Patent Publication Number: US-6709055-B2

Title: Chair cover

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Furniture which is designed and constructed for the outdoors will often remain outside, subject to the elements, even when not in use. Whether left on a patio, deck, or outside a home, such furniture will be exposed to the weather, which, at the very least, will cause a build-up of dirt and grime on and, at worse, deterioration and destruction of the furniture. Existing furniture covers have been unsuccessful in addressing this problem for several reasons. Most covers are not adapted for easy deployment and placement over furniture, so they routinely are not used. Unless covers are readily available, they will not even be used. Covers which are not used are often put in locations remote from the furniture itself and are either forgotten or lost. Even when put in place, many covers will not remain in position, completely over the furniture, when they are exposed to elements of the weather such as wind and rain. They thus fail even to adequately serve the purposes for which they are intended. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is thus the object of the present invention to overcome the limitations and disadvantages of prior outdoor furniture covers. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover which is easy to deploy and place over furniture. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover which maintains its position on the furniture, even during windy and wet weather conditions. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover which provides ease of removal from furniture and which can simply and quickly be compacted for storage. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide an outdoor furniture cover which can be compacted for convenient storage directly on the furniture, allowing for ready accessibility of the cover when it is needed. 
     The cover of the present invention comprises a weather-proof covering of flexible material which is form fitted for use with a variety of outdoor furniture. A flexible harness with strap members is secured to the covering permanently by a sewed connection or removably by snaps, Velcro™, or similar means. The harness is positioned and secured to the furniture by means of its strap members and tie lines which emanate from the harness and are tied to the furniture. This system attachment allows the cover to be used on furniture of varying sizes and configurations. The cover may also be attached to the furniture directly by snap connections. A bar with hooked ends is positioned through the bottom of the covering. It acts as a counterweight to keep the covering taut when it is deployed and covers the furniture. The bar also assists in storage of the covering directly on the furniture when the covering is not in use. 
     The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its design, construction, and use, together with the additional features and advantages thereof, are best understood upon review of the following detailed description with reference to the brief description of the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a view of the covering of the present invention laid out to show its configuration. 
     FIG. 2 is a view of the harness of the cover of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a view of the harness of the present invention attached to a chair. 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of the back cushion of a chair with the harness of the present invention attached. 
     FIG. 5 is a view of the covering of the present invention deployed over a chair. 
     FIG. 6 is a view of the covering of the present invention stored on a chair. 
     FIG. 7 is a view of the covering of the present invention stored and folded on a chair. 
     FIG. 8 is a view of an alternate embodiment of the manner of attaching the covering of the present invention to a chair. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Outdoor furniture, for example chair  2 , comprises seat cushion  4 , back cushion  6 , handrails  8  and  9 , legs  10  and  11 , and frame  12 . Chair  2  is to be protected by the cover of the present invention which includes covering  14 , made of flexible water resistant and weather proof material, commonly used in the industry. Covering  14  is form fitted to be used not only on chair  2 , but also on a wide variety of comparable chairs of different sizes and configurations. In this regard, it is contemplated that covering  14  will comprise side sections  15  and  16  and larger center section  17 . By this configuration, covering  14  may readily be compacted, by folding side sections  15  and  16  onto center section  17 , and then folding the covering over upon itself to form a compact unit, such as is shown at  48  in FIGS. 6 and 8. 
     Harness  18  is made of durable, yet flexible weather resistant material. It consists of three strap members  19 ,  20 , and  21 , which are fed through openings in transverse strap member  22 . Snap connectors  23 ,  24 , and  25  are located on strap members  19 ,  20 , and  21  respectively. Covering  14  has snap connectors  33 ,  34 , and  35  which are designed to mate with corresponding snap connectors  23 ,  24 , and  25  respectively. Tie lines  29  and  30  extend from strap members  19  and  21 , respectively. 
     It is contemplated that Velcro™ or similar temporary connectors may be used in lieu of the snap connections to attach harness  18  to chair  2  and harness  18  to covering  14 . Harness  18  can also be sewn directly into covering  14  which provides a permanent connection between the harness and covering. 
     As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, bar  40  is inserted into a slot, located at the bottom of covering  14 . Bar  40  has bent hook ends  44  and  46 , which extend through and out of covering  14 . 
     In operation, harness  18  is secured to chair  2  by placing strap members  19  and  21  around back cushion  6  and securing the strap members by tying lines  29  and  30  together at each end, as best shown in FIG. 4, and, at each of the other ends, frame  12  of chair  2  at handrails  8  and  9  or the intersection of the handrails and legs  10  and  11  of the frame. The use of tie lines  29  and  30  in this manner makes it possible to configure the harness  18  to chairs of virtually any size and shape. 
     After harness  18  is secured to chair  2 , covering  14  is attached to the harness via snap connections  23 / 33 ,  24 / 34 , and  25 / 35 . Covering  14  is then deployed and extended over chair  2 , covering it completely, as seen in FIG.  5 . Bar  40  at the bottom of chair  2  acts as a counterweight to keep covering  14  taut. Additional tie lines may be added to covering  14  at its corners for securing the coverage when long term storage is desired. 
     When chair  2  is to be used, covering  14  is removed from chair  2  and snap connections  13 / 33 ,  24 / 34  and  25 / 35  separated. Covering  14  is then folded into a compact unit, shown as  48  in FIG.  6 . Hook ends  44  and  46  from bar  40  extend out and are hooked into holders  50  and  52 , sewed or similarly secured to strap members  19  and  21 . In this manner, covering  14 , when not in use, can remain stored in compact form  48  on chair  2 . Compact unit  48  can also be rolled up and secured with center tie  20 , as shown in FIG. 7, for an even neater look. 
     When covering  14  must be redeployed, center tie  20  is simply taken off, compact unit  48  unfolded and covering  14  again spread out and over chair  2  and snap connectors  23 / 33 ,  24 / 34 , and  25 / 35  reconnected. 
     In an alternative embodiment, snap connectors  53 ,  54 , and  55  can be provided on cushion  6  itself. Covering  14  can then be directly secured to cushion  6 . In this case, covering  14  can be deployed from cushion  6  and, when it is to be stored, it can be compacted and secured to chair  2  by hook ends  44  and  46  through holders  60  and  62  sewed or otherwise connected directly to cushion  6 . 
     While the cover disclosed herein is shown in use with a chair, its use is contemplated with other furniture, such as chaise loungers, recliners, and other furniture which may benefit from protection from the elements. 
     Certain novel features and components of this invention are disclosed in detail in order to make the invention clear in at least one form thereof. However, it is to be clearly understood that the invention as disclosed, since it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.