GB2578718A

GB2578718A - Duvet cover

Info

Publication number: GB2578718A
Application number: GB1815412.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harrison James
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-09-21
Filing date: 2018-09-21
Publication date: 2020-05-27
Also published as: GB201815412D0

Abstract

A duvet cover 10 comprises a rectangular aperture 16 for allowing insertion of a duvet into the cover 10. The opening 16 has a flap 18 which may be attached at one end to the cover 10, and selectively fastened to or over the opening 16 by means of different fastenings 20,22. The opening 16 may be centrally located in a first face 12 of the cover 10. The fastenings may be snap fasteners, a zip, buttons, or hook and loop fasteners. The flap 18 may be the same size as the opening 16, or alternatively may be larger than the opening 16 such that it extends beyond the edges of the opening 16 when in a closed position. The overlapping region may comprise a thicker material than the remainder of the flap 18.

Description

Duvet Cover The present invention relates to bedding covers, and particularly covers for duvets Conventionally, duvet covers comprise an upper rectangular sheet and a lower rectangular sheet. The upper and lower sheets are joined to one another along three edges, and an opening is provided along a shorter fourth edge to insert a duvet cover. However, insertion of the duvet into conventional covers is often difficult and time consuming, especially for those with physical or mental impairments, due to the relatively small opening provided on one edge of the cover. It is also difficult to correctly locate the duvet in the cover, with the duvet corners located fully in the corners of the cover.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a duvet cover defining a flexible enclosure configured to selectively receive a duvet, the duvet cover comprising opposite first and second faces, wherein the first face includes an opening to permit insertion of the duvet into the duvet cover, the duvet cover further comprising a closure member configured to selectively close the opening.

The first and second faces may be rectangular, and may each comprise a single sheet of material. The sheets may be connected to one another along their edges.

The closure member may comprise a flap attached along one edge of the flap to the first face of the cover.

The opening may be centrally located in the first face, and the opening 30 may extend across the majority of the first face. The edges of the opening may be at a distance of between 7 cm and 35 cm from the edge of the first face, and may be at a distance of between 14 cm and 22 cm from the edge of the first face. Preferably, the edges of the opening may be at a distance of 18 cm from the edge of the first face.

A fastening arrangement may be provided on an outer region of the 5 closure member and on at least one of the edges of the opening to enable selective fastening of the closure member to one or more edges of the opening to close the opening.

The fastening arrangement may comprise at least one of snap fasteners, a zip, buttons or a hook and loop fastener.

In one embodiment the closure member is substantially the same size as the opening. In another embodiment the closure member is larger than the opening. The closure member may include an overlapping region that, when the closure member is in a closed condition, extends beyond the edges of the opening to cover a portion of the remainder of the first face to cover the fastening arrangement when in a closed condition.

In one embodiment the overlapping region comprises a thicker material 20 than the remainder of the closure member. In another embodiment the overlapping region comprises a thinner material than the remainder of the closure member.

The opening may be rectangular, and the closure member may be joined to a first edge of the opening, which first edge is opposite to a fourth edge and adjacent to longer second and third edges. The fourth edge may comprise no fastening means or a different type of fastening means to the second and third edges.

Elongate fastening means may be provided along the second and third edges of the opening. Discrete fastening means may be provided along the fourth edge of the opening. The elongate fastening means may be a zip or an elongate hook and loop fastener. The discrete fastening means may be snap fasteners or buttons.

The duvet cover may be made of any of: cotton, flannel, lyocell, silk, polyester, bamboo, polycotton, or blends of any of these materials.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a bedding arrangement including a duvet locatable inside a duvet cover according to any of the preceding eleven paragraphs.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a duvet cover according to the invention in an open configuration; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the duvet cover of FIG. 1 in a closed configuration; FIG. 3 is a plan view of a further duvet cover according to the invention in a partially closed condition, where the closure member includes an overlapping region.

FIGS. 1 & 2 show a duvet cover 10 according to the invention. The duvet cover 10 includes a first face 12 on the top and a second face 14 underneath.

The first face 12 is rectangular with two longer sides and two shorter sides. The first 12 and second 14 faces are a sheet of bedding material such as cotton, flannel, lyocell, silk, polyester, bamboo, polycotton, or blends of any of these materials. The first 12 and second 14 faces are joined together along all four edges to define an enclosure. The first face includes a rectangular opening 16 located in the centre of the first face 12.

