BECCERICA, Mario (Via Montelieto 12, Recanati, I-62019, IT)
| CLAIMS 1. Seat cover for a seat (2) of a motor vehicle (3) that comprises a backrest (4) and a seat portion (5) ; the seat cover (1) comprises a vertical wall (6) , which has a longitudinal axis (7) and is adaptable to suit the shape of the backrest (4) ; the seat cover (1) being characterised in that it comprises a draught -screen (11) that is applied to the vertical wall (6) of the seat cover (1) and is movable from a home position in which it is arranged substantially within the lateral perimeter of the vertical wall (6) to a working position, in which it protrudes at least partially from the vertical wall (6) . 2. Seat cover according to Claim 1, wherein an upper portion of the vertical wall (6) is provided with a housing (17) , which faces outwards through an opening transversal to said longitudinal axis (7) and which at least partially houses the draught- screen (11) . 3. Seat cover according to Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the draught -screen (11) is slidingly mounted along said longitudinal axis (7) so as to slide from an external position, in which it at least partially protrudes from an upper position of the vertical wall (6) , to an internal position, in which the draught -screen (11) is substantially arranged over the vertical wall (6) along said longitudinal axis (7) . 4. Seat cover according to one or more of the Claims from 1 to 3, wherein the draught-screen (11) is applied to a larger lateral surface of the vertical wall (6) . 5. Seat cover according to one or more of the Claims from 1 to 4 and comprising one or more locking means (12) , each of which is suitable to fix the draught-screen (11) to the vertical wall (6) of the seat cover (1) in a given position along said longitudinal axis (7) . 6. Seat cover according to one or more of the Claims from 1 to 5, wherein the draught-screen (11) comprises one or more reference elements (16) which are aligned along the longitudinal axis (7) and define respective positions of the draught-screen (11) with respect to the vertical wall (6) . 7. Seat cover according to Claim 6, wherein the draught-screen (11) is provided with a reference element (16) in the form of a cavity (16) with an axis transversal to said longitudinal axis (7); and wherein the vertical wall (6) comprises one or more locking means (12) , each of which is suitable to engage a respective cavity (16) when the draught-screen (11) is arranged in a given position with respect to said vertical wall (6) . 8. Seat cover according to one or more of the Claims from 1 to 7, wherein the draught-screen (11) comprises a plurality of portions; wherein at least two portions are movable with respect to one another. 9. Seat cover according to one or more of the Claims from 1 to 8 , wherein two portions are hinged together along an axis parallel to said longitudinal axis (7), " 10. Seat cover according to one or more of the Claims from 1 to 9 and comprising a lower horizontal wall (8) , which is adaptable to suit the shape of the seat portion (5) and is joined to a lower portion of the vertical wall (6) . |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a seat cover for a seat of a motor vehicle.
in particular the present invention relates to a seat cover for a seat of a convertible or cabriolet-type motor vehicle; in a convertible (or cabriolet) -type vehicle the passengers are known to be exposed to draughts, with the neck of such passengers being particularly exposed. Prolonged exposure to such draughts can be uncomfortable and harmful to health.
BACKGROUND ART
Prior art solutions for protecting the passenger's neck against draughts consist of installing a draught- screen directly on the seat of each passenger, involving significant modifications to the structure of the seat (for instance to create pockets or install lever systems) .
This type of installation has the inconvenience of requiring adjustments to be made to the existing seats and the operation cannot be performed simply or quickly.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a seat cover that overcomes the drawbacks mentioned above .
According to the present invention there is provided a Δ seat cover according to that claimed in Claim 1 and, preferably, in any one of the subsequent Claims depending directly or indirectly on Claim 1.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating a non- limiting embodiment thereof, in which:
- figure 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the seat cover according to the present invention in an operating configuration, i.e. applied to a seat of a motor vehicle ;
- figure 2 is an enlarged scale view of a detail of figure 1;
- figure 3 is a cross-sectional and enlarged scale view of a detail of figure 1 in different operating configurations; and
- figure 4 is a plan view of that illustrated in figure 1.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In figure 1, designated as a whole by number 1 is a seat cover 1 for a seat 2, which is mounted in a motor vehicle 3 and comprises a backrest 4 and a seat portion 5.
The seat cover 1 comprises, in turn, an upper vertical wall 6, which has a longitudinal axis 7 and is adaptable to suit the shape of the backrest 4 (figure 4), and a lower horizontal wall 8, which is adaptable to suit the shape of the seat portion 5 and is joined to a lower portion of the vertical wall 6.
