US3113803A - Head rest cover - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 10, 1963 A. STRUBLE ETAL 3,113,803

HEAD REST COVER Filed April 9, 1962 INVENTORS. MERRITT L. MOFF|TT,JR.

ALBERT STRUBLE Arrvs United States Patent 3,113,803 HEAD REST COVER Albert Struble, 508 lirvington Road, Drexel Hill, Pa., and Merritt L. Mofiitt, Jr., 9 Weirwood Road, Radnor, Pa. Filed Apr. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 186,182 7 Claims. (61. 297-220) This invention relates to a head rest cover, particularly to a removable sanitary head rest cover for public passenger vehicle seats, also to a method of securing it in place, and has for an object the provision of improvements in this art.

For the head rests of seats which are used by the public, as in aircraft, buses, railway cars and the like, it is very desirable to provide exchangeable covers which can be quickly removed and replaced when desired. One type of cover which has been extensively used is a cloth towel which is secured by a button-and-eye fastening, a snap fastening, or the like, one fastening element being on the towel and the other on the seat back. The towels have to be laundered between uses.

These towels are expensive to purchase and launder and their loss by unauthorized removal adds to the cost.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a low cost cover which is so inexpensive that it can economically be discarded after each use and replaced by a clean cover.

It is another object to provide a cover which can be very quickly secured in place and which in normal use will strongly resist displacement by lateral movement but which can readily be pulled or peeled off its securement, attachment or anchorage, means on the head rest.

In a preferred form of the invention a non-woven fabric, as of soft, strong, thin, flexible paper, is provided with openings over an attachment area which is pressed down upon a strip of stifi-strand hook pile fabric, such as that known as Velcro, so as to be securely attached thereto in a manner to resist removal except by pulling or peeling it off. The securement is aided by providing a nap on the back of the area of securement and also within the holes and by pressing the paper down between the hook pile strands.

The objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a seat back having secured thereon a head rest cover embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 2-2, of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a surface view of a sheet of non-woven fabric which forms the body of the head rest cover;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged section taken on theline 5--5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view similar to the top part of FIG. 1 showing a head rest cover sheet being applied.

As shown in the drawings, aseat 10 has secured above and behind the head engaged portion an attachment strip of Velcro pile fabric 11. This material is known and is essentially a hook or barb pile material and the invention, through specifically referring to this material, is not limited thereto. The hooks or barbs of this specific material are all oriented in the same direction and the material is secured to the upholstery covering of the seat so that the hooks are aligned with the vertical length of the seat back. Preferably the hooks are directed upward and backward. Some of the hook pile material available has hooks of random orientation and, of course, when this is used, there is no need to take note of the orientation of the hooks of the cover securing strip 11.

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It may be secured to the seat back upholstery in any suitable manner, as by sewing thereto, for example.

The seat back cover sheet is indicated as a whole by thenumeral 12 and, as stated, is formed of a thin, tough, flexible material such as soft felted, body-unglazed paper. The top of thesheet 12 is provided wtih a transverse zone orarea 13 at or near the upper edge which is formed with a plurality of small elongated openings, slits or weakenedportions 14, each of a size to receive one or a few barb orhook pile strands 15. The hole elongation direction is across the seat back. Also the back of the cover sheet in theperforated zone 13 is formed with a raisednap 16, as shown in FIG. 5. Theholes 14 are not cut out cleanly but have considerable nap material left therein, as shown at 17 in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, theholes 14 are of such size, in width at least, in relation to the size of the hook pile elements '15 that when a hook pile element is pushed through a hole its hook element will usually engage the back edge of the hole or will engage with the uncut nap material in the hole. The holes are arranged in plural ranks both longitudinally and transversely and are spaced closely together over the extensive attachment zone. The sheet is of such thinness, flexibility, and stretchiness that it can be pressed down locally between the hook pile elements.

The remainder of the sheet may also have a raised nap on the back and this is useful in resisting lateral shifting of the cover sheet when the seat upholstery itself is a stiff pile material, as is so frequently the case.

