Protective Device For Upholstered Furniture

Abstract

A protective device is provided for use with upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back and a removably back cushion. The device comprises a retaining plate having a protective flap attached thereto by adjustable retaining means. The plate is positioned between the back cushion and the back of, for example, an arm chair and the flap may overlay the upper region of the back cushion or may be tucked behind the cushion out of sight.

Description

The invention relates to a protective device for the back cushion of upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back and such a cushion, which protective device has a protective flap which may be applied to the front and the top of the back cushion and partially covers the latter.

High quality upholstered furniture has seat cushions and back cushions. These cushions comprise a core and a high quality cover. The textile covering materials used, and even leather and plastics material covers, are very susceptible to soiling. The top regions of the back cushion are particularly susceptible to soiling, since people and children sitting in an upholstered armchair rest their heads in these regions. Thus, it is impossible to prevent perspiration from the neck and head, hair pomade, hair fixative and other agents for treating the hair (bearing in mind the fashion of wearing long hair) from being transferred to the cover on the back cushion and adhering thereto. These back cushions become very soiled in a very short time. This is particularly noticeable in the case of upholstered armchairs which are used in hotels, reception halls, etc., and which are used by a great variety of people. It is virtually impossible to clean back cushions, since the covers usually cannot be removed from the cores of the cushions and it is virtually impossible to clean the cover together with the core of the cushion.

Thus, it is known to place a protective flap on the top and front of the back cushion, the flap being, for example, in the form of a trimmed and embroidered decorative cover. Such protective covers may be used in private households. However, these protective covers are unserviceable for upholstered armchairs used in rooms accessible to the public, for example hotel reception halls. They destroy the elegant and fashionable impression which the upholstered furniture should produce in the rooms which it occupies. Furthermore, the protective covers have to be secured to the back cushions by means of pins, buttonlike fasteners or zip fasteners which requires personnel. Furthermore, it is a relatively complicated matter to fasten the protective covers.

Owing to these difficulties, the upholstered armchairs used in such rooms are often unprotected and therefore are soiled very rapidly.

An object of the invention is to provide a protective device, for use between the back cushion and back of upholstered seating furniture, which may be used in a manner more simple than hitherto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective cover which may be removed incurring little expense.

According to the invention there is provided a protective device for use with upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back and a removable back cushion, which protective device comprises a protective flap, a retaining plate adapted to be disposed between the back and the back cushion without projecting above the said back and back cushion, and adjustable fastening means for the protective flap provided on the retaining plate.

Thus, the retaining plate holding the protective flap is located between the back and the back cushion of the upholstered seating furniture so as to be concealed and out of view from the outside. When not in use, the protective flap hangs down from the retaining plate and is likewise concealed by the back cushion and the back of the seating furniture. In order to use the protective flap, the back cushion is tilted forwardly slightly, the protective flap is drawn upwardly and applied over the top and front side of the back cushion, which is then tilted back into its normal position. Thus, in an extremely simple manner, the invention provides a protective device which has a position when in use and a concealed position when not in use. Transition from one position to the other can be effected within a matter of seconds and does not cause any difficulties.

The protective flap may be secured to the retaining plate and released therefrom in a simple manner. Thus, after the protective flap has been soiled, it may be removed and exchanged for a clean protective flap. The soiled protective flap may be washed or laundered in the customary manner, or it may be cleaned chemically and, if required, disinfected.

In an advantageous development of the invention, the retaining plate is made from plastics material or a similar hard material. It may therefore have a thickness of only a few millimeters which may readily be accommodated between the back and the back cushion without wearing out.

The height or the length of the retaining plate is, of course, less than the height of the back, so that the retaining plate is concealed by the back. The same applies to the width. Since the dimensions of the backs of upholstered furniture are standardized or only a few different dimensions are met with on the market, two sizes of retaining plate, a large size and a small size, can be used in all upholstered seating furniture.

To connect the protective flap to the retaining plate, and in accordance with the invention, a plurality of adjustable holders for fastening the protective flap are provided side-by-side in the retaining plate below the top edge thereof. These holders enable the protective flap to be releasably secured.

In a further development, a plurality of spaced, parallel slots are provided in the retaining plate, and the holders are adjustably and clampably retained in the slots. If a greater length of the protective flap is to overhang and cover the back cushion, the holders are clamped in the top of the slots. However, if only a short length of the protective flap is to overhang the back cushion, the holders and thus the protective flap are drawn downwardly in the slots and then clamped. The greater portion of the length of the protective flap is then concealed between the back cushion and the back. Consequently, a shorter portion of the protective flap overhangs the back cushion.

It has proved to be advantageous if the slots extend from a short distance below the top edge of the retaining plate to about half the height thereof. It is unnecessary for the slots to extend to the bottom edge of the retaining plate since, if the screw connections were located at their lowest position at the bottom ends of the slots, too great a length of the protective flap would lie unused between the back and the back cushion. Furthermore, slots of such a length would impair the stability of the retaining plate.

In a modification of the invention, elongate openings are provided between the slots in the retaining plate, which openings are wider than and parallel to the said slots. These openings increase the elasticity of the retaining plate. Thus, the retaining plate does not impair the resilient effect of the back cushion and follows its movements and deflections caused by the person sitting in the armchair.

