Bed Cover With Separable Sections

Abstract

A bed cover such a comforter is formed in two sections detachably connected together along a seam, with the seam enclosed within a cover sleeve surrounding the portion of the bed cover along which the seam extends, having an exposed outer section thereof provided with a decorative pattern thereon. The outer section is sewn to an upper section of the bed cover along an upper edge and an under section connected at either end to the outer cover sleeve section, extending beneath the comforter, and sewn to the underside of the upper section cover along an upper edge thereof.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/810,843 filed on Apr. 11, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns bedding and in particular large size bed covers such as comforters, that are used with queen, king and California king sized mattresses.

Such comforters are difficult or impossible to clean in a home laundry due to their large size.

It has heretofore been proposed to configure such bed covers with separable lengthwise sections such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,533,427; 6,643,871; 6,311,347; 2,730,728; 1,267,042 and U.S. published application no. 2007/0226905.

However, the arrangements heretofore proposed have not been aesthetically compatible with conventional bedding and have often involved fastener features which can be contacted by the user's feet, and the seam may easily become exposed to view.

Also, a sleeper's feet may have a tendency to snag the connection between the sections during shifting movements of the feet of a person covered with the bedding.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a bed cover such as a comforter having separable sections which are conveniently attached and detached to each other, but which presents an attractive appearance even after many washings and which insures that the seam remains covered with fabric to prevent contact with seam fasteners, and also cannot be snagged by the feet of a sleeper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above recited object and other objects which will be understood by those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following specification and claims are achieved by dividing the comforter into two sections, preferably in a crosswise direction, which are joinable along one side by a fastening, preferably a zipper, which conveniently allows joinder or separation of the two sections.

A fabric cover sleeve is provided which passes completely around the comforter and having outer and under sections collectively covering both sides of the seam. At least the outer section of the cover sleeve is provided with an attractive pattern compatible with the appearance of the comforter.

One side of the outer section of the cover sleeve, preferably the upper side, is permanently attached to the outer face of the comforter as by being sewn thereto several inches above the zipper connection, with the lower side pulled down over the seam defined by the zipper fastening. The under section of the cover sleeve tends to maintain the outer section of the cover sleeve in the proper position lying over the seam.

The under section of the sleeve can be made from a plain fabric as it extends beneath the comforter and out of sight as it extends along the bottom of the zipper seam, or it can be patterned or colored to allow reversibility of the cover sleeve to change the appearance of the comforter or other bed cover.

The cover sleeve is disposed well above a sleeper's feet so they will not normally come into contact with the zipper or other fastening or the cover sleeve itself.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a bedding sheet comprising a comforter according to one embodiment of the present invention disposed on a bed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the comforter shown in FIG. 1 with a portions of a cover sleeve broken away to show the details of the seam fastener.

FIG. 3 is a sectional diagram of the comforter with both of the cover sleeve section depicted.

FIG. 4 is a pictorial view of the comforter shown in FIG. 2 with a portion of the lower side of the outer cover sleeve section pulled up to expose the zipper fastener seam.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology will be employed for the sake of clarity and a particular embodiment described in accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it is to be understood that the same is not intended to be limiting and should not be so construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and variations within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, a multilayer comforter 10 according to one embodiment of the invention is shown, although other bed cover types could also incorporate the invention. The invention is advantageously applicable to the larger sizes, i.e. queen, king and California king mattress sizes. A typical king size cover is 104 inches wide and 90 inches long.

The comforter 10 is shown being wider than the lengthwise dimensions as per the conventional practice with the sides descending over either side of a bed mattress as shown.

A side-to-side extending zipper fastener 12 forms a seam connecting a head or upper section 14 to a foot or lower section 16 of the comforter 10. The comforter 10 is thus dividable into two sections 14 and 16 by a crosswise seam defined by the zipper fastener (or other type fastener such as buttons, snaps, Velcro, etc).

