US3467974A - Comforter construction - Google Patents

Description

Se t. 23, 1969 DEUTSCH COMFORTER CONSTRUCTION I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 25, 1966 Sept. 23, 1969 I. DEUT'SCH 3,467,974

COMFORTER CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 25. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3,467,974 COMFORTER CONSTRUCTION Irving Deutsch, Tenafiy, Ni, assignor to Sumergrade & Eons, Inc., Jersey City, Ni, a corporation of New ersey Filed Nov. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 596,842 int. Ci. A47g 9/02 US. Cl. -334 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to bed coverings and more particularly it concerns an improved comforter or bedquilt construction.

Comforters or quilts are used on beds primarily as auxiliary covers for added warmth on especially cold nights. They must therefore be readily removable and replaceable for different sleeping conditions. Because of this comforters and quilts must combine lightness and warmth giving properties with a good appearance. In order to combine these various features, comforters are constructed of several layers of decorative fabrics like material between which are sewn a bulky though lightweight insulative material.

Because of the particular construction employed in comforters and quilts, these coverings have a far higher stiffness to weight ratio than do conventional single layer covers such as sheets, blankets and bedspreads. Accord ingly when a comforter of conventional rectangular con figuration is laid on a bed the edges will extend outwardly to a certain degree, especially at the corners at the foot of the bed. Because of this stiffness, and because the smooth textured decorative fabrics used on most comforters, there is a great tendency for the comforter to slip off the bed during usage.

In the past, several techniques have been employed to overcome this slipping problem. None of these has been fully practical, however. For example, the constructions used in connection with fitted sheets or blankets, which hook around and under the mattress of the bed in a semipermanent fashion are not suitable for comforters because of the basic bulkiness of these items and further because of the fact that they are used on the bed in a more or less casual fashion. That is, they must be capable of being placed on or removed from the bed quickly and conveniently, without disrupt ng the other bed coverings; and without adversely affecting the appearance of the bed. Conventional fitted sheets and blankets could not be so casually handled, and their appearance is such that additional coverings, such as a bedspread, quilt or comforter is generally used on top of them.

Other techniques employed to secure comforters to a bed have included the use of snap fasteners, ties, etc. These devices however are disadvantageous in that they tend to hold the comforter down on the bed so tightly that it becomes inconvenient and uncomfortable to sleep under them.

The present invention overcomes all of the above problems. According to the present invention there is provided a novel comforter which possess all of the textured and decorative characteristics of a conventional comforter and yet which is easy and convenient to use, comfortable to sleep under and which does dot slip off the bed in normal use.

States Patent 0 The comforter construction of the present invention involves a pair of coextensive outer fabrics like plies stitched together about a bulky inner filler material. The plies and filler material are of generally rectangular configuration but are cut away generally in the shape of squares at the two adjacent corners at one end of the article. The exposed edges of each cut away corner are then secured together to form the end of the article into a box like configuration. The comforter may then be placed on a bed with the box like configuration fitting over the foot of the bed. The comforter, because of its lightness and stiffness will raise up readily to accommodate the feet of a person lying in the bed so that no discomfort will be felt. Yet even in this raised condition the comforter will not slip off the bed because its inherent stiffness allows its corners, though raised, to engage the sides of the bed with sufiicient strength to intercept lateral movement.

There has thus been outlined rather broadly the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claim appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is important, therefore, that the claim be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Specific embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and are shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional prior art comforter on a bed;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a comforter of the present invention in opened condition; to be formed according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the comforter of FIG. 3 as fully formed;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the comforter of FIG. 4 in place on a bed;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating the novel structural features of the comforter of the present invention during use; and

FIGS. 8-10 inclusive are fragmentary perspective views showing various corner forming arrangements for the comforter of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1, a bed 10 is shown to be made up of a box spring or mattress 12 mounted on legs 14. A headboard 18 is provided at one end of the bed 10. The bed 10 is provided with the usual sheets and blankets and is covered ultimately with a comforter 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the comforter 20 is made up of a pair of outer layers or plies 22 of fabric-like material, for example, cotton, acetate, nylon, etc. These outer layers are sewn together over a bulky insulative filler material 24 such as synthetic fibers, down, acetate, etc. The two outer plies 22 of the comforter 20 are stitched together through the filler material 24 along several stitch lines 26 in order to hold the filler material properly distributed throughout the comforter. The comforter 20 thus is essentially a fabric container filled with an insulative bulky material and as such is relatively stiff though quite light in weight for its bulk. As shown in FIG. 1, the comforter 20 is merely laid on top of the bed 10 and can be easily removed and folded when it is not being used. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inherent stiffness of the comforter 20, together with its light weight, prevents its conforming fully to the shape of the bed 10 so that it protrudes outwardly to a certain degree along its edges; and to an even greater degree at its corners, as illustrated at 30 in FIG. 1. As a result of this arrangement, the comforter 20 tends to slip off the bed 10 as a result of any movement which may take place by a person sleeping under it.

