The present invention relates to a furniture patch.

Upholstered furniture often deteriorates over time as a result of general wear and tear, exposure to light and the like. A purchaser may wish to individualise or customise their upholstered furniture by decorating it, especially if it is bought second-hand with such deterioration.

Upholstered furniture is also susceptible to accidental damage in the form of holes, rips or stains in the upholstery material. Repairing the upholstery material usually involves removing the entire damaged material covering from the furniture frame and replacing it with a new, undamaged covering. Sometimes, the furniture frame has to be sent back to the manufacturer for re-upholstery. This can leave a furniture owner without their furniture for several weeks and is a costly repair, especially in the case of leather upholstery. This can dissuade the furniture owner from repairing their furniture.

Leather Magic, available from Leather Magic Inc., Baker House, 118 Church St., Shawbury, Shropshire, UK, SY4 4NH, is a leather repair arrangement by means of which cosmetically acceptable repairs can be made to damaged furniture. If the damage to the upholstery is a hole, a piece of sub-patch material is first cut slightly larger than the hole. A small amount of adhesive from a bottle is applied to the sub-patch material, which is then inserted through the hole and adhered to the underside of the leather upholstery. Several coats of a repair compound fluid are spread over the sub-patch and damaged area until the damage is no longer visible. Once the fluid is dry and a finishing spray is applied, the furniture is returned substantially to its previous appearance. However, this can be a time-consuming and intricate procedure, particularly if a piece of furniture is badly or extensively damaged.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a furniture patch comprising a display surface on the obverse side and an adhesive backing adapted to bond to furniture upholstery on the reverse side whereby, in use, the patch is adhered to the furniture upholstery to conceal a region of the furniture upholstery. The patch can simply and easily be stuck onto the upholstery to conceal part of the upholstery. The adhesive backing allows a clean, quick and easy application of the patch to the upholstery.

The patch may be for repairing a region of furniture upholstery, wherein the region of the furniture upholstery comprises a defect and the patch can be applied to the region to conceal the defect. The furniture patch is particularly well-suited for use by heavily trafficked establishments, such as restaurants, pubs and bars, which are less likely to incur the expense and delay in re-upholstery, particularly when subsequent damage is likely. The furniture patch can be used where restoration of the furniture to its original aesthetic condition is not required, in other words where concealment of the defect in the upholstery would suffice.

The defect may comprise a discontinuity in the upholstery. The defect would typically be a hole, cut or burn that would otherwise require expensive and time- consuming re-upholstery. Thus, the defects can be more easily dealt with.

The defect may comprise a stain. Rather than trying to remove the stain, it could be concealed. The adhesive backing may comprise a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The user can press the patch onto the upholstery for adhesion, rather than having, for example, to heat it.

The adhesive may comprise a high-strength acrylic adhesive. These adhesives have proven to particularly suitable for use in furniture patches. Preferably, the adhesive has an adhesion to steel of at least around 66N/100mm. The adhesion to steel may be between around 66N/100mm and 120N/100mm.

The adhesive may have a temperature resistance of at least 37°C. This makes the patch particularly suitable for use with furniture because the patch will remain adhered to the furniture when subjected to normal body heat temperatures. Preferably, the temperature resistance is up to 82°C for long periods. The temperature resistance may be up to 121 ⁰ C for shorter periods.

The adhesive backing may comprise 3M™ adhesive 300. This adhesive has been proven to be particularly effective for use in the furniture patch. The adhesive backing may be formed from 3M™ adhesive tape 927, 950 or 950EK or 95623-M tape. These tapes have been proven to provide a particularly good bond to the furniture.

The adhesive backing may extend to the outer periphery of the reverse side of the patch. The outer edge or periphery can be bonded well to the upholstery, which can make it less likely to peel away from the upholstery during use.

