Patent Application
20120102646
This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201020594649.8 filed on Oct. 29, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present application relates to bug-resistant covers for furniture. More particularly, this application relates to a zippered enclosure for receiving a piece of a furniture, the enclosure configured to prevent insects from escaping the enclosure. Embodiments of the furniture cover include those for a mattress.
Bedbugs are small parasitic insects that commonly hide within mattresses or other furniture. Bedbugs live by feeding on the blood of warm-blooded animals. As such, bedbugs are a pest with numerous health effects attributable to their feeding on human blood. Bedbugs typically remain close to their host in a location such as a bed or couch, hiding most of the time, and coming out to feed.
Once infested, bedbugs can be difficult to remove. Insecticides may be used, however bedbugs are becoming increasingly resistant to the insecticide. In addition, many people resist using insecticides in their homes and/or bedding for several reasons. This is so because insecticides may be toxic to people and pets, thus their use requires people to temporarily leave their homes. In addition, insecticides may have harmful environmental effects, which further give some people pause.
Another common method of treating locations suffering from bedbugs is to apply a heat treatment. This involves heating the room/house and items within it to a quite elevated temperature. The elevated temperature kills bedbugs, but these temperatures are not tolerable for people or pets, thus they must temporarily leave during the heat treatment. The elevated temperatures also may cause heat stress, warping, and potentially other damage to the structure of the room/house and the belongings within them. These disadvantages, too, may cause people to eschew using heat to eradicate bedbugs.
One increasingly recommended method or eradicating a bedbug infestation is encasement. Bedbugs normally feed every five to ten days, but may live as long as a year between feedings. In encasement, the bedbugs are encased within their hiding spots and prevented from finding a food source. Eventually, the bedbugs will starve and the infestation will be eradicated.
In order for an encasement to be effective, it should prevent the bedbugs from escaping and feeding. Since bedbugs are small in size, typically on the order of 4-5 millimeters long and 1.5-3 millimeters wide as an adult, seams, holes, and similar discontinuities in the encasement create a potential egress route for the bedbug. One common egress route is a zipper used to seal the encasement. Individuals may fail to completely close the zipper leaving a small opening. Even when a zipper is closed completely, a small gap will typically exist at the end of the zipper. Such an egress route could allow the bedbugs to escape to feed and, consequently, to continue to propagate.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,553,489 to Bell addresses the need to prevent the escapement of bedbugs from a zipper opening in a mattress encasement. In Bell, a single foam pad is sewn inside the encasement system at the end of a zipper track on each side. The foam is sewn tightly to the encasement and when the encasement covers a mattress, the foam pad is pressed upward into the zipper in the closed position. As a result, a narrow path exists between the zipper and the foam. The height of the passage is typically small compared to the height of a bedbug, hindering the movement of the bedbug. If the bedbug is able to crawl through the passage, the foam and the zipper head form a barrier that the bug cannot pass.
Bell, however, has some shortcomings. First, the foam used can be relatively expensive, and Bell requires a relatively large foam pad. Second, securing the foam inside the mattress encasement can add to the complexity of its manufacture. Third, the foam pad immediately under the zipper can interfere with the closure of the zipper in some situations.
It would be beneficial to have an encasement system that minimized the use of the foam, was easy to manufacture, and did not interfere with the operation of the zipper.
Embodiments of the present invention include a bug-resistant encasement for furniture. The bug-resistant encasement includes a cover, an aperture, a sliding fastener assembly, fastening assembly, and a fastener cover.
The cover is sized and shaped to encase the furniture. The cover has an exterior surface and an interior surface, with the interior surface forming a space for receiving the furniture.
The aperture is formed in the cover and is sized and shaped to allow passage of the furniture through the aperture into the space for receiving the furniture. The aperture has a first edge and a second edge, that when joined, close the aperture.
The sliding fastener assembly is disposed near the aperture and has a closed end and an open end. The sliding fastener has a first track near the first edge and extends from the closed end to the open end and a second track near the second edge and extends from the closed end to the open end. A sliding fastener is disposed on the first and second track between the closed end and the open end. The sliding fastener mechanically joins the first track to the second track between the closed end and the sliding fastener.
The fastener cover is disposed near the open end of the sliding fastener assembly and has a second fastening surface. The second fastening surface has an insert that includes a compressible material. In some embodiments, the compressible material is made of foam such as polyethylene foam, polyurethane foam, and rubber foam.
In some embodiments, the sliding fastener is disposed at the closed end and the first fastening surface and the second fastening surface are fastened to each other, thereby positioning the fastening cover over the fastener. The sliding fastener is configured to compress the compressible material, thereby forming a seal between the compressible material and the sliding fastener.
In some embodiments, the fastening cover has a side fastened to the exterior surface of the cover, which is fastened perpendicular to the first track and the second track. In other embodiments, the encasement system has the fastening cover fastened to the exterior side parallel to the first track and the second track.
In some embodiments, the first fastening surface and the second fastening surface may be hook and loop type fasteners.
