US3317933A - Mattress cover - Google Patents

Description

May 9, 1967 H. P. MEYER ET AL 3,317,933

' MATTRESS COVER Filed Feb. 11, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,317,933 MATTRESS COVER Hans P. Meyer, White Plains, and Kurt H. Meyer, Riverdale, N.Y., assignors to Air-Tech Industries, Inc., New Rochelle, N.Y.

Filed Feb. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 431,863 4 Claims. ((Jl. 335) This invention relates to mattresses and more particularly to covers for the same, and to a method for making an improved cover and for enclosing a mattress or mattress inner core within the same.

There are a number of applications where mattresses of conventional construction have been found unsatisfactory. This is the case, for example, in institutions for the insane. In such institutions conventional mattresses have a relatively short life since they are ordinarily constructed with a seam or protrusion whereby it is relatively easy for the patients to obtain a sufiiciently good hold to rip the mattress cover. Once the mattress cover is ripped a new cover could, of course, be sewn to the mattress. This can only be satisfactorily accomplished at the factory, however, since it requires both skilled labor and the use of a special stitching machine. The factory cost of sewing the new cover on the mattress or mattress core, however, plus the two-way shipping costs, make it economically unfeasible to send it to the factory for recovering. As a practical matter, therefore, though the inner core of the mattress may be perfectly suitable for re-use, it is discarded.

A further disadvantage of ordinary mattresses in such applications is that they are not waterproof, which is a very important consideration in institutions of the type referred to above.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and article whereby it is economically feasible to re-use the inner core of a mattress when its original cover has been damaged.

Another object of the invention is to allow re-use of the inner core of a mattress that is in good condition by making it possible to satisfactorily enclose it within a suitable cover at the users location.

A further object is to provide a method for making a mattress cover and for completely enclosing the mattress or mattress core within the cover without the use of skilled labor or special stitching machines heretofore required.

Yet another object is to provide a mattress having a cover that is waterproof, tough and durable and that cannot be easily ripped or torn by hand.

All of the objects, features and advantages of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a mattress cover material in precut form which is used in making a mattress cover in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 shows details of construction of portions of the cover,

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 shows the cover material after it has been formed into a mattress cover,

3,31 7,933 Patented May 9, 1967 ice FIG. 5 shows the mattress cover completely enclosing a mattress and having a zipper partly closed,

FIG. 6 shows the mattress cover after the zipper has been fully closed, with a waterproof flap completely covering the zipper, and

FIG. 7 shows a corner of the cover with a suitable protective corner patch secured thereto.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a piece of mattress cover material 10 precut so as to form a mattress cover in accordance with the teachings of this invention. The precut form should have a length slightly greater than the mattress it is intended to cover, as will appear. The material 10 should be one that is either waterproof, or which has been treated to make it waterproof. Additionally, it should have the characteristics of toughness and durability. One preferred material which satisfies these requirements is nylon, which is suitably treated with a neoprene or vinyl coating to make it waterproof. The cover material 10 is in the general shape of an elongated rectangle and for purposes of explanation will be considered to have a center line 12. The portion of material on the left side of the center line 12, in FIG. 1 forms the bottom side or section 14 of the cover, and the portion on the right side of the center line forms the top side or section 16 of the cover, as will appear. The cover material 10 has rectangular cutout portions 18, 20, 22 and 24 at the four corners thereof.

Toward the left end of the bottom section 14 there is provided a flap portion 26 and a flap portion 28. Similar flap portions 30 and 32 are provided toward the right end of the top section 16. These flap portions 26, 28, 30 and 32 are sewn to the cover material 10 in the following manner. Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 2, the flap portions 26 and 28 are laid against the outside of the cover material 10 and are sewn thereto along the seam lines 34 and 36, respectively, After this sewing operation, when the flap portions 26 and 28 are turned so as to lie in the same plane as the cover bottom section 14, they will appear as seen in FIG. 3. The bottom section 14 is provided with small cuts 38 and 40 adjacent the right ends of the flap portions 26 and 28, respectively, to facilitate the sewing operation. Inlike manner, the upper or top section of the cover material 16 is provided with small cuts 42 and 44 adjacent the left ends of the flap portions 30 and 32. These upper section flap portions 30 and 32 are sewn to the top portion 16 in a manner similar to that described above in connection with flap portions 26 and 28'.