The adhesive backing may cover the entire reverse side of the patch. This provides a uniform bonding surface across the back of the patch and can increase overall bonding strength to the upholstery. If the patch is being applied to a region containing a defect, the adhesive can overlie the defect, even if it is a discontinuity such as a hole.

A release paper may overlie the adhesive backing. Thus, the adhesive backing can be uncovered just prior to adhesion to the upholstery to avoid causing degradation or loss of adhesive during transport and to maintain high bonding strength.

The patch may be adherable to an external surface of the upholstery. This can facilitate the process of applying the patch, since it does not need to be adhered to an inner surface of the upholstery.

The patch may comprise natural leather. A natural leather patch may be desirable for use with leather upholstery and may be seen to be a higher-end product.

The patch may comprise bonded or synthetic leather. This can be relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The synthetic leather may comprise a polycarbonate resin substrate and a polyurethane covering.

The display surface comprises a substrate, a substrate coating and a backing. The backing may comprise polyester, cotton or a blend thereof.

The display surface may visually contrast with the furniture upholstery adjacent the region. Rather than trying to match the patch with the upholstery, the patch would be a feature or focal point of the furniture.

The display surface may include a decorative pattern. The patch would be more visually appealing or unique and/or may receive advertising. The upholstery may be leather. Leather upholstery can be expensive to repair so the patch may be particularly cost-effective.

The patch may be pre-cut so that the area of the display surface is between 3cm ² and 400cm ² or between 27cm ² and 200cm ² . The user does not need to cut the patch to size since the pre-cut size should be sufficient for most standard repairs or concealments.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a furniture repair or decoration kit comprising a plurality of furniture patches. A user can select the most appropriate patch in the circumstances.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided upholstered furniture having bonded thereto a furniture patch. The furniture may be a seat such as a sofa, bar stool or vehicle seat. Instead, a garment of clothing or an item of luggage may have a furniture patch bonded thereto.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of applying a furniture patch to an item of upholstered furniture comprising: providing a furniture patch having a display surface on the obverse side and an adhesive backing adapted to bond to the furniture upholstery on the reverse side; and adhering the patch to the furniture upholstery to conceal a region of the furniture upholstery.

The adhesive backing may comprise a pressure-sensitive adhesive and the method may comprise pressing the patch onto the region of the furniture upholstery to conceal a defect in the region. This simplifies application of the patch to the upholstered furniture.

The method may comprise providing a furniture patch which visually contrasts with the upholstery adjacent the region to which the patch is to be applied.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section through a furniture patch; Figure 2 is a plan view of three differently shaped furniture patches; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of a three-seater sofa having applied thereto the furniture patches shown in Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 1 , the furniture patch, bandage or plaster 1 has a display surface 2 on its upper or obverse face or side and an adhesive backing 3 in the form of an adhesive layer or an adhesive tape on its lower or reverse face or side. A peelable release paper 4 is provided on the adhesive layer 3.

The patch 1 is typically made of synthetic (sometimes referred to as 'artificial') leather, which is particularly cost-effective and has good absorbent properties. The patch 1 could, alternatively or additionally, be made of natural or bonded (sometimes referred to as 'reconstituted') leather or another material, whether synthetic or natural, which conforms to the fire regulations for the upholstery and/or automotive industry. If the leather, particularly synthetic leather, is artificially coloured, it can be thoroughly dyed to avoid any unsightly edging. The adhesive backing 3 is a pressure-sensitive adhesive which also conforms to the fire regulations for the upholstery and/or automotive industry. The adhesive 3 has strong and durable properties and can bond with various materials, such as leather upholstery. The adhesive 3 preferably extends to the outer periphery of the underside of the patch 1 , and more preferably entirely covers the underside of the patch 1. This improves edge-to-edge adhesion to the upholstery.

In use, the release paper 4 is peeled away from the adhesive backing 3 and the patch 1 is pressed onto a region of upholstery to conceal part of the upholstery. The region being concealed typically surrounds a defect, but there may be another reason to conceal it such as for aesthetic improvement. The region to which the patch is to be applied may be cleaned prior to application of the patch 1 to improve adhesion.

