Sofa cover

Abstract

 A sofa cover (1) for a corner sofa is described, the corner sofa comprising an L-shaped supporting structure in which an inner side and an opposite outer side can be identified, the supporting structure defining at least one seat (4, 5, 6). The sofa cover comprises a main cover (9) to be associated with the supporting structure in order to cover it at least partially, the main cover (9) comprising a first portion (13) and a second portion (12) for covering the inner side and the outer side of the supporting structure of the corner sofa, respectively. Advantageously, the first portion (13) of the main cover (9) has a linear extent shorter than the linear extent of the second portion (12) of the main cover (9).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a sofa cover for corner sofas and the like, according to the preamble to Claim 1. In this description, the term "corner sofa" is used to indicate a sofa with a plurality of seats which is L-shaped, U-shaped or of yet another shape, that is, a sofa in which at least one seat is positioned so as not to be in line with all of the other seats. Moreover, it is pointed out that the term "corner sofa" is also used to indicate a sofa arranged along an arc of a circle or any desired curved shape, that is, a sofa without actual corners.

[0002] As is known, a sofa cover is made of a cloth or covering by which a sofa can be wholly or partially protected or covered in order to protect it from dirt. Sofa covers are also used to cover damaged and/or worn sofas.

[0003] It is also known that there are sofa covers on the market suitable for fitting on most existing sofas. For this purpose, covers for single armchairs, two-seater sofas, three-seater sofas, and so on, are available on the market.

[0004] The use of a sofa cover is particularly advantageous when it is desired to restore the external appearance of a sofa, for example, because it is damaged or worn, without necessarily having recourse to the aid of an upholsterer, that is, whenever it is desired to re-cover a sofa oneself, possibly only temporarily, with an interchangeable, that is, easily removable cover, to prevent it from becoming soiled during festivities, or on similar occasions.

[0005] It should be pointed out that the designs of currently existing sofa covers are not suitable for covering corner sofas. For example, to cover a three-seater corner sofa, it is necessary to use a four-seater sofa cover because of the presence of the curved connecting portion of the corner sofa. However, the use of a four-seater sofa cover is not satisfactory since, at the front, there is an excess of covering fabric that cannot easily be concealed from view.

[0006] Although there is a great need to be able to cover a corner sofa, it has to be recognized that at the present time it can be done only with a very poor aesthetic result.

[0007] The problem underlying the present invention is that of providing a sofa cover which has structural and functional characteristics such as to satisfy the above-mentioned need whilst overcoming the disadvantages mentioned with reference to the prior art.

[0008] This problem is solved by a sofa cover according to Claim 1.

[0009] According to a further aspect, the invention also relates to a sofa cover according to Claim 2.

[0010] Further characteristics and the advantages of the sofa cover according to the present invention will become clear from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof, which is given by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sofa cover according to the invention, fitted on a corner sofa,

Figure 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the sofa cover of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line III-III through the sofa cover and the sofa of Figure 1,

Figures 4 and 5 are perspective views of two different details of the sofa cover of Figure 1,

Figures 6 to 11 show the flat shapes of some pieces of the sofa cover of Figure 1 before they are joined together,

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a different embodiment of a sofa cover according to the invention, fitted on a corner sofa,

Figure 13 is a partially exploded, perspective view of the sofa cover of Figure 12,

Figure 14 shows a detail of Figure 13 on an enlarged scale,

Figure 15 is a section taken on the line XV-XV through the sofa cover and the sofa of Figure 14, and

Figure 16 shows the detail of Figure 14 during the fitting of the sofa cover on the sofa.

[0011] With reference to the appended drawings, a sofa cover according to the invention is generally indicated 1 and is fitted on a sofa 2.

[0012] In the embodiment shown, the sofa 2 takes the form of a three-seater corner sofa which comprises, in wholly conventional manner, a supporting structure formed by two side portions, that is, a short side portion and a long side portion, respectively, arranged substantially in an L-shape and connected to one another by a curved connecting portion.

[0013] The supporting structure of the sofa 2 is covered in fabric and comprises a plurality of support feet 3, a backrest 15, two end arms, as well as a single-place seat 4 and a two-place seat 5, positioned on the short side portion and on the long side portion of the structure, respectively.

[0014] The short side portion and the long side portion of the sofa are connected to one another by a curved corner portion which consequently defines a corresponding curved corner seat 6 arranged as a connecting element between the single-place and two-place seats 4, 5.

[0015] An outer side and an opposite inner side, extending on the outer face of the L-shape of the structure and on the inner face thereof, respectively, as well as two end arms, are thus identified in the corner sofa 2 described above.

