Patent Application
20230320495
A bedding system includes a mattress with removable side walls and end walls which can be selectively configured to accommodate infants, toddlers and small children as they grow from birth up to five years of age or more. The bedding system can be quickly adjusted from a flat, planar horizontal sleeping position into a portable folded clam-shell storage position.
If desired, the bedding system can also be configured for easy access and use by adults wishing to play, rest, or sleep next to their child or share a portion of the mattress adjacent to their child, such as during nursing. The bedding system can be used with or without a crib and with or without one or more removable side walls or end walls.
A pair of mattress pads is coupled together to form a foldable mattress which can be easily placed into and removed from a crib. Pivoting, detachable soft padded side walls and end walls can be coupled to the mattress pads to form a soft protective enclosure defining vertically-extending bumper walls extending above and around the mattress pads when the side walls and end walls are secured on top of the mattress pads.
In one configuration, the removable side walls and end walls can be hinged to the mattress pads with, for example, open-ended zippers. The zippers allow the side walls and end walls to pivot laterally outwardly and downwardly from on top of the mattress pads to a position substantially coplanar with the with the mattress pads, such as when the mattress pads are placed in a flat, horizontal sleeping position.
The side walls and end walls typically stop pivoting after rotating about ninety degrees from their upright positions on top of the mattress to flat horizontal positions bordering the outer sides or perimeter of the mattress pads. This outward and downward movement of the side walls and end walls increases the horizontal planar area of support to provide a larger play, rest or sleeping area.
The side walls and end walls are dimensioned to extend laterally outwardly from the mattress pads to form an enlarged, substantially coplanar or flat support surface together with the mattress pads when the side walls and end walls are pivoted fully laterally outwardly and downwardly from their positions on top of the mattress pads. This larger support surface provides a larger padded play area or a larger rest or sleeping area for larger children and/or adults.
The mattress pads can be coupled together with an open-ended zipper to allow the mattress pads to move apart to facilitate placing the mattress pads in a juxtaposed compact portable configuration for travel or storage, An additional flexible hinge can be coupled between the mattress pads with a sheet of flexible material to allow limited separation of the mattress pads when the zipper coupling the mattress pads is removed.
When the mattress pads are released or unzipped from each other and then folded or rotated into mutually confronting or juxtaposed clam-shell positions, with the side walls and end walls held in their upright positions on top of the mattress pads, a substantially closed storage space or storage compartment is formed between the opposing mattress pads, the top surfaces of the confronting side walls and end walls and the flexible sheet of material attached between adjoining bottom portions of the mattress pads. A fastener, such as a zipper, can hold the two confronting portions of the bedding in a closed clam-shell position for travel or storage.
Abutment between the top surfaces of the side walls and end walls spaces apart the top surfaces of the mattress pads and defines a closed border wall around the storage compartment in the manner of a hinged container.
The storage compartment can be used to hold and store, for example, all the bedding accessories typically used for a child’s crib or bed. This not only facilitates travelling with the bedding system by carrying all of the child’s bedding in one convenient, compact portable unit, it can also provide an advantage at retail.
That is, the bedding system can be sold at retail with any number of bedding accessories stored in the storage compartment and sold as a complete sleeping, nursing, changing and play mat system. This eliminates the need to shop for individual accessories and can result in overall cost savings by offering a complete and economical solution for providing all of the typical accessories needed for a child’s bed.
In one example, the bedding system can originally contain at a point of sale any one or more bedding accessories including a mattress cover, such as a quilted or other type of sleeping pad, a crib sheet, a wedge-shaped memory foam head support pillow, a cotton baby pillow, a comforter and a blanket. As an option, additional child accessories can be provided in the storage compartment at retail or later when traveling, such as diapers, wipes, clothing, baby bottles, formula and the like.
The bedding system can be removed from a crib as a child grows and expanded laterally and/or longitudinally as needed to provide a larger area for sleeping, resting and playing. As any one or more of the side walls and end walls can be removed whether the mattress is inside a crib or outside a crib, many different configurations of the bedding system are possible to suit the needs of both parents and child.
