WO1992017097A2

WO1992017097A2 - Disposable bed linen

Info

Publication number: WO1992017097A2
Application number: PCT/GB1992/000592
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christine De La Falaise
Original assignee: Blatchford, William, Michael
Priority date: 1991-04-02
Filing date: 1992-04-02
Publication date: 1992-10-15
Also published as: WO1992017097A3; GB2254251A; GB9207282D0; GB9106882D0

Abstract

Disposable bed linen must be hygienic and must not allow liquids such as blood or perspiration to pass through and soil the mattress. The cost of such disposable bed linen must not be excessive and must be comparable with the cost of laundering conventional bed linen. A disposable bed sheet (10) for fitting to a mattress, comprises a four-sided top portion (16) for covering a major face of the mattress; a plurality of integral flaps (28, 30, 36, 40) each extending from a respective side of the top portion, each flap being shaped to cover a respective side face of the mattress when folded relative to the top portion along a top fold line (18, 20, 22, 24) representing the boundary between the flap and the top portion, and to meet, at at least one of its ends, an end of another of the flaps, being a flap which is associated with an adjacent side of the top portion, to form a corner; and at each such corner, an integral lug (44) projecting from an end of one of the flaps to overlap part of the other flap at the corner, one of the flaps (40) being longer than the others to form a top sheet (60) for folding back over the top portion. Some of the flaps may be folded along a bottom fold line (32, 34, 38, 42) parallel and spaced from the respective top fold line to form an outer flap portion for tucking under the mattress. The top sheet (60) may be omitted.

Description

DISPOSABLE BED LINEN

This invention relates to disposable bed linen and in particular a piece of bed linen which can fit over a mattress.

In hospitals it is desirable to provide disposable items so as to avoid any risk of spreading contagious diseases. Such bed clothing must be hygienic and must not allow liquids such as blood or perspiration to pass through and soil the mattress. Equally the cost of such disposable bed linen must not be excessive and must be comparable with the cost of laundering conventional bed linen.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a disposable bed sheet for fitting to a mattress, comprising a four-sided top portion for covering a major face of the mattress; a plurality of integral flaps each extending from a respective side of the top portion, each flap being shaped to cover a respective side face of the mattress when folded relative to the top portion along a top fold line representing the boundary between the flap and the top portion, and to meet, at at least one of its ends, an end of another of the flaps, being a flap which is associated with an adjacent side of the top portion, to form a corner; and at each such corner, an integral lug projecting from an end of one of the flaps to overlap part of the other flap at the corner, one of the flaps being longer than the others to form a top sheet for folding back over the top portion.

Preferably, at least some of the flaps are folded along a bottom fold line parallel and spaced from the respective top fold line to form an outer flap portion for tucking under the mattress and the width of each lug in a direction perpendicular to the respective fold lines is preferably substantially equal to the spacing between the respective top and bottom field lines. Each lug is preferably rectangular in shape and has one side edge extending from a corner of the top portion to an end of the lug, the edge having been formed by cutting the material of the sheet when flat along a line which is an extension of the top fold line of the flap to which the lug is joined.

In a preferred embodiment, all the flaps have top and bottom fold lines wherein the outer flap portions overlap each other adjacent the corners to form corner pockets for the corners of the mattress.

The lug and/or overlapping flap portions may be fastened together. The sheet is preferably made of a thermoplastics material and in this case fastening may be performed by heat or ultrasonic welding. The material may be a non-woven polypropylene fibre material and is preferably pervious to air and substantially impervious to liquids. Alternatively a natural or synthetic fibre material may be used, in which case fastening may be performed by sewing.

Such a piece of bed linen is very effective and comfortable when used in place of conventional bed clothing but because of the nature of the material, is readily disposable by incineration after use. The polypropylene non-woven sheet is also comfortable and has a pleasant silky surface feeling for persons using the bed, which is quite unlike the surface effect given by a disposable paper sheet for instance.