[0016] In the sofa of Figure 2, the outer side constitutes the rear of the sofa, along which the backrest 15 extends, and the inner side constitutes the front of the sofa.

[0017] As an alternative to the arrangement described, there may be no backrest, or the backrest may extend along the inner side. In the latter case, naturally, the inner side and the outer side would constitute the rear and the front of the sofa, respectively. Similarly, it is pointed out that the sofa may not have end arms.

[0018] In the region of each of the seats 4 and 5 and, more precisely, on them, the sofa 2 comprises respective cushions, indicated 7. In the embodiment shown, the sofa 2 comprises a respective substantially rectangular cushion 7 for each place on the seats 4 and 5. Each cushion 7 has a lower surface which is intended to rest on the respective seat 4, 5. The sofa 2 also comprises a curved corner cushion 8 disposed on the curved corner seat 6. The curved corner cushion 8 has a lower surface for resting on the underlying seat 6.

[0019] As an alternative to the arrangement described above, the sofa may comprise a single cushion shaped so as to cover the entire two-place seat 5 or, according to a further embodiment, the sofa may comprise a single cushion shaped so as to cover both the seats 4 and 5 and the curved corner seat 6.

[0020] The sofa cover 1 according to the invention comprises at least two separate elements: a main cover 9 to be fitted on the supporting structure of the sofa 2 in order to cover it and at least one secondary cover for covering at least one cushion.

[0021] According to a preferred embodiment, the main cover 9 is formed by a plurality of suitably shaped pieces joined together by sewing or another functionally equivalent method.

[0022] The main cover 9 comprises:

• two pieces 10 each shaped to cover the front of a respective arm of the sofa 2,
• two side pieces 11 each shaped to cover a respective side of the sofa 2,
• a backrest cover 12 shaped to cover the backrest 15, the rear of the sofa 2, and the portions of the seats 4, 5 and 6 adjacent the backrest 15,
• a front piece 13 shaped to cover the front of the sofa 2, and
• two edge pieces 14 to be joined end to end and then to be joined to a longitudinal side of the front piece 13 to cover a peripheral portion of the seat 4, 5 and 6 adjacent the front of the sofa 2, as will become clearer from the following description.

[0023] Figures 7 to 11 are plan views of the above-mentioned pieces of the main cover 9.

[0024] According to a preferred embodiment, the main cover 9 defines an opening 16 in the region of the upper portions of the seats 4, 5 and 6 of the supporting structure of the sofa 2. In other words, the main cover is arranged to cover only a peripheral portion of the seats 4, 5 and 6 extending along the sides and/or along the rear and front of the sofa 2, as shown in Figures 2 and 13.

[0025] According to a preferred embodiment, the main cover 9 comprises an edge which can be drawn in, preferably an elastic edge which can extend around the lower portion of the sofa 2 and, in particular, the support feet 3 of the supporting structure of the sofa 2.

[0026] The main cover 9 may advantageously be made of an elasticated material, preferably a fabric, so that it can adapt to the dimensional variability of standard corner and three-seater sofas that are on the market.

[0027] Naturally, if the shape of the sofa to be covered differs substantially from that of the sofa 2 described above, for example, by lacking a backrest 15 and/or arms, it will clearly be necessary to provide a suitable modified main-cover design.

[0028] With reference to the sofa cover 1, it can be seen that, in addition to the main cover 9, it comprises four separate secondary covers for covering the cushions that are arranged on the seats 4, 5 and 6. In particular, the sofa 2 comprises three substantially rectangular secondary covers 18 and a further secondary cover 19, for covering the three cushions 7 and the curved corner cushion 8, respectively.

[0029] The above-mentioned secondary covers 18, 19 are preferably shaped so as to adopt a configuration suitable for covering the top and sides of the respective cushions. In this connection, it is worth pointing out that, in the region of the lower surfaces of the cushions 7 and 8, the respective secondary covers 18 and 19 have openings delimited by respective edges 18a, 19a that can be drawn in. In the embodiment shown, each edge 18a, 19a that can be drawn in is delimited by an adjustable closure tie 17. Alternatively, the edges 18a, 19a that can be drawn in may have elastics, buttons, hooks, or other equivalent closure devices.