In order further to increase the elasticity, and in accordance with the invention, indentations or recesses are provided in each side of the retaining plate.

In detail, the holders may comprise screws having screw-threaded shanks which are insertable through the slots, the screw-threaded shanks being screwable into screw-threaded members abutting against the rear of the retaining plate, and the heads of the screws hold the protective flap which is fitted or drawn onto the heads of the screws.

For this purpose, one end of the protective flap has slits corresponding to the spacing of the slots, and the protective flap may be slipped over the heads of the screws by means of the said slits.

In order to facilitate drawing the protective flap onto the heads of the screws without loosening the screw connections, and in accordance with the invention, the screws have spacer surfaces between the screw-threaded shanks and the heads of the screws.

The invention will be further described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective illustration of an upholstered armchair having a back cushion, a retaining plate and a protective flap;

FIG. 2 is a cross section through the screw connection;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the upholstered armchair with the side part removed, with the protective device shown in the position in which it is not being used;

FIG. 4 is a corresponding elevation of the upholstered armchair with the side part removed, shown with the protective device in the position in which it is being used; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective general view of an upholstered armchair with the protective device shown in the position in which it is being used.

FIG. 1 shows an upholstered armchair 12 of conventional construction. The chair 12 has a back 14, a back cushion 16 and a separate seat cushion 18. A retaining plate 20, abuts against the back 14 and has elongate relatively wide openings 22 which increase the flexibility thereof. Slots 24 extend alongside the openings 22. The slots 24 receive holders 26 (shown in detail in FIG. 2). The retaining plate 20 has indentations or recesses 28 on each side. A protective flap 30 having slits 32 at its upper end is also shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows a holder 26 in greater detail. The holder 26 includes a screw having a screw head 34 and a screw-threaded shank 36 which is inserted through one of the slots 24 and screwed into a screw-threaded retaining member 38. The holder also includes a spacer disc 40.

To prepare for use, a protective flap 30 is slipped onto the heads 34 of the screws by means of slits 32 in the flap. The slits 32 locate on the spacer discs 40 when the protective flap is slipped onto the heads of the screws. In this manner, the retaining plate 20 and the protective flap 30 are secured to one another. The retaining plate 20 and the protective flap 30 may now be inserted between the back 14 and the back cushion 16, arranged as illustrated in FIG. 3. To use the protective flap, the back cushion 16 is tilted forward somewhat so that the protective flap 30 is exposed and can be gripped and placed over the back cushion 16, producing the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4. The protective flap 30 will overhang the back cushion 16 to a greater or lesser extent in dependence upon the length of the back 14, the length and thickness of the back cushion 16, the height of bottom seat cushion 18, the length of the retaining plate 20 and the length of the protective flap 30. The extent to which the protective flap 30 overhangs the back cushion 16 may be adjusted within a wide range by slackening off the holders 26 and sliding upwardly or downwardly.

The perspective illustration in FIG. 5 shows the final position of use. A person sitting in the armchair will rest his neck and head against the protective flap 30. The protective flap 30 protects the back cushion 16 against soiling. If the armchair is to be used without a protective flap 30 for the sake of external appearance, the protective flap 30 may be returned into the non-visible position illustrated in FIG. 3 in which it is not being used.

The protective flap 30 may be made from a material such as a textile fabric which matches the covering material of the upholstered armchair 12 with respect to such factors as quality, pattern and color.

The protective flap 30 fulfils its intended function when it is in the position when in use, while it remains completely non-visible when in the position when not in use.

Claims

I claim:

1. For use with upholstered seating furniture having a seat, a back and a removable back cushion, a protective device which comprises

a retaining plate adapted to be disposed between said back and said back cushion without projecting above the back and back cushion;

adjustable fastening means located on said retaining plate; and

a protective flap secured to said retaining plate by said fastening means said flap being capable of overlaying at least the upper regions of said cushion.

2. Protective device defined in claim 1, wherein said retaining plate is made from plastics material.

3. Protective device as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of adjacently disposed holders for fastening the protective flap are carried on the retaining plate.

4. Protective device as defined in claim 3, wherein the retaining plate carries a plurality of spaced, parallel slots in which said holders are adjustably and clampably held.

5. Protective device as defined in claim 4, wherein the slots extend from a short distance below the one edge of the retaining plate to about midway to the opposite edge.

6. Protective device as defined in claim 4, wherein elongate openings are provided between the said slots in retaining plate which openings are wider than and parallel to the said slots.

7. Protective device as defined in claim 1, wherein indentations or recesses are provided in each side of the retaining plate.

8. Protective device as defined in claim 4 wherein the holders comprise screws having screw-threaded shanks which are insertable through the slots the screw-threaded shanks being screwable into screw-threaded retaining members abutting against the rear of the retaining plate the heads of the screws holding the protective flap.

9. Protective device as defined in claim 8, wherein one end of the protective flap has slits corresponding to the spacing of the slots and the protective flap may be slipped over the heads of the screws by means of the slits.

10. Protective device as defined in claim 8, wherein the screws have spacer discs between their screw-threaded shanks and heads.