Patent Publication Number: US-10314404-B2

Title: Article of furniture

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a U.S. National Stage application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application PCT/AU2015/050442 (published as WO 2016/044883 A1), filed Aug. 5, 2015, which claims the benefit of priority to AU 2014903825, filed Sep. 25, 2014, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates, generally, to an article of furniture and, more particularly, to a rest component for an article of furniture, to an article of furniture including the rest component and to an insertion tool for use with the article of furniture. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electrically powered equipment is often used alongside articles of furniture such as armchairs, sofas, chaises, or the like. These items of electrically powered equipment require electrical cables or electrical leads leading to a power source such as a power outlet socket in a wall. The leads or cables can be unsightly reducing the aesthetic appeal of the article of furniture. 
     Also, the positioning of the electrically powered equipment alongside the articles of furniture makes it more difficult for an occupant to clean around the articles of furniture and the equipment. 
     SUMMARY 
     Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps. 
     In a first aspect, there is provided a rest component for an article of furniture, the rest component including 
     a body member defining a plurality of surfaces; 
     a cover member carried by the body member to define a pocket associated with at least one surface of the body member, the pocket defining a mouth to enable a user to gain access to an interior of the pocket; and 
     at least one passage defined by at least one of the body member and the cover member and opening out into the pocket, the passage being configured to accommodate an elongate element which extends through the passage to exit from an operatively bottom region of the body member. 
     By “associated with at least one surface of the body member” is meant simply that the pocket is positioned adjacent that surface of the body member irrespective of which parts of the body member and/or cover member define the pocket. 
     The elongate element may be an electrical cable of an accessory for use with the article of furniture. 
     The body member may carry at least one receiving formation for receiving a part of an accessory to be mounted to the body member. The at least one receiving formation may be a knock-in arranged within the pocket of the component. It will be appreciated that the rest component may comprise a number of spaced knock-ends arranged in the pocket, each knock-in supporting an accessory. 
     A bottom of the pocket may run substantially parallel to upper and lower edges of the body member and the bottom of the pocket may be spaced from the lower edge of the body member, an inlet opening to the at least one passage being defined in the pocket. 
     An exit opening of the passage may be defined at, or adjacent, the lower edge of the body member. In an embodiment, the exit opening may be defined along the lower edge of the body member to be disguised by a seam along the lower edge of the body member to render the outlet opening less obtrusive. In another embodiment, the exit opening may be defined in a bottom region of the body member inwardly of the lower edge. In this latter embodiment, the opening may be concealed behind a flap arranged at the lower region of the body member, the flap, when in its closed position, serving to conceal and guide an electrical cable towards an interior of the article of furniture. 
     An outer surface of the cover member may carry a gusset-like formation associated with the at least one passage, the gusset-like formation disguising the passage and, in use, the electrical cable in the passage. 
     In an embodiment, the cover member may be of a multi-layered construction and may be attached to the surface of the body member, the pocket and the passage being formed between layers of the cover member. It will, however, be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the pocket and/or the passage could be formed by a single layered cover member being suitably secured or attached to the surface of the body member with the pocket and/or the passage being defined between a covering layer of the body member and the layer of the cover member. 
     In another embodiment, the body member may carry a passage defining arrangement which defines the at least one passage. The passage defining arrangement may comprise a plurality of strips of material (tricot fabric) secured together to form the at least one passage. The passage defining arrangement may be carried by foam padding of the body member, the foam padding defining the at least one surface of the body member. 
     In this embodiment, the cover member may define an aperture in the pocket, the aperture being arranged so that, when the cover member is positioned over the body member, the aperture is in register with the inlet opening of the at least one passage. 
     In a second aspect, there is provided an article of furniture which includes 
     a platform; 
     at least one rest component, as described above, arranged on the platform; and 
     an accessory, having an electrical cable, mounted to the at least one rest component, the electrical cable of the accessory extending through the at least one passage of the at least one rest component to exit through an exit opening of the at least one passage. 
     The article of furniture may include an electrical power source arranged within the platform to which the accessory is connected via its electrical cable to provide power to the accessory. By “within the platform” is meant either that the electrical power source is arranged in the platform itself or that the electrical power source is located within the footprint of the platform. 
     The article of furniture may include a plurality of rest components, each of which is configured to carry at least one accessory. 
     At least one of the rest components may be displaceably arranged relative to the platform to enable access to be gained to the power source. At least one further rest component may be arranged in spaced relationship relative to the platform to enable a part of the electrical cable of the accessory protruding through the exit opening of the at least one passage to be tucked between the platform and an operatively bottom surface of the further rest component. 
     The at least one further rest component may carry a plurality of spacer elements on the operatively bottom surface to effect spaced mounting of the at least one rest component relative to the platform. Each spacer element may be in the form of a pin extending from the operatively bottom surface of the rest component. 