A cover sleeve 18 completely surrounds the comforter 10 with an outer section 20 sewn along one upper strip portion 22 to the exposed outer side of the upper comforter section 14 along a line a few inches above the zipper fastener 12. The lower section 24 of the comforter sleeve 18 is sewn to the underside of the upper section 14 along the upper edge.

The cover sleeve 18 is preferably of a substantial width on the order of several inches to eighteen inches or more to be securely retained in a position lying over and under the seam 12.

The outer section 20 of the cover sleeve 18 is of a decorative material, preferably patterned in some way, such as by a series of horizontal stitches 26 at the top and bottom.

The under section can be colored or patterned differently so that the cover sleeve 18 can be reversible to show another color or decorative pattern. The comforter sections 14, 16 can also have alternate colors or pattern to provide a number of combinations in the appearance of the comforter 10.

The under section 28 of the cover sleeve 18 is sewn end to end with either end of the outer section 20 along a seam 32 and extends across the width of the comforter sections 14, 16, located beneath the same to surround the comforter 10 with the cover sleeve 18. The cover sleeve 18 thus covers the seam defined by zipper fastener 12 both above and below by the respective cover sleeve sections 20, 28 respectively.

The under section 28 is also sewn to the inside of the upper section 14 of the comforter 10 along the upper edge, as indicated in FIG. 3.

The under section 28 when pulled flat beneath the zipper fastener 12 holds the outer section 20 in a position pulled flat over the zipper fastener 12 because of the connection therebetween at the respective opposite ends thereof. Thus, the outer section 20 is stabilized to be maintained lying flat over zipper fastener 12.

The cover sleeve sewn edge 22 being at the top tends to avoid any snagging of a sleeper's hands or arms.

The location of the cover sleeve 18 sewn to the upper section 14 of the comforter 10, and its crosswise orientation similarly avoids snagging a sleeper's feet.

The cover sleeve outer section 20 is suitably patterned as by the set of embroidered parallel lines 21 as shown to enhance the attractiveness of the comforter 10 while both cover sleeve sections 20, 28 are held in a position to cover and pad the zipper fastener 12 to prevent any direct contact therewith by the sleeper.

The cover sleeve outer section 20 lower side 30 can be pulled up as shown in FIG. 4 to expose the zipper fastener 12 and allow it to be unzipped to separate the comforter sections 14, 16 for separate washing.

The comforter 10 is preferably sized as a king size cover, i.e. 104 inches wide and 90 inches long, but can be queen or California king sized as well.

Claims

1. A bed cover comprised of a generally rectangular sheet of fabric material;

said sheet of fabric material comprised of two separate sections detachably joined together along a seam;

a cover sleeve having an outer section and an under section connected together at opposite ends thereof to surround said sheet and enclose said seam and extending over said respective sheet sections for a substantial distance substantially beyond said seam in either direction,

said cover sleeve attached to an underlying sheet section along one side of said cover sleeve outer section over an outer side of said sheet, and having an opposite side normally disposed below said seam able to be pulled up to expose said seam and enable detachment of said sheet sections from each other.

2. The bed cover according to claim 1 wherein said generally rectangular sheet of fabric material comprises a multilayer comforter.

3. The bed cover according to claim 1 wherein said outer section of said covering sleeve has a decorative pattern thereon.

4. The bed cover according to claim 1 wherein said sheet of fabric material is fit to a king size mattress and has two sides and wherein said seam extends cross ways from one side to the other of said sheet.

5. The bed cover according to claim 1 wherein said detachable seam is formed by a zipper fastening extending along said seam.

6. The bed cover according to claim 1 wherein said cover sleeve is at least twelve inches in width.

7. The bed cover according to claim 1 wherein said cover sleeve under section has parallel edges, both of said edges being unattached from said sheet subsections.

8. The bed cover according to claim 1 wherein said bed cover is approximately 104 inches wide and 90 inches long.

9. The bed cover according to claim 3 wherein said two sections of said sheet are patterned or colored differently on opposite sides to be reversible.

10. The bed cover according to claim 9 wherein said outer and under sections are patterned or colored differently from each other to be reversible.