U.S. patent number 3,576,059 [Application Number 04/840,581] was granted by the patent office on 1971-04-27 for method of furniture construction.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Knoll Associates, Inc.. Invention is credited to Maxwell E. Pearson.
United States Patent |
3,576,059 |
Pearson |
April 27, 1971 |
METHOD OF FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
A chair or similar article of furniture employing molded shells
which mate to complete an integral shell. Two shells are employed:
a perimeter shell having an aperture therein and a center shell
that mates with the perimeter shell so as to close off the aperture
in the perimeter shell. The two shells are advantageously molded
first as one piece which is then cut into the two shells. Each
shell is separately upholstered with upholstery connections being
located along an edge portion of the shell. The two shells are
thereafter joined together along the edge portions; upholstery
connections along the edge portions are concealed between the
joined-together portions. The mating shells may incorporate flanges
along the edges thereof which abut in joining the shells together.
In such a case, and when one flange presents an outwardly exposed
surface, a doubled-over piece of upholstery may be employed to
cover the exposed surface. The doubling over of the upholstery
conceals the upholstery connections into the exposed surface as
well as the fastening elements used to join the two shells
together. A free edge of the doubled-over upholstery is then tucked
between the abutting flanges to complete the upholstery.
Alternatively, an extrusion may be employed as a spacer between the
abutting flanges of the two shells, with a portion thereof
extending over the outwardly exposed flange surface. The extrusion
may have upholstery adhered thereto, and thus conceals the
upholstery connections and the fastening elements used to join one
shell to the other. The upholstery for the perimeter shell is a
machine-sewed fabric envelope, eliminating all handstitching except
for the sewing of a small flap under the front of the shell.
Inventors: |
Pearson; Maxwell E. (East
Greenville, PA) |
Assignee: |
Knoll Associates, Inc. (New
York, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
42931794 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/840,581 |
Filed: |
June 3, 1969 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
681803 |
Nov 9, 1967 |
3521929 |
Jul 28, 1970 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
29/91.1; 29/91;
5/402; 297/DIG.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
7/18 (20130101); A47C 5/12 (20130101); A47C
7/02 (20130101); A47C 3/12 (20130101); Y10T
29/481 (20150115); Y10T 29/48 (20150115); Y10S
297/02 (20130101); Y10S 297/01 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
3/12 (20060101); A47C 7/02 (20060101); A47C
5/12 (20060101); A47C 5/00 (20060101); A47C
3/00 (20060101); B68g 007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;29/91,91.1,91.7,407
;297/452,454,455,456,457,458,459 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Campbell; John F.
Assistant Examiner: DiPalma; Victor A.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No.
681,803, filed Nov. 9, 1967, for FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION, now U.S.
Pat. No. 3,521,929, issued July 28, 1970.
Claims
I claim:
1. The method of making an article of furniture formed from an
integral shell having the contour of the article of furniture,
wherein the improvement comprises severing the integral shell to
provide a separate perimeter shell having an aperture therein and a
center shell produced by the severing of the integral shell, the
center shell mating with the perimeter shell in the completed
article of furniture so as to close off the aperture in the
perimeter shell.
2. The method of making an article of furniture as defined in claim
1, wherein the perimeter and center shells are separately
upholstered, with connections of upholstery to each shell being
located along an edge portion of the shell, and thereafter joining
the two shells along the edge portions thereof so as to conceal the
upholstery connections between the joined edge portions.
3. The method of making an article of furniture as defined in claim
1, wherein the integral shell is formed with a portion thereof that
forms an angle with the adjacent parts of the integral shell, the
integral shell being severed in said portion to form the perimeter
and center shells.
4. The method of making an article of furniture, comprising forming
a perimeter shell having an aperture through the surface thereof,
forming a center shell adapted to mate with the perimeter shell so
as to close off the aperture through the surface of the perimeter
shell, and joining the two shells together to complete the closing
of the aperture.
5. The method of making an article of furniture as defined in claim
4, wherein the perimeter and center shells are separately
upholstered, with connections of upholstery to each shell being
located along an edge portion of the shell, the two shells being
joined along the edge portions thereof so as to conceal the
upholstery connections between the joined edge portions.
