Fitted mattress cover with stretchable knit skirt

• US 6,199,231 B1
• Filed: 03/24/1999
• Issued: 03/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Xymid LLC
• Original Assignee: Xymid LLC
• Inventors: Zafiroglu, Dimitri Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Melius, Terry Lee
• Assistant Examiner(s): CONLEY, FREDRICK C
• Application Number:
  US09/275,763
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 549/7, 549/8, 549/9, 548/2, 661/92, 661/96, 661/93, 112/475.01, 112/163, 112/252, 496/102, 496/98
• US Class Current: 5/497
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 27/002 Mattress or cushion tickings or covers bed linen, blankets or counterpanes A47G9/02
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 31/105 for mattresses
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 9/0246 Fitted sheets loose furniture covers A47C31/10
• CPC Class Codes: D04B 21/18 incorporating elastic threads
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2403/031 Narrow fabric of constant width
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2503/062 Fitted bedsheets
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2505/08 Upholstery, mattresses

Abstract

A fitted mattress cover has a fabric skirt warp-knit from bulked yarns and elastic yarns. The skirt is elastically stretchable in the longitudinal direction by at least 50%, inelastically stretchable in the transverse direction by at least 60%, and regains its transverse stretch characteristics when laundered and dried in a relaxed condition and possesses important advantages over known stretchable stitchbonded skirts in wash durability, stretch/conformability, and puncture resistance, as well as in economy of manufacture.

Claims

1. A fitted mattress cover comprising:

a flat top panel of substantially inextensible fabric for overlaying the top surface of a mattress; and

a skirt of stretchable knitted fabric attached to and depending from a periphery of the top panel, wherein the stretchable knitted fabric consists essentially of bulky yarns and elastic yarns formed into one or more bars of repeating patterns of stitches,

the repeating stitch patterns forming courses, wales and floats that connect successive courses and wales,

the successive courses extending in a transverse direction perpendicular to the periphery of the top panel and being a distance, d_c, of at least 1.25-millimeters apart,

the wales extending in a longitudinal direction parallel to the periphery of the top panel, and successive wales in the pattern of stitches having the longest floats being separated by a distance, d_w, such that the pattern ratio of d_c/d_w is at least 1.0, and

the skirt further having a top edge and a bottom edge, each edge extending in the longitudinal direction and optionally having elastic bands or elastic yarns incorporated therein.

2. A fitted mattress cover in accordance with claim 1 wherein the pattern ratio is at least 1.2.

3. A fitted mattress cover in accordance with claim 2 wherein the pattern ratio is at least 1.4.

4. A fitted mattress cover in accordance with claim 1 wherein the elastic yarn of the knitted fabric of the skirt is a textured stretch yarn of synthetic organic filaments, an elastomeric yarn or an elastic combination yarn.

5. A fitted mattress cover in accordance with claim 4 wherein the elastic yarn is an combination yarn of spandex air-jet entangled with textured filaments of nylon or polyester.

6. A fitted mattress cover in accordance with claim 1, wherein the knitted skirt fabric has an elastic stretch in the longitudinal direction of at least 50% and an inelastic stretch in the transverse direction of at least 60%.

7. A fitted mattress cover in accordance with claim 6 wherein the elastic stretch in the longitudinal direction is in the range of 75 to 150% and the inelastic stretch in the transverse direction is in the range of 100 to 200%.

8. A fitted mattress cover in accordance with claim 7 wherein the inelastic stretch in the transverse direction is substantially completely recoverable when the skirt fabric is laundered and dried in a relaxed condition.

9. A process for preparing a fitted mattress cover having a stretchable skirt comprising the steps of

forming a flat top panel of substantially inextensible fabric, the panel having a peripheral edge;

knitting a skirt fabric with bulky yarns and elastic yarns threaded on one or more bars of a warp-knitting machine to form the skirt fabric with upper and lower longitudinal edges, the yarns being tensioned sufficiently during the knitting to maintain the yarns in a substantially taut condition and being knit into repeating patterns of stitches, the patterns forming wales and courses with successive courses being at least 1.25 millimeters apart and successive wales in the stitch pattern having the longest floats being separated by a distance that is no greater than the distance between successive courses;

removing the thusly knit skirt fabric from the knitting machine;

contracting the knit skirt fabric in a direction parallel to the longitudinal edges to a length in the range of one-half to one-third its non-contracted as-knit length;

applying sufficient tension to at least the upper longitudinal edge of the skirt fabric so that the upper longitudinal edge is stretched to within 5 to 20% of the total longitudinal % stretch that the skirt fabric can reach; and

attaching the thusly stretched upper longitudinal edge of the skirt fabric while under the tension to the peripheral edge of the top panel.