U.S. patent number 3,649,075 [Application Number 05/146,061] was granted by the patent office on 1972-03-14 for protective device for upholstered furniture.
Invention is credited to Kurt Ulrich Kalkowski.
United States Patent |
3,649,075 |
Kalkowski |
March 14, 1972 |
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.
Inventors: |
Kalkowski; Kurt Ulrich (5351
Kommern, DT) |
Family
ID: |
22515701 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/146,061 |
Filed: |
May 24, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/220 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
31/11 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
31/00 (20060101); A47C 31/11 (20060101); A47c
031/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/219,220,223,226,227,283,221,230,231,112,191,114,397,284,253 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Zugel; Francis K.
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.
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.
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