There are various adhesives and adhesive tapes 3 that can be used for the patch.

Through experimentation, various conventional adhesives and tapes have proven to be unsuitable for use in a furniture patch because either their adhesion to the upholstery is insufficient to stand up to the rigours of daily use, or they are insufficiently resistant to high temperatures. Surprisingly, a large number of adhesives become soft when sat upon by a user as a result of that user's body heat. The patch 1 then becomes detached from any upholstery and can stick to a user's clothing, for example. Other forms of repair patches are not subject to such temperatures for continued lengths of time or cannot withstand flexing and, as such, often known adhesives are not suitable for adhesion to furniture.

The applicant has found that, in general, pressure-sensitive high-strength acrylic adhesives are very effective for use in the patch 1. The following have proven to provide particularly good bonding to leather furniture: Adhesive Transfer Tapes 927, 950 and 950EK, which are available from 3M™, whose corporate headquarters are at 3M Corporate Headquarters, 3M Center, St. Paul, MN 55144-1000, USA, and a double- sided tape with product number 95623-M, which is available from E. Thorn & Sons Limited of 31, Bidavon Industrial Estate, Waterloo Road, Bidford on Avon, Warwickshire, B50 4JN, UK.

In more detail, the 3M™ Adhesive Transfer Tapes with 3M™ Adhesive 300 offer adhesion to a wide variety of surfaces, including many plastics. This pressure-sensitive medium firm acrylic adhesive family features a very high initial adhesion and good shear holding power.

All of the tapes 927, 950 and 950EK use 3M™'s Adhesive 300, are clear in colour and none of them has an adhesive carrier. Tapes 927 and 950 have a tan- coloured paper release layer or liner 4, whereas Tape 950EK uses a white extensible Kraft paper. The approximate thicknesses of these tapes without the release liner 4 are: Tape 927 0.05mm (0.002in), Tape 950 0.13mm (0.005in) and Tape 950EK 0.13mm (0.005in). With the release liner, the respective thicknesses are: Tape 927 0.10mm (0.004in), Tape 950 0.10mm (0.004in) and Tape 950EK 0.15mm (O.OOΘin).

In terms of their physical properties, the respective Adhesion to Steel values (using ASTM test methods) are: Tape 927 66N/100mm (60oz/in), Tape 950 82N/100mm (75oz/in) and Tape 950EK 82N/100mm (75oz/in). The ideal working temperatures for these tapes is 21 ⁰ C to 38°C (70 ⁰ F to 100°F). This makes them suitable for use on furniture which will usually be at room temperature, but often raised to body heat temperatures when sat upon, which are usually around 37 ⁰ C (99 ⁰ F). However, their high-temperature operating range for long periods (days or weeks) is up to 82°C (180°F) for each of the tapes. Their high-temperature operating range for shorter periods (minutes or hours) is up to 121 ⁰ C (250 ⁰ F).

The 95623-M tape from E. Thorn and Sons Limited includes a solvent-free modified acrylic adhesive. It has an Adhesion to Steel (AFERA 4001 ) value of

30N/25mm. Its temperature resistance is -40 ⁰ C (-40 ⁰ F) to 95°C (203 ⁰ F) for long periods and up to 120 ⁰ C (248°F) for shorter periods. The total thickness of the tape, without a release paper, is 0.23mm (0.009 in).

The combination of good adhesion and relatively high operating temperatures make these double-sided adhesive tapes which employ a pressure-sensitive high- strength acrylic adhesive particularly suitable for use in the patch 1.

