached to the seat base of the wheelchair - 3 Preferably, the cushion cover is made of washable or dry-cleanable fabric. Preferably, the cushion cover is removable from the seat cushion, so that it can, for example, be washed, dry-cleaned or replaced. The cushion cover may be patterned and coloured so as to brighten up an otherwise boring typical plain black seat cushion.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a pattern for a cushion cover, for simplicity omitting to show any hemming margins; Figure 2 is an isometric view of the cushion cover, partly cut-away, fitted to a cushion; and Figure 3 is an isometric view, on a smaller scale, of the covered cushion fitted to a wheelchair, the latter being shown in dash-dot line.

Referring to Figure 1, a cushion cover is made from two pieces 10,12 of washable fabric. The larger piece 10 provides a bottom panel 14, rear panel 16, top panel 17, left panel 18, right panel 20 and front panel 21 for the cushion cover, together with an inner panel 22 for front pockets, and inner panels 24,26 for left and right pockets that extend about one third of the way along the side edges of the bottom panel 14 from the front. The smaller piece 12 provides an outer panel 28 for the front pockets and outer panels 30,32 for the left and right pockets.

In order to make up the cushion cover, the left and right edges 16R,16L of the rear panel 16 are sewn to the rear edges 18R,20R of the left and right panels 18,20; the left and right edges 21L,21R of the front panel 21 are sewn to the front edges 18F,20F of the left and right panels 18,20; the left and right edges 22L,22R of the front pocket inner panel 22 are sewn to the front edges 24F,26F of the left and right pocket inner panels 24,26; and the left and right edges 14L,14R of the bottom panel 14 between the rear panel 16 and the left and right pocket inner panels 24, 26 are sewn to bottom edges 18B,20B of the left and right panels 18,20.

The smaller piece 12 is then attached by: sewing the bottom edges 30B,28B, 32B of the left, front and right pocket outer panels 30,28,32 to the bottom edges 24B,22B,26B of the left, front and right pocket inner panels 24,22,26; sewing the rear edges 30R,32R of the left and right pocket outer panels 30,32 to the rear edges 24R,26R of the left and right pocket inner panels 24,26; sewing the front edges 30F,32F of the left and right pocket outer panels 30,32 to - 4 the front edges 24F,26F of the left and right pocket inner panels 24,26; sewing the left and right edges 28L,28R of the front pocket outer panel 28 to the left and right edges 22L,22R of the front pocket inner panel 22; and sewing the front pocket outer and inner panels 28,22 together vertically at their centres 28C,22C.

Referring to both Figure 1 and Figure 2, the cushion cover 34 is then finished by: attaching a zip fastener 36 to the top edges 24T,30T of the left pocket inner and outer panels 24,30; attaching a zip fastener 38 to the top edges 26T,32T of the right pocket inner and outer panels 26,32; attaching complementary Velcro patches 40 adjacent the top rear corner of the left pocket inner panel 24 and the corresponding location on the left panel 18; attaching complementary Velcro49 patches 42 adjacent the top rear corner of the right pocket inner panel 26 and the corresponding location on the right panel 20; attaching complementary VelcroX patches 44 adjacent the top corners of the front pocket inner panel 22 and the corresponding locations on the front panel 21; and attaching Velcro. patches 46 to the bottom panel 14 for engaging with complementary Velcro patches on the seat base of a wheelchair.

In order to fit the cushion 45 to the cushion cover 34, with the Velcro. patches 40,42,44 released, the front pocket inner and outer panels 22,28 are separated from the front panel 21, the left pocket inner and outer panels 24,30 are separated from the left panel 18, and the right pocket inner and outer panels 26,32 are separated from the right panel 20. The cushion is then inserted between the top and bottom panels 14,17. The front panel 21 is then straightened up so that it covers the front edge of the cushion 45. The pocket panels 22,24,26,28,30,32 are then straightened up so that the front pocket inner panel 22 covers the front panel 21, so that the left pocket inner panel 24 covers the front portion of the left panel 18, and so that the right pocket inner panel 26 covers the front portion of the right panel 20, and the VelcroX patches 40,42,44 are then pressed together to hold the panels in that position, as shown in Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 3, the covered cushion 47 is then placed on the seat base 48 of a wheelchair 50, with the top panel 17 uppermost and the rear panel 16 rearmost, so that the Velcro patches 46 on the bottom panel 14 engage with complementary patches on the seat base 48 to hold the covered cushion 47 in position.

