a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to pocketed bed sheets, and, more particularly to a bed sheet having side pockets designed for predetermined ingress and egress for thereby controlling placement of and removal of objects from within the pockets.
b. Description of Related Art
In the art, there presently exist a variety of known bed sheets for mattresses, with the sheets having pockets and the like for placement and/or organization of objects. The typical pocketed bed sheet includes one or more side pockets having an opening at a top area thereof for storage of objects such as television remote-controls, keys and other such objects. Other forms of pocketed bed sheets include pockets with zippers, buttons or other forms of means for closing the pockets.
Known prior art bed sheets are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,836 to Everson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,250 to Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,574 to Stromatt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,009 to Putka, U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,814 to Cybulski, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,544 to Graebe, D471,049 to Dale, and D481,899 to Thomas, the respective disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,836 to Everson discloses a bed sheet with convenience pouches having elastic pockets.
One exemplary drawback of the convenience pouches disclosed by Everson is that objects can be inadvertently dropped into the pockets. More importantly, for homes with babies and toddlers, it is often necessary to provide means for preventing inadvertent placement of objects in pockets and other such areas. It is also necessary to provide means for deterring babies and toddlers from accessing such pockets and removing objects therefrom. The present invention thus purports to overcome at least the aforementioned exemplary drawbacks of the pockets disclosed by Everson.
Another type of pocketed bed sheet is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,250 to Taylor. As shown in
While the pocketed bed sheet of Taylor overcomes some of the noted drawbacks of the convenience pouches disclosed by Everson, when the pockets of Taylor are disposed in the closed position by means of fastening members 20, the fastening members must be disengaged to enable objects to be placed into the pockets. Thus, the additional step of disengaging fastening members 20 is required before an object can be placed in the pocket for Taylor, and furthermore, the additional step of disengaging fastening members 20 is required in order to remove an object.
It would therefore be of benefit to provide a bed sheet having side pockets designed for predetermined ingress and egress for thereby controlling placement of and removal of items from within the pockets, without the need for engagement or disengagement of a fastening member. It would also be of benefit to provide a pocketed bed sheet which deters the inadvertent placement of objects in the pockets, for homes especially with babies and toddlers, and further having a means for deterring babies and toddlers from accessing such pockets and removing objects therefrom. There also remains a need for a pocketed bed sheet having side pockets which are simpler and more economical to manufacture, utilize less raw material, and are ergonomically superior to those of the prior art.
The present invention provides a bed sheet, the bed sheet including a fabric body configured to substantially cover a mattress and a pocket provided on the fabric body, where the pocket comprises a wall configured to hold objects in the pocket and a diagonal fabric edge. The diagonal fabric edge may define a diagonal opening for predetermined angular ingress and egress into the pocket for controlling placement and removal of objects from within the pocket and may be disposed at an angle relative to an edge of the fabric body.
The pocket may comprise two side walls, with one of the side walls having a shorter length than the other of the side walls, a bottom wall joining the side walls and configured to hold objects in the pocket, and a top wall connected to one of the side walls. The diagonal fabric edge may extend from the shorter of the side walls to the top wall. The length of the shorter of the side walls may be about one-half of the length of the other of the side walls. The length of the top wall may be about one-half of the length of the bottom wall.
The fabric body may comprise a top portion, side portions, and end portions. Adjacent side and end portions may be seamed together to form vertical corners. The vertical corners may be formed by a straight line of stitching and a safety stitch. The side portions and the end portions may include upper edge portions and lower edge portions terminating in lower edges extending lengthwise thereof and spaced from the top portion, the lower edges joining one another to form a continuous lower edge of the sheet. An elastic binding may be disposed around said lower edges. The elastic binding may extend along the entire length of said lower edges. The fabric body may be a fitted sheet.
The pocket may be provided on one of the side portions of the fabric body. A second pocket may be provided on another one of the side portions of the fabric body. The diagonal fabric edge may include an elastic lining for retaining the diagonal fabric edge near the fabric body when an object is placed in the pocket to deter access to the object. The diagonal fabric edge may include first and second layers of fabric and the elastic lining may be enclosed between the first and second layers of fabric.
