Gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus and method

Abstract

A gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus and method for easy installation and removal, and prevention of slippage during use, of gather-fitted bedding upon a bed mattress. The apparatus has a semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit of a size corresponding to the standard minimum depth of the bed mattress, a bottom lip formed along the bottom edge of the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit, at least one curve-enabling notch in the central portion of the bottom lip, to enable bending of the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit to conform to the corner of the mattress, a bottom-lip curved-corner portion formed by such bending, and at least one tab cutout through the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit. The method is practiced by using a gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus at each corner of the mattress, placing the bent semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit underneath and inside of a corner of the gather-fitted bedding, with the gathered edge of the bedding wrapped around the bottom lip and the bottom-lip curved-corner portion, with the gathered edge resting on the top or inner surface of the bottom lip and the bottom-lip curved-corner portion, manually pushing the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit and the fitted bedding downward over the bed mattress for installation, or manually pulling upward for removal, using the tab cutouts or the bottom lip as gripping points, where the low-friction inner face of the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit provides smooth downward and upward pushing for installation and removal, and the bottom lip and the bottom-lip curved-corner portion hold the gather-fitted bedding in place underneath the bed mattress during the period between installation and removal.

Claims

1. A gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus configured to facilitate installation and removal, and prevention of slippage during use, of gather-fitted bedding for a bed mattress of a predetermined depth, the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus comprising: (i) a semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit of a size corresponding to the predetermined depth of the bed mattress and forming a main body portion, the main body portion having an inner face configured to contact the bed mattress, said inner face having a low-friction surface, an opposite outer face configured to contact the gather-fitted bedding, a lower boundary, a curved central portion, having a configuration conforming to a corner of the bed mattress, and a pair of side portions extending from opposite sides of the central portion; (ii) a bottom lip formed along said lower boundary, said bottom lip extending substantially perpendicularly from said inner face and being provided with an outermost lip edge which follows a curved configuration of the lower boundary, said bottom lip being adapted to fit underneath the bed mattress in use; (iii) at least one tab cutout formed in the side portion, adapted to provide gripping surface for installation and removal; where, said side portions extend in a substantially right-angle relationship to each other; said unit is configured to fit into a corner of the gather-fitted bedding and to be installed on the corner of the bed mattress while the gather-fitted bedding is positioned on the bed mattress; and where said bottom lip is configured to hold the gather-fitted bedding in place underneath the bed mattress during the period between installation and removal.

2. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where said outer face of the unit has a rough-textured surface adapted to prevent slippage of the gather-fitted bedding.

3. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit is made of a thermoplastic sheet material.

4. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit is made of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE).

5. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where said bottom lip is formed by bending while heated.

6. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where said bottom lip comprises a plurality of score notches to facilitate bending of said bottom lip.

7. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where the central portion of said bottom lip is elongated in order to form said bottom-lip curved-corner portion.

8. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, further comprising more than one curve-enabling notch.

9. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where one tab cutout is formed in each side portion of said unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1a is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of the invention, FIG. 1b illustrates one of exemplary methods of forming the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 1c is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1d illustrates another exemplary method of forming the apparatus of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a cutaway schematic view of the use of the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of the invention;

(4) FIG. 3 is a hidden-line topside view of the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of the invention in use; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a hidden-line underside view of the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of the invention in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) Referring to FIGS. 1a-d and all of the figures generally, the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus 10 and method of the invention is shown. The typical bed mattress has four corners, so typically the method uses four semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material units 1. Each unit is made from a semi-flexible sheet material 12 such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or a similar material. In use, the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 will curve around the corner of the bed mattress, and will have an inner face or low-friction inner surface 14 toward the mattress and an outer face 16 opposite, and will have a bottom with a lower boundary 18, a top edge 22, side portions 24, 26, with corresponding outer edges 28, 30, respectively, and a central portion 32, which is adapted to conform to a corner of a conventional mattress having a predetermined depth. The pair of side portions 24, 26 extend from opposite sides of the central portion 32 in a substantially right-angle relationship to each other. Optimally, there will be no sharp corners prone to snagging, but gentle curves along the edges. The material should be flexible enough to allow formation of a radius-curved corner substantially matching that of the bed mattress.

(7) A bottom lip 2 is formed on the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 by bending the bottom of the unit 1 along the lower boundary 18 line into a substantially perpendicular position. As can be seen in FIG. 2, once the unit 1 is formed, the body thereof defines a main body portion 40, which is configured to conform to a corner of a bed mattress, and the unitary bottom lip 2, which follows the configuration of the main portion 40 and extends along entire length thereof. The outermost edge 20 of the lip 2 follows the configuration of the central portion 32 and the side portions 24, 26. Optimally, the semi-flexible sheet material will not be so flexible as to fail to retain this bend for the bottom lip 2. Ways of achieving the desired semi-flexiblilty are to set the bend for the bottom lip 2 using heat, bolster the bend with additional material, and scoring portions of the material to allow bending.

(8) The bend formed in the central portion 32 and in the lip 2 to conform to the mattress and the bend 4 in the bottom lip 2 are perpendicular each to the other, so the bends will resist each other. One or more curve-enabling notches 3 are therefore placed into the bottom lip 2 to allow the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 to be bent into conformation with the mattress corner without pushing out the bend forming the bottom lip 2. In use, with the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 bent into a curve conforming to the corner of the mattress, a bottom-lip curved-corner portion 4 will be formed. The central portion of the bottom lip 2 can be made elongated, and in use the bottom-lip curved-corner portion 4 will have more surface area to contact the underside of the mattress.

(9) One or more tab cutouts 5 are made through the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 in order to provide a surface on which to push or pull vertically for installation or removal.

(10) In a preferred embodiment, the inner face 14 of the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 is given a smooth, low-friction surface finish to promote the sliding of the unit on the mattress corner 60, and the outer face 16 is given a less-smooth surface finish in order to lessen any sliding of the gather-fitted bedding 50 along the outer face 16.

(11) Referring to FIG. 2, in use, the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 is placed into the corner pocket 52 of the gather-fitted bedding 50, and the gathered edge 54 of the bedding is curved around and rests on top of the bottom lip 2 and the bottom-lip curved-corner portion 4. Then the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 and the bedding 50, together, are pushed downward upon the corner 60 of the mattress 62. By pressing the fingers or thumbs against the bedding fabric and into the tab cutouts 5, a better grip for pushing can be made. Alternatively, the bedding and the bottom lip 2 can be gripped and pushed or pulled.

(12) Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, in use, after installation of the gather-fitted bedding upon the bed mattress, the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 is left in place between the bedding and the mattress, with the gathered edge of the bedding curled around and sitting between the top of the bottom lip 2 and the bottom-lip curved-corner portion 4, and the mattress. This positioning keeps the fitted bedding from creeping up or coming off of the bed mattress when removal is not intended.

(13) Removal of the fitted bedding is achieved by pulling the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1, and the bedding, upward. The tab cutouts 5 can provide a gripping surface for removal.

(14) Many other changes and modifications can be made in the apparatus and method of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.