Patent Application
20170238734
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coverings for a bed and, in particular, to partitioned modular bedding mattress sheets and sheet inserts.
Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Many parents choose to sleep in large beds, most commonly, with traditional queen or king sized mattresses. While it is also fairly common for children to sleep alone in a single toddler, twin, or twin XL bed, there are occasions where multiple children are required to sleep in larger beds together, for example when traveling and staying at hotels, or in some cases for an extended period at a place of residence. Unfortunately, when sleeping together on a large bed they tend to move around, bump into each other, or even lie over one another unintentionally during the course of rest. This leads to disturbed sleep and can impact sleep quality for everyone in the room, even in neighboring beds. Moreover, every sleeper prefers specific bedding materials and configurations and when sharing a bed, compromises must be made since occupants typically share some or all of the bedding components (sheets, blankets, etc.).
In a hotel or other travel-related arrangement these and other problems arise. In hotel situations the size of bed is typically limited to king or queen arrangements. Multiple small children sleeping on such mattresses and in such unfamiliar settings might move about more, disturb bed partners and possibly even fall from the mattress, which may harm the children and expose them to contaminants on the floor.
While it is possible for travelers to take along their own bed coverings, standard sheets and blankets are bulky and do not fit within reasonably sized luggage. Moreover, standard sheets and blankets do not address the issue of movement and interference among bed partners, and do not prevent same from falling to the floor. Traditional sleeping bags have also been utilized, but are impractical because of their cost and bulk, the difficulty in laundering, and because they do nothing with respect to occupant retention, but rather allow the occupant to roll about on a mattress and collide with bed partners or even fall to the floor.
The present invention addresses these and other shortcomings as will be readily understood by one of ordinary skill upon a reading and understanding of the disclosure provided herein.
In summary, an embodiment of the present invention presents a partitioned modular bedding device that comprises: a base member for covering the top of a mattress having side walls, the base member further comprising side panels and a releasable tensioner for closely fitting the side panels against the mattress side walls; and at least one chamber for accepting an occupant on the top surface of the base member, with the chamber comprising: a plurality of peripheral flange members, each flange member comprising a plurality of releasable fasteners; and a sheath member for providing retention of the occupant within the chamber, the sheath member having a plurality of releasable fasteners around the periphery corresponding to the flange member releasable fasteners for mating of the outward facing surface of the sheath member to the inward facing surface of the peripheral flange members. In another aspect the device releasable fasteners are chosen from the group consisting of hook and loop fastener material, magnetic material, snap fasteners, zipper fasteners, and button fasteners. In another aspect the device releasable fasteners comprise hook and loop fastener material, wherein the outward width of the hook and loop fastener material allows adjustment of the chamber to accommodate various occupant body sizes. In another aspect the device sheath member releasable fasteners comprise hook and loop fastener material, wherein the hook portion is affixed to the surface of the sheath member that contacts the flange members. In another aspect the device releasable attachment fasteners comprise hook and loop fastener material, wherein the hook member material portion and the loop material portion are oriented such that the strongest shear force resistance direction of the hook material faces inward toward the center of the chamber member. In another aspect the device releasable tensioner comprises a drawstring and cord lock member. In another aspect the device base member comprises a plurality of chambers, wherein at least one chamber is substantially perpendicularly oriented with respect to another chamber.
In yet another aspect the device chamber further comprises an overlayer member having a plurality of releasable fasteners around the periphery for mating of the outward facing surface of the overlayer member to corresponding releasable fasteners on the inward facing surface of the peripheral flange members. Another aspect of the device chamber further comprises a plurality of overlayer members, each overlayer member having a plurality of releasable fasteners around the periphery for mating of the outward facing surface of the overlayer member to corresponding releasable fasteners on the inward facing surface of the peripheral flange members, the plurality of overlayer members forming a stack. Another aspect of the device chamber further comprises an underlayer member having a plurality of releasable fasteners around the periphery for mating of the outward facing surface of the underlayer member to corresponding releasable fasteners on the inward facing surface of the base member within the chamber. Another aspect of the device chamber further comprises a plurality of chambers for accepting an occupant, each chamber separated from the adjacent chamber by a neutral zone therebetween. Finally, another aspect of the device further comprises a sleeve member having an extension flap with releasable fasteners for releasably engaging a peripheral flange member releasable fastener.