Both the vertical wall 6 and the horizontal wall 8 are of a substantially parallelepiped shape. In particular, the vertical wall 6 has a larger lateral surface 9 suitable to be arranged in contact with the backrest 4. Likewise, the horizontal wall 8 has a larger lateral surface 10 suitable to be arranged in contact with the seat portion 5.
According to an embodiment that is not illustrated, the vertical wall 6 has a geometrically variable customisable shape and is adaptable to suit a given shape of a given backrest 4.
The vertical wall 6 and/or the horizontal wall 8 are made of a flexible material and may be provided with localised padding (not illustrated and of a conventional type) .
The seat cover 1 also comprises a draught-screen 11 made of a flexible material applied to the vertical wall 6 of the seat cover 1 and movable, along the axis 7, from an external position, in which it protrudes at least partially from an upper portion of the vertical wall 6, and an internal position, in which the draught-screen 11 is arranged over the vertical wall 6 along the axis 7. In other words, in an internal position the draught-screen 11 is arranged within the lateral perimeter of the vertical wall 6, where the term lateral perimeter of the vertical wall means the perimeter of the larger surface of the vertical wall 6.
Lastly, the seat cover 1 comprises one or more locking elements 12, which are suitable to fix the " draught-screen 11 to the vertical wall 6 of the seat cover 1 in a given position along the longitudinal axis 7, as described more fully below.
In particular the draught-screen 11 is parallelepiped in shape and has a longitudinal axis 13 that is parallel to the axis 7 of the vertical wall 6. Moreover, the draught- screen 11 has a larger lateral surface 14 that is substantially parallel to the lateral surface 9 of the vertical wall 6.
The draught-screen 11 comprises, in turn, a gripping element 15 that protrudes from the top of the vertical wall 6; in other words, the gripping element 15 protrudes from the vertical wall 6 when the draught-screen 11 is arranged in both the external position and in the internal position. For example, the gripping element 15 is in the form of a handle (figure 4) .
The draught-screen 11 is provided with a plurality of reference holes 16 with an axis transversal to the axis 13 and facing towards the larger lateral walls of said draught-screen 11. The reference holes 16 are aligned with respect to one another along the axis 13. According to that illustrated in figure 4, the draught- screen 11 is provided with two groups F of reference holes 16 which are arranged specularly with respect to the axis 13. Each reference hole 16 defines a given position of the draught- screen 11 along the axis 7 with respect to the vertical wall 6.
According to that illustrated in the accompanying figures, the upper portion of the vertical wall 6 is provided with an internal cavity 17, which faces outwards through an opening 18 transversal to the axis 7. The cavity 17, in turn, is parallelepiped in shape with a longitudinal axis parallel to the axis 7 of the vertical wall 6 and is suitable to house, at least in part, the draught-screen 11 that is slidingly mounted along the axis 7 inside said cavity 17 so as to slide from an extracted external position to an internal position.
According to an alternative embodiment (not illustrated) the vertical wall 6 is a multi- layer laminated body and comprises a plurality of laminated walls arranged in contact with one another; in particular, the draught- screen 11 is arranged between two laminated walls of the vertical wall 6 and is suitable to slide longitudinally with respect to these from a working position, in which it protrudes at least partially with respect to said laminated walls and a home position in which it is arranged within the lateral perimeter of the vertical wall 6.
According to that illustrated in figure 3, the upper portion of the vertical wall 6 is provided with at least one adjustment hole 19, which has an axis 20 substantially- transversal to the axis 7 of the vertical wall 6 and faces the inside of the cavity 17.
According to " that illustrated in figure 3, each locking element 12 comprises a pin 21 which fixes the draught-screen 11 in a given position with respect to the vertical wall 6 by passing through the adjustment hole 19 and through a reference hole 16 chosen according to the desired positioning of the draught-screen 11.
Each locking element 12 further comprises one or more fixing elements 22 to make the connection between the pin and the draught-screen 11 and/or the vertical wall 6 more secure by preventing said locking element 12 from being accidentally released.
According to that illustrated in figure 3, each reference hole 16 is provided with at least one circular groove and each fixing element 22 is suitable to be arranged between each groove and the pin 21; in particular, each fixing element 22 is a cylindrical body coaxial to the pin 21 and is made of an elastic material. For example, each fixing element 22 is made in the form of a tooth that protrudes radially from the pin 21. Preferably, the pin 21 is made of a plastic material.
