U.S. patent application number 12/825149 was filed with the patent office on 2011-12-29 for bed sheet and mattress pad with elasticized head and foot panels.
This patent application is currently assigned to Pac-Fung Feather Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Fan Shi Hoo.
Application Number | 20110314604 12/825149 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45351120 |
Filed Date | 2011-12-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110314604 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hoo; Fan Shi |
December 29, 2011 |
BED SHEET AND MATTRESS PAD WITH ELASTICIZED HEAD AND FOOT
PANELS
Abstract
A bed sheet with elastic side panels is made of a material body
configured to substantially cover a mattress. The sheet is provided
with a foot and head elastic panels that cover and end region of
the mattress and side panels. A portion of each side panel adjacent
the mattress corner is made of an elastic material. The foot and
head elastic panels extend to and connect to the elastic portions
of the sides panels. The elastic panels can be configured of one
sheet of material in common with the foot and head panels or as
separate panels covering an end portion, and opposing side
portions. These separate panels are joined at the apex of a corner
of the mattress.
Inventors: |
Hoo; Fan Shi; (Kwun Tong,
HK) |
Assignee: |
Pac-Fung Feather Co., Ltd.
Kowloon
HK
|
Family ID: |
45351120 |
Appl. No.: |
12/825149 |
Filed: |
June 28, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/497 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 9/0246
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/497 |
International
Class: |
A47G 9/02 20060101
A47G009/02 |
Claims
1. A bed sheet with elastic panels comprising: a material body
configured to substantially cover a top of a mattress and parts of
opposing portions of the side walls of the mattress; and an elastic
head panel and an elastic foot panel configured to cover the head
end portion and foot end portion of the mattress; and elastic side
panels located adjacent the mattress corners, the head and foot
panels being further configured to attach to and cooperate with the
elastic side patents to cover the end corners of the mattress, the
elastic side panels being configured to be joined to the material
body parts opposing portions of the side walls of the mattress so
as to not substantially overlap the elastic and material
portions.
2. A bed sheet according to claim 1 wherein the elastic head and
foot portions are configured of separate portions joined together
with the elastic side portions at the apex of each corner of the
mattress.
3. A bed sheet according to claim 1 wherein the elastic head and
foot portions are configured of a single piece of elastic material
configured to extend into and form the elastic side portions at the
apex of each corner of the mattress.
4. A bed sheet as in any one of claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein the
material side panels have a top portion and a bottom portion and
wherein the top and bottom portions are of the same length.
5. A bed sheet as in any one of claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein the
material side panels have a top portion and a bottom portion and
wherein the top portion and the bottom portion are of unequal
lengths.
6. A bed sheet as in any one of claims 1, 2 and 3 wherein the
elastic head and foot panels are joined to the material side panels
so that there is no overlap of material.
7. A bed sheet as in any one of claims 1, 2 and 3 further including
a bottom edge of the bed sheet material that extends under the
mattress at least at the corners.
8. A bed sheet as in claim 7 wherein the bottom edge is elastic.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] a. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a bed sheet
covering, and more particularly, to a bed sheet covering
incorporating elastic side panels. The bed sheet itself is a
conventional covering material joined to elastic side panels. The
elastic side panels are formed so as to cover the corners of a
mattress. The elastic side panels and inelastic side panels are
joined by seams so that the complete bed sheet has an elastic band
circumferentially located on an outer perimeter of the bed
sheet.
[0003] b. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In the art there exists a variety of known bed sheets for
mattresses. A sub-portion of these prior art bed sheets possess an
elastic band or strip of material so as to conform the sheet to the
mattress. Prior art bed sheets with elastic portions use a variety
of materials and means for conforming the bed sheet to the
mattress. Known prior art bed sheets are disclosed, for example, in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,574 to Kardell and U.S. Pat. No 7,398,570 to
Seago et al.
[0005] Prior art mattresses lack the proper configuration of
elastic material so as to ensure proper fit to a wide variety of
mattresses sizes and styles. In particular, most prior art mattress
coverings fail to properly conform to, or accommodate the vertical
corners of a mattress. As such, these mattress coverings suffer
from poor fit and constant slippage. Additionally, the prior art
covers use a circumferential band of elastic material on the outer
edge of the mattress covering. This small elastic band is
insufficient to provide enough elastic recovery force to ensure
that mattress coverings are not subject to slippage, improper fit
and poor appearance. The incorporation of head and foot panels
comprising elastic materials is an improvement over the art.
