U.S. patent application number 11/901256 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-07 for shoeskirt.
Invention is credited to Holly S. Tucker.
Application Number | 20090113629 11/901256 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40586615 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090113629 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tucker; Holly S. |
May 7, 2009 |
ShoeSkirt
Abstract
A functional bed skirt that consists of clear plastic covered
pockets, used to store shoes. This ShoeSkirt is placed underneath
an existing bed skirt. The skirt portion is a gathered material
(such as polypropylene) which has thin gauge plastic attached to
form pockets, which allow their contents to be visible. The
pleating falls under the bed frame, which allows most of storage to
take place under the bed. This design disguises the bulk of the
shoes, and gives a clean line under a decorative bed skirt,
providing "hidden" shoe storage under your bed frame.
Inventors: |
Tucker; Holly S.;
(Hendersonville, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TILLMAN WRIGHT, PLLC
P.O. BOX 473909
CHARLOTTE
NC
28247
US
|
Family ID: |
40586615 |
Appl. No.: |
11/901256 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/485 ;
5/493 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 9/0292
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/485 ;
5/493 |
International
Class: |
A47G 9/02 20060101
A47G009/02 |
Claims
1. A ShoeSkirt comprising i) a fabric upper portion to be
positioned upon the top of a [mattress] box-spring, ii) at least
one side that hangs downwardly from said box-spring toward a floor,
iii) at least one storage pocket integrated along each of said
sides, in the form of a pouch having a) a pair of surfaces defining
an outer panel and an inner panel, b) a means for connecting said
outer and inner panels together along their laterally vertical
edges and along their lower horizontal edge, said outer and inner
panels being unconnected along their respective top horizontal edge
so that articles may be received and stored within the pocket
between said outer and inner panels, c) and a means for attaching
said inner panels of said pockets to said sides while permitting
entry into said pouches, in such a way that said pockets may hang
toward said floor without being impeded by any hardware on a bed
frame, wherein said pouch outer and inner panels may be transparent
or translucent to allow storage to remain visible, and wherein said
pouch inner panels are pleated to allow storage to protrude into a
space below said box-spring and to allow a uniform exterior
appearance.
2. A ShoeSkirt comprising i) a fabric upper portion to be
positioned upon the top of a platform, ii) at least a pair of sides
that hang downwardly from said platform toward a floor, iii) at
least one storage pocket integrated along each of said sides, in
the form of a pouch having a) a pair of surfaces defining an outer
panel and an inner panel, b) a means for connecting said outer and
inner panels together along their laterally vertical edges and
along their lower horizontal edge, said outer and inner panels
being unconnected along their respective top horizontal edge so
that articles may be received and stored within the pocket between
said outer and inner panels, c) and a means for attaching said
inner panels of said pockets to said sides while permitting entry
into said pouches, in such a way that said pockets may hang toward
said floor without being impeded by any platform hardware, wherein
said pouch outer and inner panels may be transparent or translucent
to allow storage to remain visible, and wherein said pouch inner
panels are pleated to allow storage to protrude into a space below
said platform and to allow a uniform exterior appearance.
3. A skirt comprising i) a fabric upper portion to be positioned
upon the top of any elevated structure, ii) at least a pair of
sides that hang downwardly from said elevated structure, iii) at
least one storage pocket integrated along each of said sides, in
the form of a pouch having. a) a pair of surfaces defining an outer
panel and an inner panel, b) a means for connecting said outer and
inner panels together along their laterally vertical edges and
along their lower horizontal edge, said outer and inner panels
being unconnected along their respective top horizontal edge so
that articles may be received and stored within the pocket between
said outer and inner panels, c) and a means for attaching said
inner panels of said pockets to said sides while permitting entry
into said pouches, in such a way that said pockets may hang
downward without being impeded by any portion of said elevated
structure, wherein said pouch outer and inner panels may be
transparent or translucent to allow storage to remain visible, and
wherein said pouch inner panels are pleated to allow storage to
protrude into a space below said elevated structure and to allow a
uniform exterior appearance.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] In terms of storage, the space below a typical bed is one of
the most under-utilized areas in the average home. There have been
mechanical assemblies designed to utilize that space, but no one
has provided a convenient bedding accessory to do so. Many designs
for bedding are intended to occupy areas adjacent to the bed for
storage, some near the floor, and others at mattress level.
[0002] A number of pocketed bed shams have been proposed. U.S. Pat.
No. D481,899 provides an odd-looking tarp, which suggests that
pockets would be useful on the exterior. But this design does not
have the slack required to allow storage to rest under the bed.
