US3566423A

US3566423A - Contoured cushion

Info

Publication number: US3566423A
Application number: US757669A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward J Reinfeldt
Original assignee: Universal Oil Products Co
Current assignee: Bostrom Seating Inc; Universal Oil Products Co
Priority date: 1968-09-05
Filing date: 1968-09-05
Publication date: 1971-03-02
Anticipated expiration: 1988-03-02
Also published as: GB1265849A

Abstract

IN A CONTOURED CUSHION HAVING A PAD AND A SEPARATE SKIN, THE IMPROVEMENT, COMPRISING STRIPS OF MATERIAL SEWN TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID SKIN AND FASTENED BETWEEN A CENTRAL PORTION AND EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID PAD, WHEREBY THE SKIN IS PULLED TAUT OVER THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID PAD AND IS CONTOURED TO THE INTERSECTION OF THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE PAD WITH THE OUTER SURFACES OF THE EDGE PORTIONS OF THE PAD.

Description

March 1971 E. J. REINFELDT 3,566,423

CONTOURED CUSHION Filed Sept. 5, 1968 Figure //V V EN TOR- Edward J. Reinfe/df United States Patent Oflice 3,566,423 Patented Mar. 2, 1971 3,566,423 CONTOURED CUSHION Edward J. Reinfeldt, Brookfield, Wis., assignor to Universal Oil Products Company, Des Plaines, Ill. Filed Sept. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 757,669 Int. Cl. A47c 27/00 US. Cl. 5345 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an improvement in a contoured cushion having a pad and a separate skin, the pad having a central portion bounded by edge portions, the outer surfaces of which slope down to and intersect the outer surface of said central portion. More particularly, the improvement is a strip of material attached to the under side of said skin adjacent to the intersections of the edge portions with the central portion of the pad. The strip of material is fastened between the edge portions and the central portions of the pad, preferably by an adhesive.

Heretofore cushions having separate skins, or coverings, have for the most part been constructed in two forms. In one form, a cushion has a substantially convex outer surface. The skin may then be stretched taught over the substantially convex surface of the pad so that the skin follows the surface contour of the pad. This form of cushion, while providing continuous contact between the outer pad surface and the underside of the skin, has the disadvantage of a substantially convex shape, and is not readily adaptable or conformable to a human figure resting thereon.

The other form of cushion is a conventional contoured cushion in which the pad is contoured to the shape of a human figure and is readily adaptable thereto. The problem inherent in this cushion, however, is that though the pad is contoured to a human shape, continuous contact between the pad and the covering skin is not maintained. Instead, air pockets tend to form between the pad and the cushion skin, and folds tend to occur in the cushion skin to the extent that the comfortable effect derived from contouring is destroyed. To prevent this, a conventional contoured cushion is equipped with devices such as upholstery buttons which may be tied to an internal member of the cushion, such as a spring or frame, or to other upholstery buttons on the opposite side of the cushion. A modification of this arrangement employs upholstery buttons with shanks extending therefrom through the cover and sometimes into the pad underneath. The shanks employed are comprised of two legs which are spread apart underneath the cushion skin and are thereby held in place by the frictional forces of the cover and sometimes the pad against the legs of the shanks. While eflfecting the desired contact of the cushion skin, or cover, against the pad, upholstery buttons frequently tear loose from their attached positions. When this occurs, the problems of air pockets between the skin and the pad, and wrinkling of the cover again recur. In addition, the missing upholstery buttons create an unsymmetrical and aesthetically disruptive appearance in the cushion.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cushion comprising a pad and separate skin, or cover, wherein the skin is held in continuous contact with the outer surface of the pad and follows the contour of the pad.

It is a further object to provide a cushion which is contoured without the use of surface attachments to the cushion, such as upholstery buttons, which disrupt both the appearance and the comfort of the cushion.

While the primary uses of contoured cushions involve the seating and back support of human beings in furniture and in vehicle seats, this invention includes, but is not restricted to these uses and may have further uses in such applications as cushioning freight, pillows, hassocks, cushioned railings, vehicle dashboards, headrests, ve

hicle ceilings, and in any other use utilizing a cushion having a pad covered by a separate skin.

In a broad aspect this invention is, in a contoured cushion having a pad covered by a separate skin, said pad having a central portion with an outer center surface bordered by edge portions, the outer surfaces of which strips of material being fastened between said central portion and said edge portions of said pad. The outer surfaces of the pad portions, to which reference is made, are the contoured surfaces.

While the benefits to be gained from the use of this invention are most pronounced in cushions in which the entire surface of the central portion of the pad is substantially convex, the invention may be applied successfully to cushions in which the center surface of the pad is either flat or slightly concave.