However, it is clear that even with these additions, the prior art
covers have obvious drawbacks that are addressed by the present
invention.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,574 to Kardell ("Kardell") is directed
to a bed sheet with elasticized head and foot panels. The bed sheet
of Kardell includes a fabric body to substantially cover a mattress
and elastic foot and head panels joined to non-elastic top and side
panels. An elasticized cord extends around the lower edged of the
panels. FIG. 5 of Kardell shows a typical fitted sheet with elastic
material attached to the top and side panels to form a bed sheet
with elastic panels. Column 2, lines 45-60 of Kardell describe the
head and foot panels as requiring a top dimension that is longer
than the bottom dimension. In this way Kardell seeks to form head
and foot panels that are roughly trapezoidal in shape. The shape of
the panels is designed so that bed sheet asserts a greater tension
on the lower portion of the side panels.
[0007] An obvious drawback of the structure described by Kardell is
that the elastic head and foot panels have a shorter bottom surface
than their top surface. As such the material body sheet must extend
around the corners of the mattress in order to joint with the
elastic head and foot panels. This results in non-elastic portions
being at the corners, which leads to improper fit.
[0008] Another type of elastic bed sheet is disclosed by U.S. Pat.
No. 7,398,570 to Seago ("Seago"). Seago is directed to a bed sheet
having elastic head and foot panels integrated into its
construction. Seago describes a top sheet (FIG. 3) that also has
side panel covering extension of material (See 11, 3, and 23 of
FIG. 4). Seago also describes a head and foot panel designed to
cover the head and foot side portions of a mattress (See FIG. 4 and
FIG. 3). Seago further describes an elastic end panel that covers
the lower partial portion of the end wall of the mattress. (Col 3,
Lns 65-Col 4, lns 5)
[0009] While the elastic bed sheet disclosed in Seago overcomes
some of the drawbacks of the elastic panels found in Katten, the
elastic panels in Seago fail to have elastic head and foot panels
that encompass the corner regions of the mattress and can be either
of a single formed sheet or of multiple formed panes joined
together. Furthermore, Seago describes an elastic panel that does
not cover the entire end wall portion of the mattress. Instead it
is designed to only cover a lower portion of the end wall.
[0010] It would therefore be of benefit to provide a bed sheet
having elastic side panels that encompass the end the entire
mattress. Furthermore, it would be of benefit to provide elastic
panels that cover the corners of the mattress. It would be of
further benefit to provide these elastic side panels in one
continuous sheet or in a series of joined portions depending on
ease of use and construction. It is of further benefit to provide
that these elastic panels be formed so as to cover at least a
portion of the side walls of a mattress and be joined to a
non-elastic material covering body which covers the remaining
sidewalls of the mattress. Additionally it is of further benefits
that the head and foot panels both have elastic panels that cover
opposing sections of the sidewalls of the mattress.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention is a bed sheet designed and configured
to cover and conform to a mattress. The bed sheet comprises a
material body sheet portion and elastic head and foot panel
portions. The material body sheet is configured to cover the top
side of a mattress. Additionally, the material body sheet is
further configured to cover at least a portion of the opposing side
walls of the mattress. The elastic head and foot panel portions are
configured to cover the head wall and foot wall of the mattress.
Additionally, the head and foot panels are configured to conform to
the shape of the mattress corners. An additional aspect of the
elastic foot and head panels is that the panels are configured to
cover opposing sides of the mattress side walls.
[0012] The elastic head and foot panels are therefore configured to
substantially cover at least one head or foot portion of the
mattress and at least a portion of the opposing sidewalls adjacent
to the head and foot walls of a mattress. The elasticized or
elastic panels may be formed of a continuous sheet of elastic
material or of separate formed side panels. The bed sheet may be
configured to have an elastic band circumferentially located on the
outer perimeter of the bed sheet. Furthermore, the material body
sheet and the elastic portions may be joined by means of a seam or
other fastener.