U.S. Pat. No. D471,049 depicts a dust ruffle with storage. Due to
the excess of material, this storage will obstruct the floor area
surrounding the bed, when it is occupied. Neither of these two
designs, unfortunately, will function with a footboard, and neither
will tend to utilize the space underneath the bed itself.
[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,009, No. 5,581,829, No. 6,594,836, and
No. 6,601,250 all indicate pockets on the sides of a mattress,
which take up otherwise useful space, while causing stored articles
to actually become a hindrance to normal activities, such as
sitting on the edge of the mattress.
[0004] Again, all of these items fail to effectively utilize the
actual volume directly below the box-spring. More specifically, no
bedding apparel prescribes a use to optimize its own material, and
maximize storage capacity.
SUMMARY
[0005] The ShoeSkirt is a storage solution to those with limited
closet space (or just too many shoes) because it takes the storage
out of the closet and brings it into the bedroom--using the dead
space already existing under your bed frame. This area has
historically been under-utilized. The ShoeSkirt is mainly a woman's
product for women's shoes. Men can appreciate it if they are
married to women with too many shoes, though. The ShoeSkirt,
however, can store things other than shoes.
[0006] Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a
pocketed bedskirt that utilizes a portion of the space directly
under a bed, by having pockets that are pleated on the portion that
is interior to the bedskirt.
[0007] It is another object of this invention to provide a pocketed
bedskirt that is slotted, so that it functions on any bed, and not
just beds without a footboard.
[0008] It is yet another object of this invention to provide a
pocketed bedskirt that allows the contents in storage to be visible
through the pocket material.
[0009] It is still another object of this invention to provide a
pocketed bedskirt that maximizes the use of the bedskirt as an
under-bed storage device, by utilizing the entire length of the
exposed perimeter of the bed.
[0010] It is one more object of this invention to provide a
pocketed bedskirt that has a clean uniform appearance upon its
exterior. The invention provided disguises the bulk of the shoes,
and gives a clean look under the decorative bed sham (or dust
ruffle), providing hidden shoe storage under your bed frame.
DRAWING FIGURES
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ShoeSkirt.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of
the ShoeSkirt (mounted on an ordinary collapsible craft table).
ITEM NUMBERS
[0013] 10 SHOESKIRT [0014] 15 UPPER PORTION [0015] 20 SIDE [0016]
25 SLOT [0017] 30 POCKET [0018] 40 OUTER PANEL [0019] 50 INNER
PANEL [0020] 55 PLEAT [0021] 60 STITCHING [0022] 80 TABLE
DESCRIPTION
[0023] The device is a ShoeSkirt (shown in FIG. 1). It is made of a
combination of sheet materials and stitching.
[0024] In its preferred embodiment, the ShoeSkirt 10 is designed to
store shoes, one pair of shoes in each pouch (approximately thirty
pairs of shoes on a twin-sized bed). It can also hold a variety of
other items in each pocket 30.
[0025] The pockets themselves are designed so that the bulk of
their contents is disposed underneath a bed, within a perimeter
defined by the four sides of the box-spring. The construction of
the ShoeSkirt facilitates this condition.
[0026] The upper portion 15 is attached to at least one draping
side 2Q. The upper portion and the side(s) are made of an
appropriate linen, a gathered material (such as polypropylene).
Between two adjacent sides, a slot 25 is provided. This slot allows
the ShoeSkirt to be used with beds of slight variation from nominal
size, as well as with bed frames that include a footboard. Though,
ShoeSkirts having different overall dimensions will be made to fit
different standard bed sizes (i.e. King, Queen, Full, etc.).
[0027] The side comprises at least one inner panel 50 and one outer
panel 40, in the form of a pouch. The inner and outer panels can be
primarily transparent and made of a clear vinyl, or they can be
made of a suitable fabric, or a combination of either. The inner
panel has at least one pleat 55 to allow the pocket to expand
toward the interior of the ShoeSkirt, and underneath the bed. The
inner and outer panels are secured together with thread stitching
60, along their sides and bottom. The top edges of the panels
remain unfastened to allow articles to be inserted and removed
easily. The inner panel is stitched to the upper portion, to form
the side 20 of the ShoeSkirt.
[0028] An alternate embodiment is also shown (FIG. 2). Here, the
ShoeSkirt 10 is used as a table cover for hobbies and games, with
at least one pocketed side 20 that hangs downward, below the
surface of the table 80. An example of a pleat 55 is shown, as well
as an area of stitching 60.
[0029] Another embodiment is a TravelSkirt (not shown). This is a
section of a ShoeSkirt that slips under the end of the bed to
provide approximately 12 pockets of storage (for queen-size).
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