6. The method of making an article of furniture as defined in claim
4, including forming the inner peripheral edge portion of the
perimeter shell and the outer peripheral edge portion of the center
shell each with a flange extending at an angle with respect to the
adjacent portion of the respective shell, the flanges so formed
being caused to abut each other in the joining together of the
shells.
Description
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to articles of furniture and, in particular,
to the making of an upholstered article of furniture.
The present invention is directed particularly to the making of an
upholstered article of furniture, such as a chair, in which all of
the upholstered connections are concealed. The invention involves
the utilization of shells which together form the article of
furniture. For example, in the making of a chair, two mating shells
are employed, namely, a perimeter shell having an aperture therein
and a center shell which closes off the aperture in the completed
chair. The perimeter and center shells may be molded separately, or
a single integral shell may be molded and then cut or severed into
the distinct perimeter and center shells. The molding of a single
integral shell which is then cut or severed into the perimeter and
center shells is preferred, since only one molding tool is needed
in the molding process. The separate shells are then separately
upholstered, and upholstery connections are employed along edge
portions thereof. In this fashion, when the separately upholstered
shells are joined together to complete the article of furniture,
the connections along the edges thereof are concealed between the
joined edges.
The shells may include flanges along the edges thereof which abut
in joining the shells together. One of the flanges will be
exteriorly exposed. In such a case, the exposed surface of the
flange may be covered by a doubled-over piece of upholstery, the
doubling over of which conceals the upholstery connections into the
exposed surface as well as the fastening elements used to join the
two shells together. The free edge of the upholstery may then be
tucked between the flanges to complete the upholstering of the
article. By this technique, all upholstery and shell fastening
connections may be concealed from view. Typically, upholstery
connections on the bottom of a chair, for example, are visible. In
the present invention, all connections may be concealed, providing
a much better overall appearance for the entire article.
Alternatively, an extrusion may be employed extending between the
abutting flanges of the shells and serving as a spacer for the
flanges. The extrusion may include a wedge-shaped edge portion
which makes contact with both shell flanges for the entire length
of the abutting flanged surfaces. The wedge-shaped configuration
prevents the extrusion from being pulled out after a tightening of
the fastening elements joining the two flanges together. The
extrusion includes a flexible portion thereof extending over the
exteriorly exposed surface of one of the flanges, so as to cover
all fastening elements employed to maintain the two shells
together, as well as upholstery connections into the surface. The
extrusion may advantageously have an upholstery material adhered
thereto so as to render it unnoticeable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair embodying the
invention.
FIG. 1A is a bottom view of a part of the chair of FIG. 1, to an
enlarged scale.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an integral chair shell forming a
part of the chair of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of two shells forming the integral
shell of FIG. 2.
FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views of the chair shell respectively
shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, taken respectively along the section lines
4-4 and 5-5 of these FIGS.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views of the chair shells shown in FIG.
3, with upholstery attached thereto.
FIGS. 8 and 9 are sectional views of the parts of the chair shown
in FIGS. 6 and 7, taken respectively along section lines 8-8 and
9-9 of those FIGS. and showing the details of upholstery
connections.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the completed chair.
FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the chair shown in FIG. 10, taken
along the section line 11-11 in FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a view, to an enlarged scale, of a connection between
abutting shells in the completed chair of FIG. 10.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a part of the completed chair shown
in FIG. 11, looking in the direction of the arrows 13-13 in FIG. 11
and showing the details of a further upholstery technique in
accordance with the invention.
FIGS. 14 and 15 are sectional views similar to FIG. 12, to an
enlarged scale, showing an alternative form of construction
employing a vinyl extrusion separating the abutting shells.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, an article of furniture, namely, a chair 20,
is shown embodying the invention. The chair includes a seat support
22, a back support 24, and arm rests 26a and 26b. The chair is
supported by a vertical spindle 28 terminated at its lower end by a
base 30. The chair 20 is covered by upholstery 42 and 52.