     The article of furniture may include an insertion tool for inserting the electrical cable into the at least one passage to exit through the exit opening of the at least one passage. 
     The insertion tool may comprise an elongate body having a length exceeding that of the at least one passage, the insertion tool defining an engaging formation at, or adjacent, one end of the body, the engaging formation being configured to hold a part of the electrical cable captive relative to the body of the insertion tool. The engaging formation may be in the form of a slot extending transversely into the body. An internal end of the slot may be enlarged with the electrical cable being received in the enlarged, internal end of the slot, the body of the insertion tool, in use, bearing against an electrical connector carried on a free end of the electrical cable of the accessory. 
     The disclosure extends also to an insertion tool for use in inserting an electrical cable into a passage, the insertion tool including an elongate body with a slotted engaging formation at, or adjacent, one end of the body, the engaging formation including an enlarged, bulbous internal end. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the disclosure are now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of an article of furniture including an electrically powered accessory; 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the article of furniture of  FIG. 1  with the accessory omitted; 
         FIG. 3  shows a plan view of a part of the article of furniture illustrating the mounting of the accessory to the article of furniture; 
         FIG. 4  shows an embodiment of an insertion tool for use in inserting an electrical cable of the accessory into the article of furniture; 
         FIG. 5  shows a schematic plan view of an initial step of inserting the electrical cable into the article of furniture; 
         FIG. 6  shows a schematic front view of the insertion of the electrical cable through a passage of the article of furniture to protrude out of an exit opening of the passage; 
         FIG. 7  shows a schematic front view of the electrical cable after removal of the insertion tool; 
         FIG. 8  shows a perspective, side view of a part of the article of furniture illustrating an embodiment of the electrical connection of the accessory to a power source; 
         FIG. 9  shows a perspective, rear view of a part of the article of furniture indicating another embodiment of the electrical connection of the accessory to the power source; 
         FIG. 10  shows an enlarged view of parts of the article of furniture of  FIG. 9 , it being noted that part of the electrical cable has been omitted from  FIG. 10  for the sake of clarity; 
         FIG. 11  shows a side view of a body member of another embodiment of a rest component of an article of furniture with a cover member of the rest component omitted; 
         FIG. 12  shows a perspective view, from below, of the article of furniture including the rest component of  FIG. 11  with its cover member mounted in position and showing the insertion of the electrical cable into the article of furniture; 
         FIG. 13  shows a perspective view, from below, of the article of furniture showing further how the electrical cable is located relative to the rest component; 
         FIG. 14  shows a perspective view of a cover member of the rest component of  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 15  shows, on an enlarged scale, the part of the cover member of  FIG. 14  circled by Circle ‘A’ in  FIG. 14 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     In the drawings, reference numeral  10  generally designates an embodiment of an article of furniture. In the illustrated embodiment, the article of furniture  10  is a chaise and will be referred to as such in the description below. However, it will be appreciated that the article of furniture could adopt other forms such as, for example, a sofa, an armchair, or the like. 
     The chaise  10  comprises a platform  12  supporting a first rest component in the form of an armrest  14  and a second rest component in the form of a backrest  16 . An electrically powered accessory  18  is carried by the armrest  14 . In the illustrated embodiment, the electrically powered accessory is in the form of a lamp  20 . However, the disclosure is applicable to any accessory  18  which is electrically powered such as, for example, a speaker, a battery charging unit, or the like. 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-8 , the accessory  18  is carried by the armrest  14 . In another embodiment, as illustrated in  FIGS. 9-10  of the drawings, the accessory  18  is carried on the backrest  16 , only a part of the accessory  18  being illustrated in  FIG. 9  of the drawings. 
     The lamp  20  includes an electrical cable, or lead,  22  ( FIG. 3 ). As will be described in greater detail below, the lead  22  of the lamp  20  is threaded through a passage  24  ( FIG. 7 ) defined in the armrest  14  such that an electrical connector  26  terminating the lead  22  of the lamp  20  projects through an exit opening  28  ( FIG. 7 ) of the passage  24  in an operatively lower edge  30  of the rest  14 . 
     Reverting to  FIGS. 1-3  of the drawings, an embodiment of the armrest  14  is now described in greater detail. The rest  14  includes a body member  32  having an operatively outer surface or side  34 . A cover member  36  is received over the body member  32  to cover the body member  32  including the operatively outer side  34  of the body member  32 . The cover member  36  is of a double layered construction to define a pocket  38 . A plurality of receiving formations, or knock-ins,  40  are arranged at spaced intervals in the pocket  38 . The lamp  20  is mounted to an attachment member in the form of a bracket  42 , the bracket  42  being received in one of the knock-ins  40  to retain the lamp  20  in position relative to the armrest  14 . 
