GB2474642A

GB2474642A - Inflatable furniture and packing unit

Info

Publication number: GB2474642A
Application number: GB0918323A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Li-Li Chen; Martin Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-20
Filing date: 2009-10-20
Publication date: 2011-04-27
Anticipated expiration: 2029-10-20
Also published as: GB0918323D0; GB2474642B

Abstract

An inflatable furniture comprising a packing unit 10 including a back portion 11, two first covering portions 12 and a second covering portion 13, the first covering portions extending from both lateral sides of the back portion and the second covering portion extending from a middle of the back portion and located between the two first covering portions, the second covering portion is provided around its periphery with first zipper teeth 15 to be engaged with second zipper teeth 16 which are formed around a periphery of the first covering portion and the back portion, so that the back portion, the first covering portions and the second covering portion are connected together to form the packing unit in the form of a luggage case, and an air bag 20 connected to the packing unit and capable of being inflated into a piece of furniture. Preferably the air bag is connected to the back portion of the packing unit by a zip, hook and loop fasteners or a zip, and is connected to an inflation pump which is electrically connected to and controlled by a rotary button.

Description

INFLATABLE FURNITURE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a type of furniture, and more particularly to an inflatable furniture.

Description of the Prior Art

With the constant increase in population, how to improve space utilization has become a very important issue. Therefore, many types of furniture which are space saving and easy for storage came out on the market and became very popular.

Space saving and foldable as they are, these types of furniture are heavy and inconvenient to move or transport.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable furniture which can be folded when not in use or unfolded when in use and is easy to carry or transport.

An inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention comprises: a packing unit and an air bag. The packing unit is a 1-shaped unitary laminar body and includes a back portion, two first covering portions and a second covering portion, the first covering portions extend from both lateral sides of the back portion and the second covering portion extends from a middle of the back portion and is located between the two first covering portions, the second covering portion of the packing unit is provided around its periphery with first zipper teeth to be engaged with second zipper teeth which are formed around a periphery of the first covering portion and the back portion of the packing unit, so that the back portion, the first covering portion and the second covering portion are connected together to form the packing unit in the form of a luggage case.

The air bag is connected to the packing unit and capable of being inflated into a piece of furniture.

The air bag can be inflated into a piece furniture which can be folded when not in use or unfolded when in use and therefore is easy to carry or transport.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is an assembly view of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 3 shows that the air bag of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention can be folded toward the middle from both sides; Fig. 4 shows that the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention is being rolled up; Fig. 5 shows that the zipper of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention is being pulled up; Fig. 6 shows that the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention is folded and rolled up to form a luggage case; Fig. 7 shows that the air bag of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention is inflated into a bed; Fig. 8 shows an exteriorly-connected type of inflation pump connected to the air bag of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 9 shows that the air bag and the packing unit of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention are connected by hook-and-loop tapes; Fig. 10 shows that the air bag and the packing unit of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention are connected by snap fasteners; Fig. 11 shows a second embodiment of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention, which is a sofa; Fig. 12 shows that the air bag of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention is inflated into a sofa; Fig. 13 shows the cushion of the sofa embodiment of the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention is pulled out; and Fig. 14 shows the inflatable furniture in accordance with the present invention is inflated into a combination of two sofas with a table integrally connected therebetween.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 1-8, an inflatable furniture in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises: a packing unit 10 and an air bag 20.

The packing unit 10 is a T-shaped unitary laminar body which comprises a back portion 11, two first covering portions 12 and a second covering portion 13 in such a manner that the first covering portions 12 extend from both lateral sides of the back portion 11 and the second covering portion 13 extends from the middle of the back portion 11 and is located between the two first covering portions 12. The back portion 11 is provided with a connecting member 14 which takes the form of teeth 141 of a zipper in this embodiment for connecting to the air bag 20. The second covering portion 13 of the packing unit 10 is provided around its periphery with first zipper teeth 15 to be engaged with second zipper teeth 16 which are formed around the periphery of the first covering portion 12 and the back portion 11 of the packing unit 10, so that the back portion 11, the first covering portion 12 and the second covering portion 13 are connected together to form the packing unit 10 in the form of a luggage case. On the back portion 11 of the packing unit 10 is provided an extensile handle 17, while on the first covering portion 12 is provided a carry handle 18, and two wheels 19 are fixed to the packing unit 10.

The air bag 20 can be inflated into a piece of furniture which, for example, can be a bed 201 in this embodiment. Inside the air bag 20 is arranged an inflation pump 21 which is electrically connected to and controlled by a rotary button 211. On the air bag 20 is disposed a connecting member 22 which takes the form of zipper teeth 221 in this embodiment for connecting to the packing unit 10. The connecting member 22 is at a lateral side of the air bag 20, and the zipper teeth 221 of the air bag 20 are to be engaged with the zipper teeth 141 of the packing unit 10, so that the air bag 20 can be connected to the packing unit 10.

When the zipper teeth 221 of the air bag 20 are engaged with the zipper teeth 141 of the packing unit 10 and when the air bag 20 is completely unfolded, as shown in Fig. 2, the air bag 20 covers the packing unit 10. When the air bag 20 needs to be folded, as shown in Fig. 3, it can be folded towards the middle from both sides thereof, and after being folded, the air bag 20 can be rolled up until it is located on the back portion 11 of the packing unit 10, as shown in Fig. 4. At this moment, the second zipper teeth 16 of the packing unit 10 are engaged with the first zipper teeth of the second covering portion 13, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and thus the air bag is packed in the packing unit 10 to create a luggage case. The extensile handle 17 on the back portion 11 of the packing unit 10 makes it easy for the user X to pull the packing unit 10 to slide with the help of the two wheels 19. Furthermore, the carry handle 18 on the first covering portion 12 enables the user X to carry the packing unit 10 when the road condition is not good. As shown in Fig. 7, the air bag 20 is inflated into the bed 201, and the bed 201 completely covers the packing unit 10, which obviously won't affect the appearance of the product.