The pocket may comprise a curved wall configured to hold objects in the pocket. The diagonal fabric edge may extend from one end of the curved wall to another end of the curved wall.
The present invention also provides a pocket device for a furniture covering. The pocket device may include an outer edge configured to form a substantially enclosed area and attach the pocket device to the furniture covering. The pocket device may further include a fabric edge extending from an end of the outer edge to another end of the outer edge. The fabric edge may define a diagonal opening disposed at an angle relative to an edge of the furniture covering. The diagonal opening may enable predetermined angular ingress and egress into the pocket device for controlling placement and removal of objects within the pocket device. The outer edge may include two side edges, a bottom edge joining the side edges, and a top edge connected to one of the side edges. The length of one of the side edges is about one-half the length of the other of the side edges. The length of the top edge is about one-half the length of the bottom edge.
The fabric edge may extend from the shorter of the side edges to the top edge. The fabric edge may include an elastic lining for retaining the fabric edge near the furniture covering when an object is placed in the pocket device to deter access to the object. The furniture covering may be a bed linen, a bed sheet, a bed comforter, a duvet, a sham, a bed skirt, or a slip cover.
The present invention also provides a furniture covering. The furniture covering may include a fabric body configured to cover at least a portion of a piece of furniture. The furniture covering may further include a pocket provided on the fabric body. The pocket may include a wall configured to hold objects in the pocket and a diagonal fabric edge. The diagonal fabric edge may define a diagonal opening for predetermined angular ingress and egress into the pocket for controlling placement and removal of objects from within the pocket and may be disposed at an angle relative to an edge of the fabric body.
The invention solves the problems and overcomes the drawbacks and deficiencies of prior art pocketed sheets by providing a bed sheet having side pockets designed for predetermined ingress and egress for thereby controlling placement of and removal of items from within the pockets, without the need for engagement or disengagement of a fastening member.
Thus an object of the present invention is to provide a pocketed bed sheet which deters the inadvertent placement of objects in the pockets, for homes especially with babies and toddlers, and further having a means for deterring babies and toddlers from accessing such pockets and removing objects therefrom.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pocketed bed sheet having side pockets which are simpler and more economical to manufacture, utilize less raw material, and are ergonomically superior to those of the prior art.
Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, 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.
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:
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,
Specifically, as shown in
Referring to
Referring now to
In order to provide a suitable means for predetermined ingress and egress into side pockets 12, 12′, edge 48 may include an elastic lining (not shown). The elastic lining may be formed of conventional material used for such elastic lining material in fitted sheets. In order to provide a secure means for enclosing the elastic lining, pockets 12, 12′ may be formed of two layers of fabric material folded over along the length of edge 48 so that the elastic lining may be enclosed between the two fabric materials and stitched between the two fabric layers at stitch line 50. As described above for walls 34, 36, 38, 40, and 52, stitch line 50 may be a single or double stitch. Pockets 12, 12′ may be entirely formed of elastic in order to provide suitable means for predetermined ingress and egress.
Based upon the provisions of top wall 38 (
For the pocketed bed sheets illustrated in
Based upon the discussion above, the pocketed bed sheet of the present invention thus solves the problems and overcomes the drawbacks and deficiencies of prior art pocketed sheets by providing a pocketed bed sheet having side pockets designed for predetermined ingress and egress for thereby controlling placement of and removal of items from within the pockets, without the need for engagement or disengagement of a fastening member. Pocketed bed sheet 10, 10′ also deters the inadvertent placement of objects in the pockets, for homes especially with babies and toddlers, and further includes elastic edge 48 for deterring babies and toddlers from accessing such pockets and removing objects therefrom.
Although pockets 12, 12′ according to the present invention have been illustrated as being provided on a fitted sheet in
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.
The present application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/609,272, filed Sep. 14, 2004, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60609272 | Sep 2004 | US |