Patent Application
20250185818
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The disclosure relates to bed sheets and more particularly pertains to a new bed sheet for covering opposing sides of a mattress to facilitate sanitary alternating use by two individuals.
It is known that there are situations in which two individuals may alternately use a mattress. For example, two co-drivers of a semi-truck may alternate use of a mattress due to limited capacity within a cab of the semi-truck and the desire for one co-driver to operate the semi-truck while the other sleeps or rests. This presents a problem in that sharing the same mattress can facilitate transfer of germs such as viruses and bacteria between the individuals. Additionally, body oils, odor-causing substances, and the like may also be shared, which can cause discomfort to the individuals.
The prior art relates to bed sheets which fit to a mattress and provide a comfortable fabric to lie atop for a user supported by the mattress. Most pertinently, U.S. Pat. Application No. 2022/0295998 discloses a bed sheet which has a pocket-like shape so that a top panel of the bed sheet lies on a top surface of the mattress, a bottom panel of the bed sheet lies against a bottom surface of the mattress, and the bed sheet does not shift relative to the mattress. However, this application and the prior art fail to disclose a system including such a bed sheet and a mattress with opposing support surfaces in which the mattress is configured to support users on either of the opposing support surfaces. Further, this application and the prior art fail to disclose a method of alternating use of a mattress in a sanitary manner.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a mattress has a first support surface and a second support surface positioned opposite each other. Each of the first support surface and the second support surface extend between a pair of ends of the mattress. The mattress also has a pair of side surfaces, each of which extends between the first and second support surfaces and between the pair of ends. A sleeve positionable in a use position wherein the sleeve surrounds the mattress. The sleeve comprises an end panel and a perimeter panel. The perimeter panel is coupled to and extends away from the end panel. The end panel and the perimeter panel define a cavity in the sleeve, and a distal edge of the perimeter panel with respect to the end panel defines an opening to the cavity. The perimeter panel has a first support portion and a second support portion positioned opposite each other across the cavity. The sleeve contains the mattress in the cavity when positioned in the use position. When the sleeve is positioned in the use position, the first support portion of the perimeter panel lies against the first support surface of the mattress and the second support portion of the perimeter panel lying against the second support surface of the mattress.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a method of sharing a mattress between a pair of users. The method comprises positioning a sleeve around the mattress in a use position wherein a first support portion of a perimeter panel of the sleeve lies against a first support surface of the mattress and a second support portion of the perimeter panel of the sleeve lies against a second support surface of the mattress. The mattress and the sleeve are positioned on a base such that the first support surface of the mattress faces upwardly from the base. A first user of the pair of users is positioned on the first support portion of the perimeter panel of the sleeve over the first support surface of the mattress. The first user is removed from the mattress, and the mattress and the sleeve are positioned on the base such that the second support surface of the mattress faces upwardly from the base. A second user of the pair of users is positioned on the second support portion of the perimeter panel of the sleeve over the second support surface of the mattress.
The sleeve may be secured to the mattress in the use position as part of the method. The sleeve may comprise an end panel coupled to the perimeter panel which is positioned to lie against one of a pair of ends of the mattress when the sleeve is positioned in the use position. The step of securing the mattress may then comprise coupling the first support portion of the perimeter panel to the second support portion of the perimeter panel across another end of the pair of ends of the mattress opposite the one end.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A sleeve 22 is positionable in a use position 24 in which the sleeve 22 surrounds the mattress 12. The sleeve 22 comprises an end panel 26 and a perimeter panel 28. The perimeter panel 28 is coupled to and extends away from the end panel 26. The end panel 26 and the perimeter panel 28 define a cavity 36 in the sleeve 22, and a distal edge 30 of the perimeter panel 28 with respect to the end panel 26 defines an opening 38 to the cavity 36. The perimeter panel 28 has a first support portion 32 and a second support portion 34 positioned opposite each other across the cavity 36. The sleeve 22 contains the mattress 12 in the cavity 36 when positioned in the use position 24. When the sleeve 22 is positioned in the use position 24, the first support portion 32 of the perimeter panel 28 lies against the first support surface 14 of the mattress 12, the second support portion 34 of the perimeter panel 28 lies against the second support surface 16 of the mattress 12, and the end panel 26 lies against one of the pair of ends 18 of the mattress 12. The sleeve 22 comprises a fabric material so that the sleeve 22 conforms to the mattress 12 and a user lying against the sleeve 22.
A fastener 40 is provided which secures the sleeve 22 to the mattress 12 in the use position 24. The fastener 40 is positioned at the distal edge 30 of the perimeter panel 28 and comprises a pair of first cords 42 positioned on the first support portion 32 of the perimeter panel 28 and a pair of second cords 44 positioned on the second support portion 34 of the perimeter panel 28. Each first cord 42 of the pair of first cords 42 is joinable via tying to an associated second cord 44 of the pair of second cords 44 over another end 18 of the pair of ends 18 of the mattress 12 opposite the one end 18 of the pair of ends 18. In other embodiments, the fastener 40 may comprise a zipper, a hook-and-loop fastener 40, one or more snap buttons, or the like.
In use, the sleeve 22 is positioned in the use position 24 around the mattress 12. The mattress 12 and the sleeve 22 are positioned on a base 46 with the first support surface 14 of the mattress 12 facing upwardly away from the base 46. A first user lies against the first support portion 32 of the perimeter panel 28 of the sleeve 22 and over the first support surface 14 of the mattress 12. After use by the first user, the mattress 12 is turned over on the base 46 such that the second support surface 16 faces upwardly away from the base 46. A second user lies against the second support portion 34 of the perimeter panel 28 of the sleeve 22 and over the second support surface 16 of the mattress 12. By using opposite sides of the sleeve 22, the first and second users avoid transfer of body oils, germs, and the like while alternately using the mattress 12 and the sleeve 22. The sleeve 22 protects the mattress 12 from body oils and the like as is typical for a fitted bed sheet. The sleeve 22 may be removed from the mattress 12 via release of the fastener 40 and moving the mattress 12 out of the cavity 36 so that the sleeve 22 may be laundered, replaced, or otherwise.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
