Spring support for seating area of furniture

Abstract

The present invention provides a spring support system for a seating area of a piece of furniture. The spring support system uses rigid support members that extend across the seating area and are attached to a frame of the furniture. Springs are attached to the support members above notches in the support members. The notches allow portions of the springs to be compressed into the notches during compression of the seating area. The springs can be attached to the support members by threading the lowermost convolution of the spring through holes on both sides of the notch or by positioning the lower most convolution of the spring in grooves on either side of the notch. A noise abatement layer may be positioned between the springs and the notches to prevent direct contact between the springs and notches during compression or decompression of the springs.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to furniture and, more particularly, to seating areas of furniture. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Furniture designed to support an occupant positioned on the furniture typically includes a seating area that is configured to comfortably support the occupant. In an effort to provide comfortable support for the occupant, the seating area may include a spring support system upon which a resilient cushion is positioned. The spring support system typically includes a plurality of springs that are positioned throughout the seating area. These support springs are typically coil springs that are interconnected throughout the seating area to form the spring support system. The upper portions of the coil springs may be interconnected by a cord in what is known in the field as 8-way hand tying. The lower portions of the coil springs are typically interconnected through the use of webbing that extends across the bottom of the sprin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004] The present invention provides a spring support system for a seating area of a piece of furniture. The spring support system, according to the principles of the present invention, is less labor intensive to manufacture and uses less costly materials. Additionally, the spring support system locates the spring in a desired position and is not subject to sagging.

Problems solved by technology

This type of webbing is expensive and labor intensive in construction.

The labor intensive construction limits the throughput of the manufacturing operation producing furniture with such a spring support system.

The webbing is also subject to sagging which may result in an undesirable appearance and / or performance of the seating area of the piece of furniture.

Additionally, the use of webbing may result in spring placement that is not consistent from one seating area to the next when producing the same piece of furniture.

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