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 for easy installation and removal, and prevention of slippage during use, of gather-fitted bedding for a bed mattress of standard minimum depth or deeper, the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus comprising: (i) a semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit of a size corresponding to the standard minimum depth of the bed mattress, having, in use, an inner face toward the bed mattress, said inner face having a low-friction surface, an opposite outer face, a bottom edge at its lower boundary, and a central portion and side portions; (ii) a bottom lip formed along said bottom edge of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit, protruding substantially perpendicularly from said inner face of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit, adapted to fit underneath the bed mattress in use, and having a central portion and side portions corresponding to said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit; (iii) at least one curve-enabling notch in said central portion of said bottom lip, adapted to enable, in use, bending of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit and said bottom lip such that said side portions of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit and said bottom lip are at substantially right angles each side to the other; (iv) a bottom-lip curved-corner portion formed at said central portion of said bottom lip by bending of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit and said bottom lip; (v) at least one tab cutout through said outer and inner faces of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit, adapted to provide gripping surface for installation and removal; where, in use, said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit is bent to form a curve in said central portion, with said sides in a substantially right-angle relationship; where, in use, said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit is placed underneath and inside of a corner of the gather-fitted bedding, with the gathered edge of the bedding wrapped around said bottom lip and said bottom-lip curved-corner portion, with the gathered edge resting on the top or inner surface of said bottom lip and said bottom-lip curved-corner portion; where, in use, said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit with the gather-fitted bedding placed upon it is manually pushed downward over the bed mattress for installation, and is manually pulled upward for removal, using said tab cutouts and said bottom lip as gripping points; where said low-friction inner face of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit provides smooth downward and upward pushing; and where said bottom lip and said bottom-lip curved-corner portion 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 semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit further comprises an outer face having 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 the bend of said bottom lip is bolstered by the addition of material.

7. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where the bending of said bottom lip and said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit are facilitated by scoring of the material.

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

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

10. The gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of claim 1, where two said tab cutouts are provided, toward the side portions of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit.

11. A gather-fitted bedding placement method for easy installation and removal, and prevention of slippage during use, of gather-fitted bedding for a bed mattress of standard minimum depth or deeper, the gather-fitted bedding placement method comprising: (i) providing a gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus comprising: (a) a semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit of a size corresponding to the standard minimum depth of the bed mattress, having, in use, an inner face toward the bed mattress, said inner face having a low-friction surface, an opposite outer face, a bottom edge at its lower boundary, and a central portion and side portions; (b) a bottom lip formed along said bottom edge of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit, protruding substantially perpendicularly from said inner face of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit, adapted to fit underneath the bed mattress in use, and having a central portion and side portions corresponding to said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit; (c) at least one curve-enabling notch in said central portion of said bottom lip, adapted to enable, in use, bending of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit and said bottom lip such that said side portions of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit and said bottom lip are at substantially right angles each side to the other; (d) a bottom-lip curved-corner portion formed at said central portion of said bottom lip by bending of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit and said bottom lip; (e) at least one tab cutout through said outer and inner faces of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit, adapted to provide gripping surface for installation and removal; where, in use, said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit is bent to form a curve in said central portion, with said sides in a substantially right-angle relationship; (ii) placing said 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 said bottom lip and said bottom-lip curved-corner portion, with the gathered edge resting on the top or inner surface of said bottom lip and said bottom-lip curved-corner portion; (iii) pushing said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit with the gather-fitted bedding placed upon it downward over the bed mattress for installation, and upward for removal, using said tab cutouts and said bottom lip as gripping points; where said low-friction inner face of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit provides smooth downward and upward pushing; and where said bottom lip and said bottom-lip curved-corner portion hold the gather-fitted bedding in place underneath the bed mattress during the period between installation and removal.

12. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit further comprises an outer face having a rough-textured surface adapted to prevent slippage of the gather-fitted bedding.

13. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit is made of a thermoplastic sheet material.

14. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit is made of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE).

15. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where said bottom lip is formed by bending while heated.

16. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where the bend of said bottom lip is bolstered by the addition of material.

17. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where the bending of said bottom lip and said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit are facilitated by scoring of the material.

18. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where the central portion of said bottom lip is elongated in order to form a larger said bottom-lip curved-corner portion.

19. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, further comprising more than one curve-enabling notch.

20. The gather-fitted bedding placement method of claim 11, where two said tab cutouts are provided, toward the side portions of said semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of the invention;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a cutaway schematic view of the use of the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of the invention;

[0020] FIG. 3 is a hidden-line topside view of the gather-fitted bedding placement apparatus of the invention in use; and

[0021] 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

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1 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 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 toward the mattress and an outer face opposite, and will have a bottom, top, and side portions, with corresponding edges, and a central portion. 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.

[0023] A bottom lip 2 is formed on the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 by bending the bottom edge into a substantially perpendicular position. 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.

[0024] The bend to conform to the mattress and the bend to form the bottom lip 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the inner face 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, and the outer face is given a less-smooth surface finish in order to lessen any sliding of the bedding along the outer face.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 2, in use, the semi-flexible friction-calibrated sheet-material unit 1 is placed into the corner pocket of the gather-fitted bedding, and the gathered edge 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 are pushed downward upon the corner of the mattress. 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.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.