Patent Application
20150089739
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to a cover for hiding slats of an upper bunk of a bunk bed.
Bunk beds are two beds that are stacked upon each other. Unfortunately, the person sleeping on the bottom bunk is not able to decorate his or her space and must view aesthetically displeasing slats that support the bed of the upper bunk.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method and apparatus for hiding the slats of the upper bunk.
The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein address the needs discussed above, discussed below and those that are known in the art.
A cover for hiding slats of an upper bunk of a bunk bed is disclosed. The cover is tautly wrapped around the head slat and the foot slat of the upper bunk. The cover is tensioned by a plurality of first and second straps that are respectively secured to the opposed distal end portions of the cover. By attaching the cover to the slats with the straps, the cover can accommodate bunk beds that position the head and foot slats at different positions. The cover is a one size fits all. The cover may additionally have one or more flaps that can be traversed between first and second positions for displaying two or more motifs. The cover serves to conceal the aesthetically displeasing slats and to provide a protective barrier over splinters of wooden slats.
More particularly, a cover for hiding slats exposed on an underside of an upper bed of a bunk bed is disclosed. The cover may comprise a sheet, a plurality of first straps and a plurality of second straps. The sheet may define a first side and a second side. The first side of the sheet is exposed for viewing by a person lying down on a lower bunk of the bunk bed. The second side of the sheet faces the slats of the upper bed of the bunk bed. The plurality of first straps may be attached to a first end portion of the sheet. The plurality of second straps may be attached to an opposed second end portion of the sheet. The first and second straps may be removably engageable to each other and adjustable to place tension in the first and second straps and the elongate sheet.
The cover may further comprise first and second rigid members. The first rigid member may extend between two of the first straps. The first rigid member may be attached to the first end portion of the elongate sheet for distributing force on the sheet about a width of the first straps. The second rigid member may extend between two of the second straps. The second rigid member may be attached to the second end portion of the elongate sheet for distributing force on the elongate sheet about a width of the second straps. The first and second rigid members may extend from a left edge to a right edge of the sheet. Alternatively, the first and second rigid members may extend between outermost first straps and outermost second straps.
The first and second rigid members may be stiffer than the sheet. The first and second rigid members may be fabricated from a plastic material (e.g., buckram, cotton fiber with stabilizer such as glue, etc.). The sheet may be fabricated from a fabric (e.g., woven cotton, etc.).
The sheet may be fabricated from a multi-ply fabric. The first and second rigid members may be embedded between outer plies of the multi-ply fabric of the sheet.
The second straps may have buckles for feeding the first straps through the buckles and tensioning the sheet. The first straps may have a fastening system for fixing the tension of the straps and the sheet after the desired tension is achieved.
The cover may further comprise a flap extending from the first side of the sheet. The flap may be longer than ½ a length of the upper bunk and define first and second sides. A distal end portion of the flap may have a fastener for fastening the distal end portion of the flap to the first side either in a first position exposing a first side of the flap or in a second position exposing a second side of the flap.
The first side of the sheet may have first and second fasteners which are positioned on top of the upper bunk when the cover is mounted to the upper bunk of the bunk bed. A distal portion of the flap may have a fastener. A length of the flap may be equal to a distance between a hinge of the flap to the first side of the sheet and one of the first and second fasteners formed on the first side of the sheet. A first distance between the hinge of the flap and the first fastener formed on the first side of the sheet may be equal to a second distance between the hinge of the flap and the second fastener formed on the first side of the sheet.
The fastener and the mating fastener may be hooks and loops, snaps, buttons or a combination thereof.
In another aspect, a method of mounting a cover to an upper bunk of a bunk bed is disclosed. The method may comprise the steps of wrapping a sheet around a first outer support of the upper bunk and an opposed second outer support of the upper bunk; adjusting tension of the sheet around the first and second outer supports (e.g., left and right rails of head and foot slats) by engaging first and second straps attached to the opposed distal end portions of the sheet; and securing the first and second straps together to fix the tension in the sheet.
The adjusting step may include the step of feeding first straps through buckles attached to the second straps and securing a fastening system.
The method may further comprise the step of traversing a flap to a first position and engaging a fastener on a distal end portion of the flap and a first mating fastener on a first side of the sheet wherein the first mating fastener is positioned on top of the upper bunk.
The method may also further comprise the step of traversing the flap to a second position and engaging the fastener on the distal end portion of the flap and a second mating fastener on the first side of the sheet wherein the second mating fastener is positioned on top of the upper bunk.
The first and second outer supports may be either left and right rails of the upper bunk or head and foot slats of the upper bunk.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
Referring now to the drawings, a cover 10 is disclosed for hiding a plurality of slats 12 so that a person lying on a bottom bunk of a bunk bed does not have to see the unappealing plurality of slats 12 of the upper bunk. Instead, the cover 10 may have an artistic design (see
More particularly, referring now to
Referring now to
The width 28 of the cover 10 may be slightly narrower compared to a width 32 of the elongate rails 30 of the upper bunk 22. In this manner, the cover 10 conceals a substantial amount of the exposed slats 12 so that the person lying on the lower bunk need not view the aesthetically displeasing slats 12. Plus, the cover 10 prevents a person from hurting themselves with splinters inherent to the wooden slats 12 by acting as a protective member.
