US5457968A — Seating support

Claim 1

Independent Claim 124 words

A seating structure comprising a warp knit fabric attached to a frame, the fabric having a front side; a rear side; at least one selvage; a plurality of wales; and a plurality of courses, the fabric further comprising: a) at least one restraining cord adjacent each selvage located substantially in the warp direction; b) an elastomeric monofilament substantially perpendicular to each restraining cord and located along the full width of the fabric in the weft direction, wherein the elastomeric monofilament is substantially continuous from course to course; the wrap knit fabric encompassing the restraining cord and elastomeric monofilament together in a mesh which locks the monofilament and cord together in a substantially permanent relative position when the fabric is in a substantially non-stretched state.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 124 words

A seating structure comprising a warp knit fabric attached to a frame, the fabric having a front side; a rear side; at least one selvage; a plurality of wales; and a plurality of courses, the fabric further comprising: a) at least one restraining cord adjacent each selvage located substantially in the warp direction; b) an elastomeric monofilament substantially perpendicular to each restraining cord and located along the full width of the fabric in the weft direction, wherein the elastomeric monofilament is substantially continuous from course to course; the wrap knit fabric encompassing the restraining cord and elastomeric monofilament together in a mesh which locks the monofilament and cord together in a substantially permanent relative position when the fabric is in a substantially non-stretched state.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 16 words

A fabric of claim 1 wherein the width stretch is substantially controlled by the elastomeric monofilament.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 42 words

A seating structure of claim 1 wherein each restraining cord is a monofilament of nylon having an average load to break of greater than about 100 pounds and an average elongation to break in the range of about 30% to about 130%.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 136 words

A seating structure of claim 3 wherein the restraining cord comprises nylon 6,69 having a melt temperature in the range of about 388° F. to about 396° F.; the restraining cord is extruded in a process having three draw/relax zones; the predraw ratio is in the range of about 2.7-4.0; the second draw ratio is in the range of about 2.7 to 4.0; the relaxation ratio is in the range of about 0.8 to about 1.0, the overall draw ratio is in the range of about 2.7 to about 4, the predraw temperature is in the range of about 300°-500° F., the second draw temperature is in the range of about 400°-550° F., the relaxation temperature is in the range of about 500°-600° F. and the quench temperature is in the range of about 60°-80° F.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 36 words

A seating structure of claim 4, wherein the restraining cord has a filament size in the range of about from 0.05 inches to 0.155 inches in diameter and a denier of about from 13000 to 124930.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 99 words

A seating structure of claim 1 wherein the elastomeric yarn is a monofilament, having an average load to break of greater than about 2000 grams, an average elongation to break in the range of about 30% to about 130%, an average tenacity of about 1.6 grams per denier, an average energy to break in the range of about 62,000 to about 72,000 gram-cm, an average load at 10% elongation of greater than about 600 grams, an average load at 25% elongation of greater than about 2300 grams, an average load at 50% elongation of greater than about 2600 grams.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 34 words

A seating structure of claim 6 wherein the elastomeric yarn comprises a block copolymer derived from butylene terephthalate ("PBT") and polyether glycol having a large mole fraction of PBT of greater than about 0.5.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 36 words

A seating structure of claim 6 wherein the elastomeric yarn is a monofilament having a diameter of about from 0.004 inches to about 0.030 inches in diameter and a denier of about from 91 to 5130.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 134 words

A seating structure of claim 6 wherein the elastomeric yarn is a monofilament derived from an extrusion process having three draw/relax zones, whereby the predraw ratio is in the range of about 2.7-5.5, the second draw ratio is in the range of about 2.7 to 5.5, the relaxation ratio is in the range of about 0.8 to about 1.0, the overall draw ratio is in the range of about 2.7 to about 5.5, the predraw temperature is in the range of about 250°-350° F., the second draw temperature is in the range of about 275°-350° F., the relaxation temperature is in the range of about 300°-350° F., the quench temperature is in the range of about 65°-100° F., the die capillary diameter is preferably in the range of about 0.054 to about 0.093 inches.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 42 words

A seating structure of claim 2 further comprising a warp knitted yarn (hereafter, "YARN #1") which is substantially located within a first wale, YARN #1 comprising a flat or textured yarn having a denier ranging from about 70 to about 500 denier.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 24 words

A seating structure of claim 10 further comprising a first warp knitted lay-in yarn (hereafter, "YARN #2") which alternatively overlaps more than two wales.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 25 words

