The present invention generally relates to bedding products, and particularly infant bedding products for creating a safe and comfortable sleeping environment for an infant or small child. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a versatile and tight fitting mattress sheet. The present invention is also directed to mattress sheet system that incorporates a taut fitted bed sheet that is easy to remove.
Parents provide for their children in a wide variety of ways. At a basic level, however, most parents provide their children with the necessities of food, clothing and shelter. While the needs of children last from birth through later years, the care and nurturing of newborns and young infants present special issues. In response to these special issues, the infant/baby industry continues to grow with new and innovative products that are continuingly made available to expectant mothers and fathers for the care of their children. Presently, the infant industry offers a vast number of products ranging from bedding products, travel products, feeding products, toys, bathing and health products, clothing, and the like.
Of the many items inevitably present on an expecting parent's to-do list, perhaps the most important is to provide the baby with a welcoming and safe sleeping environment. Typically, newborns will spend a majority of their time in the crib and several months after birth, they will still spend about twelve (12) hours of every day in their crib. Accordingly, it is important that the crib and mattress selected be of a good quality so that it is safe and comfortable for the infant. To this end, there are a variety of cribs and crib mattresses available that are currently regulated by particular safety standards to prevent injury to the infant that have been recommended or established by organizations such as the SIDS Alliance, American Academy of Pediatricians, and the Surgeon General.
Currently, crib constructions must meet certain safety standards and those standards further require that crib mattresses fit tightly within in the crib frame to prevent the baby from slipping between the mattress and the sides or ends of the crib. Many experts in the field, such as the SIDS Alliance further recommend that the crib mattress be firm so as to reduce the risk of SIDS and problems with the development of the spine. They also suggest that the mattress not be covered with a quilt, sheepskin, or anything else that could interfere with providing the infant with adequate air circulation around the face.
In addition, many experts recommend that a water absorbent bed pad be placed on top of the mattress and that both the mattress and the pad be covered with tight fitting crib sheet that tucks smoothly underneath the mattress. Research has indicated that a tight fitting crib sheet both enhances the infant's comfort and prevents the infant from becoming tangled about in the folds of a loose-fitting sheet.
A comfortable sleeping environment may also include one or more sleep aids such as products that play soothing sounds to help lull an infant to sleep or that may even be sound activated so that if the infant awakes, the soothing sounds may again return the infant to sleep. Other sleep aids include a variety of cushion devices, such as sleep positioners, crib wedges and head supports to position a sleeping infant's head in a manner that helps prevent Flat Head Syndrome (Plagiocephaly).
Oftentimes, infant sleep aid products are developed in response to pediatrician recommendations. For example, some pediatricians recommend that an infant be placed either on his/her back while others recommend that the infant be placed on his/her side in an effort to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, commonly referred to as SIDS. As a result, various infant sleep positioners have been developed and typically take the form of support pillows or wedges that may be positioned about the infant to maintain the infant in the desired sleeping position. These infant sleep aids are typically loosely placed within the crib on the crib sheet where their effectiveness can be somewhat diminished if inadvertently moved about by the infant during sleep. Furthermore, with the frequency by which crib sheets need to be replaced, it may be somewhat tedious and time consuming to both remove items from the crib and go through the process of removing the tight fitting sheet to replace it with a new one.
There has long been a need for a crib sheet that not only provides a tight fit about the crib mattress, but that is easier to remove and replace than that of conventional crib sheets. There is also a need for providing sleep aids, such as sleep positioners, that can be used by a sleeping infant in a way that maximizes its effectiveness. The present invention is directed to meeting these needs.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new and useful crib mattress sheet that tightly fits over the mattress and that is easy to change.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooperating crib mattress sheet and mattress casing for a standard sized crib mattress.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a crib mattress sheet that provides a surface for the placement of sleeping aids, such as sleep positioners, blankets, and pillows.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a crib mattress sheet that includes a water absorbent layer to eliminate the need for a separate water absorbing mattress pad,
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a crib mattress sheet that is soft, provides a comfortable sleeping environment for an infant, and is machine washable.
According to the present invention, then, a mattress sheet is provided that comprises a panel of a selected size and configuration that is adapted to be disposed on a mattress in a close fitted relationship. The panel is preferably rectangular in configuration and ncludes three layers, a bottom layer that confronts the mattress when disposed thereon, a top layer that provides an upper surface for said panel, and an intermediate layer interposed between the top and bottom layers. The bottom layer may be formed of a water resistant material that is selected from the group consisting of vinyl and nylon. The top layer may be formed of a polyester material that may specifically be polyester tricot. The intermediate layer may be formed of a water absorbent material selected from the group consisting of polyester rayon blend and cotton. The top and intermediate layers may be laminated together.
The present invention is also directed to a mattress sheet system adapted for use with a mattress of a selected size and configuration. The mattress sheet system generally includes a mattress casing that is sized and adapted to receive the mattress therein in a close-fitted relationship. The casing includes a bottom panel and a surrounding sidewall joined to the bottom panel around a periphery thereof and extending upwardly from said bottom panel to terminate in a top edge portion. The sidewall has an inner surface and an outer surface and, together with the bottom panel, forms a casing interior. If desired, the mattress casing may further include a top panel spaced apart from the bottom panel and spanning the casing interior. The top panel may be joined to the sidewall of the mattress casing around a majority of its periphery so as to form an entryway. The entryway is sized to allow access to the casing interior whereby the mattress may be inserted therethrough.
