US3504387A - Bed cover - Google Patents

Description

P. HUMMEL April 1, 1970 BED COVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 22, 1965 lnvn/a fad flanne April 7, 1970 P. HUMMEL 3,504,387

BED COVER Filed Dec. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR Pl-ub fill/7H 54 ATTORNEY United States Patent Int. Cl. A47g 9/312; A47c 27/22 US. Cl. 335 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A composite bed cover comprising an outer wrapper which includes two spaced layers of textile material. An insert is received between these layers and comprises a fibrous inner layer and two continuous outer layers of foamed plastic sheet material. The outer layers of sheet material are respectively contiguous with the major surface of the inner layer. At least some adjoining layers are interconnected by suitable means and'major areas of each layer are permitted freedom of movement with reference to the adjacent layers.

The present invention relates to a cover. More particularly the invention relates to a bed cover. Still more specifically, the invention relates to a composite bed cover which has been found to be particularly suitable for use in hospitals and similar institutions.

It is. well known that in institutions, such as hospitals, it is necessary to sterilize the linen used on patients beds. This is done, of course, to prevent the transmission of disease-carriers from one patient to another. While such sterilization presents no problem with the actual bed linen, it is not presently feasible with blankets used on the beds. This is so because to my knowledge hospitals andsimilar institutions prefer, for reasons which may have to do with economy of operation, to sterilize their linen during washing thereof, i.e., by boiling it for a period of time. While such treatment leaves ordinary linen such as sheets, relatively unetfected, it causes ordinary blankets or bed-covers to shrink and to pucker, and results in matting of the nap on the, blankets. Since this becomes progressively worse with each sterilization of the blanket, which after the first such treatment has already become unsightly, will be unsuitable for furtheruse within a very few washings.

In view of what has been said before, it is a general object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of presently known bed covers.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a Patented Apr. 7, 1970 The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly sectioned, of a bed cover in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating yet another embodiment.

Turning now to a detailed discussion of the drawing, and firstly to FIG. 1 thereof, it will be seen that the blanket or bed cover shown there comprises five layers hereafter with reference to the embodiment in the drawing.

The arrangement of the five layers of material will be most clearly seen in FIG. 2 which represents a sectional view taken on the line II-II of FIG. 1. As shown there, the inventive cover includes a pair of spaced layers 1, 5 of textile material. Received between these layers is an insert which comprises in the exemplary embodiment a layer 3 of a fibrous filler material sandwiched between two layers 2, 4 of foamed plastic material. The various layers are connected to one another in such a way that major areas of each layer retain freedom of movement with reference to the adjacent layers.

It should be pointed out here that a variety of different materials is suitable for use in the inventive cover. For example, the outer layers, 1, 5 constituting the wrapper may be of any textile material generally suitable for the manufacture of blankets. Such textile material may be of natural or synthetic fibers and may be in various different weaves. As for the layers 2, 4 it is pointed out that any plastic material which can be foamed will be suitable. This encompasses plastic materials which in their foamed state are open-celled, as well as those which are closed-celled. It can also include foamed plastic materials which are impervious to the passage of air therethrough. Furthermore, each of the layers 2, 4 may be constructed by stacking a plurality of sheets of foamed plastic material having different characteristics, such as a sheet of open-celled material backed by a sheet of closed-celled material. A major consideration in the layer 3 may consist of a mass of natural or synthetic fibers, and such fibers may be matted together so as to be loosely coherent. Increased coherence may be imparted to the layer 3 by cross-stitching, felting, or pneumatic matting. In one advantageous embodiment the layer 3 will be further stabilized on one or both of its major surfaces by a chemical treatment, such as spraying with a liquid plastic which will solidify but remain pliable, or by dusting with a suitable agent whereafter the layer can be heated until the thus-deposited agent will first become fluid and then reset so as to help bind the individual fibers together. See in this connection the illustration at the interface between the layers 2-3 and 2-4 in FIG. 3.

The thickness of each of the layers may vary widely. Purely as an example, but in no way limiting, the layers 2, 4 may for instance be of a thickness on the order of 1.5 millimeters. Also, no two layers need be of identical thickness.

As for the layers 1, which constitute the outer wrapper, it will be seen that such textile material can be provided in individual superposed layers or in the form of a tube (see FIG. 3) into which the insert comprising the layers 2, 3, 4 can be placed. Again, the layers 1, 5 may be provided in other manner, for instance in form perhaps of a box-shape wherein the layers 1, 5 are joined by panels or strips 6 which are secured to their circumferential edge portions.

