FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a protective cover for a chair.

BACKGROUND

Consumer demand for outdoor furniture is at an all-time high. Outdoor furniture is a $9 billion dollar per year business in the US and is one of the fastest growing categories in the furniture market. 92% of all new single-family homes built in the US in 2017 have a patio, porch, or deck. An “outdoor living room” is a highly requested specialty room, surpassing the home office for the past six consecutive years, according to the American Institute of Architects.

Outdoor furniture is subject to environmental conditions that are much more extreme than most other furniture. These conditions include hot and cold temperatures, cycling between extreme temperatures, humidity, extremely dry air, rain, snow, sleet and other precipitation, ice, wind, UV exposure from the sun, environmental pollutants, salt, chlorine and other swimming pool chemicals, and a myriad of other environmental contaminants. Furthermore, outdoor furniture comes in contact with all types of substances that have the potential to dirty, stain, or degrade the materials of construction, including dirt, leaves, sap, pollen, and other debris from plants, bird droppings, mold, mildew, and other fungi, bacteria, pet hair, food and beverages, natural skin oils, sunscreen, body lotion, makeup, and more. To add to the challenge, these conditions vary drastically throughout different parts of the United States, throughout different countries, and across seasons. Conventional outdoor furniture is not designed for certain geographies or seasonal periods; nevertheless, conventional outdoor furniture products are used in all conditions.

To meet the requirements necessary to withstand such a wide range of harsh conditions, some conventional outdoor furniture is made from very durable materials. This durability often correlates with hard, stiff, and heavy material properties; and such materials are often high in cost. In contrast to the design of conventional furniture, customers prefer comfortable and usable products that are not too costly. Therefore, the environmental performance requirements and customer demands are often in conflict.

To balance these conflicts, traditional furniture designers take one of two approaches. The first approach is to design products that are strong, sturdy, hard, and do not absorb water. An example is a chair made entirely of aluminum. Made from a strong, lightweight, non-absorbent and relatively inert (corrosion resistant) material, an aluminum chair can withstand many seasons outside. This approach suffers from a lack of comfort and can be limited aesthetically.

The second approach is to design products that use soft, comfortable materials which require covers to protect the materials from the elements. An example of this is an outdoor sofa with foam cushions and fabric cushion covers that requires a large “rain cover” to be placed over the furniture between uses, in order to ensure the product survives many seasons. This approach requires much more user effort to maintain the furniture. Rain covers are large and bulky; they require a place for storage, and time and effort to cover the furniture after each time it is used. The covers can get wet, dirty, and often require two people to cover the furniture. Because of these inconveniences, owners of outdoor furniture frequently describe the use of a rain cover as among the most frustrating and disliked aspects of ownership (even though the use of a rain cover is often limited to just a few times per season). However, not using a rain cover dramatically reduces the lifetime of these products and makes their limited use much less enjoyable, as owners are left with wet, dirty, and often moldy furniture. This inconvenience of using a rain cover, or the lack of a cover, leads many owners to store the entire furniture or components of the furniture, such as cushions and pillows, between uses. Storage occupies valuable space in the garage, shed, cover patio, or other living spaces. Dirty stacked cushions are unsightly. And transporting the furniture or components to and from storage takes time, effort (usually multiple trips), and is unpleasant when the products are wet or dirty.

Neither of the existing design approaches results in satisfied customers. For this reason, owners of outdoor furniture frequently describe dissatisfaction with, and ultimately limit their use of, the furniture and their enjoyment of outdoor spaces.

SUMMARY

The various examples of the present disclosure are directed towards a protective covering, which includes a cover portion, an elongated piece of fabric, a first coupling mechanism, and a second coupling mechanism. The cover portion is for a seat cushion. The elongated piece of fabric extends from the cover portion. The first coupling mechanism couples the cover portion to a first end of the elongated piece of fabric. The second coupling mechanism is configured to couple the cover portion to a second end of the elongated piece of fabric.

In some examples, the first coupling mechanism includes any of: male and female connectors, hook and loop fasteners, Velcro, an adhesive element, sewn seams, and a zipper.

In some examples, the protective cover further includes a handle, which is proximally located to the second end of the elongated piece of fabric.

In some examples, the second coupling mechanism includes a ferromagnetic rod affixed to the second end of the elongated piece of fabric. The second coupling mechanism further includes at least one magnet affixed to the cover portion. The magnet is located on the cover portion, corresponding to a location of the rod when the elongated piece of fabric is wrapped in a first direction around the cover portion.

In some examples, the magnet and the rod provide a magnetic force stronger than a gravitational weight of the cover portion, the cushion, and a second cushion.

In some examples, the cover portion is configured to receive a cushion.

In some examples, a length of the elongated cover is sufficient to wrap around both the cover portion when the cover portion has received the cushion and a second cushion.

In some examples, the protective cover includes weather resistant synthetic material.

In some examples, the first coupling mechanism includes a zipper, and the second coupling mechanism includes Velcro.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides for a chair system, which includes a chair with a back portion and a seat portion; a seat cushion; a back cushion; and a protective covering. The protective covering can be as described above.

In some examples, the first coupling mechanism comprises a zipper, and wherein the second coupling mechanism comprises Velcro.

In some examples, the second coupling mechanism includes a rod at the second end of the elongated piece of fabric and at least one magnet at the second end of the cover.

In some examples, the magnet and the rod provide a magnetic force stronger than a gravitational weight of the cover portion, the cushion, and a second cushion.

In some examples, the cover portion is configured to receive a first cushion.

In some examples, a length of the elongated cover is sufficient to wrap around both a second cushion and the cover portion when the cover portion has received the first cushion.

In some examples, the first coupling mechanism comprises at least one of: male and female connectors, hook and loop fasteners, Velcro, an adhesive element, sewn seams, and a zipper.

In some examples, the protective covering includes a handle, which is proximally located to the second end of the elongated piece of fabric.

In some examples, the cover portion includes at least one magnet corresponding to a location of the rod when the elongated piece of fabric is wrapped in a first direction around the cover portion.

In some examples, the protective cover includes weather resistant synthetic material.

In some examples, the protective cover and the back portion are further configured to removably couple with a third coupling mechanism.

The above summary is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merely provides an example of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and modes for carrying out the present invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