Referring back to Figure 2, it will be noted that the cushion cover 34 provides: a pair of side-by-side, open-topped pockets 52,54, between the front pocket inner and outer panels 22,28, along the front edge of the covered cushion 47; a zip-topped left pocket 56, between the left pocket inner and outer panels 24,30, on the left edge of the covered cushion 47 towards the front; and a zip-topped right pocket 58, between the right pocket inner and outer panels 26,32, on the right edge of the covered cushion 47 towards the front. Referring to Figure 3, it will be appreciated that, when the wheelchair user is seated normally, the open tops of the front pockets 52,54 will be covered by the user's legs. It should also be noted that the wheelchair 50 has structures 60 to the sides of the covered cushion 47 that do not project as far forwards as the cushion 47, so that the left and right pockets 56,58 are readily accessible.

The fabric of the cushion cover 34 may be coloured and patterned as desired. The cushion cover 34 may be removed from the cushion for laundering or if the user fancies a change of cover.

Many modifications and developments may be made to the cushion cover 34 described above. For example, one or some of the pockets may be omitted. Rather than being formed of two pieces 10,12 of fabric, the panels may be formed from a greater number of pieces that are sewn together as necessary. The fabric used to form the pocket outer panels 28,30,32 may be stretchable so that the pockets 52,54,56,58 are expandable. The top edges of the open-topped pockets 52,54 may be elasticated to assist in holding the pockets 52,54 closed. The bottom panel 14 may be formed with apertures, rather than being fitted with Velcro. patches, so that the VelcroX patches on the seat base 48 can engage through the apertures with complementary VelcroX patches on the bottom of the cushion 45. The cushion cover 34 may be supplied with a matching or complementary cover for the backrest 62 of the wheelchair 50.

It should be noted that the embodiment of the invention has been described above purely by way of example and that many other modifications and developments may be made thereto within the scope of the present invention. - 6

Claims

(The reference numerals are not interceded to limit the scope of the claims) 1. A cushion cover (34) for a seat cushion (45) of a wheelchair (50), the cushion cover having a top panel (17) for covering a top face of the cushion and a side for covering an edge of the cushion, the side of the cushion cover being formed with a pocket (52) having a pocket- opening adjacent the top panel.
2. A cushion cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cushion cover has a second side for covering a second edge of the cushion, the second side of the cushion cover being formed with a pocket (56) having a pocket-opening adjacent the top panel.
3. A cushion cover as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cushion cover has a third side for covering a third edge of the cushion, the third side of the cushion cover being formed with a pocket (58) having a pocket-opening adjacent the top panel.
4. A cushion cover as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the side, or one of the sides, of the cushion cover is a front side for covering a front edge of the cushion, and its pocket (52) is arranged, in use of the cushion cover on a seat cushion of an occupied wheelchair, to be covered by a leg of the occupant of the wheelchair.
5. A cushion cover as claimed in claim 4, wherein the front pocket is devoid of any means for fastening its pocket-opening closed.
6. A cushion cover as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the side, or at least one of the sides, of the cushion cover is formed with two such pockets (52,54).
7. A cushion cover as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the side, or at least one of the sides, of the cushion cover is a left or right side for covering a left or right edge of the cushion, and its pocket (56) is disposed, in use of the cushion cover on a seat cushion of an wheelchair, adjacent the front edge of the cushion.
8. A cushion cover as claimed in claim 7, wherein the left and/or right pocket has means (36) for fastening its pocket-opening closed.
9. A cushion cover as claimed in any preceding claim, and having a bottom panel (14) for covering a bottom face of the cushion.
10. A cushion cover as claimed in claim 9 and having means (46) for attaching the bottom panel to a seat base (48) of the wheelchair.
11. A cushion cover as claimed in claim 9, wherein the bottom panel has at least one aperture through which, in use, the cushion can be attached to a seat base (48) of the wheelchair.
12. A cushion cover as claimed in any preceding claim, and made of washable or dry- cleanable fabric.
13. A cushion cover for a seat cushion of a wheelchair, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
14. A seat cushion, for a wheelchair, having a cushion cover as claimed in any preceding claim.
IS. A seat cushion as claimed in claim 14, wherein the cushion cover is removable from the seat cushion.
16. A wheelchair having a seat cushion as claimed in claim 14 or IS.

IS
17. A wheelchair as claimed in claim 16 when indirectly dependent on claim 7, wherein the wheelchair has a structure (60) to the sides of the seat cushion that does not project forwardly as far as the front edge of the wheelchair cushion.