Coming now to the joining of the individual layers, there is again a variety of different possibilities, all of which are to be encompassed by the present application. For instance, and assuming now that the cover is comprised of individual layers, that is that the layers 1, 5 are not inherently joined together at their circumferential edge portions, then the layers 1-5 can be joined by seaming along their circumferential edge portions. No further joining will be necessary inwardly of the edge portions. Conversely, the edge portions need not be joined and the layers can be secured together by means of rows of stitches which extend in one major direction of the layers and widely spaced from one another. Such spacing may be on the order of 22-30 cm., although these figures are merely given as a general indication and are not restrictive. Of course, similar rows of stitches can also extend transversely of the first rows and will again be widely spaced from one another.

In lieu of the rows of stitching the layers can also be held to one another by individual stitches or groups of individual stitches which are widely spaced from one another. Similarly, the stitching can be replaced by the application of adhesive means in rows, that is in a manner similar to the stitching, or, if the materials used do so permit, by heat-welding of the materials along lines corresponding to the above-mentioned stitching or at predetermined points. The dashed lines in FIG. 1 are intended to be representative of all of these possibilities. Yet a further possibility would be only to scam directly adjoining layers to one another, in that for instance layers 1 and 2 are joined, layers 2, 3 are joined but at a point spaced from the location at which layers 1 and 2 are joined, and so on. This is illustrated in FIG. 2. The point to remember, whatever means of securing the layers together is used, is that the interconnection of the layers must be such that for each layer, or at least major areas thereof, freedom of movement with reference tothe layers adjacent to it is preserved. Also, particularly if the outer wrapper 1, 5 is constituted in the form of a tube into which the insert is placed, the insert comprising layers 2, 3 and 4 need not be secured at all to the layers 1 and 5 but can be received within the tube with freedom of movement relative thereto, as shown in FIG. 3.

Advantageously at least some of the surfaces, for example the outwardly directed ones, of the layers 1 and 5 will be roughed to provide a pleasant hand.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of covers differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodies in a bed cover, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention,

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential charac teristics of the generic or specific aspects'of this invention. I

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

' 1. A composite bed cover, particularly for use in loosely coherent fibers and two continuous outer layers.

of foamed'plastic sheet material respectively contiguous with a major surface of said inner layer; and means interconnecting at least some adjoining layers while leaving major areas of each layer freedom of movement with reference to the adjacent layers.

2. A bed cover as defined in claim 1 wherein said insert comprises additional layers of foamed plastic material and of fibrous material, such layers being alternated so that a layer of fibrous material is surrounded by two layers of foamed plastic material, the latter always constituting the outermost layers of the insert.

3. A bed cover as defined'in claim 1, wherein said means interconnecting said layers defines seams joining said layers along circumferential edge portions thereof.

4. A bed cover as defined in claim 1, wherein said means interconnecting said layers defines seams joining said layers in the direction of at least one major extension thereof, the respective seams being spaced transversely of said one extension.

5. A bed cover as defined in claim 1, wherein said means interconnects a first layer and a directly adjacent second layer at a first location, said second layer and a directly adjacent third layer at a second location spaced from said first location, and wherein such connection is repeated with all other layers in the bed cover.

6. A bed cover as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said layers of foamed plastic material comprises a plurality of stacked sheets of foamed plastic material.

7. A bed cover as defined in claim 1, and further com means interconnects said'layers at a plurality of spaced-' apart positions. 11. A bed cover as defined in claim 10,"wherein said means comprises thread means. i

12. A bed coveras defined in claim 10, wherein said means comprises adhesive means. a 3 v 13. A bed cover as defined in claim 10, wherein said inner layer of said insert is made of synthetic fibrous ma-'" terial, and wherein said inner layer and at least one of said outer layers of foamed plastic material are heatwelded to one another.

14. A bed cover as defined in claim 6, wherein said plurality of sheets consists of divers foamed plastic materials.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Bossard.

Karr 5355 Massa 5334X Lashar et a1. 5355 X Francis 5355 Howden 5-334 X OBrien 5-334 Bell et a1. 5334 Kamp 5355 Floria 5-334 Smithson 5334 U.S. Cl. X.R.

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