FIG. 2 illustrates an integral chair shell 34 employed in making
the chair of FIG. 1. The chair shell 34 may be made of any suitable
material; e.g., the shell may be molded from sisal-reinforced
plastic. The integral shell 34 includes two distinct parts: a
perimeter shell 34a and a center shell 34b (see also FIG. 3). The
integral chair shell 34 shown in FIG. 2 may be molded to the shape
shown in FIG. 2 and subsequently cut or severed along line 36 to
produce the perimeter and center shells 34a and 34b, or the
perimeter and center shells may be separately formed. Either
technique of producing the distinct shells may be employed,
although the technique of forming a single complete shell and then
cutting it into two distinct shells is the most advantageous
technique from the standpoint of reducing production costs. In
particular, when the chair is molded in one piece and then cut
apart into two separate shells, only one molding tool is required.
Separate molding tools would be needed in the event that the shells
were separately molded, thereby increasing the cost of the
operation substantially by requiring an additional molding
tool.
The perimeter shell 34a includes an inner peripheral edge 34a' that
defines aperture 35 in the perimeter shell and an outer peripheral
edge 34a". The center shell 34b includes an outer peripheral edge
34b'. When the perimeter and center shells are cut from a single
shell molded to the shape shown in FIG. 2, the single shell should
include a portion 38 thereof (see FIG. 4) that forms an angle with
the adjacent parts of the shell. The single shell is then severed
by cutting throughout the angled part 38 (cut 36) to produce the
two separate shells 34a and 34b shown in FIG. 3. The angled portion
of the single shell thus creates flanges 38a and 38b (FIG. 10)
along the edges of the respective shells. In particular, the flange
38a is formed along the inner peripheral edge of the perimeter
shell 34a, and the flange 38b is formed along the outer peripheral
edge of the center shell 34b. The flanges 38a and 38b abut, as
shown in FIG. 11. By providing the angled part 38 in a single shell
which is thereafter severed to produce the perimeter and center
shells, provision is made so that the perimeter and center shells
may thereafter be joined together along the edge flanges 38a and
38b. Without such an angled part of the shell, about which the cut
is made, the perimeter and center shells would have no overlapping
portions about which they could be rejoined. On the other hand, if
separate perimeter and center shells are independently molded, then
angled flanges need not be employed, since the parts may be molded
to insure that the edge portions thereof overlap to provide for the
joining together of the shells to complete the article of
furniture.
In any event, the perimeter and center shells are separately
upholstered, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Typically, a padding
material 40 is positioned over the upper surface of center shell
34b, and an upholstery material 42 (pieces 42a and 42b) covers both
the shell 34b and the padding 40. A stiffener element 44 may be
employed inside the upholstery 42 in the region in which the back
support 24 joins the seat support 22. The stiffening element 44 may
be retained in place by a strip of fabric 46 which is stitched to
the upholstery piece 42b.
The upholstery 42 may be secured to the center shell 34b along the
outer edge portion of flange 38b by staples 48, as shown in FIG. 8.
Typically, the edges of the upholstery pieces 42a and 42b overlap
along the underside of flange 38b. Staples 48 are driven through
the upholstery pieces and into the flange 38b to maintain the
upholstery in place.
Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7, the perimeter shell 34a is
upholstered by the use of a padding material 50 and an upholstery
material 52. The upholstery material 52 may be secured to the shell
34a along the flange 38a by staples 54 shown in FIG. 9. In
particular, one edge 52a of the upholstery material may be secured
to an upper surface of the flange 38a, while another edge 52b may
be secured by the staples to an under surface of the flange.
Alternatively, either of the upholstery edges 52a and 52b could
pass around the inner edge 34a' of the perimeter shell and underlap
or overlap the other upholstery edge.
