This invention more particularly relates to a construction comprising at least two elongated, curved construction elements and a body essentially made of synthetic material which is used as a piece of seating furniture.

Conventional pieces of seating furniture, such as, for instance, chairs with a metal frame are manufactured by means of traditional welding techniques. A number of metal tubes are bent and welded together according to a pre- determined design. Thus, a strong base is obtained (on which it is possible to sit down). Depending on the design, the chair is further finished in order to optimize the seating comfort.

The disadvantage of such known techniques is that the welding process is time-consuming and requires much energy, because of which manufacturing of pieces of seating furniture becomes an expensive affair.

An additional disadvantage with conventional pieces of seating furniture having a metal frame is that they take up . a lot of volume, because of which they are difficult to transport. Nor are such pieces of furniture suitable for do- it-yourself kits.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a construction consisting of at least two curved construction elements and to manufacture a body essentially made of synthetic material

without making use of the known techniques, in which metallic construction elements of the underframe have to be welded together.

The purpose of this invention is attained by providing a construction comprising at least two elongated curved construction elements and a body essentially made of synthetic material, the said body comprising at least two tunnels, whereas the said curved construction elements extend through the tunnels, so that the curved construction elements and the body constitute one unit.

The advantage of this method is that a solid construction is obtained without the necessity of welding together the elongated construction elements.

In a preferred embodiment of the construction according to the invention the body essentially made of synthetic material comprises at least two tube elements welded together and situated next to one another in the longitudinal direction.

Because of this a solid unit is obtained, yet being sufficiently elastic. By welding together is meant, connecting the tube elements made of synthetic material.

In a more particular preferred embodiment of the construction according to the invention, at least one curved part of each construction element is situated in a tunnel.

The advantage of this construction is that a tension is built up in the tunnel, because of which it will become difficult to move the tube elements made of synthetic material. This means that the body made of synthetic

material will likewise become curved, so that the walls of the tunnel are pressed against the construction elements because of the elasticity of the body made of synthetic material, because of which it will become difficult to move the body made of synthetic material with respect to the construction elements.

In another preferred embodiment of the construction according to the invention, the said body is made of expanded polyethylene.

By making use of such an expanded polyethylene, by means of a simple production process, a construction is obtained which may be fully recycled, has a great elasticity and a low density.

In a more particular preferred embodiment of the construction according to the invention, the elongated curved construction elements are tubes or bars.

In a more advantageous preferred embodiment of the construction according to the invention, the said tubes or bars are made of synthetic material or aluminium, because of which a light unit is obtained.

In a most particular preferred embodiment of the construction according to the invention, the construction is provided for being used as a piece of seating furniture.

In order to further clarify the properties of this invention and in order to draw the attention to its additional advantages and particulars, a more detailed description of the construction and the method to manufacture it will now follow. It may be obvious that nothing in the following

description may be interpreted as a restriction of the protection of this invention demanded for in the claims.

In this description, by means of reference numbers, reference is made to the attached drawings, of which: - figure 1 is a representation of the body made of synthetic material used; - figure 2 is a front view and a side view of a chair manufactured according to the invention; - figure 3 is a front view and a side view of a chair manufactured according to the invention; - figure 4 is a front view and a side view of a reclining chair manufactured according to the invention; - figure 5 is a front view and a side view of a chair manufactured according to the invention; - figure 6 is a front view and a side view of a chair manufactured according to the invention; figure 7 is a representation of the chair of figure 6 being stacked; figure 8 is a side view and two side views of chairs manufactured according to the invention; - figure 9 is a front view of a construction manufactured according to the invention.

The construction represented in the figures 2 up to and including 9 are obtained by the combination of some curved tubes (5,6, 7,8) made of aluminium and at least one mat of expanded material (1) made of polyethylene.

Manufacturing the mat of expanded material (1) used, represented in figure 1 is described in the English patent no 2 184 684 of NMC company.

The mats of expanded material (1) are extruded sections

welded together, the extruded section being provided with a central opening. After extrusion of the polyethylene, tubes (2) of expanded material are obtained in which a tunnel (3) has been provided.

Subsequently, these separate tube elements (2) are welded together lengthwise by means of heating and then cut to measure. Thus, a body made of synthetic material (1) is obtained, consisting of a certain number of tube elements (2) welded together, which each may have their own colour.

The chair (4) represented in figure 2 consists, for instance, of ten tube elements (2) welded together.

Depending on which construction model should be obtained, a number of metal tubes, preferably made of aluminium, are bent in the shape desired. When assembling the construction, the openings (3) of the mat of expanded material (1) are slipped over the tubes (5,6, 7,8) already bent, so that a solid unit is obtained. The elongated curved tubes (5,6, 7, 8) may likewise be provided with caps (9) made of synthetic material.

Dependent on the design, one or several mats of expanded material (1) are used. Thus, for the chair (4) in figure 1, two mats of expanded material (la, lb) were used. Dependent on the design, the mats (1) may vary as to length or width.

The width is determined by the number of tube elements (2) welded together.

Once they have been assembled, the metal tubes (5,6, 7,8) will ensure the solidity of the construction, while the <BR> <BR> mat (s) of expanded material (1) "welded together"will ensure the cohesion and the possible comfort.

As the welding process of the mat of expanded material (1) may be carried out completely mechanically and will occur in an extremely rapid and efficient way, the cost of production will be much lower than those of a conventional construction with a welded underframe.

As the construction may be assembled by the end-user himself, the whole unit, (mat (s) (1) and tubes (5,6, 7,8), may be packed in a flat package. Consequently, when transporting, the entire space may be used in an optimal manner.

Finally, it should be noted that in addition to the chair (4) mentioned above, another great number of products may be manufactured, which consist of a number of curved tubes and one or several mats of expanded material (1), such as, for instance, deck chairs, screens, tables, storage systems, toys, playground material, etc.