Abstract:
A mattress and an arrangement for altering a mattress&#39; thickness or firmness, with an outer covering with a perimeter aligned with the perimeter of a mattress to be altered; an inner compressible material held within the covering; and a pocket is sized to accept a mattress insert, and wherein the pocket is attached on at least one side to a mattress.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/337,989 filed May 18, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The subject matter of this application relates to mattresses and mattress covers. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Does not apply. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  shows a side view of a portion of the mattress cover with the expander open. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  shows a side view of the portion of the mattress cover shown in  FIG. 1 , with the expander closed. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0007]      FIG. 1  herein shows an embodiment of a mattress cover, shown generally at  10 , in use with a mattress, shown generally at  12 . A complete mattress configuration often includes a bottom panel  14 , a mattress border  16 , and a center panel  18 , on which rests a quilted top panel  20 . The bottom panel  14  may include an innerspring or non-innerspring support unit, and have a substantially rectangular shape or surface area (not shown) and extend along a floor surface  34 . The bottom panel  14  may also have a perimeter that is defined by the outer edges of the mattress border  16 . The center panel  18  and the quilted top panel  20  may have the same shape as the bottom panel  14  so that the center panel and the quilted top panel can stack on top of the bottom panel  14  without any overhang. The bottom panel  14  and the center panel  18  may both have thicknesses and physical characteristics that are specifically selected based on a manufacturer&#39;s or user&#39;s needs and desires. A quilted top panel  20  may similarly have a thickness and filling that depend on the manufacturer&#39;s needs and desires. The mattress  12  may be permanently covered with traditional upholstery and fabric covers, and may have a permanently attached upper sewn cover or quilted panel  20 . In addition, the bottom panel  14  may have reinforcement boundaries  42  to provide further reinforcement of the mattress structure. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment of the present invention, an expandable portion  22  may be located between the quilted top panel  20  and the center panel  18 , and may be generally incorporated into the mattress cover  10 . The expandable portion  22  may be a generally horizontal portion having a similar rectangular shape as a corresponding bottom panel  14 , having a first, expanded thickness  24  and a second, closed thickness  26 . The expandable portion  22  may be filled with a compressible filling or material, such as a memory foam. Compression of a compressible filling may cause the filling to feel firmer than how the filling or mattress feels prior to compression. Therefore, in some embodiments, when the expandable portion  22  is in the closed position as shown in  FIG. 2 , the mattress  12  may feel firmer to a user than when the expandable portion  22  is in the expandable position, shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0009]    The expandable portion  22  may include an outer covering  44  hat holds the compressible filling or material. The expandable portion may also have a perimeter that is substantially aligned or the same as the perimeter of the bottom panel  14 , so that the expandable portion  22  may be attachable to such a mattress  12  without any overhang of the center panel  18  or the expandable portion  22 . 
         [0010]    The expandable portion  22  may be put into a closed position, as shown in  FIG. 2 , with the use of a compression mechanism such as an expander zipper  28 . The expander zipper  28  may include a first and second set of teeth  30 ,  32  that are attached around the circumference (not shown) of the mattress cover  10 . The manner of attachment of the sets of teeth  30 ,  32  may include sewn attachments or adhesive attachments, for examples. 
         [0011]    In another embodiment, an insertion layer  36  may be included on top of or underneath the expandable portion  22 .  FIGS. 1 and 2  show the insertion layer  36  located on top of the expandable portion  22 . The insertion layer  36  includes one or more user-accessible pockets  38 . The pocket  38  may be sized to accept a mattress insert (not shown). A mattress insert may be, for example, a layer of memory foam. The pocket  38  may be generally rectangular in shape, and may have the same rectangular shape as the bottom panel  14 . The pocket  38  may also be accessible through an opening, and the opening may be opened or closed with the use of an insertion layer zipper  40 . The pocket  38  and opening or zipper  40  allows a user to insert or remove one or more additional mattress layer within the mattress  12 . The insertion later zipper  40  may extend along at least one of the four sides of the insertion layer  36  to allow access into the insertion layer pocket  38 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the insertion layer  36  may be generally included within a mattress cover  10 , and may also be included with the expandable portion  22 . 
         [0012]    It will be appreciated that the invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment that has been described, and that variations may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims, as interpreted in accordance with principles of prevailing law, including the doctrine of equivalents or any other principle that enlarges the enforceable scope of a claim beyond its literal scope. Unless the context indicates otherwise, a reference in a claim to the number of instances of an element, be it a reference to one instance or more than one instance, requires at least the stated number of instances of the element but is not intended to exclude from the scope of the claim a structure or method having more instances of that element than stated. The word “comprise” or a derivative thereof, when used in a claim, is used in a nonexclusive sense that is not intended to exclude the presence of other elements or steps in a claimed structure or method.