After the flap portions 26, 28, 30 and 32 have been sewn to the cover material 10, mattress embracing corners are formed at the four corners of the cover material. Referring now particularly to the corner of the cover material at the cutout portion 18 of FIG. 1, the flap portion 26 and the end flap portion 46, are placed in the outside surface contact with one another along the edge sections 26a and 46a, respectively. The end flap 46 is then sewn to the flap portion 26 and to the edge 49 of the bottom section 14 along the seam lines 26b and 46b to form the mattress embracing corner 59 of FIG. 4. In this resulting corner 56, the material edges 26a, 46a and 49 will be on the inside of the mattress cover, as will appear. Each of the other three corners associated with the cutout portions 20, 22 and 24 of FIG. 1 are then sewn together in similar manner to that just described to form the mattress embracing corners 52, 54 and 56, respectively.

Referring further to FIG. 1, the top section 16 is next folded along the center line 12 and placed with its outside surface against the outside surface of the lower section 14. With the cover thus in an inside-out condition, the top section is sewn to the bottom section 14 along the lines 58a and 58b, producing the seam 59 of FIG. 4. A similar seam is then produced at the edge of the cover material opposite the seam 59, by sewing along the lines 60a and 60b. Alternatively the top section 16 may be heat sealed or cemented, for example, to the bottom section 14, instead of securing the same together by sewing along the lines 58a, 58b and 60a, 60b. The resulting mattress cover is then reversed from its inside-out condition, being thuls seen in FIG. 4. From this figure it will also be seen that the edges 62 and 64 of the material are in the inside of the cover so that they cannot be grasped by the fingernails to cause ripping of the cover; the seam opposite seam 59, of course, embodies this same feature.

From FIG. 4 it will be observed that the cover formed by the seams along the lines 58a and 58b, and 60a and 60b, is in the general form of a bag having no seam at all at its bottom end 63 and having a mouth at the opposite end for receiving a mattress. The mouth end of the mattress cover is formed of upper and lower jaw-like sections 68 and 70, respectively. The upper section 68 is formed from the end flap 55 together with the flap portion 30 and 32 and a part of the cover top section 16 of FIG. 1. The lower jaw-like section 70 is formed from the end flap 46 together with the flap portions 26 and 28 and a part of the cover bottom section 14.

The mouth end of the cover is provided with closing means, preferably in the form of a zipper 66 having upper and lower zipper portions 66a and 66b on the upper and lower jaw-like sections 68 and '70, respectively. Various alternative suitable closing means may, of course, also be employed in place of the zipper 66. The portion of the lower jaw-like section above the lower zipper portion 66b forms a sealing flap 72, which is approximately one half the width of the end flap 46 of FIG. 1, and which is turned down to facilitate insertion of a mattress into the cover. In accordance with the invention the inside of the flap is precoated preferably with a. pressure-sensitive cement and is then cured in order to remove its tacky characteristics so as not to interfere with the proper storage of the cover or with insertion of the mattress therein.

The cover of this invention is fitted to a mattress or mattress core in the following manner. The mattress is inserted into the cover through the mouth end and the upper jaw-like section 68 is then pulled down over the mattress end. The lower jaw-like section 7d is then pulled over the end of the mattress and the zipper 66 is next closed to seal the upper and lower jaw-like sections together, as seen in FIG. 5. As already noted, the flap 72 is turned down during insertion of the mattress and while the zipper is being closed to facilitate these operations. After the zipper is completely closed, the inner surface of the sealing flap 72 is reactivated by the application of a suitable reactivator to again put it into a tacky condition, i.e. so that the adhesive thereon is now pressuresensitive. The flap 72 is then turned up over the Zipper and pressed firmly against the upper jaw-like section 68, thereby providing a waterproof seal at the mouth end of the cover. In some applications, it will be appreciated that the flap 72 may serve not only as a sealing means, but also as a closing means, so that the zipper 66 may be entirely eliminated.

FIG. 7 shows a means which may be used to provide reinforcement of the cover at the corners thereof. Such reinforcement may advantageously be provided in the form of a patch 74 over each corner. In the form illustrated, the corner patch has two top cars 76, one overlying a portion of the other. Two bottom ears (not shown) similar to the top ears 76, are also provided on the portion of the patch on the bottom cover section opposite the top section 16. The entire patch is bonded to the corner by means of a suitable cement.