FIG. 3 shows the basic construction of a comforter 34 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, a comforter blank 35 is made up of the same materials and may have the same general multi-ply construction as the comforter 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The comforter 34 of FIG. 3 however is cut away at each of the corners at one end tthereof as illustrated at 36 and 33. The cutout regions 36 and 38 are substantially square in configuration. These cutout regions each define exposed edges 40 and 42 which are thereafter secured together either by sewing, zipping, snapping or tying. As a result, there is formed a generally box-like configuration 44 at one end of the comforter such as illustrated in FIG. 4.

As can be seen from FIG. 4 the generally box-shaped configuration 44 of the comforter 34 causes the comforter to conform generally to the shape of the foot end of a bed. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5 the comforter 34 slips snugly over the bed and remains securely, though casually, in place. As shown in FIG. 6 the formed boxshaped configuration 44 does not change the genera] quilted character of the comforter 34 so that its lightness and insulative properties are preserved.

It will be noted that the corner edges which were formed by fastening together the facing exposed edges 40 and 42, are essentially straight and at right angles with respect to the top surface of the bed 10. This arrangement as shown in FIG. 7, permits the foot end of the comforter 34 to slip up and down with a minimum of resistance. That is, the inherent stiffness and rigidity, which results from the quilted character of the comforter, serves to maintain its box-like end configuration so that the comforter does not grasp or extend under any portion of the bed 10 and is not interfered with or restrained by the bed in its upward movement. Thus, when as shown in FIG. 7, a person 46 is sleeping under the comforter his feet and legs 48 may push upwardly anywhere toward the foot of the comforter and yet it will retain its box-like shape at least to a degree sufiicient to allow it to slip upwardly and downwardly so that no interference or discomfort is felt by a person sleeping under the comforter. Moreover, as can be seen in FIG. 7, even when the foot of the comforter is in a raised position, its inherent rigidity maintains its corner configuration to a degree sufiicient to prevent lateral movement of the comforter so that it will not slip off the bed during normal usage.

It will additionally be noted that because of the boxlike configuration at the foot of the comforter 34, the

comforter edges in effect form a skirt around the bed to prevent drafts from spoiling the insulative effect which a comforter is supposed to supply.

Reverting to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the boxed corner 44 of the comforter 34 is stitched along the edges 40 and 42 to form the basic box-like configuration. As shown in FIG. 8, the corner 44 is formed by means of a zipper so that the comforter 34 may readily be opened up for folding or cleaning.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the zipper 50 of FIG. 8 may be replaced by snaps 52 positioned along the edges 46 and 42. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 10, there may be provided tie strings 54 along the edges 40 and 42 for forming the corner 44.

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

1. A comforter having side edges and a foot portion therebetween, primarily for the use of covering a person sleeping on a bed, the combination comprising a pair of outer substantially coextensive continuous plies of decorative fabric-like material and a lightweight bulky coextensive continuous ply of insulating filler material disposed between said outer plies, said outer plies being stitched together through the filler material along a plurality of stitch lines to hold the ply of filler material properly distributed throughout the comforter, said comforter having sufiicient stiffness and rigidity so that when applied to a bed the portions adjacent the stitch lines do not engage the bed, the sewn-together composite being of substantially rectangular configuration, but having substantially square cutouts at two adjacent corners, said composite being continuous in the remaining two corners, means for fastening together the facing exposed edges of each corner cutout forming a straight corner edge disposed when on a bed at an angle of about degrees with respect to the top surface of the bed, said composite being of sufficient length and width to extend over the edges of said bed to allow a users feet and legs to push upwardly toward the foot portion of the comforter while the side edges of the comforter remain overlapping the edges of the bed, and said comforter being of sufficient rigidity to maintain its corner configuration to a degree sufiicient to prevent lateral movement of the comforter so that it will not slip off the bed when a user is thereunder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,462,156 2/1949 Berman 5-334- 2,596,547 5/1952 Guest 5-334 2,757,389 8/1956 King. 3,045,260 7/1962 Richter. 3,243,827 4/ 1966 Kintner 5-334 FOREIGN PATENTS 856,756 4/1940 France.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner ANDREW M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner

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