Duvet Cover and Duvet

Abstract

A duvet cover, for enclosing a duvet, comprising: a first panel and a second panel attached at an edge of each of said panels, at least one of the first panel or the second panel being foldable about the edge to cover the other panel; one or more first fasteners positioned along the non-attached edges of each of the first and second panels, such that each first fastener on the first panel is engageable with a matching first fastener on the second panel, when the panels are folded over each other; and one or more second fasteners, disposed on the first panel, each of said second fasteners being engageable with a matching fastener on the duvet, when the duvet is placed over the first panel.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention is directed to bedding accessories and, in particular, to blankets, such as duvets, and their covers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A blanket, and particularly a duvet (i.e., a stuffed blanket, also known as comforter), is often enclosed, during use, in a cover, in order to protect it from dirt and stains. The cover may be removed from the duvet for laundering and thereafter may be used to re-cover the duvet or may be replaced by a similar cover. As used herein, a duvet includes any type of blanket to be used while enclosed in a cover, and any such cover is referred to as a duvet cover.

It is difficult and time consuming to cover a duvet with a conventional duvet cover. A conventional cover is formed as a sack, i.e., two rectangular fabric panels joined at three edges and open at the fourth edge. This arrangement makes it difficult to push the duvet through the opening so as to fill the cover in a flat state, since the duvet often folds or bends during the process. Alternatively, this task may be carried out cooperatively by two persons, where, for example, one person holds the duvet with one end of the cover, while the other person pulls the rest of the cover over the duvet. This is inefficient and time consuming.

Additionally it is often difficult to keep the duvet flat and in place within the cover during use. The duvet may, during use, fold or otherwise attain a distorted shape so that it does not entirely fill the cover. It is then difficult for the user to straighten the duvet and to position it properly within the cover, without having to open the cover and manually straighten the duvet.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing—

a duvet cover, for enclosing a duvet, comprising:a first panel and a second panel attached at an edge of each of the panels, at least one of the first panel or the second panel being foldable about the edge to cover the other panel;one or more first fasteners positioned along the non-attached edges of each of the first and second panels, such that each first fastener on the first panel is engageable with a matching first fastener on the second panel, when the panels are folded over each other; andone or more second fasteners, disposed on the first panel, each of the second fasteners being engageable with a matching fastener on the duvet, when the duvet is placed over the first panel.

In some embodiments each pair of matching first fasteners are, respectively, the two members of a corresponding first zipper, one member of the zipper being deployed on the first panel and the other member of the zipper being deployed on the second panel, and

each pair of matching second fasteners are, respectively the two members of a corresponding second zipper, one member of the zipper and the slider thereof being deployed on the first panel and the other member of the zipper being on the duvet.

In some of these embodiments the total number of second zippers is one and in some of these embodiments also the total number of first zippers is one and the slider of the one first zipper is joined or joinable to the slider of the one second zipper.

In some embodiments each of the panels has a planar outline that has a non-rectangular shape.

The invention also provides—

a duvet comprising one or more fasteners disposed on the duvet, which are engageable with fixation matching fasteners on a cover for the duvet.

In some embodiments each pair of matching fasteners are, respectively, the two members of a zipper, one member of the zipper being deployed on the duvet and the other member of the zipper being on the duvet cover.

In some embodiments the duvet has a planar outline that has a non-rectangular shape.

The invention also provides—

A duvet cover, for enclosing a duvet, comprising:

a first sheet and a second sheet; andone or more first fasteners, positioned along the edges of each of the sheets, such that each first fastener on the first sheet is engageable with a matching first fastener on the second sheet, when the first sheet and the second sheet are folded over each other.

In some embodiments, each pair of matching first fasteners are, respectively, the two members of a corresponding first zipper, one member of the zipper, with its slider, being deployed on the first sheet and the other member of the zipper being deployed on the second sheet.

In some of these embodiments, the total number of first zippers is one and each member of the one first zipper is deployed along substantially the entire edge of the respective sheet.

In some of these embodiments, the duvet cover further comprise a second zipper, one member of the zipper, with its slider, being deployed on the first sheet and the other member of the zipper being deployed on the duvet. The slider of the second zipper may be joined or joinable with the slider of the one first zipper.

In some embodiments, each of the sheets having a planar outline that has a non-rectangular shape.

In some embodiments, the duvet cover further comprises one or more second fasteners, positioned on the first sheet, each of the second fasteners being engageable with a matching fastener on the duvet, when the duvet is placed over the first sheet.