     Internal layers of the cover member  36  are sewn together below a top edge of the cover member  36  to form a seam  44 . The seam  44  forms a bottom of the pocket  38  as shown in  FIG. 3  of the drawings. An opening  46  is formed in the pocket  38 , the opening  46  forming an inlet opening of the passage  24 . In this embodiment, the passage  24  is formed between the layers of the cover member  36 . 
     Further, in this embodiment and as shown most clearly in  FIG. 3  of the drawings, a covering strip  47  extends between the knock-in  40  and the opening  46  of the passage  24 . The covering strip  47  defines a conduit  49  through which the lead  22  is threaded prior to insertion into the passage  24 . This improves the aesthetics of the interior of the pocket  38  and also minimises the risk of an item stored in the pocket  38  snagging on the lead  22 . A bottom of the strip  47  is sewn closed to the seam  44  to inhibit objects falling into the opening  46 . 
     To facilitate insertion of the lead  22  into the passage  24 , an insertion tool  50  ( FIG. 4 ) is provided with the article of furniture  10 . The insertion tool  50  is a substantially rigid device made of a suitable synthetic plastics material or metal. The insertion tool  50  comprises an elongate body  52  defining a slotted engaging formation  54  proximate an end  56  of the body  52 . The length of the body  52  of the insertion tool  50  exceeds the length of the passage  24  so that, when the insertion tool is inserted into the passage  24  it can be manipulated so that the end  56  of the tool  50  protrudes through the exit opening  28  while an opposed end (not shown) of the body  52  of the tool  50  extends out of the inlet opening  46  and the conduit  49  into the pocket  38  where it can be manipulated by a user. 
     The engaging formation  54  is substantially keyhole-shaped having a transversely extending slot  57  leading into an enlarged, internally arranged bulbous formation  59 . In use, the electrical lead  22  of the lamp  20  is inserted into the engaging formation  54  so that the lead  22  is received in the bulbous formation  59  and the body  52  bears against the connector  26  of the lead  22 . 
     The end  56  of the body  52  of the insertion tool  50  is inserted into the conduit  49 . The insertion tool  50  is pushed through the passage  24  until the end  56  of the insertion tool  50  protrudes through the exit opening  28  of the passage as shown in  FIG. 6  of the drawings. The lead  22  is then disengaged from the engaging formation  54  of the insertion tool  50  and the insertion tool  50  is withdrawn from the passage  24 . 
     In another embodiment, the electrical lead  22  is inserted into the passage  24  from the bottom up, i.e. via the insertion tool  50  being inserted into the opening  28  of the passage  24  at the bottom of the body member  32  of the armrest  14  with the insertion tool  50  exiting through the conduit  49 . This will apply, for example, where the accessory has an electrical plug associated with it which may be too large to fit through the passage  24 . 
     The armrest  14  is pivotally supported on the platform  12  and is retained in position by a pair of spaced pivoting rods, one of which is shown at  58  in  FIG. 8  of the drawings. These rods  58  can pivot to a position in which they lie within the plane of the platform  12 . Once the lead  22  of the lamp  20  has been inserted through the passage  24 , the lead  22  is connected to an electrical plug  60  which, in turn, is plugged into an electrical power source in the form of a power board  62  contained within the platform  12  of the chaise  10 . As defined, the term “within the platform” is to be understood as either that the power board  62  is built into the platform  12  or that it lies within the footprint of the platform  12 . 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10  of the drawings, the lamp  20  is mounted to the backrest  16  of the article of furniture  10 . The backrest  16 , unlike the armrest  14 , is fixedly secured to the platform  12 . In other words, the backrest  16  does not pivot or is not otherwise displaceable relative to the platform  12 . 
     In this embodiment, the backrest  16  is spaced from the platform  12  by a plurality of spaced pins, one of which is shown at  64  in  FIG. 10  of the drawings. Typically a pin  64  is arranged at, or adjacent, each lower corner of the backrest  16 . The backrest  16  is, otherwise, configured in the same manner as the armrest  14  and includes the passage (although not shown in  FIG. 9  of the drawings). Hence, once the lead  22  of the lamp  20  has been threaded through the passage  24  and extends through the exit opening  28  of the passage  24 , the lead is tucked into a gap  66  defined between a bottom of the backrest  16  and a top of the platform  12 , the gap  66  being shown on an exaggerated scale for greater clarity in  FIG. 10  of the drawings. As described above, part of the lead  22  is omitted from  FIG. 10  to show the pin  64 . 
