US 6,155,647 AGranted

Upholstered seat systems for leisure chairs

OwnerWalter J. Albecker, IIIinventor

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Abstract

An upholstered seat system for use on legless leisure chairs. The seat system has features that make it particularly useful on legless leisure chairs having cushioned backrests. The seat system has a seat cushion made of an upholstery fabric filled with a soft resilient material, and further having a flap extending from the back of the seat cushion for attachment to the front lower cross member of a legless leisure chair. The flap provides a flexible means of attaching the seat cushion to the backrest that enables the seat cushion to be folded for storage or transport. The seat system also provides two lower leg support options. One option is to have a two piece seat system including the seat cushion and an ottoman cushion. The other option is to extend the seat cushion to provide continuous support from a user's buttocks to the user's heels. The ottoman cushion can be made with a slip resistant underside. Also disclosed is how the seat system can be made with a multi-layer foam filling, or other fillings.

Claims27

Dependent claims

An upholstered seat system which is attached to a legless leisure chair comprising:

a) a resilient cushion filling for a seat cushion having a top, a bottom, a front, a back, a left side, and a right side, further having a size and shape suitable for providing comfort to a seated user's buttocks and thighs;
b) an upholstery cover made of an upholstery material having a top, a bottom, a front, a back, a left side, a right side and a stitch line, said upholstery cover having an inside and an outside, said upholstery cover further having a cavity between the top, the bottom, the front, the stitch line, the left side, and the right side, said cavity having a size and a shape similar to the resilient cushion filling, wherein the upholstery material comprising the top of the cover extends from the front to at least 2" beyond the stitch line, and wherein the upholstery material comprising the bottom of the upholstery cover extends from the front to at least 2" beyond the stitch line;
and
c) a lower front cross member on said legless leisure chair, said lower front cross member having a top and a bottom, said legless leisure chair having a backrest frame or occupant supporting member to which said lower front cross member is attached,
wherein the resilient cushion filling is in the cavity of the upholstery cover such that the resilient cushion filling is covered by the upholstery cover with the top, the bottom, the front, the back, the left side, and the right side of the resilient cushion filling generally contacting the top, the bottom, the front, the stitch line, the left side, and the right side respectively of the inside of the upholstery cover, and wherein a flap is formed by the upholstery material on said upholstery cover which extends from the stitch line to the back of the seat cushion;
wherein said resilient cushion filling and said upholstery cover as described make a seat cushion with a flap, wherein the flap is secured to the lower front cross member of the legless leisure chair with an attachment means, and wherein the outside of the bottom of the upholstery cover is substantially on a floor when the legless leisure chair is positioned for use.

3 more elements

An upholstered seat system which is attached to a legless leisure chair comprising:

a) a resilient cushion filling for a seat cushion having a top, a bottom, a front, a back, a left side, and a right side, further having a size and shape suitable for providing comfort to a seated user's buttocks and thighs, wherein the top of the resilient cushion filling defines a predominant plane of the top of the resilient cushion filling, and wherein the resilient cushion filling has a predominant thickness trend from front to back;
b) an upholstery cover made of an upholstery material having a top, a bottom, a front, a back, a left side, a right side and a stitch line, and said upholstery cover further having a cavity between the top, the bottom, the front, the stitch line, the left side, and the right side, said cavity having a size and a shape similar to the resilient cushion filling, said upholstery cover further having an inside and an outside;
and
c) a lower front cross member on said legless leisure chair, said lower front cross member having a top and a bottom, legless leisure chair having a backrest frame or occupant supporting member to which said lower front cross member is attached, said backrest frame having a face and an underside, said backrest frame further having a backrest cushion on its face, said backrest cushion having a face and a back, said backrest cushion face having an upper portion and a lower portion, said lower portion face defining a predominant plane of the backrest cushion face lower portion;
wherein the resilient cushion filling is in the cavity of the upholstery cover such that the resilient cushion filling is covered by the upholstery cover with the top, the bottom, the front, the back, the left side, and the right side of the resilient cushion filling generally contacting the top, the bottom, the front, the stitch line, the left side, and the right side respectively of the inside of the upholstery cover, and wherein a flap is formed by the upholstery material on said upholstery cover which extends from the stitch line to the back of the upholstery cover;
wherein said resilient cushion filling and said upholstery cover as described make a seat cushion with a flap, wherein the flap has a front portion and a back portion, wherein the front portion of the flap is between the stitch line of the seat cushion and the bottom of the lower front cross member of the legless leisure chair, and wherein the back portion of the flap is between the lower front cross member of the legless leisure chair and the back of the upholstery cover, wherein the back portion of the flap secures the seat cushion to the lower front cross member of the legless leisure chair with an attachment means, wherein the outside of the bottom of the upholstery cover is substantially on a floor when the legless leisure chair is positioned for use, wherein the predominant plane of the top of the resilient cushion filling intersects with the predominant plane of the lower portion of the backrest cushion face at an intersection point, and wherein there is a drop off from the predominant thickness trend of the resilient cushion filling near the intersection point such that the seat cushion is substantially thinner from the intersection point to the lower front cross member than it would be if it continued on the predominant thickness trend from the front to the back.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/175,393Filed 19 Oct 1998 · continuation in part
Priority: 17 Jun 1992
Granted: 5 Dec 2000
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

A47C 7/46
For the back: with special, e.g. adjustable , lumbar region support profile; "Ackerblom" profile chairs
A47C 1/146
Beach chairs ; Chairs for outdoor use, e.g. chairs for relaxation or sun-tanning: of legless type
A47C 16/005
Stand-alone rests or supports for feet, legs, arms, back or head: back-rests
A47C 20/027
Of detachable type: back supports, e.g. for sitting in bed

Family

Serial899,750Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 17 Jun 1992
Serial492,170Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 19 Jun 1995
US 5,425,567 AParent of this continuation-in-part · filed 20 Jun 1995
US 5,836,653 AParent of this continuation-in-part
US 6,155,647 AThis patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.