[0030] Advantageously, the front piece 13 of the main cover 9 has a linear extent which is shorter than the linear extent of the backrest cover 12 by about 0.6 - 1 m, preferably 0.8 - 0.9 m. This characteristic enables the supporting structure of the corner sofa 2 to be covered with the main cover 9 without there being an unsightly leftover portion of sofa-cover fabric at the front of the sofa, that is, without the front piece 13 of the main cover being too large relative to size of the inner side of the sofa, or the backrest cover 12 being stretched too much. In fact, because of the presence of the curved connecting corner portion of the sofa 2, the linear extent of the rear of the sofa (that is, the outer side) is much greater than the linear extent of the front of the sofa (that is, the inner side). However, the different linear extents envisaged for the backrest cover 12 relative to the front piece 13 of the main cover 9 enable the sofa cover according to the invention to fit both the front and the rear of the corner sofa 2. Basically, the shorter linear extent of the front piece 13 of the main cover 9 in comparison with that of the backrest cover 12 compensates for the difference in length between the inner side and the outer side of the L-shaped structure of the sofa 2.

[0031] It is worth pointing out that the presence of the opening 16 in the main cover constitutes a preferred and advantageous characteristic of the sofa cover according to the invention since it enables the backrest cover 12 to be connected to the front piece 13 solely in the region of the side pieces 11, avoiding the problem of an accumulation of material to be concealed beneath the cushions 7 and 8.

[0032] In order to fit the sofa cover according to the invention on the sofa 2, it is necessary to remove the cushions 7 and 8 from the supporting structure and to fit the main cover 9 on the structure so that it covers the backrest 15, the two end arms, and the seats 4, 5 and 6. As stated, the different lengths of the front piece and of the backrest portion of the main cover enables the structure of the sofa to be covered correctly, even in the region of the curved corner portion which is the cause of the difference in length between the front, inner side and the rear, outer side of the sofa.

[0033] The fixing means such as Velcro and ties then enable the secondary cover to be fixed to the supporting structure of the sofa, preventing the cover from moving when the sofa is sat upon.

[0034] It then suffices to fit the cushions 7 in their covers 18 and the curved corner cushion 8 in the cover 19 through the openings provided and to place the covered cushions on the seats 4, 5 and 6.

[0035] Figures 12 to 16 relate to a sofa cover 101 according to a variant of the invention. For brevity of explanation, the pieces of the sofa cover 101 which are structurally and/or functionally equivalent to the pieces of the sofa cover 1 are marked with the same reference numerals and are not described further below.

[0036] The sofa cover 101 differs from the sofa cover 1 in that the front piece 113 of the main cover 9 which is to cover the front of the sofa 2 can be at least partially overlapped along the inner side of the corner sofa so as to enable the length of the front piece 113 to be adjusted, that is, shortened, to fit the shorter length of the inner side of the corner sofa to be covered.

[0037] Moreover, the sofa cover 101 comprises fixing elements 21 suitable for fixing the overlapping portion of the main cover to the overlapped portion of the main cover.

[0038] The fixing elements 21 may comprise: hooks, press-studs, ties, Velcro, "zip" fasteners, and the like.

[0039] Preferably, the front piece 113 of the sofa cover can be overlapped by folding, that is, by folding a portion of the material onto itself as shown in Figures 14 and 15.

[0040] Figure 16 shows a stage in the operation to be performed in order to fold a portion of the front piece 113.

[0041] As for the sofa cover 1, the sofa cover 101 comprises an edge piece 114 (in this case constituted by a single piece of material and not by two pieces joined together) which is joined to the longitudinal side of the front piece 113 to cover a peripheral portion of the seats 4, 5 and 6.

[0042] Alternatively, the front piece and the corresponding edge piece sewn thereto may be divided into two pieces which can be overlapped on the inner side of the sofa to an extent sufficient to make the length of the front piece of the main cover fit the length of the front of the sofa. The two pieces thus overlapped are then fixed to one another by the above-mentioned fixing elements.

[0043] The sofa cover 101 may already be provided with a front piece 113 of the cover which is shorter than the backrest cover 12.

[0044] As can be appreciated from the foregoing description, the sofa cover according to the present invention satisfies the above-mentioned need to cover corner sofas and at the same time overcomes the disadvantages discussed in the introductory portion of the description with reference to the prior art. In fact, the shorter length of the front piece in comparison with the length of the backrest cover enables the sofa cover to be fitted perfectly on a corner sofa in which the inner side has a shorter linear extent than the outer side because of the different radius of curvature. In this connection, it should be pointed out that the elasticity of the material of which the sofa cover is made would not by itself be able to overcome the difference in the length of the two sides of the sofa.

[0045] Another advantage of the sofa cover according to the present invention is that it is possible to produce a sofa cover for a corner sofa even without the need necessarily to use an elasticated covering material.

[0046] Yet another advantage of the sofa cover according to the present invention is that it can be marketed as a protective element for sofas of standard dimensions. Naturally, it is necessary to provide different designs for corner sofas with different numbers of seats and/or having shapes other than that described above, for example, sofas without side arms.