The invention further provides—

A zipper, comprising a plurality of zippers, each of the zippers configured for placement proximate and parallel to each other on a member, each of the zippers including sliders, wherein the sliders of all the zippers are in communication with each other.

In some embodiments, the communication is by the sliders being fixedly joined and in other embodiments the communication is by the sliders being reversibly joined.

Unless otherwise defined herein, all technical and/or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplary methods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the present invention are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

Attention is now directed to the drawings, where like reference numerals or characters indicate corresponding or like components. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an example embodiment of a duvet and a cover according to the invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic plan view of another example embodiment of a duvet and a cover according to the invention in a second configuration.

FIG. 2B is a schematic trimetric illustration of a double zipper and slider used in the duvet cover of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of another example embodiment of a duvet and a cover according to the invention, using the double zipper of FIG. 2B.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of another example embodiment of a duvet cover;

and

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of an example embodiment of a duvet in combination with the cover of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows schematically an example embodiment of the invention, with a duvet cover 10, on the left, and a duvet 30, on the right. The duvet cover 10 comprises two equally sized panels—a first panel 11 and a second panel 12, which are foldable over each other along a fold line 19. The duvet cover 10 may be made of a single sheet of fabric or of two sheets (constituting the panels) joined (e.g., sewn) along the fold line 19. Each sheet may be made of any suitable fabric and may include a plurality of fabric pieces, joined.

The planar outline of each panel 11, 12 (i.e., its outline as seen in the drawing) has an essentially rectangular shape, with the fold line along a long edge of each panel. However in some other embodiments the fold line may be along a short edge. Also in some other embodiments the planar outline of each panel may assume any desirable shape, restricted to having a straight edge along the fold line, with the two panels 11, 12 being symmetrical. The planar outline of the duvet 30 may assume a similarly variable shape, wherein this shape and the size are close to those of one or the other panel 11, 12.

As described below, two groups of fasteners are deployed. A first group, to be referred to as “closure fasteners”, serves to join the two panels 11, 12 of the duvet cover 10, while a second group, to be referred to as “fixation fasteners”, serves to join the duvet 30 to one of the panels 11 or 12. Fasteners of both groups may be of any type, including, for example, Velcro patches, buttons, snap fasteners (press studs), hook-and-loops, magnets and zippers (which may also be invisible zippers). The terms “closure fasteners” and “fixation fasteners” should not be construed as defining fastener types. Generally each fastener consists of two matching members (e.g., two teeth-carrying strips), which may engage (join) and disengage (disjoin). As used herein, a fastener may mean its two members collectively or each of the two members.

Zippers may be of any suitable type and made of any suitable materials. Typically zippers are constructed of two members that may be made to engage and disengage by means of a slider (also known as zipper head), which may be pulled by a handle (also known as puller). A zipper may have one of two configurations—closed-end and disjoint. In a closed-end zipper its two members are permanently joined at one end or both, wherein in the latter case there are two sliders. In a disjoint zipper the two members may be entirely separated, wherein a first member includes a slider and the second member has a pin at one end, to be referred to as end pin, which may be inserted in a receptacle at the corresponding end of the first member.

Along the edges of the duvet cover 10 there are closure fasteners 13, 14, one member 13 of each fastener being disposed on the edge of the first panel 1 land its matching member 14 being disposed on a corresponding edge of the second panel, so that after folding the panels, the two members may become engaged, thus joining the respective edges. In some embodiments the closure fastener may be a single zipper, meaning that a single zipper member extends along the three outer edges of each panel (as seen for example in the first panel of FIG. 2A). In example embodiments this single zipper is of the closed-end type (not shown), the permanently joined end being disposed, for example, at the bottom end of the fold line 19.

Also disposed on the second panel 12 of the duvet cover 10 are members 15 of one or more fixation fasteners. In example embodiments the members 15 are disposed parallel to, and a short distance from, the edges of the panel 15 and the fold line 19. On the duvet 30 are disposed matching members 35 of these fixation fasteners, positioned so that when the duvet 30 is properly placed on the second panel 12, the two members of each fixation fastener engage, so as to hold the duvet 30 in place relative to the duvet cover 10. In some embodiments the fixation fastener may be a single zipper (not shown), extending along all edges of the duvet 30 and of the second panel 12. All zippers serving as fixation fasteners are of the disjoint configuration.