The upholstery for the perimeter shell 34a is typically a
machine-sewed fabric envelope which is easily slipped over the
shell and padding material 50. The machine-sewing eliminates all
handstitching except for a small flap under the front of the seat
section 22. In particular, referring to FIGS. 1 and 1A, stitching
80 may be employed to create the envelope 52 of upholstery material
used to cover the perimeter shell. A small flap 52c of material is
left unsewed under the bottom of the chair, which may be stitched
by hand as at 80a and 80b to complete the envelope. The ability to
provide for machine-sewing of almost all of the upholstery material
for the perimeter shell 34a permits appreciable savings in labor
needed to complete the assembly of the chair.
The separately upholstered perimeter and center shells are joined
together as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Particularly, the flanges 38a
and 38b abut with upholstery material therebetween, as shown in the
FIGS. The shells may be secured together by any number of
connections along the flanges, one of which is shown in FIG. 12.
Each connection may employ a screw 60, the head of which is seated
against a washer 62 positioned against the flange 38a of the
perimeter shell. The screw passes through the flange 38a and
through the flange 38b of the center shell, and is secured in place
by a threaded fastening element 64 in the flange 38b.
The screws 60 used to join together the perimeter and center shells
34a and 34b may be covered by upholstery material, as shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13. A strip of upholstery material 70 may be employed
for this purpose, one edge of which is positioned over the screws
60 and held in place by a cardboard or similar strip 72 of
reinforcing material which is held in place by staples 74 that pass
through the cardboard strip and upholstery strip 70 into the flange
38a. The upholstery strip 70 is then doubled over to conceal the
staples 74 and cardboard strip 72, and free end 70a of the strip
may be tucked into the joint between the flanges 38a and 38b, as
shown in FIG. 12, to be sandwiched between the fabric pieces 42a
and 52a. The tucking of the edge 70a may be completed by use of a
screwdriver or any other suitable instrument, and is done after the
upholstered perimeter and center shells have been completely
fastened together by the screws 60.
FIGS. 14 and 15 show an alternative arrangement for completing the
fastening together of the perimeter shell 34a and center shell 34b.
Specifically, a vinyl or other flexible extrusion 82 is employed
having a wedge-shaped edge portion 82a. The extrusion extends about
the entire periphery of the shells between the abutting flanges 38a
and 38b. The extrusion acts as a spacing element between the
flanges; it is employed to fill the space between the flanges
produced by the upholstery between the flanges. The wedge-shaped
edge 82a prevents the extrusion from being pulled out when screws
60 fastening together the shells are tightened. In this regard, the
extrusion 82 includes a series of openings therein, through which
the screws 60 pass. The extrusion includes an edge portion 82b
which extends over the outer surface of the flange 38a of the
perimeter shell 34a. The edge portion 82b thus covers all the
screws 60 as well as the upholstery connections into the flange
38a. There is sufficient flexibility in the extrusion edge portion
82b to permit it to be pulled back in order to gain access to the
screws 60. Advantageously, an upholstery fabric 84 is glued to the
outer surface of the extrusion 82 so as to cover the extrusion.
Such an upholstery piece eliminates the need for tacking a strip of
upholstery, such as strip 70 in FIG. 12, to the perimeter shell and
tucking the loose flap between the flanges of the two shells, as
explained above in connection with FIG. 12.
Additionally, FIGS. 14 and 15 show paddings 86 and 88 of foam or
other material between the shells and the upholstery material on
the outer surfaces of the shells. For example, the foam material 88
is positioned between the upholstery 42b and the center shell 34b.
Such foam or padding material provides a soft resilient touch to
the outer surface of the chair; in the other FIGS. of the
application, the upholstery material is shown directly against the
outer surfaces of shells 34a and 34b.
It will be noted that the present invention involves an article of
furniture in which connections of upholstery material to the
corresponding shells are concealed by locating the connections
between abutting edge portions of the shells or by employing a
doubled-over strip of upholstery material or an extrusion. A unique
shell construction has been provided involving mating perimeter and
center shells, wherein the center shell covers an aperture in the
perimeter shell.
The invention should not be deemed limited to the specific
embodiments shown in the drawings. For example, although an
armchair has been shown, the invention is eminently suitable for an
armless chair and other items of furniture. Many other changes may
be made. Accordingly, the invention should be taken to be defined
by the following claims:
* * * * *