According to a further embodiment (not illustrated) the fixing element 22 is made in the form of a spiral of elastic material. According to that illustrated in figures 3 and 4, the vertical wall 6 is provided with a pair of adjustment holes 19 (in figure 3 only one adjustment hole 19 is illustrated but it " is clear that one adjustment hole 19 is provided in correspondence with each group F of reference holes 16) that are arranged specularly with respect to the axis 7; each adjustment hole 19 is aligned with a respective group F of reference holes 16 of the draught-screen 6; in other words, the distance between each adjustment hole 19 and the axis 7 is equal to the minimum distance between each reference hole 16 and said axis 7, so that each adjustment hole 19 can be arranged over each reference hole 16 when "the latter is chosen for the positioning of the draught- screen 11.
Again, according to that illustrated in figures 2 and 4, the seat cover 1 comprises a pair of locking elements 12, each of which respectively engages a reference hole 16 of the draught-screen 11 and an adjustment hole 19 of the vertical wall 6; the locking elements 12 engage reference holes 16 arranged specularly with respect to the axis 13.
According to an embodiment that is not illustrated, the draught-screen 11 is provided with a plurality of grooves that are arranged along the axis 13; in particular, the draught-screen 11 is provided with two groups of grooves, each of which is provided in correspondence with a respective lateral edge of said draught-screen 11. The grooves are provided with cavities that laterally face the outside of the draught-screen . Moreover, the vertical wall 6 is provided with locking elements, which face the inside of the cavity 17 of said vertical wall 6 and each of which is suitable to engage each groove of the draught-screen 11. The position of the draught-screen 11 with respect to the vertical wall 6 depends on the groove that is engaged by each locking element. Preferably, one locking element is of the spring release type and when in a locking position it is pushed into a respective groove by elastic elements.
According to a further embodiment that is not illustrated, the draught-screen 11 is applied to the outside of the vertical wall 6 and slides along a larger lateral surface of said vertical wall 6.
According to a further embodiment (not illustrated) , the draught-screen 11 is arranged on the outside of the vertical wall 6 and comprises an anchoring element to fix said draught-screen 11 in a working position with respect to the vertical wall 6. For example, the draught-screen 11 comprises at least one portion made of Velcro, which in a working position adheres to said vertical wall 6 of the seat cover 1. Alternatively, the anchoring element may be arranged in an area of the vertical wall 6 facing the draught-screen 11, when the latter is in a working position.
In actual use, the seat cover 1 is arranged over a seat 2 so as to adapt the horizontal wall 8 to the shape of the seat portion 5 and the vertical wall 6 to the shape of the backrest 4.
Thus, the draught-screen 11 is made - to slide with respect to the vertical wall 6 so that the draught-screen 11 protrudes, by a desired amount, from said vertical wall 6 and so that the reference hole 16 corresponding to the given position assumed by the draught-screen 11 is placed over a respective adjustment hole 19.
Lastly, each locking element 12 is applied so as to fix the draught-screen 11 to the vertical wall 6 in the desired position; in the example the pin 21 is arranged through the adjustment hole 19 and through the respective reference hole 16.
According to an alternative embodiment that is not illustrated, the draught-screen 11 comprises a central portion and a plurality of movable lateral portions. For example, the draught-screen 11 comprises a central portion and two lateral portions, each of which is hinged to a respective edge parallel to the longitudinal axis 7 of the central portion.
Alternatively, a pair of portions are joined so as to allow one portion to slide with respect to the other in a direction transversal to the longitudinal axis 7.
According to a further embodiment, not illustrated, the draught-screen 11 is provided with portions that are hinged to one another and portions that slide with respect to one another.
In actual use, the draught-screen 11 is extracted and arranged in a given position outside the vertical wail 6 and along the longitudinal axis 7 as described previously. Then, the portions of the draught-screen 11 are arranged so as to extend the draught- screen 11 in a direction transversal to the longitudinal axis 7. If the draught- screen 11 is provided with a central portion and a pair of lateral portions as described previously, the lateral portions are rotated with respect to the central portion so as to laterally face the outside of the draught-screen 11. The lateral portions can be retained in a given angular position with respect to the central portion using conventional means, so that the lateral portions can be retained in a given position, chosen by the driver, to protect the neck.
From the above description it is apparent that the seat cover 1 of the type described above can be applied to any type of seat 2 easily and quickly without having to perform any operations to install it on said seat 2. Moreover, the position of the draught-screen 11 can be adjusted with respect to the vertical wall 6 to provide draught protection at the required height.
The seat cover 1 of the type described above is therefore suitable for use in any type of motor vehicle and in particular in vintage motor vehicles.