U.S. patent number 3,586,370 [Application Number 04/781,020] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-22 for upholstered chair.
This patent grant is currently assigned to American Seating Company. Invention is credited to Chester J. Barecki, Arthur J. Hogan, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,586,370 |
Barecki , et al. |
June 22, 1971 |
UPHOLSTERED CHAIR
Abstract
A chair is provided with an upholstery cover which is held in
place by fasteners which are concealed from view. The edges of the
cover are folded back and sewn or otherwise secured to provide
sleeves which receive rods, and the cover is pulled over the sides
of the chair and evenly stretched by the rods which are held by a
plurality of fasteners secured to the underside of the chair.
Inventors: |
Barecki; Chester J. (Grand
Rapids, MI), Hogan, Jr.; Arthur J. (Grand Rapids, MI) |
Assignee: |
American Seating Company (Grand
Rapids, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
25121423 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/781,020 |
Filed: |
December 4, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/228.11;
297/229; 297/452.12; 297/452.59; 297/452.17 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
31/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
31/00 (20060101); A47C 31/02 (20060101); A47c
003/00 (); A47c 007/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;5/353.1
;297/218,219,454--458 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nunberg; Casmir A.
Claims
We claim:
1. In combination, a chair shell providing a seat and back, said
back having at its top a rearwardly extending and generally
horizontal top wall, and said back and seat having L-shaped
sidewalls, hooks in the bottom of said top wall, vertical fastening
means for said hooks extending through said top wall, hooks on the
inner surfaces of said sidewalls, horizontal fastening means for
said last-mentioned hooks extending through said sidewalls, and an
upholstery cover shaped to conform generally to the contour of the
chair and having edge portions extending over the top and side
edges of the chair to the undersurfaces thereof and equipped with
rods engaging said hooks, said upholstery cover overlying a
resilient foam pad cemented to the top portion of said seat and
forward portion of said back.
2. The structure of claim 1 in which said shell has a downwardly
turned front wall with hooks on the inner surface thereof and in
which said cover at its forward edge has a rod engaging said hooks.
Description
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to an upholstered chair, and, more
particularly, to a chair which is provided with an upholstery cover
which is evenly stretched, wrinkle-free, and neatly held in place
by fasteners which are concealed from view.
The use of molded, integral plastic shell-type chairs has become
increasingly popular in recent years. However, many users prefer a
more decorative appearance than that given by the plain plastic
shell. Further, if the chair is provided with a cushion, it is
desirable that the cushion be covered to improve the appearance of
the chair.
Problems have arisen, however, in covering shell chairs with
upholstery. The upholstery cover should be securely attached to the
chair so that it will not be inadvertently removed, but at the same
time the cover should be removable without too much difficulty,
since it may eventually become worn or ripped. Further, the cover
should be evenly stretched as it is placed over the chair to
eliminate wrinkles and improve appearance.
SUMMARY
The invention enables a chair to be quickly and neatly covered with
an upholstery cover. Stretcher rods are secured to the cover around
its edge, and the cover is attached by pulling the rods around the
underside of the chair and inserting them into the fasteners
secured to the chair. Once the cover is attached, the fasteners are
hidden from view, and an aesthetically pleasing appearance is
provided. If the cover becomes worn, it may be readily removed
merely by disengaging the stretcher rods from the fasteners.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an upholstered chair;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the under surface of the chair of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the upper
portion of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but taken
along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one of the fasteners; and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modified fastener.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawing, the numeral 10 designates generally
an upholstered chair having a back portion 11 and a seat portion
12. The chair 10 includes a conventional molded nylon shell 13 and
a foam pad 14. An upholstery cover 15 completely covers the upper
surface of the chair.
The generally L-shaped integral shell 13 also includes a back
portion 16 and a seat portion 17 which may be somewhat dished or
depressed as at 18. As can be seen best in FIG. 2, the shell 13 may
include strengthening ribs 19 on the under surface of the
shell.