[0013] The material body of the bed sheet may be configured to
cover a top wall of a mattress, as well as corresponding opposing
portions of the mattress side walls. The material body may be
formed out of a continuous material or it may comprise several
different sheets of material of varying dimensions joined together
by means of seams or other fasteners.
[0014] One embodiment of the present bed sheet is further
characterized in that the material body side wall portions that
extend between the elastic side wall portions may be formed so that
the longitudinal length of a bottom portion is equal to the
longitudinal length of a top portion. A further embodiment of the
bed sheet is envisioned wherein the longitudinal length of the top
portion is not equal to the longitudinal length of the bottom
portion. In a still further embodiment the longitudinal lengths of
the top and bottom portions of the side wall covering material body
is the same on both sides, which may have the top portions shorter
than the bottom portions or the top portions longer than the
bottom. Furthermore, the elastic and material sheets may be the
same length on both sides, different on both sides, longer on the
top or longer on bottom. In an embodiment The elastic portion is
joined to the material portion by means of a seam or other
fastener.
[0015] The elastic material body may be formed of any suitable
elastic material, including but not limited to elastic natural and
synthetic fibers, natural and synthetic rubber sheeting, polymers,
plastics and plasticized material. The material body top sheet may
be formed of any non-elastic material suitable, including but not
limited to natural or synthetic sheeting materials (e.g., cotton or
Nylon) and plastics or plasticized materials.
[0016] The present invention solves the problems and overcomes the
drawbacks and deficiencies of prior art bed sheets with elastic
side panels by providing a bed sheet that is configured to use
elastic head and foot panels that cover a head and foot wall region
of the mattress as well as extending around the corner of the
mattress to cover a substantial portion of the opposing side walls
of the mattress. This allows for the mattress to have a greater fit
and prevents the mattress cover from slipping off the mattress.
Furthermore the present invention allows for a more pleasing
appearance at the corners of the mattress, as excess material is
unnecessary to ensure proper fit. Additionally, the mattress cover
can employ the use of multiple elastic portions which allow the bed
sheet with elastic panels to have corner seams matching the corners
of the mattress so as to ensure maximum tension to secure the bed
sheet to the mattress.
[0017] Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the
invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the
following detailed description, drawings, and claims. It is to be
understood that both the foregoing summary of the invention and the
following detailed description are exemplary and intended to
provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the
invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate preferred
embodiments of the invention and together with the detail
description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In
the drawings:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bed sheet with elastic
head, foot and side panels according to the present invention
formed of continuous pieces of elastic material;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bed sheet according to
the present invention in which the elastic side panels have a
longer bottom than top; ;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bed sheet with elastic
panels according to the present invention in which the side panels
are formed of different elastic pieces than the head and foot
panels;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bed sheet with elastic
panels according to the present invention in which the side panels
are formed of different elastic pieces than the head and foot
panels, and the side panels have a longer bottom than top ; and
[0023] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bed sheet according to
an embodiment of the present invention from under the mattress.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] Referring now to the drawings wherein like references
numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views,
FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a bed sheet having elastic head, foot and side
panels according to the present invention.
[0025] Specifically shown in FIG. 1 is a bed sheet 101 with elastic
side panels 107. The bed sheet is shown fitted to a convention
mattress (mattress not shown). The mattress may be any mattress
size or configuration. Additionally the mattress may encompasses
not only standard spring and box mattress types, but any
mattress-like device, including, but not limited to water-bed
bladders, air mattresses, foam or gel mattresses and other bedding
devices.
[0026] The bed sheet material has a roughly rectangular shape with
a top portion 105 made of typical mattress cover material, e.g.,
quilted cotton. The sheet material has side panels 107, covering
opposing side wall areas of the mattress. The side panels have
parts 109 made of elastic material. Further, the side panels have a
top portion 106 and a bottom portion 108 with a length that is
equal to, but preferably shorter than, the length of the mattress,
so that the elastic part 109 is stretched and tightly holds the bed
sheet material to the mattress. The bottom portion 108 of the
elastic part 109 of the side panel has a length that is at most
equal in length to the top portion 106 of the elastic part. The
mattress sheet 101 also has a head panel (not shown) and a foot
panel 111 both made of elastic material. The head and foot panels
are configured so that the head and foot panel cover the head and
foot end portions of the mattress (not shown). Additionally, each
elastic head and foot panel also extends about mattress corner 113
to opposing elastic portions 109 of the mattress side wall.