In operation, the duvet 30 is placed, face down, on the second panel 12 of the duvet cover 10 so that corresponding members (15 and 35) of the fixation fasteners engage. When these are zippers, the engagement is effected by manually moving the slider by means of its handle. The first panel 11 is then folded over the duvet 30 (in its place on the second panel) so that corresponding members (13 and 14) of the closure fasteners engage. When a closure fastener is a zipper, the engagement would be effected by manually moving its slider by means of its handle.

FIG. 2A illustrates schematically another example embodiment of the invention. This embodiment of a duvet cover 10′ is similar to some embodiments described above in reference to FIG. 1, with similar elements having the same element numbers and being in accordance with the descriptions for FIG. 1 above. This embodiment, as well, includes, as a closure fastener, a single zipper, with members 13 and 14 extending along the three outer edges of the two panels 11 and 12 respectively. Also the fixation fasteners include a single zipper, to be termed the peripheral zipper, whose members 15 and 35 extend near and along the outer edges of the second panel 12 and the corresponding three edges of the duvet 30′, respectively. There may be an additional fixation fastener, of any type, whose members 16 and 36 extend near and along the fold line 19 and the corresponding edge of the duvet 30′, respectively.

The peripheral zipper (as well as any zipper serving as the additional fixation fastener) must be of the disjoint type and its member 15 attached to the second panel 12 of the duvet cover includes the slider. If the zipper serving as the closure fastener is of the disjoint type, its member 14 on the second panel 12 includes the slider.

In the duvet cover 10′, the slider of the zipper serving as the closure fastener and the slider of the zipper serving as the fixation fastener are joined to each other or are made to be joinable. In some embodiments, the first member 14 of the zipper serving as the closure fastener and the first member 15 of the zipper serving as the fixation fastener are provided together as a single assembly, with joined or joinable sliders, and as such are attached to the second panel 12 as described above. If the closure fastener zipper is of the closed-end type, its second member becomes part of the assembly, though it is attached mainly to the first panel 11, as described above. A complete set of two zippers with their sliders joined or joinable together will be referred to as a double zipper. It is noted that a double zipper thus serves the function of both the closure fastener and the fixation fastener. The joint between the two sliders may be permanent—for example by soldering or welding them together or by producing them as a single piece (e.g., by a mold)—or it may be a reversible joint—e.g., by means of a clasp or a snapping mechanism. The subassembly of two thus joined sliders will be referred to as double slider.

FIG. 2B is a trimetric sketch, showing a portion of a double zipper 40 with a double slider according to example embodiments. The double slider includes two conventional sliders 45 and 46 arranged one on top of the other and joined. The upper slider 45 is operative to join and disjoin members 41 and 42 of a first zipper, while the lower slider 46 is operative to join and disjoin members 43 and 44 of a second zipper. The double slider can be moved by means of a common handle 47. In some embodiments of the double zipper the double slider has two handles (not shown), one attached to the upper slider 45 and the other attached to the lower slider 46. These enable moving the double slider from both above and below the double zipper. In other embodiments the two sliders may be arranged in a different orientation to each other; for example, they may be arranged side-by-side.

Referring back to FIG. 2A, the double zipper assembly may be attached to the duvet cover 10 so that, for example, in its open (unzipped) state the double slider is located at a point 17 near the top of the fold line 19. Operation then proceeds as follows: While the duvet cover 10′ lies open (unfolded), the duvet 30′ is placed face down on the second panel 12 and the two members 16 and 36 of the additional fastener are made to be mutually engaged. The end pin of the zipper member 35 on the duvet 30′ is then inserted in the corresponding receptacle at the end of the member 15 of the fixation fastener on the second panel 12 (near point 17). If the zipper of the closure fastener is of the disjoint type, also the end pin of member 13 is inserted in the corresponding receptacle at the end of the member 14 (which is also near point 17). Subsequently the double slider (not shown in FIG. 2A) is pulled, by means of its handle, so as to simultaneously close both zippers, thus simultaneously and conveniently effecting both closure of the duvet cover 10′ (thus enclosing the duvet) and fixation of the duvet 30′ within the cover. To open the cover and remove the duvet, the above operation may be carried out in reverse. It will be appreciated that the employment of a double zipper, as in the embodiment described above, is advantageous, since it makes the process of enclosing a duvet in a duvet cover, or of removing it therefrom, faster and more convenient. It is noted that the deployment of a double zipper in the duvet cover does not preclude the possibility of closing the duvet cover alone, i.e., without a duvet therein, as is desirable for storing or washing it, because the slider may be pulled to join the members of the closure zipper even while the members of the fixation zipper (being remote from each other) remain disengaged.

