Faux Cotton Material And Associated Furniture Assembly Utilizing The Same (ii)

Abstract

A furniture assembly adapted to support a human in a seated position, including an outer liner; an optional inner liner; a fill material positioned within at least one of the outer liner and the optional inner liner; and wherein at least one of the outer liner, the optional inner liner, and the fill material comprises and/or is associated with a soft and/or low sheen faux cotton material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/111,877, filed Feb. 4, 2015, entitled "FAUX COTTON MATERIAL AND ASSOCIATED FURNITURE ASSEMBLY UTILIZING THE SAME (II)" which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety--including all references and appendices cited therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates in general to substantially frameless and/or frameless furniture assemblies (e.g., chairs, loungers, chaises, sofas, beanbags, etcetera) and, more particularly, to furniture assemblies that comprise one or more components or sub-assemblies associated with a novel faux cotton material that provides an occupant with a sensory experience that imitates the look and/or feel of genuine cotton.

[0004] 2. Background Art

[0005] Furniture assemblies and their coatings, covers, accessories, and sub-assemblies have been known in the art for years and are the subject of a plurality of patents and publications, including: U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,482 entitled "Frameless Chair," U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,184 entitled "Frameless Chair," United States Patent Application Publication Number 2003/0066268 entitled "Process for Packaging a Polyurethane Foam Filled Article of Furniture," U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,931 entitled "Portable Chair Apparatus," U.S. Pat. No. 7,571,965 entitled "Molded Foam Pool Chair," U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,251 entitled "Video Game Chair," U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,509 entitled "Juvenile Seat Cup Holder," U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,394 entitled "Molded Recliner Rocker Chair," U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,296 entitled "Floating Lounge Chair," U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,600 entitled "Insulated Cup Holder With Flexible Base Member," U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,852 entitled "Floating, Reclining Lounge Mechanism," U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,240 entitled "Lounger or Reclining Chair Made From a Floatable Plastic Body," United States Patent Application Publication Number 2007/0257530 entitled "Video Game Chair," and United States Patent Application Publication Number 2005/0242643 entitled "Ergonomic Rocker"--all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety including the references cited therein.

[0006] While the above-identified patents and publications do appear to disclose furniture assemblies, their configurations remain non-desirous and/or problematic inasmuch as, among other things, none of the above-identified furniture assemblies appear to utilize a novel faux cotton material that provides an occupant with a sensory experience that imitates the look and/or feel of genuine cotton.

[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a furniture assembly that comprises a novel faux cotton material that provides an occupant with a sensory experience that imitates the look and/or feel of genuine cotton.

[0008] These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, claims, and drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention is directed to, in one embodiment, a furniture assembly adapted to support a human in a seated position comprising: (a) an outer liner; (b) an optional inner liner; (c) a fill material positioned within at least one of the outer liner and the optional inner liner; and (d) wherein at least one of the outer liner, the optional inner liner, and the fill material comprises a novel faux cotton material that provides an occupant with a sensory experience that imitates the look and/or feel of genuine cotton.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the faux cotton material comprises mechanically brushed and/or sanded polyester and/or chemically etched polyester. Such a material preferably comprises woven and/or unwoven polyester fabric.

[0011] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fill material comprises undoped, doped, coated, treated, and/or impregnated nylon, polystryrene, polyurethane, and/or expanded polypropylene.

[0012] In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the polystyrene comprises a density ranging from approximately 0.8 g/cm.sup.3 to approximately 4.3 g/cm.sup.3.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the polystyrene comprises a density ranging from approximately 1.0 g/cm.sup.3 to approximately 2.0 g/cm.sup.3.

[0014] In another aspect of the present invention, the furniture assembly comprises a soft and low sheen faux cotton material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Certain embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by the accompanying figures. It will be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that details not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may be omitted. It will be further understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

[0016] The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

[0017] FIGS. 1-8 of the drawings provided herein show a plurality of embodiments of furniture assemblies, as well as associated features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail, one or more specific embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

[0019] It will be understood that like or analogous elements and/or components, referred to herein, may be identified throughout the drawings by like reference characters. In addition, it will be understood that the drawings are merely schematic representations of one or more embodiments of the invention, and some of the components may have been distorted from their actual scale for purposes of pictorial clarity.

[0020] Referring now to the drawings, furniture assembly 10 adapted to support a human in a seated position is disclosed as generally comprising outer liner 12, optional inner liner 14, and fill material 16 positioned within at least one of the outer liner and the optional inner liner. Preferably, at least one of the outer liner, the optional inner liner, and the fill material comprises a novel faux cotton material that provides an occupant with a sensory experience that imitates the look and/or feel of genuine cotton.

[0021] Preferably, the faux cotton material comprises mechanically brushed and/or sanded polyester and/or chemically etched polyester. Such a material preferably comprises woven and/or unwoven polyester fabric that is soft to the touch and low in sheen relative to conventional polyester.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the fill material preferably comprises undoped, doped, coated, treated, and/or impregnated nylon, polystryrene, polyurethane, and/or expanded polypropylene.

[0023] In this embodiment, the polystyrene preferably comprises a density ranging from approximately 0.8 g/cm.sup.3 to approximately 4.3 g/cm.sup.3, and more preferably comprises a density ranging from approximately 1.0 g/cm.sup.3 to approximately 2.0 g/cm.sup.3.

[0024] Preferably, the furniture assemblies of the present invention utilize an outer liner that comprises a soft and/or low sheen faux cotton material.

[0025] The foregoing description merely explains and illustrates the invention and the invention is not limited thereto except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A furniture assembly adapted to support a human in a seated position, comprising: an outer liner; an optional inner liner; a fill material positioned within at least one of the outer liner and the optional inner liner; and wherein at least one of the outer liner, the optional inner liner, and the fill material comprises and/or is associated with a novel faux cotton material that provides an occupant with a sensory experience that imitates the look and feel of genuine cotton.

2. The furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein the faux cotton material comprises mechanically brushed and/or sanded polyester and/or chemically etched polyester.

3. The furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fill material comprises undoped, doped, coated, treated, and/or impregnated nylon, polystryrene, polyurethane, and/or expanded polypropylene.

4. The furniture assembly according to claim 3, wherein the polystyrene comprises a density ranging from approximately 0.8 g/cm.sup.3to approximately 4.3 g/cm.sup.3.

5. The furniture assembly according to claim 4, wherein the polystyrene comprises a density ranging from approximately 1.0 g/cm.sup.3to approximately 2.0 g/cm.sup.3.

6. The furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein the furniture assembly utilizes an outer liner that comprises a soft and/or low sheen faux cotton material.