Abstract:
A duvet sleeve for covering and securing a duvet. The duvet sleeve is generally rectangular and includes two openings on opposite sides of the duvet sleeve. The presence of two openings instead of the typical one opening allows one person to change the duvet inside the duvet sleeve.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention is in the general field of duvets, and more specifically is in the field of duvet covers for housing and securing duvets. 
   2. Background Information 
   A duvet sleeve is a type of bed linen in which a duvet, such as a quilt, a comforter, a blanket or the like is placed. Once placed inside the duvet cover, the duvet is placed on top of a bed typically to add warmth and comfort to the user of the bed. 
   The duvet enclosed within the duvet cover needs to be periodically removed from the duvet cover, so that the duvet and/or the duvet cover can be cleaned. Part of the purpose of the duvet cover is to protect a duvet such as a down comforter so that it needs to be washed less frequently. The typical duvet cover has one opening on one edge of its four corners into which the duvet is stuffed in order to insert the duvet into the duvet cover. To spread the duvet out evenly inside the rectangular duvet cover, one corner of the duvet is inserted into each of the four corners of the duvet cover, and then the four corners are pulled tight. Inserting the duvet into a duvet cover is a very cumbersome project for one person, and is much more easily performed with two people. With two people, the four corners of the duvet are inserted into the four corners of the duvet cover, and then the two people each hold one corner in each of their two hands, and pull and shake the duvet and duvet cover until the duvet is evenly distributed inside the duvet cover, with one corner of the duvet in each of the four corners of the duvet sleeve. The problem with a prior art duvet cover is that it is very difficult for one person to reinsert the duvet into the duvet cover, and cause it to be evenly distributed inside the duvet cover. 
   For this reason, it is a goal of the present invention to provide a dual side opening duvet sleeve design that facilitates placement of the duvet into the duvet sleeve by one person. 
   Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   These and other objects are accomplished by the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention. The invention is referred to as a side opening duvet sleeve, whereas the single opening device of the prior art is referred to as a duvet cover, for clarity. The side opening duvet sleeve is designed for covering, securing and holding a duvet on a bed. The duvet can be a comforter, a quilt, a blanket or similar duvets. The side opening duvet sleeve of the invention is formed from two panels that are joined together. The panels are generally rectangular and are joined on certain edges, and certain sections of the edges are not joined together, leaving an opening on two sides of the duvet sleeve, usually on two opposite sides. 
   Each of the rectangular panels has an upper side and a lower side, and four edges. Being a rectangle, two of the edges form opposing edges, and the other two edges form a second pair of opposing edges. The edges are a top edge opposite a bottom edge, and a right edge opposite a left edge. 
   The duvet sleeve is constructed with two panels adjacent to each other, with the lower side of the first panel adjacent to the upper side of the second panel. The two panels adjacent to each other form a duvet sleeve interior, into which the duvet is inserted or removed. With the first and second panels positioned adjacent to each other, a pair of opposing edges of the first panel are joined with the corresponding opposing edges of the second panel. For instance, the top and bottom edges of the first panel may be joined to the top and bottom edges of the second panel. In another configuration the left and right edges of the first panel may be joined with the left and right edges of the second panel. 
   The second pair of opposite edges are at least partially unattached to the second opposite edges of the second panel. This forms a first and a second side opening in the opposing edges between the first and second panels. The side openings are closeable by a releasable mechanism, such as snaps or hook and loop fasteners, or by the use of zippers, or by the use of buttons. It is through the two side openings of the invention that the duvet is inserted or removed from the duvet sleeve interior. 
   The side opening duvet sleeve thus provides two openings for access to the duvet sleeve interior, preferably on opposite sides of the duvet sleeve from each other. The side openings are releasably closeable, such as by snaps, zippers, buttons, ties or hook and loop. The invention requires two side openings, which may also be on adjacent edges, such as on the left side and on the bottom side. 
   The side openings may be on the left and right edges, or alternatively they may be on the top and bottom edge. The width of the side openings may be variable, but one design that is successful is if the side openings take up approximately ⅓ or less of the edge in which it is formed. 
   The configuration of the two side openings on opposite edges of the duvet sleeve allows a duvet to be inserted or removed by one person. This procedure is very difficult for one person to do with the prior art duvet cover, which contains only one access opening on any side of the duvet cover. 
   The purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
   Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description wherein I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive in nature. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention showing a snap closure. 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention showing a hook and loop type closure. 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention with one corner of a duvet positioned. 
       FIG. 6  is a top view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention with two corners of a duvet positioned. 
       FIG. 7  is a top view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention with three corners of a duvet positioned. 
       FIG. 8  is a top view of the side opening duvet sleeve of the invention with all four corners of a duvet in position. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. 
   One preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-8 .  FIG. 1  shows the duvet sleeve  10  of the invention, which includes a first side opening  32  and a second side opening  34 . The duvet sleeve  10  of the invention includes a first panel  12  and a second panel  14  that are joined along some, but not all of their edges. Stitching  40  is shown in  FIG. 1  to indicate that the first panel  12  and second panel  14  are joined together, but such stitching is only representative of the areas in which the edges of this version of the duvet sleeve  10  are joined together. 
   The first panel  12  includes an upper side  16  and a lower side  18 . The second panel  14  similarly includes an upper side  20  and a lower side  22 . Both the first and second panels  12 ,  14  have a bottom edge  24 , a top edge  26 , a left edge  28  and a right edge  30 . The edges of the two panels are completely joined along one pair of opposing edges. In  FIG. 1 , these opposite edges are the bottom edges  24  and the top edges  26 . In other configurations, the completely joined edges could be left edges  28  and right edges  30 . Other possible configurations could also include side openings on adjacent edges, such as the left and the bottom edge. 
     FIGS. 2 and 3  show possible ways to seal the side openings, including snaps  36  and hook and loop closures  38 . Other means of closures could include use of buttons, ties, zippers, or other conventional closure means. 
   In order to understand the advantage of inserting a duvet into a duvet sleeve of the invention, as opposed to a single opening duvet cover of the prior art, one needs to first understand how a duvet is inserted into a duvet cover in the prior art. 
   In a duvet cover of the prior art, an opening is provided on one side and one side only of the four edges of the duvet sleeve. Through this opening, the duvet is either inserted or removed. The hard part in inserting a duvet inside the duvet cover and having all four corners of the duvet extend to the boundaries of the four corners of the duvet cover. This is achieved in a couple of different ways. When two people are available, the duvet is inserted into the duvet cover enough so that one corner of the duvet is placed in one corner of the duvet cover. Then one person pinches the duvet cover from the outside to secure the duvet corner in place. Each of the duvet corners are positioned inside the corners of the duvet cover, and held in place by one of the four hands of two people. Once all four corners are thus secured, the two people can hold the duvet by the four corners and by pulling the duvet cover tight, the wrinkles in the duvet itself are straightened out, and the duvet is satisfactorily positioned inside the duvet cover. 
   This is much more difficult to do when only one person is trying to change the duvet from inside a duvet cover. One way for one person to position a duvet inside a duvet cover is to first turn the duvet cover inside out. Then each of the four corners of the duvet are pinned in place, such as with a safety pin, with the pin being placed either on the inside or the outside of the duvet cover. Once the four corners are pinned in place in the appropriate position of the duvet cover, then the duvet cover with its attached duvet can gradually be turned right side out. This is a cumbersome project and a duvet that facilitates easier installation is needed. 
   To best understand how a duvet is inserted into the duvet sleeve  10  of the invention, the four corners of the duvet sleeve  10  are numbered  42 ,  44 ,  46  and  48 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , a duvet  50  is folded in half lengthwise as shown, for insertion into the duvet sleeve. The folded duvet  50  is inserted into a side opening  32  or  34  of the duvet sleeve of the invention. Once inside the duvet sleeve  10 , the duvet  50  is positioned so that one corner of the duvet is positioned in a corner of the duvet sleeve  10  as shown in  FIG. 5 . In this figure the corner of the duvet  50  is positioned in the duvet sleeve corner  42 . 
   The next step is shown in  FIG. 6  in which another corner of the duvet  50  is positioned inside another corner of the duvet sleeve  10 , corner  44 . In this figure, the duvet  50  is positioned in corners  42  and  44 . There is generally enough friction between the duvet  50  and the inside portion of the duvet sleeve  10  in order to immobilize the duvet  50  in the corner  42 , while corner  44  is being placed. 
     FIGS. 7 and 8  show two more steps in which corners  48  in  FIG. 7  and corner  46  in  FIG. 8  are positioned. Generally, the previously positioned corners of the duvet  50  would stay in place, but if one of them had been dislodged, a person could go back and straighten it once all four corners had been generally positioned. Positioning a duvet  50  inside a duvet sleeve  10  in this matter is only possible because a duvet can be accessed from either side through the side openings  32  or  34 . With these two side openings available for positioning a duvet, it becomes an extremely simple process, and one that one person can easily do without help. Without the two access positions of the invention, it is a much more difficult operation. 
   While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.