Patent Application
20210017700
This invention relates to bed sheeting. More particularly, it relates to protecting bed sheeting while washing and/or drying.
Bedding, also known as bedclothes or bed linen, is the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, protection of the mattress, and decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environment. Multiple sets of bedding for each bed will often be washed in rotation and/or changed seasonally to improve sleep comfort at varying room temperatures. In American English, the word bedding generally does not include the mattress, bed frame, or bed base (such as box-spring), while in British English it does.
A set of bedding usually consists of a flat or fitted bed sheet that covers the mattress; a flat top sheet; either a blanket, quilt, or duvet, sometimes with a duvet cover which can replace or be used in addition to the top sheet; and a number of pillows with pillowcases, also referred to as pillow shams.
Additional blankets, etc. may be added to ensure the necessary insulation in cold sleeping areas. A common practice for children and some adults is to decorate a bed with plush stuffed animals, dolls, and other soft toys. These are not included under the designation of bedding, although they may provide additional warmth to the sleeper.
Lightweight white, solid-color or printed plain weave, satin weave, or flannel cotton or cotton/polyester blends are the most common types of sheeting, although linen and silk may also be used, including in combination. Goose or duck down and other feathers are frequently used as a warm and lightweight filling in duvets, comforters and quilts. But such fill can protrude in part even from tightly-woven fabric, and be an irritant for many people, particularly those with allergies. Natural and synthetic down alternatives are marketed. Cotton, wool or polyester batting is commonly used as fill in quilts and down alternative comforters. These are less expensive and more easily laundered than natural down or feathers. Synthetic fibers are best in the form of thermo-fused (where fibers cross batting. Thick-woven or knitted wool, cotton, acrylic or other microfiber synthetics, or blends of these, are typically used for blankets.
People wash their bed sheeting on a regular basis. When they wash and dry their bed sheeting, the corners or other portions often become engaged with other articles being washed and/or dried. This causes extended periods of washing or drying and extra wear on the bed sheeting. In light of at least the issues noted above, there is a need for a device to protect and ease the washing and drying of bed sheeting.
The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list.
“Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,” “by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,” “in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,” “of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,” “preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,” “substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,” “to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptors herein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree, unless context dictates otherwise.
Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described in connection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is no intent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, or combinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined, without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein.
Referring to
The laundry device 100 has a bottom portion 200, a top portion 300, and a ring assembly 350. The laundry device 100 preferably has a height of two and one-half (2.5) cm, but other heights are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, two (2) cm, three (3) cm, etc.
The bottom portion 200 preferably has a diameter of between three and one-half and four centimeters (3.5-4 cm), but other diameters are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, three (3) cm, five (5) cm, etc. The top portion 300 is preferably made of a material that can withstand continuous temperatures of at least one-hundred forty degree Celsius (140° C.) such as hard-plastic material, but other materials are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, Poly Phenylene Sulfide (PPS), Poly Ether Ether Ketone (PEEK), Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFE), etc.
The top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 is preferably round in shape, but other shapes are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, oblong, square, triangular, etc. The shape of the top portion 300 should be consistent with a shape of an inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100.
The bottom portion 200 has the inner portion 201, an outer edge 202, an inner edge 203, a ring hole 204, an outer ring 205, a bottom 206 and a tab 207. The inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 is preferably round in shape, but other shapes are hereby contemplated, such as, but not limited to, square, oblong, trapezoidal, etc. The inner portion 201 of the top portion of the laundry device 100 is a void area for receiving a bedding corner and the top portion 300 of the laundry device 100. The outer ring 201 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device is preferably made of a rubber material, but other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, plastic, etc.
The inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200 of the device 100 preferably is made of a plastic material, but other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), etc. The inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200 is preferably a diameter of four centimeters (4 cm), but other diameters are further contemplated, including but not limited to, two (2) cm, five (5) cm, etc.
The inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 is defined by the inner edge 203 of the top portion 201 of the laundry device 100. The outer edge 202 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 is preferably round in shape, but other shapes are hereby contemplated, such as, but not limited to, square, oblong, trapezoidal, etc.
The ring hole 204 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 is preferably round in shape, but other shapes are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, oblong, square hexagonal, trapezoidal, rectangular, triangular, etc. The ring hole 204 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 is useful when configured with the ring assembly 350.
The tab 207 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 is configured on the top 205 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 such that the tab 207 is substantially coupled to the top 205 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 substantially near the inner edge 203 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100. The tab 207 is configured to extend beyond the outer edge 202 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100.