     As is the case with the armrest  14 , the connector  26  of the lamp  20  is then inserted into a plug  60  which, in turn, is inserted into the power board  62  to provide power to the lamp  20 . This is done in the same way as is done with the armrest  14  by pivoting the armrest  14  relative to the platform  12 , as shown in  FIG. 9  of the drawings, to enable access to be gained to the power board  62 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the chaise  10  has an extensible seat base associated with it, the seat base being retractable into the backrest  16 . Thus, the backrest  16  is fixedly secured to the platform  12 . However, in an embodiment where the seat base is fixed and, for example, secured directly to the platform  12 , the backrest  16 , like the armrest  14 , may be pivotally mounted on the platform  12 . Where the backrest  16  is pivotally arranged on the platform  12 , the pins  64  are omitted. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 11-15  of the drawings, another embodiment of the article of furniture  10  and, in particular, a rest component, in the form of an armrest  14 , of the article of furniture  10  is illustrated and is described in greater detail. With reference to previous drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified. 
     In  FIG. 11  of the drawings, the body member  32  of the armrest  14  is illustrated with the cover member  36  removed to reveal the outer side  34  of the body member  32 . The outer side  34  is defined by foam padding  68  of the body member  32 . The foam padding  68  of the body member  32  carries a plurality of passage defining arrangements  70  on it. In the illustrated embodiment, two such passage defining arrangements  70  are shown but it will be appreciated that a greater or fewer number of passage defining arrangements  70  may be carried by the foam padding  68  of the body member  32 . 
     Each passage defining arrangement  70  comprises a pair of strips  72 ,  74  of a suitable fabric material. For example, the strips  72 ,  74  are of a tricot material. The strips  72  and  74  of each passage defining arrangement  70  are sewn together, as shown by seams  76 , to form the passage  24  and its associated exit opening  28 . The strips  72 ,  74  are, in turn, secured to the side  34  of the foam padding  68 , for example, by adhesive. It is noted that the outer strip  74  overlies the knock-in  40 . 
     In  FIGS. 12 and 13  of the drawings, the armrest  14  is shown mounted in position on the article of furniture  10 . In addition, the cover member  36  of the armrest  14  is shown in position over the body member  32 . Unlike in the previous embodiment, the exit opening  28  of the passage  24  is not concealed by a seam but, instead, is arranged inwardly of a lower edge of the body member  32 . The cover member  36  is secured about the body member  32  by strips of hook and loop material, such as that sold under the registered trade mark Velcro, arranged at a lower region  78  of the cover member  36  to secure the cover member  36  about the body member  32 . 
     Two of these strips form flaps  80 , a flap  80  being associated with each passage defining member  70  of the body member  32 . Once the electrical lead  22  has been inserted through the passage  24  and protrudes through the exit opening  28  of its associated passage  24 , the flap  80  associated with that passage  24  is moved from the position shown in  FIG. 12  of the drawings to the position shown in  FIG. 13  of the drawings. As illustrated, the flap  80 , when in its closed position, as shown in  FIG. 13  of the drawings, conceals the outset opening  28  of the passage  24  and guides the electrical lead  22  inwardly towards the platform  12  of the article of furniture  10  so that the lead  22  is concealed beneath the article of furniture. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 14 and 15  of the drawings, the cover member  36  is shown in greater detail. As in the preceding embodiment, the cover member  36  defines the pocket  38 . In this embodiment, the opening  46  to the passage  24  is offset with respect to the seam  44  of the pocket  38 . The cover member  36  carries a plurality of securing tabs  82 , one associated with each passage defining arrangement  70  and, accordingly, each passage  24 . 
     Each tab  82  is of a component part of hook and loop material, such as that sold under the registered trade mark Velcro. This component part is able to grip the tricot strip  74  of its associated passage defining arrangement  70  or, if not, the tricot strip  74  carries a transversely extending strip of a complementary part  84  to mesh with and engage the tab  82 . 
     When the cover member  36  is placed over the body member  32 , the tabs  82  are in the position shown at  86  in  FIG. 14  of the drawings, i.e. projecting upwardly and outwardly from adjacent the opening  46 . Each tab  82  is then inserted into the opening  46  by turning the tab  82  through 180° so that the tab  82  engages either the tricot strip  74  itself or the complementary part  84  of hook or loop material carried by the strip  74 . In this way, access to the knock-in  40  is facilitated as well as access to the passage  24 . 
     As described above, although the embodiments have been described with reference to the accessory  18  being a lamp  20 , the accessory  18  could be any other electrically powered device such as a speaker, a battery charging unit, or the like. 
     It is therefore an advantage of the disclosure that a rest component for an article of furniture as well as an article of furniture incorporating the rest component is provided which lends itself for use in rooms where space is at a premium. It also facilitates the use of electrical accessories in a compact and aesthetically pleasing manner since the electrical leads of the accessories are concealed within the article of furniture. 
     It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.