The four edges 40, 42, 44, 46 of the rectangular opening 16 are provided equispaced from the outer edges of the first face. In this embodiment the edges 40, 42, 44, 46 of the opening 16 are provided at a distance of 18 cm from the edge of the first face. The relatively large opening enables easy access to the interior of the duvet cover, and enables the corners of the duvet to be easily placed into the corners of the duvet cover.

The first 40 and fourth 46 edges of the rectangular opening 16 are shorter than the second 42 and third 44 edges of the rectangular opening.

A closure member in the form of a flap 18 made from a flexible material, which could be the same material as the material of the first and second faces, is attached to the first edge 40 of the rectangular opening 16. The flap 18 extends over the opening 16 when in a closed condition, and is the same size as the opening 16. The flap 18 being the same size as the opening means that the flap 18 and the first face 14 can be formed from the same sheet of bedding material, with the flap 18 being formed by cutting the sheet along three edges 42, 44, 46 of the rectangle.

The second 42 and third 44 edges of the opening 16 each include separate elongate fastening means 20 for attaching the edges 42, 44 of the opening 16 to the corresponding edges of the flap 18. The elongate fastening means 20 could be for instance a zip or a hook and loop fastener such as Velcro O. The corresponding edge of the flap 18 includes the counterpart of the elongate fastening means, for instance the counterpart of the zip or Velcro O. Use of separate elongate fastening means 20 on the second 42 and third 44 edges of the opening enables the flap 18 to be opened in one simple motion by raising the flap and pulling it towards the first edge 40 of the first face 12.

The fourth edge 46 of the opening includes discrete fastening means 22, for instance snap fasteners or buttons. The corresponding edge of the flap 18 includes the counterpart of the discrete fastening means 22. In the embodiments where the fourth edge 46 includes discrete fastening means 22, the edge of the flap 18 that corresponds to the fourth edge 46 of the opening 16 may include a small overlying portion. This overlying portion would extend over the discrete fastening means 22 on the fourth edge 46 of the opening 16 to enable the fastening of the fourth edge 46 of the opening to the corresponding edge of the flap, without stretching the flap 18. In some embodiments, the fourth edge 46 may not include any fastening means.

In use, the duvet is placed through the opening 16 in the first face 12 when the flap 18 is raised, and into the space between the first 12 and second 14 faces. The flap 18 is then closed and the fastening means 20, 22 are fastened to secure the duvet inside the duvet cover.

FIG. 3 shows a further duvet cover 30 according to the invention, and is shown in plan view in FIG. 3. The duvet cover 30 is similar to the duvet cover 10, but includes a larger flap 38, as shown in FIG. 3. The flap 38 is in a partially closed condition and therefore only covers a portion of the opening 16. The final portion of the flap 38 is folded back on itself, demonstrated by the line 32 across the flap. In a fully closed condition the flap 38 would extend at least to the fourth edge of the opening 46.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the flap 38 includes an overlapping region 34 that extends beyond the second 42 and third 44 edges of the opening 16, such that the fastening means 20 are covered by the flap 38. The fastening means 20 on the second edge 42 of the opening 16 underneath the overlapping region 34 of the flap 38 are shown by the broken line 36. Fastening means 20 are provided on the third edge 44 of the opening 16 underneath the overlapping region 34 of the flap 38, but the portion of the fastening means 20 underneath the flap 38 is not shown in FIG. 3. When the flap 38 is in a closed condition the fastening means 20 are attached to the underside of the flap 38.

The overlapping region 34 of the flap 38 extends beyond the edge of the second 42 and third 44 edges of the opening 16 by 2.5 cm, but may extend beyond the second 42 and third 44 edges of the opening 16 by varying distances in other embodiments of the invention. The overlapping region 34 is able to cover the fastening means 20 to provide increased comfort for the user, relative to arrangements in which the fastening means may be exposed.

In some embodiments the overlapping region 34 of the flap 38 may also extend beyond the fourth edge 46 of the opening 16.

In some embodiments the overlapping region 34 of the flap 18 may comprise a thicker material than the remainder of the flap 18 to further prevent the cold and hard touch of the fastening means 20. Alternatively, in some embodiments the overlapping region 34 of the flap 18 may comprise a thinner material than the remainder of the flap 18.

