Mattress pad and fitted bed sheet

The fitted bed sheet (22) and mattress pad (30) are connected together along the side edges (47 and 48) of the pad by stitching (49). The length of the pad and bed sheet are the same so that the foot and head portions (32 and 33) of the pad extend into and form a part of the foot and head skirts (25 and 26) of the pad-sheet (20). An elastic hem (35 and 36) is formed about the edges of the skirt at the foot and head of the pad-sheet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to the combination of a fitted bed sheet and 
mattress pad which are permanently attached to each other and can be 
fitted to or removed from a mattress simultaneously, and further relates 
to a process for manufacturing the fitted bed sheet and mattress pad. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Mattress pads have been in common use for placement between the top surface 
of a mattress and a bed sheet, so as to shield the mattress from becoming 
soiled and to provide extra comfort to the person sleeping on the bed. 
Typically, the mattress pads include a skirt or other connection means 
that fits about the corners of the mattress so as to hold the mattress pad 
in position on the bed. Then the fitted or "contoured" bottom bed sheet is 
placed about the mattress over the mattress pad, with its skirt placed 
about the mattress. 
The use of separate bed sheets and mattress pads requires the individual 
production of two separate objects that are used together on a bed. 
Moreover, the separate construction of the bed sheet and mattress pad 
sometimes results in the mattress pad becoming wrinkled or displaced from 
proper position between the sheet and the mattress, which is likely to 
cause some discomfort to the person sleeping on the bed. Also, as the 
mattress pad and bed sheet are used and laundered over an extended period, 
they tend to change shapes, usually with the mattress pad shrinking 
slightly so that it no longer corresponds to the shape of the bed sheet or 
to the shape of the mattress. The mattress pad and bed sheet are purchased 
separately, put on and removed from the mattress separately, and are 
stored separately. 
It would be desirable to construct a combination fitted bed sheet and 
mattress pad simultaneously so as to minimize the steps required to make 
these items, and thereby reduce the cost of production. In addition, it 
would be desirable to provide a combination fitted bed sheet and mattress 
pad whereby the mattress pad is permanently connected to the bed sheet and 
tends to retain a shape that corresponds to the bed sheet, and both the 
bed sheet and mattress pad can be simultaneously fitted to or removed from 
the mattress. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Briefly described, the present invention comprises a combined fitted or 
contoured bottom bed sheet and mattress pad which are permanently 
connected together, and a process of fabricating the combined bed sheet 
and mattress pad. 
In one form of the invention a bed sheet and a mattress pad are cut to 
equal lengths and placed in overlying relationship, with the narrower 
mattress pad centered between the side edge portions of the bed sheet. The 
mattress pad is sewn at its side edges to the bed sheet, with the 
overlapping side portions of the bed sheet forming side skirts along 
opposite sides of the mattress pad that will fit about the mattress. 
Notches are formed at the corners of the bed sheet, and the head and foot 
portions of the bed sheet and mattress pad are sewn at the notches to the 
side skirts of the bed sheet. An elastic hem is formed about the cut head 
and foot edges of the bed sheet and mattress pad. 
The combined bed sheet and mattress pad includes in its skirts at both the 
head and foot of the mattress a length of mattress pad material, with the 
mattress pad sewn at all four of its edge portions to the bed sheet. This 
assures permanent connection of the mattress pad to the bed sheet and 
tends to cause the mattress pad to retain a shape that corresponds to the 
sleeping surface of the bed sheet. Moreover, should the mattress pad 
shrink during laundering, the elastic hems at both the head and foot of 
the bed sheet tend to stretch the mattress pad lengthwise about the 
mattress. The tension applied by the elastic hem at both the head and foot 
of the bed sheet tends to apply tension to the lower selvage of the skirt 
of the bed sheet, which further tends to stretch the bed sheet across the 
length of the mattress, tending to pull the bed sheet and mattress pad 
taut, resulting in both a smooth top surface of the bed sheet and a smooth 
mattress pad beneath the bed sheet. 
Generally, the combined fitted bed sheet and mattress pad are considered by 
some people to be more comfortable than the separate pad and sheet, and 
when the sheet of the combined bed sheet and mattress pad is to be 
laundered, the mattress pad also must be laundered, resulting in improved 
hygiene in those situations in which a separate pad might not be laundered 
when its sheet is laundered. 
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a combined mattress pad 
and fitted bed sheet for use on a mattress, which is expedient to produce 
and which is convenient to fit to and remove from a mattress, and which 
tends to prolong the useful life of the mattress pad. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a process of making a 
combined fitted bottom bed sheet and mattress pad which reduces the number 
of steps required to make a mattress pad and bed sheet and which forms an 
improved product. 
Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become 
apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken in 
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in which like numerals 
indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates a 
mattress pad and fitted bed sheet combination 20 that is mounted to a 
rectangular mattress 21 of conventional construction. The mattress pad and 
bed sheet combination, hereinafter referred to as pad-sheet, includes a 
bed sheet 22 having a top ply 24 that spans the top surface of the 
mattress 21 and corresponds in size and shape to the top surface of the 
mattress, and a continuous skirt formed of a foot skirt 25, a head skirt 
26 (FIG. 10), and opposite side skirts 27 and 28. The skirts 25-28 
correspond in size and shape to the side surfaces of the mattress. 
Mattress pad 30 also includes a top ply 31 that corresponds in size and 
shape to the top surface of the mattress as well as to the size of the top 
ply 24 of the bed sheet, and also includes continuations of the top ply 
that extend downwardly to form foot and head skirts 32 and 33. The 
mattress pad does not include side skirts. 
The mattress pad 30 is of substantially equal length as the bed sheet 22, 
with the foot and head portions 32 and 33 of the mattress pad forming the 
foot and head skirts 32 and 33 that extend about the foot and head 
surfaces of the mattress. An elastic band 35, formed from a material known 
as "Lycra", is folded along its length into a hem shape and is inserted 
about the aligned edges of the foot portions of the bed sheet and of the 
mattress pad and is sewn thereto with stitching 37 (FIG. 3). Likewise, a 
similar elastic band 36 is folded about the aligned edges of the mattress 
pad and of the bed sheet at the head of the pad-sheet and sewn thereto 
with similar stitching. The opposite end portions of the elastic bands 35 
and 36 extend into overlying relationship with respect to the side skirts 
27 and 28 of the bed sheet and are also sewn thereto. The bands 35 and 36 
are stretched as they are sewn to the pad-sheet, so that the bands apply 
tension to and tend to gather the foot skirt and head skirt of the 
pad-sheet. This construction provides the necessary stretchable lower 
margin of the fitted pad-sheet which permits the pad-sheet to be fitted 
about the mattress and also tends to pull both the bed sheet and the 
mattress pad into a stretched, conforming shape about the mattress. 
In order to form the corner structures 40, 41, 42 and 43 in a smooth 
configuration the foot and head skirts 32 and 33 of the mattress pad are 
cut to a smaller width, forming notches such as the notch illustrated at 
45 at the corner structure 43 (FIGS. 2 and 9). 
The top ply 24 of the bed sheet 22 is sewn to the side edges 47 and 48 of 
the mattress pad by stitching 49 (FIG. 4). Also, the side skirts 27 and 28 
are attached to the top ply 24 of the bed sheet by the same stitching 49. 
As illustrated in FIG. 5, each corner of the pad-sheet is formed by a strip 
38 of the elastic band material being folded about and sewn to the 
overlying edges of the skirts of the pad-sheet when in an everted 
configuration. The folded bands 35, 36 are later sewn to the aligned edges 
of the bed sheet and mattress pad so as to cover the end of strip 38 
(FIGS. 5 and 10). 
THE PROCESS OF FORMING THE PAD-SHEET 
As schematically illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, bed sheet material 50 is 
fed from a reel or other supply 51 and is cut to length to form the bed 
sheet 22, and mattress pad material 52 is fed from a similar reel, box or 
other supply 53 and cut to length to form the mattress pad 30. The sheet 
material 50 can be of any commonly used bed sheet material, such as a 
blend of cotton and polyester. Likewise, the mattress pad material 52 
generally will be formed of conventional material such as a fibrous 
filling formed in a layer between a pair of woven sheets. In general, the 
mattress pad 30 will receive length and width stability from the 
relatively unstretchable bed sheet 22. 
The mattress pad material 52 which is drawn from its supply 53 is of 
smaller width than the bed sheet material 50, but both the bed sheet 
material and mattress pad material are cut in approximately equal lengths 
and are placed in overlying relationship (FIG. 7), with the mattress pad 
30 centered beneath the sheet, with the head and foot edges of the bed 
sheet and mattress pad aligned, and with the side skirts 27 and 28 of the 
bed sheet overhanging the side edges 47 and 48 of the mattress pad. The 
mattress pad and bed sheet are then moved along their lengths (FIG. 8) 
through sewing stations where sewing machines 55 and 56, as represented by 
the needles, sew the bed sheet and mattress pad together. Although the 
sewing steps are illustrated in FIG. 8 as if they are being performed 
simultaneously, these steps usually are performed in series so as to avoid 
the requirement of special sewing equipment. Prior to the sewing steps 
along the edges of the mattress pad, the side skirts 27 and 28 of the bed 
sheet are folded back over the middle portion of the bed sheet, so as to 
form folds 57 and 58 that are aligned with the side edges 47 and 48 of the 
mattress pad. The sewing machines 55 and 56 are the type that form 
overedge stitching and which trim the material that is to be sewn so as to 
accurately form the edges that are about to be sewn together. 