It is noted that a double zipper 40, as disclosed above, may be applicable and useful also in arrangements and applications other than those related to a duvet and its cover, in which it may be desirable to simultaneously operate two zippers that are disposed proximate to each other. It should be possible to similarly create also assemblies of three or more zippers, including corresponding multi-slider subassemblies. An assembly of two or more zippers, with their sliders joined or joinable, will be referred to as compound zipper.

FIG. 3 illustrates schematically an example embodiment of a duvet cover 10″ that is a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 2A. Here the double zipper, consisting of the closure members 13 and 14 and of the fixation members 15 and 35, is extended to run also along the fold line 19. Thus, the closure zipper member 13 is disposed along essentially all the edges of the first panel 11, the closure zipper member 14, as well as the fixation zipper member 15 are disposed along essentially all the edges of the second panel 12, and the fixation zipper member 35 is disposed along essentially all the edges of the duvet 30″. The point 17 at which the double slider is located when the duvet cover lies open (unfolded) is now seen to be located near the bottom of the fold line 19. However, in other embodiments, point 17 (as well as the other end of the double zipper) may be located equally near the top of the fold line. This embodiment may have the advantages of simpler fabrication (obviating the provision and attachment of the additional fastener components 16 and 36 of FIG. 2A) and simpler operation. The operation would now be reduced, during the enclosing process, to placing the duvet 30″ on the second panel 12, engaging the end pin of component 35 (and possibly of component 13), pulling the double slider up along the fold line 19, folding the first panel over the duvet (and the underlying second panel) and continuing pulling the double slider all around the duvet cover. The use of a double zipper with two handles on the double slider (as described above) would be advantageous in such an operation, inasmuch as one handle would be used during the pulling along the fold line (which occurs while the duvet cover still lies open and thus the slider is reachable only from inside) and the other handle 13 during the subsequent pulling (while the duvet cover lies closed and thus the slider is reachable only from outside).

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically, by way of an example embodiment, a duvet cover 20 of a novel concept. The duvet cover 20 consists of two separate sheets 21 and 22, about equal in size. They are provided with closure fasteners 23 and 24 along all four edges of each sheet, such that, when one of the sheets is turned over the other sheet, corresponding pairs of fastener members can mutually engage, so as to form a closed duvet cover. If a duvet is placed between the two sheets before the engaging of the fasteners, it may thus be enclosed by the duvet cover 20 after the engagement. The fasteners may be zippers and in some embodiments, such as that illustrated in FIG. 4 they are a single disjoint zipper, whose members 23 and 24 are attached to all four edges of each sheet 21 and 22 respectively.

Although the planar outline of each sheet 21, 22 in the illustrated embodiment has a rectangular shape, it may generally assume any desirable shape, while the two sheets remain symmetrical. When the closing fastener is a single zipper, its members are disposed along the periphery of the respective sheets. Operation of enclosing a duvet in the duvet cover then consists of placing the duvet 20 on, for example, sheet 22, placing the other sheet 21 over it, engaging the end pin of one member of the zipper in the end receptacle of the other sheet and pulling the slider of the zipper all around, so as to join corresponding edges of the two sheets. Fixation of the duvet within the duvet cover may be achieved by means similar to those described above in relation to FIG. 1, namely fixation fasteners of any type, with corresponding pairs of members attached to the duvet and to one of the two sheets 21 or 22.

Advantages of a duvet cover that consists of two separate sheets, such as in FIG. 4, include (a) providing to the user the possibility of combining, at will, sheets of various materials, colors or designs, (b) enabling the user to remove just one sheet for cleaning or for disposal (if, for example, damaged or irreversibly stained) and replacing it by another sheet and (c) enabling the provision of duvet covers of various shapes, in addition to rectangular.

FIG. 5 illustrates schematically, by way of an example embodiment, a duvet cover 20′ of the type that consists of two separate sheets 21 and 22 (as in FIG. 4) and a duvet 30″, both adapted to provide improved place fixation of the duvet within the duvet cover. The closure fastener is a single zipper, having one member 23 along all edges of the first sheet 21 and a matching member 24 along the four edges of the second sheet 22. Additionally, on the second sheet 22 is disposed, parallel to and inward from member 24, a first member 25 of a zipper that serves as the fixation fastener, while the second member 35 of this zipper is disposed along the edges of the duvet 30″, placed so as to be engageable with the first member 25 when the duvet is placed on sheet 22. All the zippers are of the disjoint type. Again, in some embodiments, similar to that of FIG. 5, the planar outline of each sheet 21, 22 may symmetrically assume any desirable shape, while the duvet 30″ assumes a corresponding shape and size.

