US2238795A - Cover for dining room chairs - Google Patents

Description

April 15, 1941. F. E. KATZNER COVER FOR DINING ROOM CHAIRS Filed Obt. 4, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 INVENTOR FPEfi E. firm/1? w ITN E85 WF QMWMM ATTORNEYS April 15, 1941.

F. E. KATZNER COVER FOR DINING ROOM CHAIRS Filed Oct. 4, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS ,4 m

INVENTOR FEE; 5. K/qrz/vfe ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" COVER FOR DINING ROOM CHAIRS- -Fred E. Katzner, Forest Hills, N. Y., assignor to The Comfy Manufacturing 00., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Application October 4, 1940, Serial No. 359,675

3 Claims. (01. 155-182) This invention relates to covers for dining room chairs, particularly that class of dining room chairs the seats whereof are covered with upholstery, either of woven material, leather, imitation leather, or the like, such seats, particularly that portion covered by the fabric, curving upward or extending above the surface of the chair frame which supports the seat.

The fabric covernigs of dining room chair seats, particularly such as are made of woven materials, are subject to wear, causing fraying of the material and are also subject to soiling, both of which factors have heretofore required reupholstering of the seats. Such reuph-olsteringis not only expensive but requires a person skilled in such work inasmuch as the seat must often be removed; the reupholstering material must be cut to fit the removed seat and drawn with care over the seat so as to conform thereto, the edges folded or turned to pass around the chair corners, and then secured in position by tacking or other securing means, and the seat replaced.

Housekeepers aredisposed :to recover dining room chairs because of the desire to change the color scheme of a room,- or because the housekeeper has tired of the original coverings on the chairs, and this invention readily lends itself to this purpose. Dining room chairs are made with seats of slightly varying size and contour and this invention can be utilized with such difierent type chair seats inasmuch as the material-of the chair seat of this invention applicable to the ordinary chair is sufliciently flexible to accom-mo date the varying contours of ordinary dining room chairs and the same is true with respect to the cover for the master chairs.

This invention provides'a cover which is serviceable for the purposes hereinabove set forth, inexpensive to manufacture, readily appliable by the housekeeper, fits smoothly, can be made in various color schemes and conforms closely to the frame of the seat and the frame of the chair. It is unnecessary in applying the cover of this invention toremove any part of the seat or to use any tools whatsoever in applying and securing the cover in place.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the front of an ordinary chair; Fig. 2a sectional plan view approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a sectional'view on the line 3- -3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 a plan view of a blank from which the seat cover is formed; Fig. 5 is a view of the seat cover, inverted in respect of the blank of Fig. 4, in its gathered 'and'fulled condition;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the front of a master chair; Fig. Tis a sectional plan view approximately on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a sectional view, on the line .88 of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a plan view of a blank from which the seat cover for the master chair is formed; and Fig. 10 is a view of the seat cover inverted in respect of the blank of Fig. 9 in its. gathered and fulled condition. p

A set of dining room chairs usually comprises five ordinary chairs generally of the type shown in Fig. 1 and a master chair (slightly larger than the ordinary chair and with side arms) as shown in. Fig. 6. The seat cover I is formed from a single piece of a flat webof material inherently stretchable in two directions such, for instance, as knitted material formed in the web or other elastic or inherently stretchable material illustrated, for instance, by materials having incorporated therein strands of elastic threadswhich provide stretch. The seat cover of this invention is stretchable and tends to return to its normal configuration and size when tension or pull is entirely released. Consequently, when stretched over a seat and its frame or support, such seat covers, inasmuch as they are not per mitted to entirely relax, remain taut and conform to the seat and its frame when fitted and secured as hereinafter explained.