The display surface 2 comprises a substrate 13, a backing 14 and a coating 15 for the substrate. The AXIOM Plus and Soft Touch synthetic leathers have proven to be particularly suitable for use in the patch 1. They are both available from Awesome Fabrics of The Stables, Unit 12, The Stables, Grange Farm, Green End, Great Stukeley, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 4AE or Abbey Fabrics of Unit 26, Earith Business Park, Meadow Drove, Earith Cambridgeshire PE28 3QF. In both cases, the substrate 13 is a polycarbonate resin, the backing 14 with polyester/cotton backing and the coating 15 is polyurethane. Vinyl-coated fabrics and other fabrics are also suitable.

Figure 2 shows a square patch 10, a circular patch 11 and a rectangular patch 12. The square patch 10 has a plain display surface 2, rounded corners and is around 7cm x 7cm in size. The circular patch 11 is between around 8cm and 14cm in diameter and its display surface 2 has a circular, embossed stitching detail slightly inboard of its periphery. The rectangular patch 12 is between around 9cm x 3cm and around 20cm x 10cm. The rectangular patch 12 has rounded corners and its display surface 2 has a rectangular embossed stitching detail also slightly inboard of its periphery. Overall patch surface areas from around 3cm ² to 400cm ² are suitable for the patch 1.

The patches 10, 11 , 12 can be provided in various colours, such as ivory, red, dark brown, tan and black. The display surfaces 2 of the patches 10, 11 , 12 can be plain or can include a patterned design, which may be applied by dyes, inks, laser or embossing. As in the case of the rectangular patch 12, the display surface 2 could receive branding or advertising, especially if it were used in a traffic-heavy environment such as a pub, restaurant or bar. The patches 10, 11, 12 are tooled to have clean and defined edges to approve their appearance.

Figure 3 shows square patch 10, circular patch 11 and rectangular patch 12 applied to a damaged sofa 5. The square patch 10 is applied to conceal a hole or rip 6 in one of the sofa's cushions 7. The circular patch 11 is applied to one of the sofa's arms 8 which has been damaged by a cigarette burn 9. The patches 10, 11 when so applied conceal the defects, i.e. the hole 6 and burn 9, in the sofa 5. The rectangular patch 12 is applied to the top of the central backrest of the sofa for aesthetic purposes, i.e. decoration.

Rather than the patches 10, 11 , 12 visually matching the appearance of the sofa 5 adjacent the defects 6, 9 or backrest area, the patches 10, 11, 12 can instead visually contrast with the sofa 5 to draw attention to the region to which they are applied. For example, a red synthetic leather circular patch having an unusual decorative pattern could be applied to a white leather sofa in a student bar as a focal point or unusual feature. Instead of the defect in the sofa 5 being caused by the furniture owner, the defect could be a natural imperfection in the upholstery only noticed after manufacture, damage caused while the sofa 5 is on display or may result from unavoidable degradation, in colour or texture after prolonged use.

Although the patches 1 , 10, 11, 12 have been described in relation to a sofa 5, they are equally suited for application to other items of furniture including, but not being limited to, seating on or in: public transport (buses, trains, planes, boats and the like), private vehicles (cars, motorbikes, boats and the like), commercial establishments (bars, pubs, restaurants, cinemas and the like) and domestic establishments (homes, caravans and the like).

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the example above, various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, although the patches 1, 10, 11 , 12 have been described as having particular shapes, sizes and colours, it will be appreciated that the particular appearance of the patch 1 , 10, 11 , 12 can be varied within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, although the upholstery and patches 1 , 10, 11 , 12 have generally been described as being leather, they could be another suitable material such as the upholstery fabric found on public transport seats, where any spare fabric could be used to form the patches.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the patch may be sold in a presentation pack, for example one in which the release paper 4 forms part of the packaging and, thus, may be larger in area than the patch itself.

Yet still furthermore, although the patches 1 , 10, 11 , 12 have been described as being adherable to furniture upholstery to conceal a region of the furniture upholstery, they could also be used to conceal a region of other articles comprising a flexible material layer, such as a synthetic or hide covering. Such articles include garments, for example leather jackets, trousers and the like, and fashion accessories, such as suitcases, handbags, gloves and the like.