Patent Publication Number: US-6659550-B2

Title: Upholstery system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/316,871, filed Sep. 4, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to furniture accessories. More specifically, the present invention is drawn to a unique system of form-fitting, reversible, partial coverings for specified furniture pieces. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Many attempts have been made to fabricate form-fitting, versatile, attractive slipcovers which are easy to install, easy to remove for cleaning and which would not betray the lines of the supporting furniture. The prior art however has failed in varying degrees to produce such slipcovers. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,083,236 (Levi), 2,363,271 (Sugarman), 2,818,106 (Reavis), 2,884,993 (Schutte), 5,733,002 (Riley et al.) and British Patent 521,124 (Barker) all show slipcovers that are cumbersome and relatively complicated to install and remove. Further, the slipcovers of the instant patents are not versatile in that they cannot be reversed to give a different “look”. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,542 (Schutte) shows a cover for a cushion. As in the patents listed above, no attempt is made to provide for versatility in the cover. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,355 (Illulian) is drawn to a slipcover which utilizes an elastic band to secure the cover to the furniture. Besides lacking versatility, the slipcover appears to be bulky and obscures the lines of the furniture. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,301 B1 (Illulian) discloses a reversible slipcover secured to the furniture with a system of unsightly cords. The slip cover does not appear to provide a smooth, aesthetically pleasing fit. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to disclose reversible, easy to install and remove, form-fitting slipcovers as will subsequently be described and claimed in the instant invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The slipcovers of the present invention, to be dubbed Slip-Polstery, are a unique system of form-fitting, reversible, partial coverings adapted to fit numerous upholstered chairs, two-seat sofas and three-seat sofas. The slipcovers are designed and manufactured to be easily installed, reversed and removed for cleaning. A set of slipcovers for any of the above pieces of furniture consists of a pair of arm covers, one to three seat cushion covers and one to three back cushion covers. 
     The arm covers are constructed in a manner to allow a user to custom-fit the cover to the specific dimensions of the arm of the furniture. The seat cushion slipcovers include a flap which may optionally function as a modified skirt. All the slipcovers employ a dual-fabric construction allowing the slipcovers to be quickly and easily reversed for a multitude of decor changes. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a system of slipcovers, which system can be easily installed and removed. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a system of slipcovers, which system is reversible. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a system of slipcovers, which system is adapted to fit numerous upholstered chairs, two-seat sofas and three seat sofas. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a system of slipcovers, which system utilizes dual-fabric construction. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which are inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing their intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a upholstery system according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away, plan view of an arm slipcover according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 a  is a plan view of a seat cushion slipcover according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 b  is a plan view of a back cushion slipcover according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a partial, perspective view of the arm slipcover being attached to the arm of the furniture according to the present invention. 
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Attention is first directed to FIG. 1 which illustrates the slipcovers of the present invention disposed on a two-seat sofa  10 . The slipcovers consists of arm covers  12 , seat cushion covers  30  and back cushion covers  40 . As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the arm cover comprises a rectangular structure fabricated from two different types of fabric  12   a  and  12   b . The two types of fabric may have different patterns or designs on their exposed faces. The pieces of fabric may be of any type suitable for a chair or sofa. For example,  12   a  may be a twilled fabric and  12   b  may be a faux leather fabric. For optimum use, it has been determined that each piece should be approximately thirty-four inches wide and forty-eight inches long. To make the cover, the two pieces are placed atop one another “right -side” in, “wrong-side” out. Prior to stitching, five one-fourth inch elastic loops  18  are attached to either of the pieces along the short side  14 . Two of the five loops are each positioned adjacent a respective long side  16 . Another two of the five loops are each positioned approximately four inches from a respective long side  16 . The fifth loop is positioned at approximately the half way point between the long sides. The two pieces of fabric are then stitched together (approximately one-fourth inch from the outer edge) along one short side  14  and along each long side  16 . One short side  14   a  is left open so that the stitched pieces form a bag-like structure. The cover is then turned inside out exposing the “right sides” of the two fabrics as illustrated in FIG.  2 . Two cloth ties  18  are attached at respective opposed center points on open side  14   a . The arm cover is then top-stitched at  15  approximately four inches from the edge along the entire length of each long side  16 . This creates a reversible-fabric arm cover with an approximate twenty-six inch opening at one end and two four inch by forty-eight inch flaps  15   a  on each side. A muslin-covered, one-half inch thick, foam rubber member  19  is disposed in and substantially fills the arm cover and is closed therein by ties  18 . 
     The arm cover is installed by positioning the cover on the arm of the sofa or chair desired fabric side up. The cover size may be adjusted by folding in or leaving extended the flaps  15   a . The end of the cover having the loops is affixed to the sofa or chair arm by employing twist pins  20  as shown in FIG.  4 . The other end of the arm cover is tucked between the seat and the arm of the chair or sofa. 
     FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b  illustrate a seat cushion slipcover  30  and back cushion slipcover  40 . Both cushion covers employ the different fabric arrangement as described above. The covers differ as to size in that the seat cover  30  is approximately 30 inches by forty-three inches and includes a closed side  32  and a horizontal top-stitch  34  disposed ten inches from closed side  32  so as to create a ten inch by thirty inch flap  30   a . Flap  30   a  may hang down from the cushion to form a modified skirt (FIG. 1) or it may be tucked underneath the cushion, eliminating the flap from sight. Open side  36  is circumvented by an elastic cord  38  hemmed therein. The elastic cord is of a length to insure a snug fit when a seat cushion inserted in the cover  30 . The back cushion cover  40  is approximately thirty inches by twenty-four inches and includes a closed side  42  and an open side  44 . Back cushion  40  also incorporates a suitable length of elastic cord  46  hemmed into open side  44 . 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.