The non-woven construction of the polypropylene sheet is such that liquids such as blood and the like cannot pass through to soil the mattress. To further enhance this property however, it may be desirable in at least part of the surface area of the mattress cover portion covering the top of the mattress, to attach at least one additional layer of the polypropylene non-woven sheeting. Suitable polypropylene non-woven sheeting is widely available.

This sheeting is however breathable and allows air to pass through it but does not allow liquids like water to pass through.

Further advantages of this material are that it is non-toxic and non-allergic and the surface texture of the material is such that wounds on a person's body tend not to become stuck to the surface as is often the case with for example cotton sheets and dressings.

The bed linen is preferably sold in a form such that the portion which fits over the mattress is similar to a fitted sheet. In other words it is pre-shaped so that it fits over the top of the mattress, the side edges of the mattress and the edges of the portion extend part-way underneath the mattress. This is important to ensure that the sheeting stays correctly positioned and does not wrinkle or crease when in use.

In the circumstances it is desirable that the sheeting be shaped at the edges or corners of the mattress such that there are a minimum number of thicknesses of material. Generally this means that there should not be more than two thicknesses of material anywhere.

The corners can for example be shaped in a similar manner to the shaping of corners when wrapping a parcel. This is not preferred however since such folding in a triangular fashion at the corners, generally gives 3 thicknesses of material.

It is an advantage of the corner arrangement that nowhere do more than two thicknesses of material overlap. By pre-shaping the sheet at the corners with the respective flaps and lugs fastened together, the shaped corners can quickly and accurately be fitted over the mattress for which the bed linen is designed and the mattress cover portion will be retained by this shaping of the corners to provide a crease free flat surface over the top of the mattress.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a disposable bed sheet comprises a mattress cover portion and a flap attached to one side of the cover portion for folding back over the cover portion to form a top sheet. The cover portion preferably comprises a four-sided top portion for covering a major face of the mattress, and a plurality of flaps each extending from a respective side of the top portion to cover the side faces of the mattress and for tucking under the mattress, and a plurality of lugs, one at each corner of the top portion, each lug extending from an end of a respective one of the flaps for folding around a mattress corner and overlapping an end of the adjoining flaps at the corner of the top portion. The sheet is preferably made from a non-woven polypropylene material and at least part of the cover portion may be made from more than one thickness of material.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a disposable bed sheet for fitting to a mattress comprises a four-sided top portion for covering a major face of the mattress; a plurality of integral flaps each extending from a respective side of the top portion, each flap being shaped to cover a respective side face of the mattress when folded relative to the top portion along a top fold line representing the boundary between the flap and the top portion, and to meet, at at least one of its ends, an end of another of the flaps, being a flap which is associated with an adjacent side of the top portion, to form a corner; and at each such corner, an integral lug projecting from an end of one of the flaps to overlap part of the other flap at the corner. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a plan view of a sheet of material to be made into bed clothing according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the sheet from the side with the vertical height considerably exaggerated.

Figure 3 is a perspective view from the underneath showing the shaping of a corner of the cover.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic section taken lengthwise down the centre of a mattress covered with bed clothing according to the invention, and with the vertical scale somewhat exaggerated.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but taken across the width of the mattress.

The bed linen 10 is shown completely unfolded in Figures 1 and 2. It comprises a shaped sheet of non-woven polypropylene material. This material is of the type sold by Kimberley Clarke Corporation as a covering for plants or the ground to prevent frost. The clothing is in two parts, an undersheet portion 12 designed to cover mattress and a topsheet portion 14. The two portions 12 and 14 which are integrally formed from the same piece of polypropylene sheeting.

Referring particularly to a Figure 1, the portion 12 comprises a central rectangular area 16 defined within fold lines 18, 20, 22 and 24. This area 16 is intended to cover the top surface of a mattress 26 (Figures 4 and 5) .

Integrally formed with the area 16 are side flaps 28 and^' 30 which are arranged to be folded down around the fold lines 22 and 24 respectively. Extending lengthwise along these side flaps 28 and 30, are fold lines 32 and 34, respectively, and in use the side flaps 28 and 30 are divided by these fold lines 32 and 34 into upper portions 28a and 30a which are intended to be folded flush with the sides of a mattress in the upright side edges of the mattress and lower portions 28b and 30b which are intended to tuck in underneath the bottom of the matters along the side edges thereof. The arrangement is best shown in Figure 5.