Embodiment are further directed to a bug-resistant, sliding fastener assembly for joining two edges of material. The embodiments include a first edge of material, a second edge of material, an operating mechanism, a closure mechanism, a first fastening surface, and a cover.
The operating mechanism includes an interior side and an exterior side, with the exterior side having a grip for manipulating the operating mechanism. The closure mechanism has a first side secured to the first edge and a second side secured to the second edge. The closure mechanism has a first end and a second end. The closure mechanism is configured to receive the operating mechanism and slidably engages the closure mechanism between a first end at which the first edge is coupled to the second edge and a second end at which the first edge is substantially decoupled from the second edge.
The cover is be secured to the material near the first fastening surface. The cover includes a second fastening surface configured to interlock with the first fastening surface. The second fastening surface includes an interior portion that has a compressible material for enveloping the exterior side of the sliding fastener. Embodiments of the compressible material include, but are not limited to, a flexible foam such as of polyethylene foam, polyurethane foam, and/or rubber foam. The second fastening surface at least partially surrounds the compressible material. Optionally, the cover includes a first cover edge secured to the fabric along the first edge perpendicular to the closure mechanism. Alternatively, the cover is secured along the first cover edge parallel to the closure mechanism.
Embodiment are also directed to a method for constructing a bug-resistant furniture encasement. A material having an interior sized and shaped to encase a piece of furniture may be fabricated, including an aperture sized and shaped to pass the piece of furniture into the interior. A fastening track is fastened to the material about the aperture, and a sliding fastener to may be fastened to the fastening track to selectively opens and closes the aperture. A first fastening surface proximate said aperture is secured to the material and a flap is secured to the material proximate the aperture. The flap has a second fastening surface and a compressible insert. The flap is positioned to cover the zipper with the compressible insert when the first fastening surface and the second fastening surface are joined when the sliding fastener closes the aperture.
As used herein, “at least one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.
Various embodiments of the present inventions are set forth in the attached figures and in the Detailed Description as provided herein and as embodied by the claims. It should be understood, however, that this Summary does not contain all of the aspects and embodiments of the one or more present inventions, is not meant to be limiting or restrictive in any manner, and that the invention(s) as disclosed herein is/are and will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to encompass obvious improvements and modifications thereto.
Additional advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following discussion, particularly when taken together with the accompanying drawings.
To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the one or more present inventions, reference to specific embodiments thereof are illustrated in the appended drawings. The drawings depict only typical embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting. One or more embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
a is an orthogonal close up view of the fastener cover of the embodiment of
b is a cross sectional view AA of
c is a cross sectional view of an alternative embodiment of
The drawings are not necessarily to scale.
The bug-resistant mattress cover 200 has a means for covering a mattress. In the embodiment of
The cover 202 has an aperture 208 sized and shaped for a mattress to be inserted. The aperture 208 is located at a first side 220 of the cover 202. In other embodiments, the aperture 208 is located at other locations of the cover 202. The aperture 208 starts midway along a second side 232 of the cover 202 and extends to the first side 220, across a width 236 of the first side 220, and continue midway along a third side 234 of the cover 202. In other embodiments, the starting point of the aperture 208 may not be located midway along the second side 232 of the cover 202 but may be greater or less than midway. In some embodiments, the aperture 208 may be located entirely on the first side 220 of the cover 202. Other aperture locations are contemplated, provided that the aperture 208 location allows a mattress to pass into the interior space.
The cover 200 has a means for closing the aperture 208. Examples of such means include sliding fastener assemblies such as zipper assemblies, plastic slide assemblies and the like. In the embodiment of
The zipper head 224 travels along the zipper track 212 from a first end 214 to a second end 216. The zipper head 224 may travel in a closing direction 226 in which the zipper head 224 couples the zipper sides 402, 404 thereby closing the aperture 208, or an open direction 228 in which the zipper head 224 decouples the zipper sides 402, 404 thereby opening the aperture 208. Generally, as the zipper head 224 travels towards the second end 216 of the zipper track 212, the zipper head 224 is traveling in the open direction 228. As the zipper head 224 travels towards the first end 214 of the zipper track 212 it is traveling in the closing direction 226.
When the zipper head 224 is positioned at the second end 216 of the zipper track 212, the zipper sides 402, 404 are substantially decoupled and may be coupled only at the second end 216. In other embodiments, the zipper sides 402, 404 completely separate from one another when the zipper head 224 is positioned at the second end 216. With the zipper sides 402, 404 being decoupled, the interior space 230 is accessible through the open aperture 208.
In operation, the zipper head 224 is slid along the zipper track 212 in the opening direction 228 towards the second end 216 of the zipper track 212 thereby opening the aperture 208. A mattress is then inserted within the cover 202, after which the zipper head 224 is slid in the closing direction 226 towards the first end 214 of the zipper track 212. When the zipper head 224 reaches the first end 214, the zipper sides 402, 404 are coupled and the aperture 208 is closed. The mattress is then encased within the cover 202. To remove the mattress, the zipper head 224 is slid along the zipper track in the opening direction 228 towards the second end 216 of the zipper track 216, thereby decoupling the zipper sides 402, 404 from one another and opening the aperture 208. The mattress may then be removed from the cover 202 through the aperture 208.
