US20160316931A1

US20160316931A1 - Clean Seat

Info

Publication number: US20160316931A1
Application number: US14/698,701
Authority: US
Inventors: Cynthia R. Trevino
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-04-28
Filing date: 2015-04-28
Publication date: 2016-11-03

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties. The clean seat provided is related to a temporary, disposable and, or washable seat cover fabricated of a water resistant, tear resistant, lightweight, and inexpensive material for use in connection with airplane seats, theatre seats or other public seats requiring replaceable covers. The cover is made up of plastic, cotton, flannel, satin etc. material which is also machine washable micro fiber material with a plastic backing. The fastening element that will hold the seat tightly in its place is preferably elastic of approximately 2′×4′ with elastic like a shower cap.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties. More particularly, the present invention relates to “a temporary, disposable, and/or washable seat cover fabricated of a water resistant, tear resistant, lightweight, and inexpensive material”. The invention relates to a removable seat cover. More specifically, the present invention relates to removable seat covers for use with theatre seats, airplane seats, or other public seats that require replaceable covers.
2. Background of Invention
A serious objection to upholstered furniture, particularly in theatres, cinemas, concert halls, airplane seats, and similar public places, is that the upholstery cannot readily be cleaned. It thus harbors dirt, which can be injurious to health, and is also visually unpleasant. Furthermore, when renewal is required, stripping and re-covering the seats are expensive operations.
Seat covers have been around for a long time. Some seat covers are designed for single, temporary, or disposable use, while others are designed to be reusable. A temporary seat cover is designed for a limited number of uses, whereas as a reusable seat cover is designed for many uses. Single use seat covers include those on a toilet seat. A toilet seat cover is thrown away after one use. Reusable seat covers include those on a car seat, airplane seat, or theatre seat. These seat covers are designed for multiple uses.
A reusable seat cover can slip onto a seat and protect the seat, the user, and the user's clothes. The seat cover extends the useful life of the seat. Also, the seat cover can protect the user and his clothes from dirt, germs, viruses, extreme temperatures, moisture, spills, etc.
Some seat covers are designed to be portable, such that they can be used anywhere. The portable seat cover can be taken to public places, outside of the home, where the user is often most concerned about staying clean from dirt and germs. Public seats have been found to host a plethora of germs. A single public seat can be utilized by dozens of individuals each day. This is especially true for trains, planes, buses, airplanes, and movie theatres. If a person sits on a contaminated seat, this places the person in danger of contacting harmful, unhealthy germs. Moreover, seats that are repeatedly utilized, such as seats in a movie theatre, may contain spilled liquids or food on their surfaces. These spilled substances oftentimes come into contact with a person that later sits on the seat, leading to irritation, embarrassment, and stained clothing.
Bacteria and organisms are known to reside on public seating. People are required to use public seating on planes, trains, buses, airplane seats, theatres, and other facilities. Many are hesitant to sit down because of the dirty and unsanitary conditions of the seat and would value a barrier between themselves and the surface of the chair.
Conventional devices have been made to avoid or mitigate contact with these germs and contaminants in public places. However, many of these conventional devices fail to provide a portable seat cover that is both simple enough to use and small enough to transport. These conventional devices are not easy to store or pack into a purse, backpack, or pocket. As a result, users ultimately do not end up bringing their portable seat covers with them to take advantage of the benefits provided by a seat cover.
A wide variety of protective seat, chair, and headrest coverings are known in the art. Additionally, there are numerous examples of coverings that are useful in conveying protective properties, such as disposable hygiene products. In addition, many of these protective coverings are made to be disposable, which reduces the need for extensive cleaning, which is expensive. However, many are unsightly or not form fitting enough to be utilized properly. Still others are only usable in situations where there are special fasteners or receivers available.
There are many examples of disposable seat and headrest covers known in the art; many of which are directed to protective or hygienic uses or purposes. By way of example, the prior art describes a line of hygiene products, specifically disposable sanitary seat covers for children, for shopping carts, high chairs, and the like.
Earlier examples describe a removable and disposable back and head cloth with an adhesive strip for adhering the cloth to the seat. Also known is a yarn sewed to the cover to use to attach the cover to the attaching means (Velcro) connected to the back of the seat.
Several other improvements have been made over the years as it relates to adhesive and engagement devices, as well as to the nature of the fabrics. Various patent applications describe an elasticized disposable seat cover that slips over the entire seat and with improved features for securing and attaching a cover to a headrest cover including the use of elastic elements and/or drawstring cords.
Various industries have attempted to address hygienic and functional uses of seating, chair, and headrest covers. Many of these surfaces, whether seating in airplane seats, movie theatres, mass transportation, or other public seats, are occupied by many people. Therefore, they present a legitimate source for contamination, as many people come in contact with such surfaces. In addition, the frequency and effectiveness of the cleaning of such seats is often inconsistent and unregulated. Often times, the expense of ensuring the safety of seat occupants has caused many industries to ignore or downplay the need for effective hygienic solutions. Furthermore, mechanisms for addressing these unprotected surfaces are often too expensive and cumbersome and provide no additional benefit that would attract industry acceptance.