Operation of enclosing the duvet 30″ in the duvet cover 20′ includes placing the duvet on sheet 22, inserting the end pin of member 35 in the receptacle of member 25 and pulling the slider thereof to join these two members, thus fixating the position of the duvet. The operation then proceeds with inserting the end pin of member 24 in the receptacle of member 23 and pulling the slider thereof to join these two members, thus closing the duvet cover 20′ and enclosing the duvet 30″ there within. Removing the duvet 30″ from the duvet cover 20′ is carried out in a reverse order of the above operation.

In some embodiments the two zippers that provide, respectively, the closure and fixation functions are configured as a double zipper, such as described above. Joining of their respective members (during enclosing operation), as well as disjoining them (during removal operation) can then be carried out simultaneously by pulling the common double slider. It will be appreciated that this capability is advantageous, as it enables faster and more convenient operation.

Claims

1. A duvet cover, for enclosing a duvet, comprising: a first panel and a second panel attached at an edge of each of said panels,at least one of the first panel or the second panel being foldable about the edge to cover the other panel;one or more first fasteners positioned along the non-attached edges of each of the first and second panels, such that each first fastener on the first panel is engageable with a matching first fastener on the second panel, when the panels are folded over each other; andone or more second fasteners, disposed on the first panel, each of said second fasteners being engageable with a matching fastener on the duvet, when the duvet is placed over the first panel.

2. The duvet cover of claim 1, wherein each pair of matching first fasteners are, respectively, the two members of a corresponding first zipper, one member of the zipper being deployed on the first panel and the other member of the zipper being deployed on the second panel, and wherein each pair of matching second fasteners are, respectively the two members of a corresponding second zipper, one member of the zipper and the slider thereof being deployed on the first panel and the other member of the zipper being on the duvet.

3. The duvet cover of claim 2, wherein the total number of second zippers is one.

4. The duvet cover of claim 3, wherein also the total number of first zippers is one and the slider of the one first zipper is joined or joinable to the slider of the one second zipper.

5. The duvet cover of claim 1, each of said panels having a planar outline that has a non-rectangular shape.

6. A duvet comprising: one or more fasteners disposed on the duvet, which are engageable with fixation matching fasteners on a cover for the duvet.

7. The duvet of claim 6, wherein each pair of matching fasteners are, respectively, the two members of a zipper, one member of the zipper being deployed on the duvet and the other member of the zipper being on the duvet cover.

8. The duvet of claim 6, having a planar outline that has a non-rectangular shape

9. A duvet cover, for enclosing a duvet, comprising: a first sheet and a second sheet; andone or more first fasteners, positioned along the edges of each of said sheets, such that each first fastener on the first sheet is engageable with a matching first fastener on the second sheet, when the first sheet and the second sheet are folded over each other.

10. The duvet cover of claim 9, wherein each pair of matching first fasteners are, respectively, the two members of a corresponding first zipper, one member of the zipper, with its slider, being deployed on the first sheet and the other member of the zipper being deployed on the second sheet.

11. The duvet cover of claim 10, wherein the total number of first zippers is one and each member of the one first zipper is deployed along substantially the entire edge of the respective sheet.

12. The duvet cover of claim 9, each of said sheets having a planar outline that has a non-rectangular shape.

13. The duvet cover of claim 9, further comprising one or more second fasteners, positioned on the first sheet, each of said second fasteners being engageable with a matching fastener on the duvet, when the duvet is placed over the first sheet.

14. The duvet cover of claim 11, further comprising a second zipper, one member of the zipper, with its slider, being deployed on the first sheet and the other member of the zipper being deployed on the duvet.

15. The duvet cover of claim 14, wherein the slider of the second zipper is joined or joinable with the slider of said one first zipper.

16. A zipper, comprising: a plurality of zippers, each of the zippers configured for placement proximate and parallel to each other on a member, each of the zippers including sliders, wherein the sliders of all the zippers are in communication with each other.

17. The compound zipper of claim 16, wherein said communication is by the sliders being fixedly joined.

18. The compound zipper of claim 16, wherein said communication is by the sliders being reversibly joined.