EP0853907B1

EP0853907B1 - Duvet cover

Info

Publication number: EP0853907B1
Application number: EP98300236A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Clive Morgan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-01-18
Filing date: 1998-01-14
Publication date: 2000-11-15
Anticipated expiration: 2018-01-14
Also published as: DE69800393D1; GB2318051A; EP0853907A3; ATE197537T1; GB2318051B; EP0853907A2; GB9701035D0

Abstract

A duvet cover (3) comprises a base sheet portion (5) intending to lie under the duvet, and a top portion (7) intended to lie over the top of a duvet and attached to or made integrally with the base portion (5) so as to be joined thereto along one edge (9). Attachment means (11, 13) are provided for attaching the remaining sides of the base and top portions (5, 7) together along the other three sides.

Description

This invention relates to a duvet cover.
The use of duvets has now become very common in this country. The duvet is basically a rectangular element which is somewhat of the nature of an eiderdown which is placed on a bed in lieu of the top sheet more traditionally provided. Because the duvet is used as a sheet, it comes directly in contact with the nightwear or even the bare flesh of people sleeping in the bed with which it is used. Because of its nature, it is not suitable for frequent washing operations and, for this reason, is normally provided with a cover which is arranged to surround the entire duvet. Current duvet covers are constructed so as to provide a container which completely surrounds the duvet and can be opened, at least partially, along one side to enable the duvet to be inserted therein. The opening is normally provided at the narrowest side of the duvet cover, usually situated at the foot of the bed, this opening being fastened, in use, by means of snap fasteners or the like.
Insertion of the duvet into the duvet cover has a tendency to be difficult to carry out since it is necessary to push the entire duvet through a relatively small opening which, in a number of cases, does not take up the full length of the side. The corners of the duvet have to be inserted into the upper corners of the duvet cover which entails gathering up of the duvet in order to get a hand into the appropriate position. Once the duvet has been put in place, it is necessary to shake the duvet in order to get the duvet to take up the full volume of the cover and this can result in dislodging the corner necessitating a repetition of part of the insertion procedure.
While such an operation is difficult enough for normal people, it is particularly difficult, if not impossible, for the disabled.
DE-A-2804534 shows a duvet cover in which the duvet cover can be opened up flat so that the duvet can be laid thereon before the cover is then folded over the duvet. While this improves the ability of a person to assemble the cover to the duvet, problems still exist in relation to positioning the duvet and retaining it in position while the cover is being closed.
The invention therefore seeks to provide a duvet cover in which the insertion of the duvet is significantly simplified so as to enable the duvet to be placed in the cover with the current problems being substantially reduced or obviated.
According to the invention, there is provided a duvet cover comprising a base sheet portion intending to lie under the duvet, and a top portion intended to lie over the top of the duvet, wherein the top portion is attached to or made integrally with the base portion so as to be joined thereto along one edge and attachment means are provided for attaching the remaining sides of the base and top portions together along the other three sides, characterised in that the two sides adjacent to said one edge of the base and top portions are joined for a short distance so as to provide ears for the location of the appropriate corners of the duvet to assist in proper location thereof. Preferred features of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.
Preferably, the means of fastening comprises one or more sliding clasp fastening but other methods may be provided such as the use of press fasteners, Velcro or the like.
In one preferred form of the use of sliding clasp fasteners, one sliding clasp fastener is provided along each of the longer sides of the duvet cover and extends round to the middle of the third open side so that, when assembled on the duvet, the two sliding clasp fasteners meet in the centre of the said third side. Alternatively, if desired, a single clasp fastener could be provided which extends around all three open sides.
It will be appreciated that, as in a large number of duvet covers, the covers can be used with either side face downwards on the bed and therefore the terms "base portion" and "top portion" are used merely for ease of description, both parts being, for example, identical.
The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:-

Figure 1: is a view of a first duvet cover, not in accordance with the invention, in an open form prior to the insertion of a duvet;
Figure 2: is a view of the duvet cover, not in accordance with the invention, of figure 1 in which a duvet is positioned and in which the fastenings therefore are partially closed;
Figure 3: is a view of the duvet and duvet cover, not in accordance with the invention, fully fastened up and ready for use;
Figure 4: is a view similar to figure 1 in which the duvet cover is provided with location ears in accordance with the invention, and
Figure 5: is a view similar to figure 1, not in accordance with the invention, but showing the provision of loops whereby the duvet can be secured to the cover.