Another embodiment of the present invention presents a partitioned modular bedding device that comprises: a base member for covering the top of a mattress having side walls, the base member further comprising side panels and a releasable tensioner for closely fitting the side panels against the mattress side walls; and at least one chamber for accepting an occupant affixed to the top surface of the base member, the chamber defined by a plurality of peripheral flange members. Another aspect of the device chamber further comprises a sheath member for providing retention of the occupant within the chamber, the sheath member having a plurality of releasable fasteners around the periphery corresponding to the flange member releasable fasteners for mating of the outward facing surface of the sheath member to the inward facing surface of the peripheral flange members. In another aspect of the device the releasable fasteners are chosen from the group consisting of hook and loop fastener material, magnetic material, snap fasteners, zipper fasteners, and button fasteners. In another aspect of the device the releasable fasteners comprise hook and loop fastener material, wherein the outward width of the hook and loop fastener material allows adjustment of the chamber to accommodate various occupant body sizes.
In yet another aspect of the invention the device sheath member releasable fasteners comprise hook and loop fastener material, wherein the hook portion is affixed to the surface of the sheath member that contacts the flange members. In another aspect of the device the releasable attachment fasteners comprise hook and loop fastener material, wherein the hook member material portion and the loop material portion are oriented such that the strongest shear force resistance direction of the hook material faces inward toward the center of the chamber member. In yet another aspect of the device the base member comprises a plurality of chambers, wherein at least one chamber is substantially perpendicularly oriented with respect to another chamber. In another aspect of the device the chamber further comprises one or more overlayer members having a plurality of releasable fasteners around the periphery for mating of the outward facing surface of the overlayer member to corresponding releasable fasteners on the inward facing surface of the peripheral flange members, the overlayer members capable of stacking.
The present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The above figures are provided for the purpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended to define the limits of the disclosed invention. Use of the same reference number in multiple figures is intended to designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, if and when the terms “top,” “bottom,” “first,” “second,” “upper,” “lower,” “height,” “width,” “length,” “end,” “side,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawing and are utilized only to facilitate describing the particular embodiment. The extension of the figures with respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensions of the parts to form the preferred embodiment will be explained or will be within the skill of the art after the following teachings of the present invention have been read and understood.
The releasable fasteners (116) of the present embodiment include complimentary magnets sewn into the flanges in areas of overlap. The attractive force of the magnets maintains the flange alignment until adequate force is applied to achieve separation. The magnetic attraction is strong enough to maintain flange alignment during non-use by an occupant yet weak enough for relatively easy separation when a user intends to enter the occupant chamber. The magnet material utilized in the present embodiment is Neodymium N42 0.75″ DIA×1/16″. While complimentary magnets are utilized, one of ordinary skill will appreciate that other embodiments may utilize hook-and-loop fastening material (for example, Velcro® material), snaps, zippers, and the like.
Additional releasable fasteners (118) on the underside (or mattress side) of the flanges are utilized to maintain the positioning of the accessory layer inserts, which are described in greater detail below. The present embodiment utilizes hook-and-loop fastener material (for example, Velcro®) strips of sufficient length to allow adjustment of the tightness of the accessory layers therein. When hook-and-loop fastening material is utilized, the orientation of the hook material is chosen such that the strongest shear force resistance direction of the hooks portion faces toward the occupant chamber centerline, thereby resisting separation by shear force caused when the occupant turns or moves within the chamber.
The base member (102) in this embodiment supports two occupant chambers (114) as depicted. One of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate that the size of the base member (102) determines the number of a particular size of occupant chamber that it will support. For a given size of base member (102) it is possible to include a greater number of occupant chambers in various configurations if the size of the occupant chambers is adjusted accordingly.