The body of the cover below the area of securement 13 may be formed with any desired ornamentation which well may be groups ofholes 18 similar to those inarea 13. Then if the seat upholstery is of stiif pile material, the resistance to side slip is increased.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of securing good attachment of the cover to the hook pile strip 1 1. Here a comb 29 withthin teeth 21 is pressed down on the cover sheet and drawn across theperforated area 13 of the cover sheet in the direction of the length of the strip 11, that is, in a direction across the seat back. The direction of movement is transverse to the direction of the hooks or barbs and when the cover material is thus pressed down, the hooks engage in the nap on the back of the sheet and some enter the holes and engage the sides of the holes or the nap therein. The connection can also be made by rubbing down with the fingers, especially by using the finger nails edgewise but this takes longer and the securement is not as good as when a comb is used.

This results in a very strong attachment of the cover sheet to the hook pile strip. The attachment is so strong that the sheet cannot be removed by a pull in its plane and since this is the only line of pull normally encountered in use, the sheet will be reliably retained in position.

However, the sheet can easily be separated by pulling it up in a direction transversely of the plane-of the attachment strip 11.

It is thus seen that the invention provides an improved, economical, sanitary, and disposable seat cover and an improved method of securing the cover on a seat.

While one embodiment of the invention has been described for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that there may be various embodiments and modifications within the general scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A head rest cover comprising in combination, an attachment strip secured on the seat back above the head and body engaging area of the seat back, said attachment strip having upstanding hook pile elements, and a removable cover sheet of strong, thin, flexible, felted material secured at an edge to said hook-pile attachment stri said cover sheet in the zone of attachment being provided with small apertures of a size to receive only a few hook 3 elements and into which apertures the hook pile elements enter and the edges of which are engaged by the pile hook elements, the apertures being arranged in a plurality of closely spaced ranks both longitudinally and transversely throughout an extensive attachment area.

2. A head rest cover as set forth in claim 1, in which the sheet in the zone of attachment is provided with a raised nap on the back which is engaged by said pile hook elements.

3. A head rest cover as set forth in claim 1, in which the sheet in the zone of attachment is provided with a nap on the back and in the holes which is engaged by said pile hook elements.

4. A head rest cover for securement to an attachment strip of stiff hook-pile material, which comprises a thin, tough, flexible, sheet of felted material having numerous closely spaced small holes arranged in plural ranks both longitudinally and transversely throughout the entire area of an attachment zone overlying said attachment strip, the holes being of such size, at least in width, relative to the size of the hook pile elements as to permitpassage 4 therethrough of the hook pile elements and to have their edges engaged by the hooks of the hook pile elements when pushed through the holes.

5. A head rest cover as set forth inclaim 4 in which said sheet is formed with a nap on the back and in said holes in the attachment zone.

6. A head rest cover as set forth in claim 1, in which the sheet in the zone of attachment is provided with a nap in the holes which is engaged by said pile hook elements.

7. A head rest cover as set forth inclaim 4 in which said sheet is formed with a nap in said holes in the attachment zone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,497,698 Struble et al. Feb. 14, 1950 2,820,277 Forster Jan. 21, 1958 2,976,914 Miller Mar. 23, 1961 3,000,384 Piers Sept. 19, 1961 3,009,235 De Mestral Nov. 21, 1961

Claims (1)

1. A HEAD REST COVER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, AN ATTACHMENT STRIP SECURED ON THE SEAT BACK ABOVE THE HEAD AND BODY ENGAGING AREA OF THE SEAT BACK, SAID ATTACHMENT STRIP HAVING UPSTANDING HOOK PILE ELEMENTS, AND A REMOVABLE COVER SHEET OF STRONG, THIN, FLEXIBLE, FELTED MATERIAL SECURED AT AN EDGE TO SAID HOOK-PILE ATTACHMENT STRIP, SAID COVER SHEET IN THE ZONE OF ATTACHMENT BEING PROVIDED

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