Bunk bed slat cover

Abstract

A cover for hiding slats of an upper bunk is disclosed. The cover may be wrapped around the head and foot slats of the upper bunk or around left and right rails of the upper bunk. The cover is tensioned with a strapping mechanism to hold the bottom side of the cover in a substantially flat configuration. Moreover, an intermediate strap may be strapped around an intermediate slat to further maintain the substantially flat configuration of the bottom side of the cover. Flaps may also be attached to the bottom side of the cover and be traversable between first and second positions to display two or more motifs. The cover serves to conceal the aesthetically displeasing slats and also to provide a protective barrier over the splinters on wooden slats.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cover for hiding slats exposed on an underside of an upper bed of a bunk bed, the cover comprising:
 a sheet defining a first side and a second side, the first side being exposed for viewing by a person lying down on a lower bunk of the bunk bed, the second side facing the slats of the upper bed of the bunk bed;   a plurality of first straps attached to a first end portion of the sheet;   a plurality of second straps attached to a second end portion of the sheet, the first and second straps being removably engagable to each other and adjustable to place tension in the first and second straps and the elongate sheet.   
     
     
         2 . The cover of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a first rigid member extending between two of the first straps, the first rigid member being attached to the first end portion of the elongate sheet for distributing force on the sheet about a width of the first straps; 
 a second rigid member extending between two of the second straps, the second rigid member attached to the second end portion of the elongate sheet for distributing force on the elongate sheet about a width of the second straps. 
 
     
     
         3 . The cover of  claim 1  wherein the first and second rigid members extend from a left edge to a right edge of the sheet. 
     
     
         4 . The cover of  claim 1  wherein the first and second rigid members extend between outermost first straps and outermost second straps. 
     
     
         5 . The cover of  claim 1  wherein the sheet is fabricated from a multi-ply fabric, and the first and second rigid members are embedded between outer plies of the sheet. 
     
     
         6 . The cover of  claim 1  wherein the second straps have buckles for feeding the first straps through the buckles and tensioning the sheet, and the first straps having a fastening system for fixing the tension of the straps and the sheet after the desired tension is achieved. 
     
     
         7 . The cover of  claim 1  wherein the first and second rigid members are stiffer than the sheet. 
     
     
         8 . The cover of  claim 7  wherein the first and second rigid members are fabricated from a plastic material, and the sheet is fabricated from a fabric. 
     
     
         9 . The cover of  claim 1  further comprising a flap extending from the first side of the sheet, the flap being longer than ½ a length of the upper bunk and defining first and second sides, a distal end portion of the flap having a fastener for fastening the distal end portion of the flap to the first side either in a first position exposing a first side of the flap or in a second position exposing a second side of the flap. 
     
     
         10 . The cover of  claim 1  wherein the first side of the sheet has a first and second fasteners which are positioned on top of the upper bunk when the cover is mounted to the upper bunk of the bunk bed, a distal portion of the flap has a fastener and a length of the flap is equal to a distance between a hinge of the flap to the first side of the sheet and one of the first and second fasteners formed on the first side of the sheet. 
     
     
         11 . The cover of  claim 10  wherein a first distance between the hinge of the flap and the first fastener formed on the first side of the sheet is equal to a second distance between the hinge of the flap and the second fastener formed on the first side of the sheet. 
     
     
         12 . The cover of  claim 1  wherein the fastener and the mating fastener are hooks and loops, snaps, buttons or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         13 . A method of mounting a cover to an upper bunk of a bunk bed, the method comprising the steps of:
 wrapping a sheet around a first outer support of the upper bunk and an opposed second outer support of the upper bunk;   adjusting tension of the sheet around the first and second outer supports by engaging first and second straps attached to the opposed distal end portions of the sheet;   securing the first and second straps together to fix the tension in the sheet.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the adjusting step includes the step of feeding first straps through buckles attached to the second straps and securing a fastening system. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step of traversing a flap to a first position and engaging a fastener on a distal end portion of the flap and a first mating fastener on a first side of the sheet wherein the first mating fastener is positioned on top of the upper bunk. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step of traversing the flap to a second position and engaging the fastener on the distal end portion of the flap and a second mating fastener on the first side of the sheet wherein the second mating fastener is positioned on top of the upper bunk. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the first and second outer supports are either left and right rails of the upper bunk or head and foot slats.