Patent Publication Number: US-6341822-B2

Title: Chair construction and method of making same

Description:
This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 09/374,404, filed Aug. 13, 1999, entitled “Chair Construction and Method of Making Same.” 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a chair construction. In particular, it relates to the installment of a fabric envelope having a contoured top end, and an internal wire member having an arcuate shape substantially similar to the top end of the fabric envelope. 
     Outdoor furniture having an envelope of flexible material stretched over metal framework is quite popular. One example of such furniture is described in the Bottemiller U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,126. 
     Typically, this type of furniture consists of a fabric sheet held in tension between two longitudinal bars, or a variation thereof. The bars are held apart by a number of external braces. Construction of these chairs sometimes requires the aid of a special tool to space the bars apart, and provide tension to the fabric. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention includes a method of constructing furniture having a flexible envelope in tension and supported by first and second spaced-apart parallel rails held apart by an internal resilient member and a plurality of external cross braces. The flexible envelope is preferably constructed of two sheets of fabric sewn together along the entire perimeter with an opening on the back side of one sheet located near the bottom. The two spaced-apart rails form the structure of the chair, and have slots on the top ends to receive a wire member. The wire member preferably provides an aesthetically pleasing contoured shape to the top of the back of the chair, and acts as an internal brace initially keeping the two rails spaced apart. The resilient wire member also provides tension to the flexible envelope in the top half of the chair during assembly. 
     The method includes attaching the wire member to the top of each rail. The bottom of the rails are then brought closer to one another. The top of the rails, along with the wire member, are then inserted within the flexible envelope. The top of the flexible envelope is pulled over the wire member and the top of the rails, and the bottom of the flexible envelope is pulled over the bottom of the rails. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front portion of the chair construction of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the chair. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the spaced apart rails and wire member being inserted within the flexible envelope. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the underside portion of the chair. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the resilient member and a rail enclosed within the envelope. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the resilient member being inserted into the rails. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The chair construction of the present invention is generally indicated at  10  in FIGS. 1 and 2. The chair  10  includes a ground engaging support stand (not shown), a two-piece flexible envelope  12 , and a support structure  14  for supporting and holding in tension the flexible envelope  12  and forming a seat and back portion  16  and  18 , respectively. As used with this application, the term “construction” refers to both original construction of furniture and reconstruction of furniture to replace the flexible envelope  12 . 
     The flexible envelope  12  is preferably an envelope with an upper layer  20  and a lower layer  22 . The upper layer  20  is preferably attached to the lower layer  22  along the entire outside perimeter of each layer. The flexible envelope  12  is preferably made of a fabric, such as vinyl-coated polyester fabric suitable for use in an outdoor environment. The lower layer  22  also contains an opening  24  located near the bottom in which the support structure  14  is inserted, as illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     The support structure  14  includes first and second spaced apart rails  26  and  28 , respectively. The rails are approximately “L”-shaped, and preferably have a contour that defines the shape of the chair as illustrated in FIG.  5 . When inserted within the flexible envelope  12  and spaced apart, the rails  26  and  28  simultaneously provide the structure and contour for the seat and back portions,  16  and  18 , of the chair construction. Thus, the back portion  18  and seat portion  16  are visually continuous with no defining line distinguishing the two. 
     The rails  26  and  28  are initially held apart at the top of the back portion  18  by a resilient wire member  30 , and finally by a plurality of cross braces  32 ,  34 , and  36  located on the seat and back portions  16  and  18 . The spaced apart rails  26  and  28  also include a plurality of studs  38  and  40  for engagement with the cross braces  32 ,  34 , and  36  as is well known in the art. It should be understood that the number of cross braces may vary depending on the type of chair, lounge, swing chair, or other similar furniture construction that utilizes a single flexible envelope and similar support structure. 
     The resilient wire member  30  is preferably made of metal and has a generally central arcuate shape, with each end  42  and  44  bent approximately perpendicularly downward. The wire member  30  provides flexible, spring-like action whichk improves head support and the overall comfort of the chair by accommodating to tensions applied upon the flexible envelope from the movement of a sitting occupant. The arcuate shape provides an aesthetically pleasing contoured curve to the top of the back portion of the chair. While the preferred embodiment of the present invention describes the resilient member as having an arcuate shape, it should be understood that alternative embodiments are well within the scope of the present invention. Such alternative embodiments include, but are not limited to, contours with a single or a plurality of raised or lowered portions, straight members, and ornamentally designed members. 
     In addition, the wire member  30  aids in the construction of the chair. Each rail  50  and  52  includes a slot  54  and  56 , respectively, at a top end. These slots  54  and  56  are formed to receive the bend ends  42  and  44  of the resilient member  30 , as illustrated in FIG.  6 . Once the resilient member  30  has been inserted into the slots  54  and  56 , the two rails  26  and  28  are held apart a fixed distance at the top of the rails  50  and  52 . This allows the bottom ends  58  and  60  of the rails to be brought closer to one another while the top ends  50  and  52  remain a fixed distance apart from one another. The top ends of the rails  50  and  52  are then inserted within the flexible envelope  12  through the opening  24  located on the lower layer  22  as illustrated in FIG.  3 . It should be appreciated that since the bottom ends of the rails  58  and  60  are closer to one another than the top ends of the rails  50  and  52 , the flexible envelope  12  is slack and not in tension when the rails  26  and  28  are being inserted within. This increases the ease of assembly of the support structure  14  within the flexible envelope  12 . 
     The spaced apart rails  26  and  28  and flexible member  30  are inserted within the flexible envelope  12  until the top ends of the rails  50  and  52  become adjacent to the top of the flexible envelope  12 . The top of the flexible envelope  12  is formed in the shape of a contour that is substantially similar to the contour of the wire member  30 , thus the wire member  30  cooperates with the top of the flexible envelope  12 . While the bottom ends  58  and  60  of the rails are still close to one another, the lower layer  22  of the bottom of the flexible envelope  12  is placed over the bottom ends  58  and  60  of the rails. The position of the opening  24  in the lower layer  22  of the flexible envelope  12  after assembly is illustrated in FIG.  4 . 
     With the spaced apart rails  26  and  28  fully inserted within the flexible envelope  12 , the rails  26  and  28  are positioned so that the flexible envelope  12  is brought into a state of tension. It should be appreciated that the use of a special tool to place the flexible envelope  12  in tension is not needed due to the addition of the internal resilient member  30  located at the top of the spaced apart rails. The resilient member acts as a fulcrum between the two spaced apart rails  26  and  28 , which aides in the assembly of the chair. An assembler spaces the bottom of the rails  58  and  60  apart to place the flexible envelope  12  in tension. The assembler then needs only to attach the braces  32 ,  34 , and  36  to the support structure  14 , and attach to the chair construction  10  to the ground engaging support stand (not shown). 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail wihthout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.