At the head end, an integral flap 36 is provided which is joined to the area 16 along the fold line 18. This flap 36 is intended to be folded down over the upright side of the mattress at the head end about the fold line 18. In addition an intermediate fold line 38 is provided. The flap 36 is intended to be folded about this intermediate fold line 38 so that the remainder of the flap 36 can be tucked in under the mattress at the head end. The fold line 38 therefore divides the flap 36 into an upper portion 36a which bears against the upright side of the mattress and a lower portion 36b which tucks in underneath the mattress.

In a similar fashion at the feet end of the mattress, the sheeting has an integral flap 40 joined about the fold line 20 to the area 16. This portion 40 is divided into an upper portion 40a and a lower portion 40b by an intermediate fold lien 42. Again the portion 40a is designed to fold down flat against the upright edge of the mattress 26 whilst the portion 40b is intended to be tucked in underneath the mattress.

The corners of the portion 12 are pre-shaped to fit the mattress and their pre-shaping is best shown in Figure 3, although reference needs to be made to Figure 1. Figure 3 shows a typocal corner where the flaps 28 and 36 abut but all four corners are made and folded in a similar manner.

As best seen in Figure 1, an integral lug 44 is provided alongside each end of the portions 36a and

40a. The lug is separated by cuts 46 from the side flaps 28 and 30. At the corner, this lug 44 is folded in under the portion 28a whilst the cut edge 46 extends in an upright sense parallel to the upright edge of the mattress and abuts a fold line 48 about which the lug 44 is folded relative the portion

36a.

In order to pre-shape the corners it is preferred that the lug 44 be joined to the portion 28a. This can be achieved by stitching but is preferably achieved by a patch 50 of ultra-sonic welding joining the material of the two parts together. To ^'further define the corner, the portion

28b is folded over a further integral lug 52 formed at the corner of each respective flap 36 and 40. Again to hold the material together and provide the three dimensional shape required at the corners, an area 54 of ultra-sonic welding is provided.

Alternatively or in addition a length of stitching 56 can be provided between the edge of the flap 36 and the edge of the flap 28b.

One important advantage of the corner construction shown in Figure 3 is that there is nowhere more than two thicknesses of material which has advantages in ensuring that the mattress can lay flat on its support without being distorted upwardly at the corners.

When bed clothing 10 is made according to the invention, it is first of all cut to the shape shown in Figure 1. Then the corners are formed as has been described. Thereafter the material is folded in a convenient fashion and packaged prior to being sterilized. It is then ready for use. The polypropylene non-woven material of the bed covering is flexible and so can be folded in this way but by preforming the corners as has been described these will readily fit over a mattress for which the covering has been designated and hold the area 16 flat and uncreased on top of mattress. As was explained above, the portion 14 is integrally formed with the portion 12 and the portion 14 predominantly comprises a rectangular cover 60 which has an integral flap 26 which in turn is integral with the flap 40. The flap 62 joins with the flap 40 along a fold line 64. As best shown in Figure 4, once the portion 12 has been fitted over the mattress, the cover 60 will be left extending out from the foot region of the mattress and can then be folded up over the covered mattress so as to cover the area 16 and provide an integral top sheet. The side edges of this cover 60 can then, as best shown in Figure 5, be tucked in around the covered mattress in a conventional manner.

In additional, a fold line 66 may be provided near the top end of the cover 60 which can be folded back to provide a flap 68 to enclose a blanket or the like as is conventional in bed-making when using a conventional upper sheet. One important advantage of the invention is that doctors can readily obtain access to a patient's legs and feed by untucking the cover 60 in the foot region and without having to remove all of the bed coverings from the patient.