The mattress sheet system also includes a mattress sheet that spans the casing interior when in a fastened state and cooperative fasteners disposed respectively on the mattress casing and the mattress sheet and located to fasten to one another so that the mattress sheet is releasably fastened to the mattress casing. The mattress sheet may include three layers, a bottom layer that is water resistant, a top layer formed of a polyester material, and an intermediate layer interposed therebetween that is made of a material that is water absorbent. Preferably, when in the fastened state, the mattress sheet is taut across the casing interior, and completely removable from the casing.
The cooperative fasteners associated with the mattress casing and the mattress sheet may be selected from a group consisting of hook-and-loop fasteners, snaps, button-and-hole fasteners and zippers. More particularly, the cooperating fasteners may include casing zipper teeth that are disposed on the inner surface of the casing sidewall at a location proximate to the top edge thereof. The casing zipper teeth are adapted to mate with sheet zipper teeth, which are disposed on the mattress sheet at a location proximate to a peripheral margin thereof. The zipper teeth may further be associated with a zipper slide that is disposed on of the casing sidewall or mattress sheet. Preferably, once the mattress sheet is in the fastened state, the cooperative fasteners are concealed from view.
If desired, the mattress sheet system may further be provided with a accessory items that are releasably securable to the upper surface of the mattress sheet. Such accessory items may be selected from the group consisting of sleep positioners, blankets, head rolls, toys, drool pads, and pillows. In addition, these selected accessory items may include a filaform fastening strip disposed on a portion thereof that is adapted to releasably secure to polyester tricot.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily understood and appreciated from a consideration of the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention when taken together with the accompanying drawing in which:
The present invention is directed to bedding particularly useful for infant cribs to provide the infant with a safe and comfortable sleeping environment and that is easier to remove and replace than conventional crib sheets. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a new and useful mattress sheet and a mattress sheet system wherein the mattress sheet is either a cooperative component with a mattress casing, or that may be configured as a fitted sheet for a standard sized mattress. The mattress sheet system may further include removable sleeping aids that are adapted to releasably secure to the mattress sheet.
As used herein, the term infant shall be understood to mean any child at the beginning of its life, including a newborn up through the age of a toddler. As discussed in view of the following description of the figures below, the crib sheet of the present invention is well suited for use with a standard sized mattress, but may also be sized and used for a variety of different infant sleeping environments such as in a bassinet or may even provide a clean playing area on the floor or other suitable support surface.
Turning then to the figures, reference is first made to
With reference to
First panel member 46 includes side section 41, foot section 47 and head section 51. Similarly, second panel member 48 includes side section 43, foot section 49, and head section 53. Respective foot sections 47 and 49 have confronting edges 50 and 52, which may be stitched or otherwise joined together to form junction 51 (shown in
First and second panel members 46 and 48 are joined about the peripheral margin of bottom panel 44 to form a continuous casing wall surrounding an interior 99 for receiving mattress 42 in a close fitting relationship and having an inner surface and an outer surface. More specifically, as shown, corners 62 and 64 of first panel member 44 align with corners 66 and 68 of bottom panel 44, while corners 61 and 63 of second panel member 48 align with corners 65 and 67 of bottom panel 44 and joined thereabout.
With continued reference to
Turning next to
Now that mattress casing 40 and 140 have been described in some detail, the construction of crib sheet 20 may be further described. Accordingly, with reference to
Turning to
With respect to outer layer 26, it is desirable that it be formed of a soft material because it comes in direct contact with the infant. However, as will soon be appreciated, it is further desirable that outer layer 26 be formed of a material that is compatible with various filaform fasteners or hook fasterners, such as molden hooks or Velcro®, as known in the art. Accordingly, outer layer 26 may be formed of a polyester material such as 100% polyester tricot or other suitable hook fastening compatible material. Outer layer 26 is disposed on top of intermediate layer 26 and stitched or otherwise joined to inner layer 22 and intermediate layer 24 to form seam 28, which extends about a peripheral margin of sheet 20, as shown in
Since outer layer 26 is formed of a material that is compatible with hook fasteners such as molden hooks strips or Velcro® strips, it is desirable to provide sleeping aids or other crib decorations with hooks strips that are compatable with the outer layer material of the crib sheet. As shown in
A representative positioner 90 is shown in
It is further desirable that positioner 90 further include a cooperating hook strip 92, which is adapted to releasably attach to a cooperative loop fastener, such as the 100% tricot polyester material noted above. In this way, positioners 90 are not limited to being aligned parallel to one another, as shown in
In addition to the sleep positioner 90 shown and described above, the present invention also contemplates the use of positioning members having different geometric shapes than that shown in
Similarly, as shown in
Another compatible crib item may be in the form of a decoration, such as teddy bear 290 shown in
Finally, turning now to
Accordingly, the present invention has been described with some degree of particularity directed to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It should be appreciated, though, that the scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims construed in light of the prior art so that modifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention without departing from the inventive concepts contained herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60559905 | Apr 2004 | US |