US-20260123755-A1 - SEAT CUSHION

US20260123755A1US 20260123755 A1US20260123755 A1US 20260123755A1US-20260123755-A1

Abstract

A seat cushion is integrally formed of a foamed elastomer. A hand cavity, by which the cushion may be carried, is positioned underneath a ridge of the cushion body. A flexible hanger strap may be threaded through a strap hole that extends from a ceiling of the hand cavity to the upper surface.

Inventors

David F. MacNeil
Stephen Kane

Assignees

MACNEIL IP LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241104

Claims (8)

1 . A seat cushion comprising: a body integrally molded of a foamed elastomer, the body having an upper surface and an opposed lower surface, the body having a rear margin extending from the upper surface to the lower surface; a hand cavity formed near the rear margin to upwardly extend into the body and adapted to receive fingers of the human hand, the hand cavity having an upper surface downwardly spaced from the upper surface of the body; a hanger strap hole extending from the upper surface of the hand cavity through the body to the upper surface of the body; and an elongate flexible hanger strap inserted through the hanger strap hole, the hanger strap adapted to hang the seat cushion from a support for storage.
2 . The seat cushion of claim 1 , wherein the foamed elastomer comprises polyurethane.
3 . A seat cushion comprising: a body integrally molded of a foamed elastomer, the body having an upper surface and an opposed lower surface, the body having a rear margin, a left margin forwardly extending from the rear margin, and a right margin opposed to the left margin and forwardly extending from the rear margin, the rear, right and left margins downwardly extending from the upper surface of the body to the lower surface of the body; the body having a central depression, a ridge of the body disposed between the central depression and the left, rear and right margins, the upper surface of the body being downwardly and inwardly sloped from the ridge to the central depression; and a hand cavity formed to upwardly extend from the lower surface of the body into the ridge of the body and adapted to receive a plurality of fingers of the human hand, the hand cavity having an upper surface downwardly spaced from the upper surface of the body.
4 . The seat cushion of claim 3 , wherein the body is formed around a longitudinal center line, the hand cavity disposed on the longitudinal center line.
5 . The seat cushion of claim 3 , wherein the lower surface of the body is substantially flat.
6 . The seat cushion of claim 3 , wherein the foamed elastomer comprises polyurethane.
7 . The seat cushion of claim 3 , wherein the body has a front margin which extends from the left margin to the right margin, the upper surface of the body being upwardly convexly curved between the central depression and the front margin.
8 . The seat cushion of claim 3 , wherein the central depression has a center and a boundary, a sloped surface extending downwardly and radially inwardly from the ridge to the boundary, the boundary having a minimum radius of about five inches.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention relates to seat cushions, and particularly seat cushions molded of a foamed elastomer. Stadium or bleacher seats can be hard, and where such seats are exposed to the elements, may be cold. Stadium seats and seat cushions have therefore been developed which may be transported by fans into the stadium for their personal use. A common seat cushion is simply a square of foamed elastomer which may be covered by a fabric. Improvements could still be made relative to ergonomics and ease of fabrication. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention, a seat cushion has a body integrally molded of a foam elastomer. The body has an upper surface and an opposed lower surface. A rear margin of the body extends from the upper surface to the lower surface. A hand cavity is formed near the rear margin to upwardly extend into the body and is adapted to receive fingers of a human hand. The hand cavity has an upper surface that is downwardly spaced from the upper surface of the body. A hanger strap hole extends through the body from the upper surface of the hand cavity to the upper surface of the body. The hanger strap hole accepts an elongate flexible strap that his adapted to hand the seat cushion from a support for storage. According to another aspect of the invention, a seat cushion is provided which has a body molded from a foamed elastomer. The body has an upper surface and an opposed lower surface. The body has a rear margin, a left margin forwardly extending from the rear margin, and a right margin that is opposed to the left margin and also forwardly extends from the rear margin. The rear, right and left margins extend downwardly from the upper surface of the body to the lower surface of the body. The body has a central depression. A ridge of the body is disposed between the central depression and the left, right and rear margins. The upper surface of the body is downwardly and inwardly sloped from the ridge to the central depression. A hand cavity is formed to upwardly extend from the lower surface of the body into the ridge and is adapted to receive a plurality of fingers of the human hand. The hand cavity has an upper surface downwardly spaced from the upper surface of the body. The hand cavity gives the user a place to grip the cushion for carrying, and positioning the hand cavity within the ridge will not decrease the cushionability of the seat overall. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further aspects of the invention and their advantages can be discerned in the following detailed description as read in conjunction with the drawings of exemplary embodiments, in which like characters denote like parts and in which: FIG. 1 is a rear top right perspective view of a seat cushion according to the invention; FIG. 2 is top view of the seat cushion shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the seat cushion shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is bottom front perspective view shown in FIGS. 1-3, but also showing a hanger strap; FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along Line 5-5 of FIG. 1; and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along Line 6-6 of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION As seen in FIG. 1, a seat cushion indicated generally at 100 has a body 101 with a front margin 102, an opposed rear margin 104, a left margin 106 that extends from front margin 102 to rear margin 104, and a right margin 108 that is opposed to left margin 106 and likewise extends from front margin 102 to rear margin 104. The body 101 has a central depression 110 and, surrounding depression 110 on three sides, a ridge 112. An upper surface 114 of the body 101 includes a surface 116 which downwardly and inwardly slopes from ridge 112 to a boundary 118 of the central depression 110. Surface 116 better conforms to a user's seat than a flat plane and better distributes the user's weight. Front margin 102 may be straight and may be joined to left margin 106 by a rounded corner 120. Front margin 102 may be joined to right margin 108 by a rounded corner 122. The rear margin 104 may be outwardly convexly curved and is joined to left and right margins 106 and 108 by respective curved transitions 124, 126 of larger radius than corners 120, 122. A hanger strap hole 128 may be positioned near rear margin 104 and may be disposed on a longitudinal center line 200 (FIG. 2) of the body 101. As seen in FIG. 2, a rear part of boundary 118 is curved, and may be elliptical or semicircular. A minimum radius 202 of the boundary 118 from body center C may be in the range of __ inches to __ inches and in the illustrated embodiment is about five inches. The body 101 may be integrally molded from a foamed elastomer. More particularly, the body 101 may be cast using a molten foaming polyurethane. After hardening, the body 101 will have a fluid-impervious flexible skin 204 and a foamed interior 500 (FIGS. 5 and 6). As seen in FIG. 3, a hand cavity 300 is form