The tab 207 is configured to be visible extending from the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 when being viewed from the bottom 206 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100. The tab 207 is further coupled to the top portion 300 of the device 100. The tab 207 is useful for providing a mechanism to release the top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 when removably coupled to the inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100.
The top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 is preferably dome shaped but other shapes are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, flat, concave, converse, etc. The top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 preferably has a diameter of five and one-half centimeters (5.5 cm), but other diameters are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, five (5) cm, six (6) cm, etc.
An exterior edge 301 of the top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 is configured to be removably coupled to the inner edge 203 defining the inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100. The top portion 300 is preferably made of a silicon material, but other materials are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, hard-plastic, Poly Phenylene Sulfide (PPS), Poly Ether Ether Ketone (PEEK), Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFE), etc. The top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 is preferably clear, but may be translucent and have a hue.
An easy-pull tab 303 is coupled to the inside portion 302 of the top portion 300 of the device 100. The easy-pull tab 303 is useful for a quick easy release for removing sheets or garments from the device 100.
The ring assembly 350 is useful for holding smaller garment items from being tangled with other items in the laundry. The ring assembly 350 is also useful for coupling the top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 and the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100 to be configured to be stored by hanging on a hanging device.
The ring assembly 350 has a ring 351 and a plurality of snaps 352. The ring 351 of the ring assembly 350 is preferably round in shape, but it may be any other shape desired. The ring assembly 350 is removably coupled to the ring hole 204 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100. The ring assembly 350 extends from the bottom 206 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100. The plurality of snaps 352 are movably coupled to the ring 351 of the ring assembly 350.
The bottom portion 100 is shown where a surface 208 is shown between the outer edge 202 and the inner edge 203. The ring hole 204 is coupled to the surface 208 of the bottom portion 100 of the laundry device 100. The ring assembly 350 is coupled to the ring hole 204 of the surface of the bottom portion 100 of the laundry device 100.
The tab 207 is coupled to the top 205 of the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100. The tab 207 is coupled to the top portion 300 of the laundry device 100 when the top portion 300 has been removably coupled and engaged with the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device 100.
Moving now to
The flowchart 400 begins at 405, the start location. At 410, a determination is made as to whether sheets and/or bedding is at least part of the laundry to be done. If there are bedding or sheets in the laundry then at 415 the sheets or bedding is folded in half. The folding in half of the sheets or bedding allow for the sheets or bedding to control less space in the washer and/or dryer.
After folding the sheets or bedding, then at 420 the bottom portion 200 of the device 100 on an inside of the sheets and a top portion 300 of the device 100 on a top of the sheet. Pushing the snaps 352 of the ring assembly 350 in until the snaps are hard, thereby securing the corners of the sheet and/or area between the ring 351 of the ring assembly 350 and the snaps 352 of the ring assembly 350.
After inserting the corners of the sheets or bedding, then at 425, the top portion 300 is removably coupled to the bottom portion 200 of the laundry device at substantially the inner portion 201 of the bottom portion 200, where the exterior edge 301 of the top portion 300 is securely coupled to the inner edge 203 of the bottom portion 200. The corner of the sheets or bedding are also securely coupled between the exterior edge 301 of the top portion 300 is securely coupled to the inner edge 203 of the bottom portion 200.
If there is not laundry to have performed at 410 or the sheets or bedding have been coupled to the laundry device at 425, then at 430 it is determined whether there are other garments to be laundered.
If it has been determined at 430 that no further garments are in the laundry or the garments have been coupled to the ring assembly 350, then at 445 the laundry device 100 is placed into the washer or dryer. At 450 the clothes are washed or dried as desired.
Once the laundry has completed, then at 460 push thumbs through the bottom portion 200 of the device 100 popping the sheet and the tab 207 at or using the easy-pull tab 303 located on the top portion 300 of the device 100. At 465, the garments and/or sheets or bedding are removed from the washer/dryer.
After the garments and/or sheets or bedding are removed from the washer/dryer or if there were not sheets or bedding determined to be in the laundry at 410 and no other garments were determined to be in the laundry at 430, then at 470 the process ends.
In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects and embodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) according to respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” or other such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.) more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may either identify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might be called “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, in respective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to which they refer or other features described above.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specific exemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies are representative of more general processes and/or devices and/or technologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filed herewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.
The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