The polypropylene non-woven material used has the advantage that it is largely impermeable to liquids. To provide an added security so as to prevent blood and the like from soiling the mattress 26, a second layer 70 maybe a attached to the face or underside of the portion 16. The join 70a between the layer 70 and portion 16 can be covered by a pillow 72 whilst the slight ridge of the joint 70b is largely unnoticeable by the patient. If necessary between the layer 70 and area 16 may be sandwiched a thin layer of absorbent wadding to assist in absorbing any liquids which do happen to penetrate through the material of the layer 70.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the cover 60 could be omitted to provide a fitted sheet alone.

Claims

1. A disposable bed sheet for fitting to a mattress, comprising:- a four-sided top portion for covering a major face of the mattress; a plurality of integral flaps each extending from a respective side of the top portion, each flap being shaped to cover a respective side face of the mattress when folded relative to the top portion along a top fold line representing the boundary between the flap and the top portion, and to meet, at at least one of its ends, an end of another of the flaps, being a flap which is associated with an adjacent side of the top portion, to form a corner; and at each such corner, an integral lug projecting from an end of one of the flaps to overlap part of the other flap at the corner., one of the flaps being longer than the others to form a top sheet for folding back over the top portion.

2. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the flaps are each themselves folded along a bottom fold line parallel to and spaced from the respective top fold line to form an outer flap portion for tucking under the mattress, and wherein the width of each lug in a direction perpendicular to the fold line or fold lines of the flap to which it is joined is substantially equal to the spacing between the top fold lines and the respective bottom fold lines.

3. A sheet according to claim 2, wherein each lug is square or rectangular in shape and has one side edge extending from a corner of the top portion to an end of the lug, the edge having been formed by cutting the material of the sheet when flat along a line which is an extension of the top fold line of the flap to which the lug is joined.

4. A sheet according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein all of the flaps have the top and bottom fold lines and wherein the outer flap portions overlap each other adjacent the corners to form corner pockets for the corners of the mattress.

5. A sheet according to claim 4, wherein each lug is inwardly folded with respect to the flap to which it is joined and is tucked under the said other flap.

6. A sheet according to claim 5, wherein the lug is fastened to the said other flap.

7. A sheet according to any of claims 4 to 6, wherein the overlapped outer flap portions are fastened together.

8. A sheet according to claim 6 or claim 7, made of a thermoplastics material and the fastening being performed by heat or ultrasonic welding.

9. A sheet according to claim 6 or claim 7, made of a natural or synthetic fibre material, the fastening being performed by double or single needle sewing.

10. A sheet according to any preceding claim, wherein the sheet is made from a material that is pervious to air and substantially impervious to liquids.

11. A sheet according to claim 10, wherein the material is a non-woven polypropylene fibre material.

12. A sheet according to any preceding claim, wherein at least part of the top portion is made from more than one thickness of material.

13. A disposable bed sheet comprising a mattress cover portion and a flap attached to one side of the cover portion for folding back over the cover portion to form a top sheet.

14. A sheet according to claim 13, made from a material that is pervious to air and substantially impervious to liquids.

15. A sheet according to claim 14, wherein the material is a non-woven polypropylene fibre material.

16. A sheet according to any of claims 13 to 15, wherein at least part of the cover portion is made from more than one thickness of material.

17. A sheet according to any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the cover portion comprises a four-sided top portion for covering a major face of the mattress, and a plurality of flaps each extending from a respective side of the top portion to cover the side faces of the mattress and for tucking under the mattress, and a plurality of lugs, one at each corner of the top portion, each lug extending from an end of a respective one of the flaps for folding around a mattress corner and overlapping an end of the adjoining flaps at the corner of the top portion.

18. A disposable bed sheet for fitting to a mattress, comprising:- a four-sided top portion for covering a major face of the mattress; a plurality of integral flaps each extending from a respective side of the top portion, each flap being shaped to cover a respective side face of the mattress when folded relative to the top portion along a top fold line representing the boundary between the flap and the top portion, and to meet, at at least one of its ends, an end of another of the flaps, being a flap which is associated with an adjacent side of the top portion, to form a corner; and at each such corner, an integral lug projecting from an end of one of the flaps to overlap part of the other flap at the corner.