Referring firstly to figure 1 of the drawings, there is shown a duvet cover 3, not in accordance with the invention, comprising a base portion 5 and a top portion 7 which are connected together along one edge 9. As can be seen, this edge 9 is located on one of the short sides of the duvet cover and is usually that edge which is used in the region of the neck of person using the duvet so that the person's neck will not come into contact with fasteners which are required for assembling the duvet cover as will be hereafter described.
It is to be observed that the base portion 5 and the top portion 7 may be identical and may be formed from a single sheet of material so that there is no physical connection required at the closed end 9.
The duvet cover 3 is provided with two sliding clasp fasteners 11 and 13 each of which extends from one end of the connected or closed edge and extends down the sides of the duvet cover and end at 15 in the centre of the opposite edge 17.
The insertion of a duvet in the duvet cover will now be considered:-
The duvet cover 3 is laid upon a suitable surface such as the bed on which it is to be used with the base portion flat 5 and the top portion 7 folded back as shown in figure 1.
The duvet 19 (Figure 2, not in accordance with the invention), is then placed in position on the bottom sheet 5 and the top portion 7 is then folded over the duvet so as to lie directly above the bottom portion 5. At this point, the two sliding clasp fasteners 11 and 13 can then be closed down the sides as shown in figure 2 and around the edge 17 (usually the foot end) opposite to the closed edge 9 as shown in figure 3. The duvet is then ready for use and can be used either way up with the so called top portion 7 being underneath and the base portion 5 on the top or vice versa.
Removal of the duvet from the duvet cover so that the duvet cover can be washed takes place in reverse order.
In accordance with the invention, and as seen in one embodiment shown in Figure 4, in order to ensure that the duvet is correctly placed on the base portion of the duvet cover, locating ears 21 are provided in which the corners of the duvet can be located. This arrangement is shown in figure 4.
As shown in this figure, the two sides of the duvet cover have sliding clasp fasteners 11 and 13 which do not extend quite to the closed end (usually the head end) of the duvet cover, the short distance remaining being permanently closed by means of stitching or the like.
This construction provides for effective pockets or ears to be located at the two corners of the cover. The corners of the duvet can be inserted into these pockets so as to ensure that the duvet is correctly located and will not interfere with the closing operation.
Figure 5 shows a variation, not in accordance with the invention, of the duvet cover shown in figure 1. In this form of duvet cover, loops 23, 25 and 27 are provided at the inner top corners and centre of the duvet cover to enable duvets, which are provided with suitable tapes, to be secured inside the duvet cover, thus preventing downward creep of the duvet within the cover. The loops are suitably made from ether a plastics or textile material and may be sewn or otherwise attached to the duvet cover. It is, of course not essential to have all three loops, it being considered satisfactory if either the comer loops 23 and 27 or the central loop 25 are provided.
While the invention has been described using two sliding clasp fasteners, it will be appreciated that a single sliding clasp fastener could be provided which extends around all three of the open sides of the duvet cover.
It is also envisaged that, while it is believed that the sliding clasp fastener is the most suitable fastening particularly for use by disabled persons, nevertheless, other fastenings can be used. Such fastenings include press studs, buttons and button holes, Velcro pieces or strips or any other suitable form of fastening. If desired, and where sliding clasp fasteners are used, fasteners of the so called invisible type may be used so as to cover the mechanism thereof or a flap could be provided on one or both of the base and top portions so as to provide a cover for the mechanism of the sliding clasp fastener.

Claims

A duvet cover (3) comprising a base sheet portion (5) intending to lie under the duvet, and a top portion (7) intended to lie over the top of the duvet, wherein the top portion (7) is attached to or made integrally with the base portion (5) so as to be joined thereto along one edge (9), and attachment means (11, 13) are provided for attaching the remaining sides of the base and top portions (5, 7) together along the other three sides, characterised in that the two sides adjacent to said one edge (9) of the base and top portions (5,7) are joined for a short distance so as to provide ears (21) for the location of the appropriate corners of the duvet to assist in proper location thereof.
A duvet cover as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the attachment means comprises one or more sliding clasp fasteners (11, 13).
A duvet cover as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the attachment means comprises press studs.
A duvet cover as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the attachment means comprise Velcro.
A duvet cover as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that one sliding clasp fastener (11, 13) is provided along each of the longer sides of the duvet cover (3) and extends round to the middle of the third open side (17) to meet the other two sliding clasp fastener (13, 11) in the centre of the said third side (17).
A duvet cover as claimed in claim 2 characterised in that a single sliding clasp fastener is provided which extends around all three open sides.
A duvet cover as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that one or more loops are provided in the region of said one edge (9) for the attachment thereto of tapes on the duvet to prevent downward creep of the duvet within the duvet cover (3).