The base member (102) of the present embodiment can be sized to accommodate standard or custom mattress sizes, and is composed of fabric material using common construction techniques similar to a fitted sheet but with a more rigid, durable fabric to provide additional overall structure. For example, nylon, denim, or high-density (HD) cotton may be utilized, with standard sewing techniques suitable for the material density. Other embodiments may utilize polymer materials with seam welding techniques for joining the device components, or some combination of standard sewing and seam welding. The choice of construction technique is within the skill of one of ordinary skill.
The present embodiment utilizes a sheath layer member and multiple accessory layer members during use.
The sheath member (300) is designed such that the fastening points are dimensionally varied from those on the base flanges to allow for free body movement and so as to prevent over-constraint of the body and feet within the occupant chamber. Specifically, the sheath member (300), when installed onto the base flanges (106 and 110), allows for chamber expansion such that the inner (110), outer (112) and footer flanges separate during use while still constraining the occupant. The inner flange (110) has wider loop fastener strips (122) than the rest of the embodiment (approximately 8″ vs. approximately 2″) and are attached to the sheath by use of the sheath's hook fastener strips (302) to accommodate various sizes of people and to strike the proper balance between avoiding a constrained sleep feel while preventing enough side roll of the occupant so as to allow interference with a neighboring sleeper. Moreover, to increase occupant comfort, the hook portion of the hook-and-loop fastening system is designed to be affixed on the opposite (outward or upper) side of the sheath member (300), away from the occupant, to avoid the potential discomfort caused by the occupant's skin contacting the hook fastener material. Consequently, the loop portion aspects are attached on the occupant side of the base member (102) and flanges which causes less discomfort if touched. While the present embodiment utilizes hook-and-loop materials for the releasable fasteners, other embodiments may utilize magnetic material, snap fasteners, zipper fasteners, button fasteners, and the like, or some combination thereof. A primary benefit of using hook-and-loop fastening material is the relative ease with which the fasteners may be combined, while retaining a higher separation force than other releasable fasteners, for example, complimentary magnets.
The sheath member (300) as shown is tapered in shape to approximate the taper of human anatomy, which helps to prevent an occupant from feeling over-constrained with the chamber (114). The sheath member edge (304) is sewn-in to the outer flange (112) as part of the base member (102) unit. The inner flange (110) includes a wide strip of loop fastener material (122) to allow the user to place the hook fastener material affixed to the sheath in one of many positions along the wide strip to accommodate various sizes of occupants. The current embodiment also features an extension flange (304) and a closed-end zipper (306) on the sheath (300) near the edge that is sewn to the outer flange (308) to enable easy entry to and exit from the occupant chamber. The extension flange provides for attachment of accessory layer members to the sheath along the upper-outer part of the chamber. The extension flange (304) enables (1) the user to easily move blanket and sheet overlayers out of the way upon entry and exit, and (2) maintains an ideal blanket and sheet overlayer stack (described in detail below) position within the chamber while the chamber is in use, and (3) enables free movement of the blanket and sheet overlayer stack during use while still holding its proper general position.
Additional accessory insert members include an accident guard layer member that can be installed beneath the underlayer to prevent moisture stains and damage on the base member and mattress. This moisture blocking member may be installed by attaching to the releasable fasteners of the base unit on the mattress side, beneath the underlayer member (500). Optionally, the underlayer member may include a moisture barrier layer within its core or on the side of the underlayer member that contacts the base member. Other accessory members include a pillow case or sleeve member featuring an extension flap having releasable fasteners for attachment to the header flange releasable fasteners, or other peripheral flange releasable fasteners. A similar bundle of partial length stackable blanket overlayer members is also envisioned to serve, for example, as a foot warmer for an occupant, and which can attach to the footer flange releasable fasteners or to another peripheral flange as desired. The sleeve member accessory insert may also be utilized to retain one or more pillows or stackable blankets to serve in this capacity.
In addition, the invention is advantageous because the partitioned modular bedding device (1) can be made easily in a few seconds; (2) uses less material than traditional sleeping devices; (3) is simple to launder; (4) is easier to carry for travel, (5) and prevents bedding components from falling off the bed and from migrating unintentionally around the bed such as sheets and blankets moving to the feet during the course of rest.
The foregoing detailed description of the present invention is provided for the purposes of illustration only, and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