To secure the cover 10 to the slats 12 of the upper bunk 22, the cover 10 may have a plurality of straps 34, 36 which are removably engageable to each other to take the cover 10 on and off of the slats 12, as desired and needed. Moreover, the first and second straps 34, 36 may adjust tension within the cover 10 so that the cover 10 does not sag downward when mounted to the upper bunk 22. The bottom of the cover 10 remains taut so as to be substantially flat. More particularly, the first straps 34 may extend from a first distal end 27a of the elongate sheet 26. The first strap 34 may also have a buckle 38. The second strap 36 may extend from a second distal end 27b of the elongate sheet 26. The second strap 36 may be sufficiently long to be fed through the buckle 38 and be secured to itself by way of a hook and loop connection 40 or other fastening system. To tension the cover 10 around the slats 12, the second straps 36 are fed through the buckle 38 attached to the first straps. The distal end portions of the second straps 36 are pulled until the desired tension within the cover 10 is achieved. When the desired tension is achieved, the hook and loop connections 40 sewn into the second straps 36 are engaged to set the tension of the cover 10. All of the second straps are engaged so that tension is placed throughout the entire width 28 of the elongate sheet 26.
To distribute the tension force created by the first and second straps 34, 36 more evenly about the width 28 of the elongate sheet 26, a generally rigid material or member 42 may be disposed at the distal end portions 44, 46 of the elongate sheet 26. When the straps 34, 36 place tension on the elongate sheet 26, the rigid material or member 42 disburses the pulling force of the straps 34, 36 laterally outward to more evenly distribute the tension. The rigid members 42 may be disposed between upper and lower layers of the elongate sheet 26. The rigid members 42 may be stitched in place between stitches and the distal ends 27a, b of the elongate sheet. The straps 34, 36 may be secured to the distal end portions 44, 46 of the elongate sheet 26. To more evenly distribute the forces created by the straps 34, 36, the straps 34, 36 may additionally be secured to the rigid members 42 such as by stitches or adhesive.
By way of example and not limitation, the sheet 26 may include upper and lower layers. The rigid member 42 may be disposed between the upper and lower layers. The upper and lower layers may be stitched to enclosed rigid member 42 so that the rigid member 42 remains in place. Alternatively, the rigid member 42 may be stitched to the upper and lower layers but not the rigid member 42 which still prevents excessive movement of the rigid member 42 during use. The straps 34, 36 may also be stitched to the upper and lower layers as well as the rigid members 42 to facilitate distribution of forces caused by the straps 34, 36 onto the elongate sheet 26.
Preferably, the elongate sheet 26 is fabricated from a flexible but non-elastic fabric material. Also, the rigid member 42 may be fabricated from any material stiffer than the material from which the elongate sheet 26 is fabricated. By way of example and not limitation, the rigid member 42 may be plastic, polypropylene, etc. whereas the sheet is fabricated from a fabric. Although it is preferred that the elongate sheet 26 be fabricated from a generally non-elastic fabric, it is also contemplated that the elongate sheet 26 may be fabricated from a semi-elastic/elastic material.
Referring now to
Referring now to the
The distal end portion of the flap 18 may have either hooks or loops 76 of the hook and loop system 56. The length 74 of the flap 18 may be sufficiently long so that the hooks or loops 76 of the fastening system disposed on the distal end portion of the flap 18 can be attached to corresponding loops or hooks 78a, b of the hooks and loops system 56 disposed on the top side of the cover, as shown in
If the distal end portion of the flap 18 has hooks 76, then the distal end portion may have protective coverings 80a, b. When the flap 18 is traversed to the first position, the protective covering 80a is folded back while the protective covering 80b covers the hooks 76 so that the user can rub his or her fingers on the protective covering 80b when engaging the hooks 76 to the loops 78 Likewise, when the flap 18 is traversed to the second position, the protective covering 80b is folded back while the protective covering 80a covers the hooks 76 so that the user can rub his or her fingers on the protective covering 80a to engage the hooks 76 and the loops 78b.
The exposed surface 24 on the bottom side of the upper bunk 22 may have a fastening system for securing objects to the exposed surface 24. By way of example and not limitation, the exposed surface 24 may be fabricated from hooks, loops or hooks and loops. The objects to be secured to the exposed surface 24 may have the corresponding loops or hooks for securing the object to the exposed surface 24. Another means for securing objects to the exposed surface 24 is to place a plurality of strips in a crisscross fashion that allows the user to tuck objects between the exposed surface 24 and the strips. Other fastening systems are also contemplated such as snaps, buttons, magnets, etc.
The cover 10 discussed herein has been discussed and illustrated with the cover 10 being wrapped around the head and foot slats 12a, b. However, it is also contemplated that the cover 10 may be wrapped around the left and right rails of the upper bunk 22. In this case, the cover may conceal a portion of the underside of the upper bunk up to the entire underside of the upper bunk.
Additionally, the flap 18 has been described as being a singular flap 18 that can be traversed between first and second positions to display one of two different motifs. However, it is also contemplated that additional flaps 18 may be incorporated into the cover 10 so that additional motifs may be selectively displayed, as needed or desired. All of the flaps 18 may pivot about the hinge 62, be wrapped around the head and foot slats 12a, b and attached to the loops or hooks 78a, b.
The various aspects of the cover 10 have been described in relation to a twin sized bunk bed. However, the dimensions of the cover 10 may be increased or decreased in order to accommodate different size beds such as Full, Queen, Eastern King and California King size beds. Additionally, although the cover 10 may be mounted to the slats 12 or rails 30 of the upper bunk of a bunk bed, it is also contemplated that the cover 10 may be mounted to the slats 12 or rails 30 of a loft bed, lower bunk and even a standard bed.
Additionally, although it is preferable that the cover 10 be wrapped around the outermost slats 12 (i.e., head slat and foot slat), it is also contemplated that the cover 10 may be wrapped around slats 12 intermediate to the outermost slats 12. Additionally, although the cover 10 is described as being alternatively wrapped around the rails 30, it is also contemplated that the cover 10 may be wrapped around a supporting member inwardly adjacent the rails 30.
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of sewing the fabric together to fabricate the cover 10. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