In order to address additional functionality, seat coverings have seen some improvement in the art. Documents also describe a fitted sheet for a plane or train seat that has a cotton hood section to attach to the top, a main body section, an attachment means, and a carrying bag.
Waterproof Seat Guard (WSG), as disclosed in prior art, is a disposable seat cover that acts as a barrier between a chair and the person sitting in it. WSG guards against various organisms and bacteria, such as bedbugs, urine, feces, old food, and other bacteria known to be in public seating areas. WSG also prevents the oil and dirt from the seating surface from staining clothing. WSG is ideal for use in airplanes, trains, buses, medical facilities, movie theaters, and other public locations. It is compact, disposable, and easy to use.
The lack of industry acceptance in protective seating covers has been well-established, yet there remains a significant need in ensuring sanitary conditions with public seating. Addressing the opportunity for promotional and advertising information has been considered, but the additional efforts to increase the viability of protective covers to address these opportunities requires substantial structural features, retrofitting, and cost, and these attempts have actually worked against the disposable and sanitary features that are desired with protective covers. Furthermore, the burden on industries to ensure replacement of such covers is not offset by any currently available advantage in using such seating covers.
In order to overcome these shortcomings, the current invention provides a protective seating cover that is constructed of a disposable, protective fabric, which is designed in a manner which attaches appropriately and does not interfere with the use of the seating, and which further provides the additional benefit of providing an advertising or promotional medium.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings.
These aspects are indicative of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be practiced, and all aspects and equivalents thereof are intended to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
It is an aspect of the invention to overcome or alleviate a problem of the prior art. This permits the use of the present invention, which enhances the prior art of the “clean seat” for covering seats, and, specifically, to an apparatus using a reusable portable seat cover for airplane seats, theatre seats etc.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties. The clean seat provided is related to a temporary, disposable, and/or washable seat cover fabricated of a water resistant, tear resistant, lightweight, and inexpensive material for use with theatre seats, airplane seats, or any other public seats that require replaceable covers. Preferably, the clean seat addresses, or at least ameliorates, one or more of the problems described above. To this end, the present invention related to a clean seat, with some unique aspects, is disclosed.
Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a cover that is very readily and easily removed and replaced, greatly facilitating the maintenance of large numbers of seats, such as airplane seats, theatre seats, or the like.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a seat cover that requires a minimum amount of time to remove and replace.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a seat cover employing a single fastener for holding the entire cover to the seat.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a seat cover where the fastener is an elastic/stretchable band.
In a preferred form of the present invention, the mouth of the cover incorporates elastic material, so as to hold the cover onto the bottom rest of the seat.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a seat cover that is made of plastic, cotton, flannel, satin, etc. material.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a seat cover that is made of machine-washable micro fiber material with a plastic backing.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a seat cover that is tightly held at all times over the seat cushion and in proper position.
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a portable seat cover for covering the seated portion of a sitting place, such as a chair, bench, etc. The portable seat cover includes a cover attached to a seat. The cover protects a user's pants, shorts, and legs from dirt and germs located on the seat.
Other objectives of the present invention will become apparent, from time to time, throughout the specification, as hereinafter related.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments, and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description, and should not be regarded as limiting.
These, together with other objectives of the invention and the various features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and the specific objectives attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter, in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify various aspects of some example embodiments of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawing. It is appreciated that the drawings depict only illustrated embodiments of the invention, and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 depicts a frontal view of the protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties, according to a preferred embodiment of the current invention.
FIG. 2 depicts the protective clean seating cover attached to the seat.
FIG. 3 depicts the back view of the seat with the protective clean seating cover attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description of the present invention is enables teaching of the invention and its best, currently known embodiment. Those skilled in the art can understand that many changes can be made in the embodiments described while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present invention. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present invention can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the invention while not utilizing other features. Accordingly, those working in the relevant art will recognize that many adaptations and modifications to the present invention can be made and may be desired in certain circumstances. These adaptations and modifications are part of the present invention. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principle of the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties. The clean seat provided is related to a temporary, disposable, and/or washable seat cover fabricated of a water resistant, tear resistant, lightweight, and inexpensive material for use with airplane seats, theatre seats, or other public seats that require replaceable covers.