The seat covers 'I are cut in large numbers from superposed webs of elastic or stretchable materials, while lying flat, to a special conformation, illustrated in 'Fig. 4 (for ordinary chairs) and in Fig. 9 (for master chairs). Each resultant blank 2 is flat as itis formed on the cutting table. Such blanks are cut considerably oversize with respect to the chair seat to which it is applicable and with a perimeter comprising a series of simple cuts, illustrated in Figs. 4 and 9. Referring to Fig. 4, the edge 3 of the blank and the material lying immediately in back of. it covers the front of the chair; the diagonal edges 4 and 5 and the material lying immediately in back thereof cover respectively the right and left legs and corners of the chair; the straight edges 6 and l and the material lying immediately in back thereof cover respectively the right and left sides of the chair; the arc-shaped edgeslll and 9 accommodate the sides and outer edgesof the back of the chair and the arc-shaped edge It will be observed that the two;

halves of the blank lying on both sides of a longitudinal median line are substantially alike and inasmuch as the two halves of the chair are alike the blank, when converted, by wholly mechanical means, into a seat cover, will be selfcentering and self-adjusting, as will be hereinafter explained.

The blank 2, after being cut to shape as above explained, is then contracted, in order to diminish its normal size, and to distributethe excess material, resulting from the diminshment of its size, into a series of gathers or puckers ll along the edges of the blank and fullness I! or bulging of the material inside of the edges. This reduct-ion of the size of the blank is accomplished by sewing a section or sections of elastic tape l3, while under tension, completely around the edge of the blank with overlook or other stitches M. The outer edge of the elastic tape 13 is laid substantially flush with the raw outer edge of the blank 2, while the tape is under tension, and the edge of the blank to which the tape is being applied is substantially fiat but not necessarily under any substantial stretch or tension and the overlook stitches are then formed on a suitable sewing machine. For this purpose the portion of the tape applied to a particular edge of the blank 2 is shorter than the length of the edge in order that when the tape is stretched it should equal the length of the edge to which it is applied. Each edge of the blank is therefore under separate tension of its particular associated section of elastic tape and when the elastic tape relaxes the gathers H form along the edges and at the same time the excess material is thrown inside of the edges to form the fullness l2. The blank withthe elastic applied thereto is shown with the inside exposed in Fig. 5. Suitable fastening means are formed at the corners or meeting points of each of the edges 3 to If]. These fastening means may be in the form of inter-engaging snap fasteners cooperating in pairs. The snap fastener element and its companion l6 are secured at the ends of the edge 4, preferably with the recess of the member l5 extending inwardly and facing outwardly and the projection of the member I6 extending outwardly, as shown in Fig. 5. Corresponding pairs of snap fasteners are located, as explained, in each of the other corners, all as shown in Fig. 5, with the recess of the female members extending inwardly and the projection of the male members extending outwardly. v

Hooks and eyes, or other cooperating fastening means, may be used in place of the snap fasteners.

The seat cover is complete, as heretofore explained and as illustrated in Fig. 5, and is in this form readily adaptable for application to a chair, as shown in Fig. 1. It is to be observed that the blank2- is normally larger in area and, in contour, irregular with respect to the seat, per se, of the chair; and the seat cover, in its gathered and fulled condition, as shown in Fig. 5, is smaller in area and also of irregular contour with respect to the seat per se. The method of applying the seat cover I to a chair is as follows:

The seat cover I is laid upon the chair and the edge 4 is drawn around the right front leg I! of the chair (as shown at Hi), the snap fasteners l5 and I6 being interengaged at the back inside corner of the chair leg and at the under side of the seat. This operation anchors one corner of the seat cover at the front of the chair; it is preferred then that the edge 5 is next drawn around the left front leg [9 of the chair, as shown at 20, and the companion snap fasteners are interengaged. In the course of securing the edge 5 to the leg l9, it is necessary to stretch the elastic extending along the edges 3, 4, and 5 and also to stretch the stretchable material from which the seat cover is made, thereby putting both the elastic and the material of the seat cover under tension. Thereafter the edge 9 is drawn around the inside of the leg 2| and the companion fastening members interengaged and the edge 8 is drawn around the leg 22 and the companion fastening members interengaged. In each instance, involving the passage of an edge of the seat cover in relation to the leg of the chair, the elastic tape [3 and the elastic material are stretched, thereby putting the tape and the elastic material of the seat cover under tension at all parts thereof. Inasmuch as the material of the seat cover is elastic, whether made of knitted material or whether it contains rubber threads, the tension under which the seat cover material and the elastic tapes are put causes close conformation of the elastic material and the elastic tape to the parts of the chair which they engage. It will thus be seen that the initially flat blank 2 is first converted into an irregularly gathered condition or configuration, as shown in Fig. 5, and when applied to a chair, as illustrated. it is not again converted into the flat condition, from the gathered condition of Fig. 5, but to a conformation conforming exactly to the seat, side edges, the upper portion of the legs and the under side of the seat, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. It is to be especially noted that the conformation of theseat cover is in all particulars in con formity to the portions of the :chair with which it engages, which can be readily observed from Fig. 1, particularly in connection with such details as the close relation to the outer edges of the chair and the encirclement of the legs I! and I9. No fastening means are observable when the chair is in use, all being concealed at the under side of the chair as shown in Fig. 3. A constant tension is applied to the observable portions of the seat cover by the interconnection of the numerous sections of elastic tape l3 on the under side of the lchair, as shown in Fig. 3.