By means of this invention there is now provided a novel mattress cover and an improved method for covering a mattress, which together afford substantial advantages not found in the prior art. Thus, there is now available a mattress cover which is Waterproof, tough and durable, these characteristics being extremely important in certain applications. The waterproof feature is achieved by means of the unique one piece cover construction, which completely eliminates a seam at one end of the cover, in combination with tight seams at the side edges of the cover and a pressure-sensitive flap for rendering the mattress receiving end waterproof. Another important feature of construction is that there are no ends, pieces, protrusions or recesses by means of which the fingernails could be engaged to rip the fabric, which is a very important feature when the cover is employed on mattresses in institutions for the insane.

Perhaps one of the most important advantages of the invention is that it has now become economically feasible to re-use the inner core of a mattress when its original cover has been damaged. This is achieved by the novel cover and method of the invention in permitting relatively easy covering of a mattress or mattress core at the users location. This eliminates the transportation expense formerly required to ship the mattress or inner core to the factory for re-covering, and, of course, also eliminates the return trip expense. Additionally, it eliminates the former need for skilled labor and special stitching machines to re-cover the mattress and also permits immediate re-covering since shipping to the factory is now eliminated.

While the foregoing description sets forth the principles of the invention in connection with a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that the description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation of the scope of the invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A waterproof mattress cover comprising a continuous sheet of waterproof material slightly more than twice as long as the mattress it is intended to cover, said sheet being folded back upon itself at a center line between the ends thereof, whereby one end of said cover is formed without a seam,

means along opposite side edges of said cover transverse to said one end and within the inside of said cover for sealing the top and bottom sides of said cover to one another with a very tight seam at the outside of said cover,

a mouth at the other end of said cover from said one end for receiving a mattress therethrough,

said month including an upper and a lower jaw-like section provided by terminating said sealing means short of the mouth end of said cover,

a zipper along the mouth end and extending around a portion of said opposite side edges to said sealing means at said side edges for sealing said month end of said cover,

and a waterproof flap on one of said jaw-like sections for overlying said zipper.

2. The invention described in claim 1 wherein said flap is formed from a part of said continuous sheet and has a pressure-sensitive adhesive thereon for adhering said flap to said other jaw-like section to thereby render said other end of said cover waterproof.

3. The invention described in claim 1 which further includes a first pair of flap portions attached to opposite side edges of said top side at said mouth end of said cover, each of said first flap portions forming a shaped three dimensional corner with the free end of said top side, and a second pair of flap portions attached to opposite edges of said bottom side of said mouth end of said cover, each 5 6 of said second flap portions forming a shaped three dimen- References Cited by the Examiner sionai corner with the free end of said bottom side, Where- UNITED STATES PATENTS by said three dimenslonal corners provide a form fit en- 5 355 gagement with the corners of a mattress enclosed within 52 3 2 221 1 5:335

said cover. 5

4. The invention described in claim 1 which further includes reinforcing patches secured to the corners of said FRANK SHERRY P'lmary Examl'wr' cover. A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A WATERPROOF MATTRESS COVER COMPRISING A CONTINUOUS SHEET OF WATERPROOF MATERIAL SLIGHTLY MORE THAN TWICE AS LONG AS THE MATTRESS IT IS INTENDED TO COVER, SAID SHEET BEING FOLDED BACK UPON ITSELF AT A CENTER LINE BETWEEN THE ENDS THEREOF, WHEREBY ONE END OF SAID COVER IS FORMED WITHOUT A SEAM, MEANS ALONG OPPOSITE SIDE EDGES OF SAID COVER TRANSVERSE TO SAID ONE END AND WITHIN THE INSIDE OF SAID COVER FOR SEALING THE TOP AND BOTTOM SIDES OF SAID COVER TO ONE ANOTHER WITH A VERY TIGHT SEAM AT THE OUTSIDE OF SAID COVER, A MOUTH AT THE OTHER END OF SAID COVER FROM SAID ONE END FOR RECEIVING A MATTRESS THERETHROUGH, SAID MOUTH INCLUDING AN UPPER AND A LOWER JAW-LIKE SECTION PROVIDED BY TERMINATING SAID SEALING MEANS SHORT OF THE MOUTH END OF SAID COVER, A ZIPPER ALONG THE MOUTH END AND EXTENDING AROUND A PORTION OF SAID OPPOSITE SIDE EDGES TO SAID SEALING MEANS AT SAID SIDE EDGES FOR SEALING SAID MOUTH END OF SAID COVER, AND A WATERPROOF FLAP ON ONE OF SAID JAW-LIKE SECTIONS FOR OVERLYING SAID ZIPPER.

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