Accordingly, the specific configurations described herein are illustrative only, and are not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all possible configurations or designs of the present invention.
Embodiments of the method are shown in the figures and discussed below, and it should be understood that the operations as presented are exemplary, and that some operations may be substituted, added, rearranged, or removed while still encompassing the inventive subject matter. Moreover, it should be understood that the order of operations is not to be limited, unless explicitly specified herein.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the clean seat FIG. 1 can be used by all people for different types and sizes of seats.
Still, according to another embodiment of the present invention, there would be two different kinds of Clean Seat. A less expensive one would be made out of plastic only, and, for a little more money, the second would be made out of a machine washable micro fiber material with a plastic backing. Clean Seat could also be sold with different types of material, such as flannel, cotton, satin, etc. to give the consumer a choice.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the clean seat can be made from various materials. Materials such as cotton, flannel, satin, and plastic are hereby proposed as exemplary, and are not to restrict the scope of the invention.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the fastening element that will hold the seat tightly in its place is preferably elastic. Its dimensions will be approximately 2′×4′, and be made of elastic, like a shower cap FIG. 2.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the plastic-only ones would be sold in a box, similar to sandwich baggies. The ones with material would be sold per set.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, clean seats could be sold in different sizes, such as small, medium, and large, with the dimensions stated on the packaging.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover is provided that is very readily and easily removed and replaced, greatly facilitating the maintenance of large numbers of seats, such as airplane seats, theatre seats, or the like.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover is provided that requires a minimum amount of time to remove and replace.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover is provided that employs a single fastener for holding the entire cover to the seat.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover is provided where the fastener is an elastic/stretchable band FIG. 3.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover is provided that is made of plastic, cotton, flannel, satin, or etc. material.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover is provided that is made of machine-washable micro fiber material with a plastic backing.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cover is provided that is held tight at all times over the seat cushion and in proper position. In FIG. 1, the figure clearly illustrates the front view of the protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties. The figure shows the elastic cover to be placed on the chairs that also acts as an anti-bacterial covering for the seats or chair in public places, such as theatres, airplanes, etc.
Other embodiments the present invention relate to a portable seat cover for covering the seated portion of a sitting place, such as a chair, bench, etc. The portable seat cover includes a cover attached to a seat. The cover protects a user's pants, shorts, and legs from dirt and germs located on the seat. The seat may be a seat in public places, such as theatres, airplanes, other public transport, vehicles, etc.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above discussed embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.
Plural instances may be provided for components, operation or structures described herein as a single instance. Finally, boundaries between various components, operations, and elements are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in the context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned, and may fall within the scope of the inventive subject matter. In general, structures and functionality presented as separate components in the exemplary configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the inventive subject matter.

Claims

We claim:

1. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties, wherein said cover is for use with airplane seats, theatre seats, or other public seats that require replaceable covers.

2. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said cover is made of disposable material.

3. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said cover is a washable seat cover fabricated of a water resistant, tear resistant, and lightweight fabric.

4. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said cover is very readily and easily removed and replaced, greatly facilitating the maintenance of large numbers of seats, such as airplane seats, theatre seats, or the like.

5. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said cover requires a minimum amount of time to remove and replace.

6. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said cover uses a single fastener for holding the entire cover to the seat.

7. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 6, wherein the said fastener is an elastic/stretchable band.

8. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 6, wherein the said elastic band holds the cover on the bottom rest of the seat.

9. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said is made of plastic, cotton, flannel, satin, etc.

10. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said cover is made of machine washable micro fiber material with a plastic backing.

11. A portable protective clean seating cover with anti-bacterial properties of claim 1, wherein the said cover is used for covering the seated portion of a sitting place, such as a chair, bench, and the like.