Dining room chairs of the type to which this invention is applicable, usually have some resiliency in the seat, sometimes being supported by springs and at other times by stufiing. When weight is applied to the seat, there is a reserve of stretch in the elastic material of the cover which permits the material of the seat cover to stretch correspondingly to the depression of the chair seat and when the weight or pressure is removed from the seat the material of the seat cover will contract. Knitted or elastic materials have a tendency to cling, when under tension, to the material with which it is in engagement and consequently there will be practically no shifting of the seat cover with respect to the seat and the chair, compensation for pressure or deformation of the seat cover being taken up by the elasticity or stretchability of the material of the seat cover.

Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive illustrate a seat cover fora master chair. Inasmuch as the master chair is slightly larger than the ordinary chair of Fig. 1, the blank of the seat cover is made larger accordingly and notches 25 and 25 are formed in the sides of the blank to pass around the side arms 23-24. Fastening means are provided at the two outer edges of the notches 25 and 26 in order to secure the edges of the notches beneath the chair and in engagement with the upstanding portions of the arms 2324.

The elastic tapes l3, when the pairs of fastener elements I5l6 are secured together, are interconnected as shown in Figs. 3 and 8 in general rectangular configuration, with diverging sections embracing the front legs of the chairs, anchoring the cover around the front legs and other diverging sections being anchored to the rear legs of the ordinary chair (Fig. 3) and the rear legs and arms 2324 of the master chair. Whatever strain or pull is transmitted to the elastic tapes I3 is readily distributed around the entire system of the interconnected elastic members. 1 I 1; l

said blank having gathering along the inside of I" said stretchable material, and fullness throughout the inside portion, said stretchable material normally tending to retain the seat cover in contracted relation with respect to its condition as a blank, fastening elements on the seat cover,

said cover being readily stretchable over the seat portion of an ordinary upholstered dining room chair, conforming to the contour thereof and to the member forming the chair seat frame,

said fastening elements being fastened beneath said seat, uniting several sections of said stretchable material together.

2. A dining room chair having an upholstered seat and a chair frame surrounding said seat, a separable cover for said chair, said cover being formed from a flat blank of material having a two directionable stretch, said blank being bound at its edges with elastic material stitched to the edges of said blank while the elastic material is under tension, said elastic material when re-- laxed tending to draw the material of the blank together at the edges to form gathers along said edges, the inner portion of said seat cover covering the chair seat, corner portions of the cover passing beneath the chair frame in proximity to the four chair legs, and portions of the cover between said corner portions passing beneath the chair frame, the elastic binding bordering the front, side and rear edges being connected together to form a resilient border, the elastic binding associated with the edges connecting the front and side edges encompassing the front legs of the chair in the vicinity of the top thereof, other portions of said elastic binding being secured to the rear legs of the chair.

3. In a dining room chair of the type described in claim 2, in which the chair is provided with side arms and the chair cover is provided with notches, said notches having cooperating fastener elements secured thereto, said notches being adapted to fit around the upstanding members of the side arms and to be secured around the same, the fastener elements of each cooperating set being interengaged beneath the chair seat.

FRED E. KAT'ZNER.

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