As previously described, the aperture 208 of the cover 202 may be closed by sliding the zipper head 224 along the zipper track 212 from the second end 216 to the first end 214. The zipper head 224 couples the two zipper sides 402, 404 as the zipper head 224 passes resulting in an coupled zipper portion between the second end 216 and the zipper head 224. When the zipper head 224 travels to the first end 214, the zipper sides 402, 404 are coupled, thereby closing the aperture 208. Even with that aperture 208 closed, the bug-resistant mattress cover 200 could have routes through which bedbugs might escape from the interior space 230. As can be seen in
The bug-resistant mattress cover 200 includes a means for sealing the small space 350 at the first end of the zipper track 212. In the embodiment of
The zipper cover 310 is attached proximate the first end 214 of the zipper track 212. The zipper cover 310 is a substantially flat surface having the shape of a square with four edges 328a, 328b, 328c, 328d. The zipper cover 310 may have a first side 360 made of a material that is complementary to the covering 202. A second side 322 of the zipper cover 350 has a second fastening surface 324 that interfaces with the first fastening surface 312. The second fastening surface 324 is complementary to the first fastening surface 312, having a shape mirroring the shape of the first fastening surface 312. In other embodiments, the second fastening surface 324 has a shape that is different than the shape of the first fastening surface 312.
The second side 322 of the zipper cover 310 has an insert 326 formed of a compressible material, such as an elastomeric material or foam. The insert 326 may be stitched to the second side 322 of the zipper cover 310 with stitching 370. In other embodiments, the insert may be secured by adhesive, seamless bonding, such as welding of various types (e.g., heat welding and ultrasonic welding) and other fastening methods. The material may be elastically deformable. In some embodiments, the material has a durometer of less than 55 A. In some embodiments, the insert 326 is surrounded by the second fastening surface 324. In other embodiments, the insert 326 expands to an edge 328a of the zipper cover 310.
The zipper cover 310 is attached at the first edge 328a proximate the first end 214 of the zipper track 212. The zipper cover 310 is sewn, stitched, glued, or attached by any other suitable means to the exterior surface 204. In some embodiments, the zipper cover 310 is made of a piece of fabric integral with the first fastening surface 312. The zipper cover 310 is able to rotate about the first edge 328a. In some embodiments, the first edge 328a is perpendicular to the zipper track 212 proximate the first end 214, or in other embodiments the first edge 328 is be parallel to the zipper track 212 proximate the first end 214. In still other embodiments, the first edge 328a may be at an angle to the zipper track 212 proximate the first end 214.
a shows the zipper cover 310 positioned over the first end 214 of the zipper track 212. The zipper head 224 is shown as an outline underneath the zipper cover 310. The outline of the insert 326 is visible by the stitching 370. The second fastening surface 324 of the zipper cover 310 is fastened to the first fastening surface 312 securing the zipper cover 310 over the zipper head 224.
b is a cross-sectional view of the zipper cover 310 in place over the zipper head 224. The first fastening surface 312 is fastened to the second fastening surface 324. The insert 326 is pressed against the zipper head 224. The compressible material of the insert 326 compresses, enveloping the outer surface 390 of the zipper head 224. This effectively holds the zipper head 224 in place at the first end 214. In addition, the compressible material of the insert 326 effectively seals the zipper cover 310 to the zipper head 224. With the zipper cover 310 sealed to the zipper head 224, the small space 350 is substantially sealed, reducing the risk of and, preferably, preventing, any insects from passing through the first end.
c is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a zipper cover 310a in place over a zipper head 224a. In this embodiment, the insert 326a extends past a second fastening surface 324a pressing the insert against the zipper head 224a. The compressible material of the insert 326 is, enveloping the zipper head 224a and sealing it against the zipper cover.
A first fastening surface 510 is located at an end 532 of the zipper track 506. The first fastening surface 510 may be a hook and loop type fastener. A zipper cover 508 is located at the end 532 of the zipper track 506. The zipper cover 508 has a second fastening surface 512 that interfaces with the first fastening surface 510. An insert 514 including a compressible material is disposed within the second fastening surface 512. The zipper cover 508 has have the shape of a square with 4 edges 532a, 532b, 532c, 532d. In other embodiments, the zipper cover 508 has a different shape, such as a trapezoid. One of the edges 532a is attached to the cover 502 proximate the end 532 of the zipper track 506.
An operating mechanism, such as zipper head 518 is disposed along the zipper track 506. To seal the cover 502, the zipper cover 508 is disposed with the first fastening surface 510 and the second fastening surface 512 fastened together with the insert 514 disposed over the zipper head 518. The insert 514 compresses and surrounds the zipper head, creating a bug-resistant seal.
In some embodiments, the fastening track has a longitudinal direction with a closed end and an open end and the flap includes an edge. The flap may be secured by stitching the edge at the open end perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. In other embodiments, the edge may be stitched parallel to the longitudinal direction.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201020594649.8 | Oct 2010 | CN | national |