[0047] Naturally, in order to satisfy contingent and specific requirements, a person skilled in the art may apply to the above-described sofa cover many modifications and variations all of which, however, are included within the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sofa cover for a corner sofa comprising a supporting structure on the inner face and on the outer face of which an inner side and an opposite outer side can be identified, respectively, the supporting structure defining at least one seat (4, 5, 6), the sofa cover comprising a main cover (9) to be associated with the supporting structure in order to cover it at least partially, the main cover (9) comprising a first portion (13) and a second portion (12) for covering the inner side and the outer side of the supporting structure of the corner sofa, respectively, characterized in that the first portion (13) of the main cover (9) has a linear extent shorter than the linear extent of the second portion (12) of the main cover (9).

2. A sofa cover for a corner sofa comprising a supporting structure on the inner face and on the outer face of which an inner side and an opposite outer side can be identified, respectively, the supporting structure defining at least one seat (4, 5, 6), the sofa cover comprising a main cover (9) to be associated with the supporting structure in order to cover it at least partially, the main cover (9) comprising a first portion (113) and a second portion (12) for covering the inner side and the outer side of the supporting structure of the corner sofa, respectively, characterized in that:

- the first portion (113) of the main cover (9) can be overlapped at least partially along the inner side of the corner sofa to enable the length of the first portion (113) to be adjusted on the basis of the length of the inner side of the supporting structure of the corner sofa to be covered, and

- the cover comprises fixing elements (21) for fixing the overlapping portion of the main cover (9) to the overlapped portion of the main cover (9).

3. A sofa cover according to Claim 2 in which the first portion (113) of the main cover (9) can be overlapped by folding.

4. A sofa cover according to Claim 2 or Claim 3 in which the first portion of the main cover (9) is divided into two separate pieces which can be overlapped along the inner side of the corner sofa.

5. A sofa cover according to any one of Claims 2 to 4 in which the fixing elements are selected from the group comprising: hooks, press studs, ties, Velcro and "zip" fasteners.

6. A sofa cover-according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the first portion of the main cover (9) has a linear extent which is shorter that the linear extent of the second portion by 0.6 - 1 m.

7. A sofa cover according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 in which the main cover (9) has at least one opening (16) in the region of its part which is intended to be positioned on the at least one seat (4, 5, 6) of the supporting structure of the corner sofa.

8. A sofa cover according to Claim 7 in which the at least one opening is delimited by an edge which can be drawn in.

9. A sofa cover for a corner sofa according to Claim 7 or Claim 8 in which the main cover (9) comprises means (20) for fixing to the corner sofa in the region of the at least one opening.

10. A sofa cover according to Claim 7 in which the fixing means (20) comprise Velcro.

11. A sofa cover according to any one of Claims 7 to 10 in which the at least one opening (16) extends at least in the region of a corner portion (6) of the sofa seat.

12. A sofa cover according to any one of Claims 7 to 11 in which the first portion of the main cover (9) is shaped so as to form an edge portion (14) with an excess of material in the vicinity of the opening (16), the excess of material being capable of being stretched out during fitting on the sofa, to limit the tensions in the material of the cover in the region of the corner portion (6) of the sofa seat.

13. A sofa cover according to any one of Claims 1 to 12 in which the main cover (9) comprises a plurality of pieces (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 113, 114) joined together.

14. A sofa cover according to any one of Claims 1 to 13, comprising at least one secondary cover (18, 19) separate from the main cover (9) for at least partially covering a cushion (7, 8) supported on the seat (4, 5, 6).

15. A sofa cover according to Claim 14 in which the secondary cover (18, 19) has an opening in its side which is intended to cover the lower surface of the cushion (7, 8), the opening being delimited by an edge (18a, 19a) which can be drawn in.

16. A sofa cover according to any one of Claims 1 to 15 in which the sofa cover is made of an elasticated material.

17. A sofa cover according to Claim 1 in which the first portion of the main cover can be overlapped at least partially along the inner side of the corner sofa to enable the length of the first portion to be adjusted precisely to the length of the inner side of the supporting structure of the corner sofa to be covered, the sofa cover comprising fixing elements for fixing the overlapping portion of the main cover to the overlapped portion of the main cover.

18. A sofa cover according to Claim 17 in which the first portion of the main cover can be overlapped by folding.

19. A sofa cover according to Claim 19 or Claim 20 in which the first portion of the main cover is divided into two separate pieces which can be overlapped along the inner side of the corner sofa.

Drawing