Patent Publication Number: US-11389009-B2

Title: Bacterial resistant chair

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of US patent application Ser. No. 15/855762 filed 27 Dec. 2017, now US Pat. No. 10,986,938, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/439299, filed 27 Dec. 2016, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to chairs and in particular to chairs used in clinical environments and the like where the surfaces of the chair may be exposed to unsanitary conditions. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Clinical areas, hospitals, health centers and the like, require the use of cleaners to reduce the amount of bacteria and other microbes that collect on surfaces. Because of this, fabrics used on furniture, such as chairs, generally need to be sturdy and sufficiently robust to withstand multiple harsh cleaning cycles. Unfortunately, suitable fabrics such as vinyl, hard plastics, etc. tend to be less breathable and therefore less comfortable. 
     What is required is an improved fabric for use in chairs and similar furniture that can withstand the harsh clinical environment. 
     SUMMARY OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     Advantages of One or More Embodiments of the Present Invention 
     The various embodiments of the present invention may, but do not necessarily, achieve one or more of the following advantages: 
     provide a chair with improved cleanable surfaces; 
     provide a chair for use in clinical environments that can withstand harsh cleaning; and 
     provide a chair for use in clinical environments that has a breathable fabric. 
     These and other advantages may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract. 
     Brief Description of One Embodiment of the Present Invention 
     In one aspect, there is provided a chair. The chair may have a frame that supports a fabric. The fabric provides a support for an occupant of the chair. The fabric may comprise a mesh. The mesh may be comprised of strands, fibers, threads etc. The strands may include one or more strands that include a copper infusion. 
     In one aspect, there is provided a chair. The chair may have a frame that supports a fabric. The fabric provides a support for an occupant of the chair. The fabric may comprise a mesh. The mesh may be comprised of strands, fibers, threads etc. The strands may include copper containing particles within the strands. 
     In one aspect, there is provided a chair for particular use in clinical or hospital environments. The chair has a frame to which a support material is secured. The support material may form a chair back and/or a seat for the chair to provide support to the chair occupant. The support material may be made from a textile that includes copper containing particles such as copper iodide or copper oxide within the textile fibers. 
     The above description sets forth, rather broadly, a summary of one embodiment of the present invention so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. Some of the embodiments of the present invention may not include all of the features or characteristics listed in the above summary. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  substantially depicts a swivel chair incorporating a copper fiber mesh portion in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  substantially depicts a second embodiment of a chair incorporating a copper fiber mesh portion. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The present invention, as described herein, includes a chair in which the support fabric is a mesh. Mesh fabrics are rarely used in clinical or hospital environments. The problem with mesh is that it is made of materials that are woven together or intertwined and stretched across the back, and, this material breaks down when cleaned with strong cleaners like bleach. 
     In the present application, the mesh that is typically used in a mesh chair is replaced with a mesh including copper infused strands. The strands may be, for example, a polymer, nylon or similar type material to which a copper compound such as cuprous oxide, cuprous iodide etc. is added prior to the material being drawn into fibers or strands. In one particular embodiment, the strands are drawn from a polymer in which cuprous iodide particles are dispersed. The cuprous iodide particles may have a size generally between about 0.50 and about 2.0 microns and are dispersed within the polymer to produce a resultant fiber having a percentage weight of approximately 4% cuprous iodide. 
     The copper infusion has been demonstrated to improve the antibacterial and/or antiviral properties of the material. 
     Chairs manufactured using copper infused fibers as the mesh material have been tested by the present inventors and shown to be as good or better at reducing the colony count of bacteria as other bacteria reducing fabrics. Without the copper infusion, normal mesh grows bacteria at a rate that is far higher and one that would not be acceptable for hospitals because it can&#39;t be cleaned by a high enough concentration of bleach without compromising the mesh to the point it will fail in the chair. 
     Thus, the mesh chairs as described herein can be used in hospitals and similar clinical environments in a way that they could not before. Many people prefer mesh to vinyl covered foam, hard plastics, etc because it is comfortable, breathable, and slim line. 
     The present invention comprises a chair. The chair includes a frame over which is applied a mesh fabric that includes a copper infusion as described herein. The frame may be plastic, metal, or any suitable sturdy material. In one embodiment, the mesh has weft yarns with  1200  polyester and warp yarns 2300 denier. The base material of the mesh may be polyester or polyester copolymer. The mesh material may be chosen do have a degree a elasticity and/or resilience to make it suitable and comfortable as a chair support material. The mesh material may be used as the seat support and/or as a backing support to support the occupant in the chair. The mesh may be secured to the frame using any suitable technology known in the art, including sleeves, stitching, fasteners (rivets, screws, pins, staples, etc.) and the like. 
     A first embodiment of a chair is shown in  FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the chair  10  is a swivel chair and includes a base  12  having a plurality of legs  14  extending radially outward from a center. At the end of each leg  14  is a wheel, roller or coaster  16 . The middle of the base  12  supports a telescopic stem  18  attached to a chair frame  20 . The telescopic stem  18  may utilize a gas strut to raise and lower the height of the chair frame as is known. The chair frame  20  supports a seat  22 , arm rests  24 , and a chair back  26 . The chair back  26  has a chair back frame  28  that forms a perimeter of the chair back  26 . Stretched across the chair back frame  28  is a mesh  29  made from the copper infused fabric. The mesh  29  provides the support material for the chair back  26 . The mesh  29  may be secured to the chair back frame  28  by any suitable means including clips, staples, stitches, welding, adhesives, etc. In  FIG. 1 , the seat  22  is an upholstered padded seat, covered with a clinical textile such as a coated vinyl, of which Silvertex is one example. Other forms for the seat  22  will be apparent to the person skilled in the art. 
     A second embodiment of a chair is shown in  FIG. 2 . The chair  30  of this embodiment may include a framework that provides chair legs  32 , a chair frame  34  and a chair back frame  36 . The copper infused textile fabric may be provided across one or both of the chair frame  34  or chair back frame  36  to provide a support material to support the weight of a chair occupant. In the particular embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the mesh material is provided as a chair back support material  38  and is secured to the chair back frame  36  by suitable means as described above. The seat  40  is a section of concave plastic shaped for occupant comfort and is provided between left and right portions of the chair frame  34 . In alternative embodiments, the seat  40  may be formed of mesh, padded textiles, or other suitable materials. 
     Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given.