As illustrated in FIG. 8A, each fold, such as fold 57 in the bed sheet, is 
aligned with the side edge 47 of the mattress pad, but when the overedge 
stitching 60 is sewn into the aligned edges, the sewing machine cuts the 
fold 57 so that the stitching 49 (FIG. 8B) is formed at the cut edges of 
the top ply 24 of the bed sheet and of the side skirt 27. With this type 
of folding, cutting and stitching, the skirt 27 will be folded back in a 
downward direction (FIG. 4), and the cut edges of the mattress pad, top 
ply of the bed sheet and of the skirt will be hidden from view and a neat 
seam 61 (FIG. 4) will be observed along the sides of the top ply 24 of the 
bed sheet. 
As illustrated in FIG. 9, notches 64, 65, 66 and 67 are formed at the 
corners of the otherwise rectangular bed sheet, with the notches reaching 
through the end portions of the side skirts 27 and 28 and on beyond the 
side seams 61 and 62, and to a short distance into the mattress pad. This 
forms the mattress pad notch 45 that appears at each corner of the 
mattress pad (FIGS. 1, 2 and 9). 
FIG. 10 illustrates the pad-sheet 20 in an inverted configuration. The foot 
portion 25 and head portion 26 of the bed sheet, as well as the foot 
portion 32 and head portion 33 of the mattress pad, are folded to a 90 
degree angle with respect to the top ply of the bed sheet, and the edges 
formed by the notches 64-67 (FIG. 9) are sewn together, as represented by 
seam 69 in FIGS. 5 and 10, by forming a strip 38 of the elastic material 
in a U-shape fold about the edges of the bed sheet and mattress pad and 
sewing through the overlying layers. This causes the foot skirts 25 and 
32, head skirts 26 and 33 and side skirts 27 and 28 to be formed in a 
continuous downwardly extending skirt from the peripheral edges of the top 
plys 24 and 31 of the pad-sheet 20. 
As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and 10 the elastic hems 35 and 36 are then 
sewn to the skirts of the pad-sheet 20, by folding a length of elastic 
band material about the cut edges of the bed sheet and mattress pad and 
sewing through the folds of the elastic band material and the end portions 
of the bed sheet and mattress pad, to form an elastic hem. The elastic 
band material is stretched as it is sewn, and this provides the elasticity 
at the lower portion of the continuous skirt of the bed sheet and enables 
the skirt to be stretched as it is fitted about the mattress, and tends to 
stretch the bed sheet and mattress pad into a conforming shape with 
respect to the mattress. The elastic hems 35 and 36 also extend over the 
end of seam 69 at the corners of the pad-sheet 20. 
While the invention has been described as utilizing a fiber filled mattress 
pad material as the mattress pad, it should be obvious to those skilled in 
the art that the mattress pad material can comprise other materials, 
including foam rubber sheet material, sliver knit, rubber sheet material 
or other waterproof sheet material. Moreover, the mattress pad can be 
formed with a metalized layer as a part of the fiber fill or other sheet 
layer so as to form a heat reflective surface within the mattress pad, for 
the purpose of reflecting body heat and heat from other sources. Moreover, 
it is within the perview of this invention to form the mattress pad 
material of a width equal to the width of the entire bed sheet material, 
so that the side skirts of the pad sheet include both sheet material and 
pad material. 
Although FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate the sheets and pads being cut 
separately and later matched together when they are to be sewn, another 
process for forming the pad-sheet is to advance the sheet material and pad 
material from their supplies into overlying relationship and cut through 
both layers of materials simultaneously along one cut line. With this 
process, the stitching of the layers of materials along the sides of the 
mattress pad material can be done either before or after the layers of 
materials are cut to length. 
Although FIGS. 8, 8A and 8B disclose the procedure for forming an overedge 
stitch at the side edges of the mattress pad which connect the mattress 
pad to the bed sheet, applicant has developed an alternate procedure for 
connecting the materials together. The mattress pad material can be taken 
directly from its supply and an overedge stitch formed at its side edges. 
The mattress pad material and sheet material are then moved continuously 
together and a conventional stitch is sewn through the edge of the 
mattress pad material and through the bed sheet material, which forms a 
continuous supply of the pad sheet material with side skirts of the bed 
sheet extending on opposite sides of the mattress pad. The combined pad 
sheet material is then cut to length, notched and sewn in the manner as 
previously described. 
It should be understood that the just described embodiments merely 
illustrate principles of the invention in a preferred form. Many other 
modifications, additions and deletions may be made thereto without 
departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the 
following claims.