For example, a single side wall on the mattress can be removed adjacent to an open gate in the side wall of a crib to facilitate access to a child. In another configuration an end wall and a pair of sidewalls on opposite ends of the end wall can be removed to allow an adult to lie next to a child outside a crib. In yet another configuration, both side walls on one side of the mattress can be removed and the mattress with both end walls and the side walls on the other side of the mattress can be placed on an adult’s bed to allow a parent easy access to their child while both are resting or nursing.
Beveled or mitered joints can be provided between each end wall and each pair of adjoining side walls. One or more quick release fasteners can be provided between and/or adjacent to each joint to securely hold the end walls and side walls in an upright position on top of the underlying mattress pads.
The mattress can be dimensioned to fit closely within the walls of a crib. For example the mattress can be about fifty-two inches long and about twenty eight inches wide. The mattress, side walls and end walls can be constructed of a compacted cotton material encased in a durable waterproof oxford fabric shell. In another embodiment, the side walls and end walls can be constructed of a compacted polyester fill such as polyfill encased in a durable waterproof oxford shell. The fabric shell can be removed from the formed cotton material or formed polyester fill for cleaning via zippered openings in the exterior fabric shell.
An organic cotton or polyester fill quilted bed pad or mattress cover about fifty-two inches long and twenty-eight inches wide can be placed over the mattress and secured to the mattress with fasteners, such as snap fasteners provided on the corners of the mattress cover and the corners of the mattress. A child can then lie on the secured quilted mattress cover and be covered with a cotton comforter about forty eight inches long and about thirty inches wide.
A wedge-shaped pillow of, for example, memory foam, can underlie a cotton baby pillow to provide proper support for a sleeping child. The cotton pillow can be formed with a concave center portion for improving comfort and promoting rest and sleep.
To facilitate portability of the bedding system in its closed clam-shell configuration, a carrying strap or handle can be provided on the exterior or bottom surface of each mattress pad.
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present disclosure will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description.
A representative embodiment of a multipurpose bed 10 is shown in
The bed 10 can also be quickly and conveniently adjusted and configured for shared use by both adults and children. That is, an adult can share a portion of the bed 10 with a child while both are playing, resting, sleeping or nursing.
The bed 10 includes a mattress 12 having a first mattress portion 18 coupled to a second mattress portion 20 with a releasable central fastener 24. As seen in
When the zipper 26 is zipped together as shown in
A zipper pull tab 54 is provided on the zipper 26 for quickly and easily coupling and uncoupling the first and second mattress portions 18, 20. Throughout this disclosure, each zipper is shown as an open-ended zipper having a pair of releasable and completely separable zipper strips and a zipper pull tab 54.
The central fastener 24 is shown fastened in the flat horizontal sleeping position in
As further shown in
The enclosure wall 60 includes a first pair of side walls 62, 64 releasably and removably coupled to the top side edge portions 66, 68 of the first mattress portion 18 with a first pair of open-ended zippers 72, 74. In this example, the enclosure wall 60 is preferably substantially rectangular in shape, but other shapes are possible.
Zipper 72 is shown in a dashed line in
The enclosure wall 60 further includes a second pair of side walls 90, 92 releasably and removably coupled to the top side edge portions 96, 98 of the second mattress portion 20 with a second pair of open-ended zippers 100, 102 (
The zipper 100 includes a zipper strip 108, shown in a dashed line in
As seen in
When the bed 10 is configured as shown in
The first end wall 150 and the second end wall 152, when secured to the first and second pairs of side walls 62, 64 and 90, 92 and to the first and second mattress portions 18, 20 complete the upstanding removable enclosure wall 60, as described more fully below. In the example of the bed 10 shown in the drawings, the first and second end walls 150, 152 are releasably and removably coupled to the first and second mattress portions 18, 20 with first and second end wall zippers 160, 162 (
The first end wall zipper 160 includes a first zipper strip 166 (
As further shown in
One end portion of each of the first pair of side walls 62, 64 can be beveled or mitered, such as at a forty-five degree angle. The opposite end portions of the first end wall 150 can be similarly beveled or mitered, such as at a forty-five degree angle. In this manner, a first pair of releasable ninety degree beveled corner joints 200, 202 (
Similarly, the second pair of side walls 90, 92 can be secured to opposite end portions of the second end wall 152 with a second pair of releasable fasteners 208, 210. In this example, each of the second pair of releasable fasteners 208, 210 includes a hook and loop fastener provided between the second pair of side walls 90, 92 and the second end wall 152.
