Bed sheet clamping holder

A device for holding a fitted sheet to a mattress. The holder is provided with a base portion upon which a corner of a mattress is to be positioned, a rail attached to the base for positioning the device respective to the mattress and clamps connected to the rail and base to grip the edges of the sheet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a holder for clamping a bed sheet to a 
mattress. More particularly to a holder used to clamp a fitted sheet over 
the corners of a mattress. 
It is conventional to use a fitted sheet as the bottom sheet on a mattress 
and a top flat sheet which is folded around the corners at the foot of a 
mattress as a top sheet. The fitted bottom sheet is generally constructed 
to have four corner pockets which will fit snugly about the mattress 
corners and thereby hold the bottom sheet taut and securely to the 
mattress. One difficulty with a fitted sheet is when a mattress has a 
thickness greater than was intended for the fitted sheet the corners of 
fitted sheet will slide up and off the mattress. Another problem with a 
fitted sheet is when washed it tends to shrink until it no longer will 
stay in place even on a mattress with the desired dimensions. Other 
reasons for a fitted sheet to not have sufficient pocket sizes to fit the 
mattress on a bed could be due to the use of thick mattress pads such as 
sheepskin or so-called egg box mattress pads. 
Devices for attaching and holding sheets over a mattress are known. It is 
known to attach a bed sheet to a spring mattress using elastic straps 
positioned under and across the corners of a mattress and attached to the 
sheet with garter clips or spring clamps. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,195,874 discloses elastic straps with spring clamps used to 
hold bedclothes to a mattress. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,541 discloses a device constructed with a inextensible 
strap provided with fasteners at each end. The strap is to be positioned 
under the mattress across the corner and the fasteners attached to the 
corners of the sheet. The fasteners disclosed by '541 are similar to the 
garter clip type in their operation. The stud which is separate from the 
necked plate member is used to push the sheet material through the slotted 
plate opening and slid along the slot to clamp the sheet. 
The sheet holders of the prior art are difficult to use. The straps whether 
elastic or inextensible used across and under the corner of a mattress 
tends to move about when the bed is being made. When the sheet, whether it 
be a fitted type or a flat sheet, is positioned on the mattress then one 
must find and position the strap so the fasteners may be attached to the 
sheet. It is quite common as one end of the holding strap is attached to 
the sheet the other end is pulled out of position. Since a mattress is 
bulky and somewhat heavy it can be quite tiring to connect such straps. 
Another problem with the known straps used to hold sheets in position on a 
mattress is the attaching means. Garter clips as pointed out by 4,862,541 
are useful for only a single sheet thickness and cannot be used to hold 
both top and bottom sheets. Such clips further tend to turn loose and are 
difficult to attach to the sheet when the sheet is taut. Some of the 
garter clip problems are overcome by '541's heavier fasteners. The straps 
are still difficult to manage and the knobs may be misplaced. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a bed sheet holder which is particularly 
suited for holding either fitted or flat sheets over a mattress. The sheet 
holder is easily positioned under the mattress corners and will stay in 
position as the bed is being made. The sheet attachment means is held in 
its desired position and is ready to be clamped to the edges of the sheet. 
The holder of the present invention includes an integrally molded clamping 
means for holding the sheet corner. The gripping portion of the holder is 
provided with a locking clip. Such clamps are known as disclose by U.S. 
Pat. Nos. 3,767,092 and 5,082,153. 
Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a bed 
sheet clamping holder which is easy to use and make. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a base member with a 
rail having complementary shape of a mattress corner and clamping means 
located at each end of the rail. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet holder for 
holding a sheet in position on a mattress with a clamp having gripping 
members integrally hinged at one end and including a locking clip which is 
slidably mounted over the hinged edge of the clamp.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The sheet holder 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1 is preferably constructed of 
integrally molded plastic material. The holder 10 comprises a flat base 
portion 12 attached to a rail member 14 and holding clamps 16 and 18. Rail 
member 14 is attached at each end to the rear gripping members 20 and 22 
of clamps 16 and 18 with the rail member and clamps extending at right 
angle to the base portion 12 forming a tray-like holder. The rail member 
and base are provided with a rounded corner 24 which is complimentary in 
shape to the corner of a mattress on which the sheet holder is intended to 
be used. When a mattress is positioned on top of the base portion 12 and 
butted against rail member 14 the sheet holder will remain in position, 
with the clamps 16 and 18 located along the sides of the mattress corner, 
while a fitted sheet is being stretched onto the mattress. The corner of 
the fitted sheet will be stretched over the mattress corner and over the 
sheet holder 10 at the rounded corner 24. As the fitted sheet is stretched 
over the sheet holder the edges of the sheet will easily slide into the 
open jaws of the clamps 16 and 18 which can then be closed to clamp the 
sheet into its desired position over the mattress corner. Clamps 16 and 18 
are identical, therefore, a description of claim 16 is sufficient to 
describe both clamps. 
The preferred clamps comprise a pair of gripping members 20 and 26 with the 
rear gripping member 20 being integrally formed with the base portion and 
rail member 14. The front gripping member 26 is integrally molded with the 
rear gripping member being joined by relatively thin member 28 forming a 
plastic hinge which allows relative movement of the gripping members 
between an open and closed position. The inner surface of the gripping 
members are provided with projections 30 to enhance the gripping member 
force of the clamps. A recess 32 on the front gripping member and a recess 
34 and slot 36 (shown on clamp 18) on the rear gripping member are 
provided to accommodate a slidable spring locking clip 38. The locking 
clip 38 when in its locked position closes the jaws of the gripping 
members and provides a spring biased force on the gripping members. For a 
more detailed description of the clamps illustrated in FIG. 1 reference is 
made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,092. 
Other materials could equally well be used in constructing the holder 10. 
The base 12 could be made of wood. The rail 14 and clamps 16 and 18 
integrally molded of plastic material being attached to the base 12 by any 
suitable means. Other known clamp designs such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. 
No. 5,082,153 could equally well be used in place of the clamps 
illustrated in FIG. 1. 
It will be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art that various 
modifications to the preferred embodiment described can be made without 
departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention, as defined by 
the appended claims. For example, the base portion may have a triangular 
shape.