There are thus described duvet covers which provide for a number of advantageous features. As indicated the duvet can be readily inserted into the cover by inserting the duvet through the much larger opening, and tucking the edges of the duvet into the edges of the cover. This makes the cover more user friendly than existing arrangements for those that change duvet covers regularly, and also easier to use for children, the elderly and/or those with physical or mental impairments.

The duvet covers also provide advantageous fastening arrangements, including for instance separate zip arrangements on either side of the opening, which enable easier lifting of the flap, and therefore easier removal of the duvet relative to existing arrangements. These duvet covers can also provide more comfort for the user, as soft overlapping regions are positioned to cover the more harsh materials used in fastening arrangements.

Various other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, different materials may be used. Rather than the described rectangular shaped openings or closure members, circular, polygonal or other shapes may be used for the openings or closure members.

Different types of fastening means may be used to fasten the closure member to the first face. The cover may be sized and shaped to fit a variety of sizes and shapes of duvets.

In some instances, a flap may not be used. For instance, rather than a flap being 'hinged' at one end of the opening, a sliding closure member could be used, wherein the sliding closure member is mounted to sliding rails on the side of the opening, and the closure member slides along the rails to cover the opening.

The edges of the opening 16 may be differently spaced from the edges of the first face. For instance, the edges of the opening may be at a distance of between 7 cm and 35 cm from the edge of the first face, and may be at a distance of between 14 cm and 22 cm. In some instances, the second and third edges of the opening may include a discrete fastening arrangement. In some instances the fourth edge may include an elongate fastening arrangement.

Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.

Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features may also be present in other examples whether described or not.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A duvet cover defining a flexible enclosure configured to selectively receive a duvet, the duvet cover comprising opposite first and second faces, wherein the first face includes an opening to permit insertion of the duvet into the duvet cover, the duvet cover further comprising a closure member configured to selectively close the opening.
2. A duvet cover according to claim 1, wherein the first and second faces are rectangular.
3. A duvet cover according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second faces each comprise a single sheet of material.r 15
4. A duvet cover according to claim 3, wherein the sheets are connected to one another along their edges.CO
5. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the closure member comprises a flap attached along one edge of the flap to the first face of the cover.
6. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the opening is centrally located in the first face.
7. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the opening extends across the majority of the first face.
8. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the edges of the opening are at a distance of between 7 cm and 35 cm from the edge of the first face.
9. A duvet cover according to claim 8, wherein the edges of the opening are at a distance of between 14 cm and 22 cm from the edge of the first face.
10. A duvet cover according to claim 9, wherein the edges of the opening are at a distance of 18cm from the edge of the first face.
11. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a fastening arrangement is provided on an outer region of the closure member and on at least one of the edges of the opening to enable selective fastening of the closure member to one or more edges of the opening to close the opening.
12. A duvet cover according to claim 11, wherein the fastening arrangement comprises at least one of: snap fasteners, a zip, buttons or a hook and loop fastener 40)
13. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the CO closure member is substantially the same size as the opening.
14. A duvet cover according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the closure member is larger than the opening.
15. A duvet cover according to claim 14, wherein the closure member includes an overlapping region that, when the closure member is in a closed condition, extends beyond the edges of the opening to cover a portion of the remainder of the first face to cover the fastening arrangement when in a closed condition.
16. A duvet cover according to claim 15, wherein the overlapping region comprises a thicker material than the remainder of the closure member.
17. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the opening is rectangular.
18. A duvet cover according to claim 17, wherein the closure member is joined to a first edge of the opening, which first edge is opposite to a fourth edge and adjacent to longer second and third edges.
19. A duvet cover according to claim 17, wherein the fourth edge comprises no fastening means or a different type of fastening means to the second and third edges.
20. A duvet cover according to claim 18 or 19, wherein elongate fastening means is provided along the second and third edges of the opening."1- 15
21. A duvet cover according to claim 20, wherein discrete fastening means is provided along the fourth edge of the opening.CO
22. A duvet cover according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the elongate fastening means comprises a zip or an elongate hook and loop fastener.
23. A duvet cover according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the discrete fastening means comprises snap fasteners or buttons.
24. A duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the duvet cover is made of any of: cotton, flannel, lyocell, silk, polyester, bamboo, polycotton, or blends of any of these materials.
25. A bedding arrangement including a duvet locatable inside a duvet cover according to any of the preceding claims.