The foam pad 14 is cemented to the shell and is trimmed to overlap
the edges of the shell. Referring to FIG. 4, the upper rear portion
20 of the pad overlaps the rear edge 21 of the shell 13 and is
cemented thereto. The remainder of the periphery or edge of the
shell is similarly covered by the pad.
Referring to FIG. 3, the upper portion of the shell and pad extend
rearwardly to provide a top wall 22 having an edge 23, the front
forward portion of the shell and pad extend downwardly to provide
front wall 24 having a bottom edge 25, and the shell and pad extend
downwardly from the seat portion 12 and rearwardly from the back
portion 11 of the chair to provide generally L-shaped sidewalls 26
and side edges 27.
The cover 15 is shaped to conform generally to the contour of the
upper surface of the chair provided by the pad 14 and extends over
the edges of the chair. The periphery of the cover is reversely
folded and stitched at 28 (FIG. 4) to provide a sleeve 29. If
desired the cover may be cemented rather than stitched to provide
the sleeve. A rear elongated stretcher rod or wire 30 is inserted
into the sleeve portion which extends adjacent the top edge 23 of
the chair, a front stretcher rod 31 is inserted into the sleeve
portion which extends adjacent the bottom edge 25 of the chair, and
generally L-shaped side stretcher rods 32 are inserted into each of
the sleeve portions which extend adjacent the opposite generally
L-shaped side edges 27 of the chair.
The rods are pulled along the under surface of the chair to
uniformly stretch the cover and are held in place by a plurality of
fasteners 33 which are secured to the under surface of the shell 13
along the top wall 22, front wall 24, and sidewalls 26. Referring
to FIG. 6, the fasteners 33 includes a relatively flat-attaching
portion 34 and a generally hook-shaped retaining portion 35. The
attaching portion 34 is provided with a rivet opening 36 and
includes a pair of prongs 37 for anchoring the fastener against
rotation. Referring to FIG. 5, the fasteners 33 are pop riveted to
the shell 13 by rivets 38 before the pad 14 and cover 15 are placed
over the shell.
We have found that three fasteners are sufficient to hold each of
the L-shaped side stretcher rods 32, and we provide a fastener 33a
on the seat portion of the shell spaced from the front thereof and
a pair of fasteners 33b and 33c on the back portion of the shell,
with the fastener 33c being spaced from the top of the shell. The
top stretcher rod 30 is held by a pair of spaced-apart fasteners
33d and 33c, and the front stretcher rod 31 is held by fasteners
33f and 33g.
The cover is positioned by first cementing the cover to the pad 14
in the area of the depressed seat portion 18. Thereafter, the
stretcher rods are pulled over their associated edges of the chair,
and the cover is stretched until the rods snap into place between
the hooked-shaped retaining portions 35 of the fasteners and the
under surface of the shell. Referring to FIG. 5, the rod 30 is
fastened by first pulling the rod and cover forwardly over the
hooked portions of the fasteners 33d and 33e and then inserting the
rod between the hooked portion and the shell. The other rods are
similarly secured, and the cover 15 completely covers and conceals
the fasteners 33, leaving only a smooth edge 43 of the upholstery
cover visible from the rear of the chair.
Referring to FIG. 6, the hooked portion 35 of each fastener 33 may
include a pair of spurs 39 which press into the fabric and anchor
the stretcher rods in the hooked-shaped portion, and the pointed
prongs 37 of the fasteners engage the shell 13 to prevent the
fasteners from rotating. If desired, a modified fastener 40 (FIG.
7) may be used without the prongs 37 and spurs 39. The fastener 40
includes only an attaching flange 41 and a hook-retaining portion
42 under which the stretcher rods are inserted.
The upholstery cover can be readily removed merely by pulling the
stretcher rods from between the fasteners and the shell.
While in the foregoing specification, a specific embodiment of the
invention was set forth in considerable detail for the purpose of
illustration, it is to be understood that many of the details
hereingiven may be varied considerably by those skilled in the art
without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention.
* * * * *