One end portion of each of the second pair of side walls 90, 92 can be beveled or mitered, such as at a forty-five degree angle. The opposite end portions of the second end wall 152 can be similarly beveled or mitered, such as at a forty-five degree angle. This construction provides a second pair of releasable ninety degree beveled corner joints 216, 218 which can be formed by releasable pressured contact between the second pair of releasable fasteners 208, 210 and the opposite end portions of the second end wall 152.
As described above, the first pair of releasable fasteners 190, 192 is provided in the first pair of corner joints 200, 202 and the second pair of releasable fasteners 208, 210 is provided in the second pair of corner joints 218, 218. The first and second pairs of fasteners 190, 192 and 208, 210 maintain the enclosure wall 60 in a sturdy, upright, upstanding vertical position on top of the mattress 10.
To add further support, rigidity and strength to the enclosure wall 60, a first pair of flexible releasable flap fasteners 222, 224 is provided between the first pair of side walls 62, 64 and opposite end portions of the first end wall 150 and a second pair of flexible releasable flap fasteners 228, 230 is provided between the second pair of side walls 90, 92 and opposite end portions of the second end wall 152.
In the example shown in
The first and second pairs of fabric flaps respectively extend between adjoining inner wall surface portions of the first and second pairs of side walls 62, 64 and 90, 92. Hook and loop fasteners are shown provided on the first and second pairs of fabric flaps 234, 236 and the adjoining inner wall surface portions of the first and second pairs of side walls 62, 64 and 90, 92.
Pulling apart and releasing selected hook and loop fasteners which secure and support the corner joints 200, 210, 216 and 218 allows any one or more of the side walls 62, 64, 90 and 92 and/or either or both end walls 150, 152 to pivot outwardly and downwardly around their respective zippers, as represented by the directional arrows 238 in
Leaving the side walls and end walls in their outwardly pivoted positions from on top of the mattress 12 to a lowered position adjacent to and coplanar with the mattress 12 extends the “footprint” or soft horizontal support area of the bed 10. This provides a larger rest, sleep and play area.
In order to transform the bed 10 from the flat horizontal sleeping position shown in
As further shown in
As further seen in
When the bed 10 is configured in the folded clam-shell storage position shown in
It can be appreciated that when the bed 10 is configured in the folded clam-shell storage position of
As shown in
The sleeping pad 284 can be releasably secured to the four corner portions of the mattress 10 with, for example, snap fasteners 296 provided on the four corner portions of the sleeping pad 284 and four corner portions of the mattress 12. The corners of the sleeping pad 284 can be releasably fastened under fabric tabs or pockets 298 provided on each corner portion of the mattress 12 under which complementary snap fasteners 296 are fixed to receive the snap fasteners 296 on the sleeping pad.
Although the mattress 12, side walls 62, 64, 90, 92 and end walls 150, 152 can be manufactured with conventional materials such as foam rubber, it is preferred to use a compacted cotton material or a compacted polyfiber such as polyester fiber and poly fill. Compacted poly fiber and poly fill retains its shape longer than foam rubber, does not turn yellow with age as does foam rubber and is considered healthier to use around children than conventional foam rubber.
Other variations are within the spirit of the present disclosure. Thus, while the bed 10 is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain embodiments thereof have been described above in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.