Referring to Fig. 8, the inflation pump 21 can also be disposed outside the air bag 20. As shown in Fig. 9, the connecting members 14 and 22 between the air bag 20 and the packing unit 10 can also be hook-and-loop tapes 142, 222 which are disposed the corresponding surfaces of the air bag 20 and the packing unit 10, so that the air bag 20 can be attached to and detached from the packing unit 10 easily. Or, the connecting members 14, 22 can also be snap fasteners 143, 223 which are disposed the corresponding surface of the air bag 20 and the back portion 11 of the packing unit 10, as shown in Fig. 10. With the connecting members 14, 22 arranged between the air bag 20 and the packing unit 10, the air bag 20 can be demounted when it is not used, so that the packing unit 10 can be used as an ordinary luggage case.

The air bag 20 of the present invention can also have other shapes, for example, it can be inflated into a sofa 202 as shown in Figs. 11-14. Similarly, the air bag 20 in the form of the sofa can also be packed into the packing unit 10, so that the sofa can be moved effortlessly. Furthermore, the sofa 202 is further provided with a cushion 203, as shown in Fig. 13, so that the sofa 202 can be used both as a sofa and a bed, and the armrest of the sofa 202 is further defined with a cup-holding cavity 204 for improving the practicability of the inflatable furniture.

Referring finally to Fig. 14, which shows another embodiment of the air bag 20, after inflation, the air bag 20 becomes a pair of sofas 202 with a table 205 connected therebetween, and the top surface of the table 205 can be printed with a chessboard 206.

While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

WHAT iS CLAIMED IS: 1. An inflatable furniture comprising: a packing unit including a back portion, two first covering portions and a second covering portion, the first covering portions extending from both lateral sides of the back portion, and the second covering portion extending from a middle of the back portion and being located between the two first covering portions, the second covering portion of the packing unit being provided around its periphery with first zipper teeth to be engaged with second zipper teeth which are formed around a periphery of the first covering portion and the back portion of the packing unit, so that the back portion, the first covering portion and the second covering portion are connected together to form the packing unit in the form of a luggage case; and an air bag being connected to the packing unit and capable of being inflated into a piece of furniture.
2. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the back portion is provided with a connecting member for connecting to a connecting member provided on the air bag.
3. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connecting members on the back portion and the air bag are zipper teeth, and the zipper teeth of the connecting member on the back portion are to be engaged with the zipper teeth of the connecting member on the air bag.
4. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connecting members are hook-and-loop tapes or snap fasteners.
5. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air bag is exteriorly connected with an inflation pump which is electrically connected to and controlled by a rotary button.
6. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inflation pump is disposed in the air bag.
7. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein an extensile handle is provided on the back portion of the packing unit, and two wheels are fixed to the packing unit.
8. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein a carry handle is provided on the first covering portion.
9. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air bag is capable of being inflated into a bed, a sofa or two sofas with a table connected therebeween.
10. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the packing unit is a T-shaped unitary laminar body.
11. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 9, wherein a cup-holding cavity is defined in an armrest of the sofa.
12. The inflatable furniture as claimed in claim 9, wherein a chessboard is printed on a top surface of the table.
13. An inflatable item of furniture substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. An inflatable item of furniture comprising: a packing unit including a back portion, two first covering portions and a second covering portion, the first covering portions extending from both lateral sides of the back portion, and the second covering portion extending from a middle of the back portion and being located between the two first covering portions, the second covering portion of the packing unit being provided around its periphery with first zipper teeth to be engaged with second zipper teeth which are formed around a periphery of the first covering portion and the back portion of the packing unit, so that the back portion, the first covering portion and the second covering portion are connected together to form the packing unit in the form of a luggage case; and * * an air bag connected to the packing unit and capable of being : * inflated into a piece of ftirniture; *.** *:. characterized in that the back portion is provided with a connecting * :* ::* member for connecting to a connecting member provided on the air bag so * that the air bag is joined to the packing unit and the air bag is located right at the back portion of the packing unit after being folded.2. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting members on the back portion and the air bag are zipper teeth, and the zipper teeth of the connecting member on the back portion are to be engaged with the zipper teeth of the connecting member on the air bag.3. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting members are hook-and-loop tapes or snap fasteners.4. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air bag is exteriorly connected with an inflation pump which is electrically connected to and controlled by a rotary button.5. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein an inflation pump is disposed in the air bag.6. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein an extensible handle is provided on the back portion of the packing unit, and two wheels are fixed to the packing unit.7. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cany handle is provided on the first covering portion.8. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air bag is capable of being inflated into a bed, a sofa or two sofas with a table : * connected therebetween. S...9. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the packing unit is a T-shaped unitary laminar body.*:*.: 10. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 8, wherein a cup-holding cavity is defined in an armrest of the sofa.11. The inflatable item of furniture as claimed in claim 8, wherein a chessboard is printed on a top surface of the table.12. An inflatable item of furniture substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.