A seating structure of claim 11 further comprising a second warp knitted lay-in yarn (hereafter, "YARN #3") which is substantially knitted into said first wale.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 20 words

A seating structure of claim 12 wherein YARN #1 comprises polyester and the stitch notation of YARN #1 is 2-0-0-2.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 44 words

A seating structure of claim 13 wherein: a) YARN #2 comprises a flat or textured yarn having a denier ranging from about 70 to about 500 denier; b) YARN #2's stitch notation is 0-0-6-6; and c) YARN #2 overlaps three wales in alternating fashion.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 21 words

A seating structure of claim 14, wherein each restraining cord is a monofilament having a diameter greater than about 0.01 mil.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 39 words

A seating structure of claim 15, wherein the fabric has two restraining cords, wherein the first restraining cord is in close proximity to a first selvage and the second restraining cord is in close proximity to a second selvage.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 20 words

A seating structure of claim 16, wherein the restraining cords are substantially straight and define a stitch notation of 0-0-0-0.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 30 words

A seating structure of claim 17 wherein the restraining cords are held in place on the front side by YARN #2 and on the back side by the elastomeric monofilament.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 26 words

A seating structure of claim 18 wherein YARN #3 defines a stitch notation of 2-2-0-0 and is wholly or partially held in place by YARN #1.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 20 words

A seating structure of claim 19 wherein the width stretch of the fabric is controlled substantially by the elastomeric monofilament.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 70 words

A seating structure of claim 1 wherein the frame defines a front support, a rear support, a first side support and a second side support; and the warp knitted fabric is stretched by at least about 2% in the weft direction and fastened across the first side support and the second side support, whereby the weft direction of the fabric is substantially perpendicular to the first and second side supports.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 115 words

A warp knit fabric having a front side, a rear side, at least one selvage; a plurality of wales; and a plurality of courses, the fabric further comprising: a) at least one restraining cord adjacent each selvage located substantially in the warp direction; b) an elastomeric monofilament substantially perpendicular to each restraining cord and located along the full width of the fabric in the weft direction, wherein the elastomeric monofilament is substantially continuous from course to course; wherein the wrap knit fabric encompassing the restraining cord and elastomeric monofilament together in a mesh which locks the monofilament and cord together in a substantially permanent relative position when the fabric is in a substantially non-stretched state.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 115 words

A warp knit fabric having a front side, a rear side, at least one selvage; a plurality of wales; and a plurality of courses, the fabric further comprising: a) at least one restraining cord adjacent each selvage located substantially in the warp direction; b) an elastomeric monofilament substantially perpendicular to each restraining cord and located along the full width of the fabric in the weft direction, wherein the elastomeric monofilament is substantially continuous from course to course; wherein the wrap knit fabric encompassing the restraining cord and elastomeric monofilament together in a mesh which locks the monofilament and cord together in a substantially permanent relative position when the fabric is in a substantially non-stretched state.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 106 words

A seat comprising: a) a frame; b) a fabric mechanically fastened and stretched across the frame, said fabric comprising: i) at least one restraining cord adjacent each selvage located substantially in the warp direction; ii) an elastomeric monofilament substantially perpendicular to each restraining cord and located along the full width of the fabric in the weft direction, wherein the elastomeric monofilament is substantially continuous from course to course; wherein the wrap knit fabric encompassing the restraining cord and elastomeric monofilament together in a mesh which locks the monofilament and cord together in a substantially permanent relative position when the fabric is in a substantially non-stretched state.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 106 words

A seat comprising: a) a frame; b) a fabric mechanically fastened and stretched across the frame, said fabric comprising: i) at least one restraining cord adjacent each selvage located substantially in the warp direction; ii) an elastomeric monofilament substantially perpendicular to each restraining cord and located along the full width of the fabric in the weft direction, wherein the elastomeric monofilament is substantially continuous from course to course; wherein the wrap knit fabric encompassing the restraining cord and elastomeric monofilament together in a mesh which locks the monofilament and cord together in a substantially permanent relative position when the fabric is in a substantially non-stretched state.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 26 words

A seat of claim 23 whereby the fabric is mechanically fastened to the frame by tube insertion, hooks, push-pin fasteners, locking clamp fasteners or combinations thereof.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1998-10-16	1999-04-17	1999-10-17	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2002-10-16	2003-04-17	2003-10-17	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2006-10-16	2007-04-17	2007-10-17	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Seating support

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