UPHOLSTERED ARTICLE OF FURNITURE

Abstract: There is disclosed an upholstered article of furniture in the form of a pouffe (10) which comprises a base (11), a single scrap rubber tyre, or a stack of rubber tyres, mounted generally horizontally on the base, upholstery (13), and padding (14) arranged at predetermined locations between the tyre and the upholstery.

Description: UPHOLSTERED ARTICLE OF FURNITURE This invention relates to an upholstered article cf furniture. The invention has been developed primarily, though not exclusively, with a view to provide a commercial outlet for scrap tyres used on road vehicles, and especially worn tyres used on motor cars. The disposal of worn tyres is a major problem, as can be evidenced by the large stock piles of worn tyres which can be seen in scrap yards around the country. The tyre manufacturers have no need for worn tyres, as the product is not one which can readily be recycled at economic cost. There is a demand for the ground-down rubber dust which can be buffed-off from whatever remains of the "tread" of a worn tyre, but this only comprises up to one third of the overall weight of the tyre, and there still remains the bulk of the tyre for which there is little or no economic value, but which presents a substantial disposal problem. Therefore, there would be evident substantial environmental and economic advantages to be derived if a useful commercial outlet could be found for worn vehicle tyres . To this end. the present invention provides an economic and technically viable use for worn tyres in upholstered articles of furniture, in which the properties of resilience which are inherent in a tyre (even when worn) are used as a substitute for metal springs and/or plastics foam presently used in upholstered furniture, such as armchairs and sofas. According to the invention there is provided an upholstered article of furniture which comprises a base, a tyre mounted generally horizontally on the base, upholstery, and padding arranged at predetermined locations between the tyre and the upholstery. The padding will be arranged at any required locations in order to impart a satisfactory surface appearance tc the upholstery, as well as making the article fit for the particular function which it is intended to carry out. Vher. the article cf furniture includes a generally horizontal seat or support portion, the padding will be such as to cushion the load applied and to provide an acceptable "feel", so that the effect of the tyre is cushioned. However, the tyre itself, which is arranged generally horizontally i.e. with its axis of rotation extending substantially vertically, imparts rigidity and stability to the article, but also has a certain degree of resilience so as to simulate the type of response to an applied load which would be provided by conventional springs, or foamed plastics, in existing articles of furniture i.e. it functions rather as a rubber spring. It will be particularly economical for the tyre to be obtained from a supply of scrap tyres, but in order to reduce the weight of the tyre, and also to derive a commercial return for the only portion of a scrap tyre of any appreciable value, it will be preferable for the tread of the tyre to be buffed-off to produce rubber dust, and therefore the tyre as supplied to the furniture manufacturer will be a substantially smooth (untreaded) tyre. In one preferred construction according to the invention, the article of furniture comprises a "pouffe" i.e. a backless seat or footrest, in which a plurality of tyres are stacked one upon the other, and preferably with adhesive bonding between the interengaging surfaces of the tyres. Horizontal padding may then be applied above the uppermost tyre of the stack, and also generally vertical padding may be arranged around the stack e.g. in a circular band. A circular cross-section pouffe can therefore be obtained, which is stable, robust, has necessary yielding properties in a vertical sense, and has a satisfactory "feel" and appearance by virtue of the padding. The padding may take any form which is employed in conventional upholstered furniture, such as polyurethane foam. However, it is particularly preferred that non- inflammable, or at least non-toxic (upon combustion) components should be incorporated in the construction of the article of furniture, in which case the use of tyres is advantageous over known plastics foams, some of which give- off lethal cyanide gaseous fumes upon combustion. While it is true that tyres burn, when sufficient heat is applied to them, a tyre exposed to a typical fire risk of an article of furniture, namely a smouldering cigarette end, will not burn or even' smoulder. It is therefore believed that upholstered article of furniture can be manufactured, incorporating one or more tyre, preferably a scrap tyre, which will be able to meet fire standards and regulations. While a pouffe has been described above as one example of an article of furniture to which the invention may be applied, it should be understood that the invention is applicable to other types of upholstered furniture having a generally horizontal seating or supporting surface, such as an armchair, sofa, or a bed. One embodiment of upholstered article of furniture according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawing. Referring now to the drawing, this is a schematic view in vertical cross-section of an upholstered article of furniture according to the invention, in the form of a circular cross-section pouffe. The pouffe is designated generally by reference 10, and comprises a base 11, which may be a sheet of wood or metal, and a stack of tyres 12 mounted on the base 11, each tyre 12 extending generally horizontally in the normal attitude of use of the pouffe. Upholstery fabric 13 (preferably flame retardant calico) is applied over and around the stack of tyres, and padding 14 is arranged at predetermined locations between the tyres 12 and the upholstery fabric 13. The padding 14 is arranged at any required locations in order to impart a satisfactory appearance to the upholstery, as well as making the article fit for the particular function which it is intended to carry out. The tyres 12 in the stack are preferably adhesively bonded to each other by any suitable adhesive, between interengaging surfaces. The padding 14 will be made of any conventional material employed in upholstered furniture, and should be of such a constitution as to cushion the load applied and to provide an acceptable "feel", so that the effect of the tyres is cushioned. The stack of tyres impart rigidity and stability to the article as a whole, but they have a certain degree of resilience so as to simulate the type of response to an applied load which would be provided by conventional springs, or foamed plastics in existing articles of furniture. The tyres 12 are preferably obtained from a supply of scrap tyres, and usually the "tread" of the tyres will be removed by buffing-off, to produce rubber dust which has a commercial value. This will also reduce the weight of the tyres. While there has been described above the application of the invention to an article of furniture in the form of a pouffe i.e. a backless seat or footrest, in which a plurality of tyres are stacked one upon the other, the invention is also applicable to other articles of upholstered furniture, such as armchairs, sofas and beds, though in these cases it will often be sufficient for only a single tyre, or single layer of tyres to be provided.

Claims: CLA I KS 1. An upholstered article of furniture which comprises a base (11) . a tyre (12) mounted generally horizontally on the base, upholstery (13), and padding .14. arranged at predetermined locations between the tyre and the upholstery. 2. An article of furniture according to Claim 1, in which the tyre is a scrap or worn tyre. 3. An article of furniture according to Claim 2, in which the scrap or worn tyre has its tread removed. 4. An article of furniture according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which a.stack of tyres (12) is arranged on the base (11). 5. An article of furniture according to Claim 4, in which the tyres are bonded to each other in the stack. 6. An article of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims and in the form of a furniture pouffe (10) , and including horizontal padding (14) arranged above the tyre(s) and upright padding (14) arranged between the radially outer side of the tyre(s) and the upholstery.

Inventors: POWELL JAMES ANTHONY, POWELL, JAMES, ANTHONY
Applicants: POWELL JAMES ANTHONY, SOWDEN GORDON GRASBY, POWELL, JAMES, ANTHONY, SOWDEN, GORDON, GRASBY
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A47C5
IPC codes: A47C3, A47C5