Frameless furniture assembly

Abstract

A frameless furniture assembly adapted to be converted between an unfilled configuration and a filled configuration including: an outer liner having an inner surface and an outer surface; a plurality of pieces of fill material, wherein the fill material is retained within the outer liner; and at least one configuration support member associated with the inner surface of the outer liner. The frameless furniture assembly is preferably adapted to support a human in a seated position.

Claims

1. A frameless furniture assembly adapted to be converted between an unfilled configuration and a filled configuration, comprising: an outer liner having an inner surface and an outer surface; a plurality of pieces of fill material, wherein the plurality of pieces of fill material are retained within the outer liner; wherein the frameless furniture assembly comprises a seat member, a back support member, a floor-engaging base member, a left side, a right side, a back side, and a front side; a plurality of configuration support members, wherein the plurality of configuration support members maintain the frameless furniture assembly in a predetermined configuration that resembles a framed furniture assembly, and wherein the plurality of configuration support members comprise at least two configuration support members that are secured to the floor-engaging base member and the seat member and at least three additional configuration support members that are secured to the back support member and the left side, the right side and the back side, respectively; wherein the floor-engaging base member comprises a zipper; and wherein the frameless furniture assembly comprises a chair adapted to support a human in a seated position.

2. The frameless furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein the outer liner consists of twenty-four swatches.

3. The frameless furniture assembly according to claim 2, comprising twenty-five configuration support members.

4. The frameless furniture assembly according to claim 2 wherein the plurality of pieces of fill material comprise polystyrene.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Certain embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by the accompanying figures. It will be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that details not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may be omitted. It will be further understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

(2) The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

(3) FIG. 1 of the drawings is a transparent isometric view illustrating the front right portion of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(4) FIG. 2 of the drawings is an isometric view illustrating the front right portion of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(5) FIG. 3 of the drawings is a front view of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(6) FIG. 4 of the drawings is a back view of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(7) FIG. 5 of the drawings is a left side elevation of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(8) FIG. 6 of the drawings is a right side elevation of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(9) FIG. 7 of the drawings is a top view of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(10) FIG. 8 of the drawings is a bottom view of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention;

(11) FIG. 9 of the drawings is a top view of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention illustrating a plurality of configuration support members;

(12) FIG. 10 of the drawings is a bottom view of a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention illustrating a plurality of configuration support members; and

(13) FIG. 11 of the drawings is a transparent isometric view a frameless furniture assembly in accordance with the present invention illustrating a plurality of configuration support members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(14) While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail, one or more specific embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

(15) It will be understood that like or analogous elements and/or components, referred to herein, may be identified throughout the drawings by like reference characters. In addition, it will be understood that the drawings are merely schematic representations of one or more embodiments of the invention, and some of the components may have been distorted from their actual scale for purposes of pictorial clarity.

(16) Referring now to the drawings, and to FIGS. 1 and 11 in particular, frameless furniture assembly 10 (e.g., a chair adapted to support a human in a seated position) is shown which generally comprises outer liner 12 having inner surface 14 and outer surface 16, a plurality of fill material 18 (e.g., polyurethane, polystyrene, etcetera) retained within outer liner 12, and one or more configuration support members 20 (e.g., 20.1-20.25) that, as will be discussed in greater detail infra, maintain frameless furniture assembly 10 in a predetermined configuration that resembles a framed furniture assembly.

(17) In one embodiment of the present invention, and as is best shown collectively in FIGS. 1-11, when frameless furniture assembly 10 is generally filled with fill material 18, frameless furniture assembly 10 generally comprises seat member 22 (FIG. 7), back support member 24 (FIG. 3), floor-engaging base member 26 (FIG. 8), left side 28 (FIG. 5), right side 30 (FIG. 6), front side 32 (FIG. 3), and back side 34 (FIG. 4). It will be understood that one or more of the above-identified sub-components may be omitted from frameless furniture assembly 10 so long as it remains adapted to support a human in a seated position.

(18) As is best shown in FIG. 8, at least a portion of floor-engaging base member 26 is generally air and/or moisture permeable. Such air permeability facilitates rapid filling of frameless furniture assembly 10 during free-flow and/or pressurized fills. Additionally, the moisture permeability allows frameless furniture assembly 10 to reduce and/or eliminate undesirable growth of, for example, bacteria, spores, mold, mildew, etcetera. In one embodiment, the remainder of frameless furniture assembly 10 is substantially (+/−10%) and/or generally air and/or moisture impermeable.