[0027] The bed sheet material and the elastic panel material may be
joined by seams, fasteners or any other means of joining fabric.
One skilled in the art would recognize the types of materials
capable of being joined and used in the material sheet and elastic
panels.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 2 the material sheet side panel 107 is
configured so that the top portion 106 of elastic part 109 is very
small, so the length of the non-elastic cloth portion is
approximately the length of the mattress. At the bottom portion 108
the elastic part has a significant length, approximately the same
as in FIG. 1, so that the length of the non-elastic cloth portion
is significantly shorter than the mattress length. In this
configuration of the material bed sheet side panel 107, the
non-elastic cloth section has a roughly trapezoidal shape. As shown
in FIG. 2, when the non-elastic part of the bed sheet side panel
107 has a trapezoidal shape, the opposing portions 109 (shown
shaded) of the elastic part of the side panel possess a
complementary shape so as to allow the joining of the elastic and
not elastic portions so as to avoid a significant overlap of
material. Those skilled in the art would recognize the
configurations of complementary shapes available that allow the
panels to be joined without significant material overlap.
[0029] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the elastic side panels 109 are
continuous with, the head and foot panels 111 at the mattress
corners 113. Because of the elasticity of the material, the corners
will have a neat appearance. Further, since a bottom edge 115 of
the bed sheet material (FIG. 5) extends under the mattress at least
at the corners, the bed sheet material fits snugly and securely on
the mattress. The bottom edge may be made of cloth or an elastic
material. Because the top and bottom portions of the elastic panels
109 have the same length in FIG. 1, they apply uniform stress on
the corners. However, the trapezoidal configuration in FIG. 2
applies more stress on the bottom portions of the corners, which
helps to keep the bed sheet on the mattress.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, a bed sheet 101 with elastic panels such
as that of FIG. 1, has separate elastic side panels 109, which are
connected to at least one of the head and foot panels 111, as
opposed to being continuous with the head and foot panels 111 as in
FIGS. 1 and 2. The at least two individual elastic portions are
joined at the corners 113 so as to form corners that overlap and
conform to the corners of the mattress. The bed sheet with elastic
panels as shown in FIG. 3 has the elastic side panels 109 having
the length for the top and bottom portions the same. Also depicted
in FIG. 3, the opposing portions of the elastic panel 109 (shown
cross-hatched) are formed and joined with the non-elastic body side
panel material so that there is substantially no material
overlap.
[0031] As shown FIG. 4, there is a bed sheet 101 with elastic
panels as in FIG. 2; wherein the length of the top portion 106 of
the non-elastic material body side panel 107 is longer than the
length of the bottom portion 108, so that the partial part has a
trapezoidal shape and the elastic side panel portions have
triangular shapes 109. The triangular shapes 109 are of separate
materials than the foot and head panels 111, and are joined
thereto.
[0032] Based upon the discussion above, the bed sheet with elastic
side panels of the present invention solves the problems and
drawbacks highlighted and found throughout the prior art. The bed
sheet with elastic side panels is formed so as to maintain a more
secure grip on the mattress without the use of unnecessary or
wasteful excess material. The prior art failed to provide for a
mattress or bed sheet that maintained proper appearance and fit
when used on a variety of mattress thicknesses. The bed sheet of
the present invention with elastic side panels covers the corners
of the mattress with elastic material, thereby allowing for a more
even fit and smoother appearance This is accomplished by extending
the elastic material so that it covers not only the head and foot
panels, but additionally a portion of the opposing side wall
portions of the mattress. The return force exerted by the elastic
portions ensures that the fit and appearance of the bed sheet are
optimal. Lastly, the present invention allows for a single sheet to
be used with a number of mattresses of varying thickness, while
simultaneously preserving a neat and ordered appearance to the
mattress.
[0033] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying
drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited
to those particular embodiments, and that various changes and
modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art
without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as
defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *