Mattress and sheet attachment assembly

Abstract

A mattress assembly for use on a bed, including a mattress at least partially coverable by one or more sheets, and at least one sheet-attachment assembly associated with the mattress and configured to releasably attach the one or more sheets to the mattress. Each sheet-attachment assembly includes a clamping apparatus adjustable by a user between a first configuration and a second configuration, and an anchor member adapted to engage the one or more sheets. The clamping apparatus is adapted to receive at least a portion of the anchor member and the one or more sheets when in the first configuration, and to clamp the one or more sheets to the anchor member when in the second configuration.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A mattress assembly for use on a bed, comprising: 
 a mattress having an upper surface, a lower surface spaced-apart from the upper surface, and an edge region extending between the upper and lower surfaces, where the mattress is at least partially coverable by one or more sheets; and    at least one sheet-attachment assembly associated with the mattress, and configured to releasably attach the one or more sheets to the mattress, where the at least one sheet-attachment assembly includes 
 a clamping apparatus adjustable by a user between a first configuration and a second configuration, and  
 an anchor member adapted to engage the one or more sheets,  
 where the clamping apparatus is adapted to receive at least a portion of the anchor member and the one or more sheets when in the first configuration, and to clamp the one or more sheets to the anchor member when in the second configuration.  
   
     
     
         2 . The mattress assembly of  claim 1 , where the anchor member is attached to the mattress.  
     
     
         3 . The mattress assembly of  claim 2 , where the mattress includes a handle, and the anchor member is attached to the mattress at the handle.  
     
     
         4 . The mattress assembly of  claim 2 , where the edge region of the mattress defines at least one side corner of the mattress, and where the anchor member is attached to the mattress proximate the side corner.  
     
     
         5 . The mattress assembly of  claim 2 , where the clamping apparatus is not attached to the mattress.  
     
     
         6 . The mattress assembly of  claim 1 , where the clamping apparatus defines an aperture adapted to receive the anchor member and the one or more sheets, and where the aperture is contractible to clamp the one or more sheets to the anchor member by adjusting the clamping apparatus from the first configuration to the second configuration.  
     
     
         7 . The mattress assembly of  claim 6 , where the aperture is expandable to release the one or more sheets by adjusting the clamping apparatus from the second configuration to the first configuration.  
     
     
         8 . The mattress assembly of  claim 7 , where the clamping apparatus includes a housing adapted to define a first portion of the aperture, and an actuator coupled to the housing to define a second portion of the aperture, and 
 where the actuator is selectively movable relative to the housing between a first position in which the clamping apparatus is in the first configuration and the aperture is expanded, and a second position in which the clamping apparatus is in the second configuration and the aperture is contracted.    
     
     
         9 . The mattress assembly of  claim 8 , where the actuator includes one or more locking elements adapted to engage the housing and releasably retain the actuator in the second position.  
     
     
         10 . A mattress assembly for use on a bed with one or more sheets, comprising: 
 a mattress having an upper surface, a lower surface spaced-apart from the upper surface, and an edge region extending between the upper and lower surfaces;    an anchor member mounted on the mattress and disposed to contact a first side of a sheet covering the mattress;    a clamping apparatus configured to engage a second side of the sheet opposite the first side, and to releasably clamp the sheet to the anchor member.    
     
     
         11 . The mattress assembly of  claim 10 , where the clamping apparatus is not mounted on the mattress.  
     
     
         12 . The mattress assembly of  claim 10 , where the anchor member includes a narrowed region and an end region wider than the narrowed region, and where the clamping apparatus is configured to clamp the sheet to the narrowed region when at least a portion of the sheet is positioned to cover the end region.  
     
     
         13 . The mattress assembly of  claim 12 , where the clamping apparatus is configured to substantially enclose the end region and the portion of the sheet.  
     
     
         14 . The mattress assembly of  claim 10 , where the mattress includes a handle, and the anchor member is attached to the mattress at the handle.  
     
     
         15 . The mattress assembly of  claim 10 , where the edge region of the mattress defines at least one side corner of the mattress, and where the anchor member is attached to the mattress proximate the side corner.  
     
     
         16 . The mattress assembly of  claim 10 , where the anchor member is removably mounted on the mattress.  
     
     
         17 . The mattress assembly of  claim 10 , where the clamping apparatus includes a clamping mechanism configured to engage the sheet and clamp it to the anchor member, and a locking mechanism configured to releasably lock the clamping mechanism in clamping engagement with the sheet.  
     
     
         18 . An assembly for removably attaching one or more sheets to a mattress, comprising: 
 an anchor member mountable on the mattress;    a housing adapted to receive at least a portion of the anchor member and at least a portion of the one or more sheets; and    an actuator coupled to the housing and selectively movable, relative to the housing, between a first position to allow the anchor member and sheet to be received in the housing, and a second position to clamp the sheet and the anchor member within the housing.    
     
     
         19 . The assembly of  claim 18 , where the actuator includes one or more locking elements adapted to engage the housing and releasably retain the actuator in the second position.  
     
     
         20 . The assembly of  claim 19 , where the housing includes one or more cavities, and where the one or more locking elements are configured to engage the one or more cavities in a snap-fit arrangement to releasably retain the actuator in the second position.