(19) Referring once again to FIG. 8, floor-engaging base member 26 includes zipper 36. Zipper 36 may include a single or double zipper.

(20) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of pieces of fill material 18 comprise polystyrene. However, it will be understood that the fill material may also comprise polyurethane, natural and/or synthetic materials, and/or fibers.

(21) Referring once again to FIGS. 1-11 and as is highlighted via transparent representation in FIG. 1, outer liner 12 preferably comprises twenty-four swatches which are fastened together proximate their peripheral geometries. Preferably, the swatches of outer liner 12 are stitched together via single-needle lock stitch and/or double-needle top stitch. In this embodiment, seat member 22 preferably comprises two swatches (FIG. 7), back support member 24 preferably comprises eight swatches (FIG. 3), floor-engaging base member 26 comprises four swatches (FIG. 8), and left side 28, right side 30, and back side 34 collectively preferably comprise eight swatches (FIGS. 4-6), and front side 32 preferably comprises two swatches (FIG. 3).

(22) Referring once again to FIGS. 1-11 and as is highlighted via transparent representation in FIG. 11, frameless furniture assembly 10 comprises one or more configuration support members 20 that maintain frameless furniture assembly 10 in a predetermined configuration that resembles a framed furniture assembly. Notably, back support member 24, left side 28, right side 30, and back side 34 remain upright and formed—even though frameless furniture assembly 10 is free from any rigid frame sub-assembly.

(23) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and as is best shown in FIGS. 9-11, frameless furniture assembly 10 preferably includes twenty-five configuration support members, namely: 20.1-20.25.

(24) In one embodiment of the present invention, seat member 22 comprises inner seam 38 and outer seam 40, and floor-engaging base member 26 comprises inner seam 42 and outer seam 44, wherein first configuration support member 20.1, second configuration support member 20.2, and third configuration support member 20.3 are secured to inner seam 38 of seat member 22 and inner seam 42 of floor-engaging base member 26.

(25) In another aspect of the present invention, fourth configuration support member 20.4, fifth configuration support member 20.5, sixth configuration support member 20.6, seventh configuration support member 20.7, eighth configuration support member 20.8, ninth configuration support member 20.9, and tenth configuration support member 20.10 are secured to outer seam 40 of seat member 22 and outer seam 44 of floor-engaging base member 26.

(26) In yet another aspect of the present invention, eleventh configuration support member 20.11, twelfth configuration support member 20.12, thirteenth configuration support member 20.13, fourteenth configuration support member 20.14, fifteenth configuration support member 20.15, sixteenth configuration support member 20.16, seventeenth configuration support member 20.17, eighteenth configuration support member 20.18, nineteenth configuration support member 20.19, twentieth configuration support member 20.20, twenty-first configuration support member 20.21, twenty-second configuration support member 20.22, twenty-third configuration support member 20.23, twenty-fourth configuration support member 20.24, and twenty-fifth configuration support member 20.25 are secured to back support member 24 and collectively to left side 28, right side 30 and back side 34.

(27) Configuration support members 20 preferably comprise a flexible natural and/or synthetic material or fabric that is bendable in two-axes, but not extendible in a third axis—such as the length or longitudinal axis of the material or fabric.

(28) Configuration support members 20 are preferably secured to sub-components of outer liner 12 via stitching, adhesive, threaded fasteners, non-threaded fasteners, rivets, etcetera.

(29) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the outer liner and the optional inner liner may comprise breathable or non-breathable fabrics such as cotton, denim, wool, and/or any one of a number of synthetic fabrics—just to name a few.

(30) In accordance with the present invention, frameless furniture assembly 10 may optionally include an accessory pocket (not shown). Such an accessory pocket is preferably adapted to retain, for example, a remote control, earphones, headphones, as well as other electronic and non-electronic accessories.

(31) In further accordance with the present invention, frameless furniture assembly 10 may optionally include a handle member (not shown) which is preferably positioned proximate the top portion of back support member 24.

(32) Frameless furniture assembly 10 may also include an optional inner liner as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,482 entitled “Frameless Chair,” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,184 entitled “Frameless Chair.”

(33) The foregoing description merely explains and illustrates the invention and the invention is not limited thereto except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.