One feature of the preferred embodiment of this invention, is that the strip of material attached to the underside of the outer skin surface is sewn to the aforesaid skin and is composed of the same material as is the aforesaid skin. This embodiment may take several forms. In one form, the strip of material is a separate piece of material altogether and is attached to the skin only by the thread used to sew it thereto. In another form, the strip of material is obtained by sewing a fold into the underside of the skin covering the cushion. In this case, the strip of material is an integral part of the skin of the cushion and is separated from the balance of the skin only by the sewn seam. This latter modification has the added feature of providing a seam which is not visible from the outside of the cushion.

Often the strip of material used in this invention is fastened by an adhesive to the central portion and the edge portions of the pad. While any form of fastening means may be used, such as attaching the strip of material to an internal frame or spring in the cushion, the most economical manner of fastening is with an adhesive. The term adhesive as used herein, includes any substance which when contacting two surfaces, joins the surfaces to each other. This joinder may be effected by the formation of polymeric or intermolecular or other bonds in the adhesive substance. Common adhesives used for this purpose are glue, and substances containing resins or rubber.

In one embodiment of this invention, the pad comprising the cushion is characterized in that the central portion and the edge portions of the pad are each separate structures. In another embodiment, however, the central portion and the edge portions are parts of a single struc ture and may be defined by slits in the structure extending only partially through said structure at the intersections of the outer surfaces of the edge portions with the aforesaid center surface. In both instances, either the adjacent surfaces of the central portion and the edge portions of the pad are coated with adhesive, or the strip of material is coated on both sides with adhesive, or some or all of the aforesaid surfaces are coated with adhesive prior to insertion of this strip between adjacent portions of the pad.

The features of this invention are further illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional perspective view of one embodi ment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view of another embodiment of this invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, contoured cushion 1 is comprised of a polyurethane pad 2 covered by a separate polyvinylchloride skin 3. Pad 2 has a central portion 4 and an edge portion 5 extending partway around the perimeter of central portion 4. The outer surfaces of edge portion 5 slope down to and intersect the outer or center surface of central portion 4. Pad 2 is a single structure with a slit 8 in the contoured surface, that is the outer surface of the pad, at the intersections of the outer surfaces of the edge portion 5 with the central portion 4. Slit 8 extends only partway through the thickness of pad 2 and defines the division between central portion 4 and edge portion 5. To skin 3 is sewn a polyvinylchloride strip 6 on the underside of skin 3. The seam 7 formed by sewing is positioned adjacent to the slit 8 at the intersections of the surfaces of edge portion 5 and central portion 4.

In constructing cushion 1, strip 6 is sewn to skin 3 prior to covering pad 2 with skin 3. After strip 6 is attached to skin 3, the center of skin 3 is positioned adjacent to the center surface of central portion 4. Both sides of strip 6 are coated with glue and strip 6 is inserted into slit 8 so that the center of skin 3 is snugly in contact with the'center surface of central portion 4. The peripheral portions of skin 3 are then wrapped snugly around edge portion 5 and are overlapped and joined together by an adhesive at the underside of pad 2.

The contoured cushion 1' depicted in FIG. 2 differs from that embodiment of FIG. 1 primarily in that the pad of cushion 1' in FIG. 2 is comprised of central portion 4 and edge portions 5, each of which is a separate structure. Edge portions 5 and central portion 4 meet at interfaces 8'. Interfaces 8 extend throughout the surfaces of contact of edge portions 5' with central portion 4'. Also, in FIG. 2 each edge portion 5' extends only in a single dimension whereas the single edge portion 5 of FIG. 1 extends partway around the periphery of central portion 4. In addition, strip of material 6 is obtained 4 by sewing a fold into the underside of skin 3. Strip 6' is thereby an integral part of skin 3' of cushion 1 and is defined from the balance of the skin by the sewn seam 7'.

In constructing cushion 1', the center of skin 3' is first positioned in contact with the center surface of central portion 4. An epoxy resin is then applied to the surfaces of central portion 4 and edge portions 5 which form interfaces 8. Strips 6 are inserted between these surfaces and extend partially down the interfaces 8'. The peripheral edges of skin 3' are snugly wrapped over edged portions 5' and are cemented to base pan 9, to which the underside of central portion 4' is also attached.

This invention shall not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein, as this invention is applicable to a variety of materials, shapes, and constructions of contoured cushions, and to a variety of different kinds of skins, pads, adhesives, and strips of material.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a contoured cushion, means for securing thereto a separate, covering skin, said cushion comprising a pad having a central portion provided with an outer center surface, upwardly extending edge portions having outer surfaces which slope down to and intersect said center surface, said central portion and said edge portions forming parts of a single structure, said means comprising strips of material attached to the underside of said skin adjacent to the intersections of said edge portions with said center surface, closed slits in said structure at the said intersections extending only partially through said structure, said strips of material being positioned Within said closed slits and being adhesively joined on each side, to the respective side Walls of said slits to thereby secure said skin to said cushion without any additional retention means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,109,652 3/1938 Sallop et al 297253 2,240,077 4/1941 Lieberman 5355 2,921,403 1/1960 Cunnington 5345UX FOREIGN PATENTS 1,208,146 9/1959 France 297226 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 297458