Textiles: knitting – Fabrics or articles – Articles
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-18
2001-11-06
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3765)
Textiles: knitting
Fabrics or articles
Articles
C005S497000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311525
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to bed sheets, and more particularly to a fitted bed sheet having a stretchable knit construction that resists runs and which enables the bed sheet as a whole to be stretched and fitted around a mattress.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bed sheets used by institutions such as hospitals are subject to extensive wear conditions. Such wear, of course, comes about through use. In addition to ordinary bed use, sheets typically found in hospitals and other institutions are subjected to extensive wear and tear simply through repeated laundry, which often is aggressive.
In the end, this treatment and the resulting wear have a significant effect on the durability and longevity of such sheets. It is not uncommon for such sheets to begin to run after such wear and these runs tend to progress to the point that the sheets start to unravel and tear. Once this happens, the sheets must be discarded.
Further, many institutional bed sheets tend to be of the fitted type. These fitted bed sheets include elastic sewn-in the perimeter of the sheets. Once the elastic has been subjected to repeated laundry and wear, the elastic has a tendency to loose its strength and elasticity. This obviously results in the fitted sheets not fitting snuggly and smoothly around the mattress.
Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for a durable fitted bed sheet that is resistant to runs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention entails a bed sheet that is designed to be run resistant. Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the bed sheet assumes the form of a fitted bed sheet and comprises a knit construction that includes inherent elastic qualities that enable the sheet to be stretched and fitted over a mattress without requiring a conventional sewn-in elastic band.
More particularly, the knit construction of the sheet comprises a series of two different knitted courses. The first type of course is referred to as a knitted loop course and is formed by yarns knitted to yield a series of consecutive loops along a respective course. The second type of course is referred to as an intermediate course. These intermediate courses are formed between selected knitted looped courses and the yarns that form the intermediate courses are formed in a repeating pattern of knit, miss, and tuck stitches.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the knitted loop courses and the intermediate courses are arranged in a repeating pattern of at least six courses. In this embodiment, there is provided at least two knitted loop courses disposed in side by side relationship. At selected intervals within the repeating pattern, one finds the intermediate courses. That is, one or more intermediate courses are disposed between two or more knitted loop courses.
In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the knit and tuck stitches of the intermediate courses are off set with respect to each other, while a miss stitch is formed between each knit and tuck stitch in such a fashion that the miss stitches are generally aligned within the repeating pattern.
This knit construction gives rise to a bed sheet that has two principal advantages. First, the knit construction described above results in a bed sheet that is run resistant. Secondly, this knit construction includes inherent elastic qualities that are sufficient to enable the bed sheet, when assuming a fitted form, to stretch over and be secured to a mattress.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention.
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patent: 5765241 (1998-06-01), Macdonald
Hunneke Fred E.
Marker Ulrich
Coats & Bennett PLLC
Domestic Fabrics Corporation
Worrell Danny
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