Fitted Sheet Folding Aid

The present invention is compact and stores easily in the home, is not bulky and does not consume floor space. Existing units are targeted to commercial hotel/hospital applications and are heavy and complex. The present invention is an easily manufactured, simple device which stores compactly, and is intuitive to use. The fitted sheet folding aid has a target audience of persons who welcome the ease of a simple device to aid in folding of freshly laundered fitted sheets which can now be easily folded to be comparable in size to the companion flat sheet of the sheet set when put into storage. The present invention components may be simply constructed using thickened sheet metal for the main base element and clamping elements. Threaded components are constructed of metal. Alternatively, the main base element may be constructed of an extruded thermoplastic material, with machining to provision of the angular guide tubes and clamping means. The pair of flexible rod portions are preferably made of extruded fiberglass, and the ball ends atop the rod portions are preferably made of hardwood with a smooth finish coat, polished hollow metal spheres, or smooth plastic. Clamping surfaces are provided with a self-adhesive rubberized sheet layer, to enhance clamping effectiveness and clamped surface scratch/scuff protection. Alternate embodiments of the device which use a tubular metallic framework, or removable weighted support column can be constructed using common tubular household product manufacturing methods.

A main benefit of the present invention is in its intuitive function in helping the operator to hold the fitted sheet while the folding operation is being done. Another benefit of the present invention is that it is compact and is attachable to several different surfaces. A further benefit of the present invention is that it is simple and easily manufactured. Another benefit of the present invention is that it will adapt to all sizes of fitted bed sheets. Simplicity of operation by a single operator and intuitive use is a primary unique feature of the present invention. The present invention is unique in providing a compact and simple construction of a fitted sheet folding aid. Another unique feature of the sheet folding aid is its ability to accommodate any size of fitted bed sheets in common use today. The present invention is further unique in the construction which provides self-storage. A unique feature of the folding aid is in its adaptability of attachment to a multiplicity of common horizontal surfaces. An additional unique feature of the fitted sheet folding aid is its ability to be constructed as a totally freestanding unit, and further, the folding aid can be constructed as a door mounted unit which hangs on a door

In the primary version of the present invention, the main baseelement is constructed to resemble an elongated unequal leg C-Channel and could be made of thickened sheet metal or strong plastic.

The clamping elementsare provided in a pair and are flexibly connected to the main basevertical shoulder. The clamping platespass through slots provided in the main basevertical shoulder. Clamping platesare preferably made of thickened sheet metal and have one cushioned facewhich is positioned to bear downwardly upon on the chosen household mounting surface. Clamping knobsare threaded knobs which are threaded into and captured via companion threaded components that are located on the uppermost face of the main base. The clamping knobhandle portion is preferably spherical wood but can also be made of plastic. The clamping knobthreaded portion communicates with the clamping platesand provides clamping force when turned to bear upon the clamping plates. A pair of angular guide tubesare mounted on the inward portion of the main basevertical shoulder. The pair of angular guide tubesare at opposing angularity to one another and are affixed to the outermost extremity of the main basevertical shoulder. The angular guide tubesare open at their uppermost portion and closed off at the lowermost portion.

A pair of flexible rodsof a fixed length are singularly insertable into the angular guide tubes. The guide tubesare sized to allow insertion of the flexible rods. The flexible rods, when assembled into the angular guide tubesupon the main basewill appear similar to a common rabbit ears television antenna array. The ball endsare singularly and permanently attached the free end of each rod. The ball endscan be constructed of smooth wood, metal or plastic. The ball endsserve to nest the pockets of the fitted sheet during operation of the sheet folding aid and are not merely ornamental. The flexible rodsincluding attached ball endscan be nested together and stored in the space provided between the main baseinward vertical face and the pair of angular guide tubes. The guide tubesare positioned a short distance from the main baseinside vertical face to allow for this storage of the flexible rod pairwhen the user is finished with the sheet folding operations. A cushioned inner faceis attached to the underside of the main baseuppermost leg portion to provide anti scratch protection for the preferred mounting surface and adds additional traction to the clampingfunction while the sheet folding aid is in use.

A secondary embodiment of the present device utilizes a tubular type frameworkwhich can be removably attached to a common household interior passage doorthrough use of hanging strapsattached to the tubular frameworkuppermost portion. In this secondary embodiment, the main baseis captured and is guided by the operator through use of a vertical pair of parallel base plate travel rails. Travel railsare integrally attached to the door hanging tubular framework, and the main basefollows a vertical sliding movement along the travel rails. Detents or stops as is known in the art control main basevertical travel and return extents. Flexible rodsare mounted to the outward face of the main baseand permit the rods to pivot atop the outward face of the main base. At the uppermost ball end, the flexible rodsare captured within rod travel guidesaffixed onto the door hanging tubular framework.

In yet a further adaptation of the present invention, a set of removable legsare provided, and are attachable onto the main base, so the sheet folding aid may serve as a free standing unit where desired. The removable legsare sized to be securely affixed onto the main basevia the clamping elements, and when affixed will position the main baseat approximately standard countertop height. Floor contact foot portions of the legshave substantial additional weight added during construction, to allow for stability in use.

In the primary embodiment of the present invention, main baseis dimensionally constructed and presented as an unequal leg c-channel to enable attachability to several household tabletop or countertop type surfaces. The main basehas three main faces: the upper face, which is a wide portion; the vertical shoulder, which is of a height to accommodate the variety of thicknesses of many household countertop or tabletop surfaces; and the bottom face, which is shorter in width to allow for clamping onto the underside of the overhang of common countertops atop cabinetry and the like. A rubberized cushion padis attached to the underside of the main baseupper face and prevents scratches on the mounting countertop surface as well as additional traction to prevent excessive movement during operation. A pair of clamping elementshold the main baseonto the countertop. The operator utilizes the turning of a pair of threaded clamping knobs, which have threaded portions that press upon the clamping platesand secure the main baseto the countertop. A pair of flexible rodsare inserted into a pair of companion angular guide tubes. The guide tubesare affixed to and are part of the main baseand allow the pair of flexible rodsto angularly project and reside vertically relative to the countertop mounting surface. The flexible rodsare removeable from the angular guide tubesand can be stored within the main base. Each flexible rodhas a spherical elementsecurely attached to its free end.

The fitted sheet folding aid will assist those persons who wish to have freshly laundered fitted bedsheets neatly folded to match proportions of folded flat bedsheets being part of the set. To use the folding aid, a person would place the main baseupon the edge portion of a countertop, table, or ironing board, although other horizontal surfaces can be used as well. A countertop or a tabletop is common within a laundry area. The main baseis pushed up against the edge of the countertop until it reaches the stopping point established by the internal angular guide tubes. The angular guide tubesare positioned internally to the main baseand provide a sufficient channel between the edge of the countertop and the vertical face of the main basefor subsequent rod storage. Next, the operator will thread down the two clamping knobswhich will depress onto the clamping plates, the platescontact the upper surface of the countertop, and securely hold the main baseonto the countertop. The operator will then insert the pair of flexible rodsinto their respective angular guide tubes, and fully seat the rodsuntil stop. The operator will now have a device attached to the countertop which resembles the ‘rabbit ear’ television antenna array, with the pair of flexible rodsnow projecting angularly above the countertop, attached to the main base. Operator will bring the laundry basket containing the fresh laundry and place the basket directly below the sheet folding aid. The operator now places any choice of one of the corner pockets of the fitted sheet onto the first ball end, with the sewn inner pocket seam of the sheet facing outwardly, towards the operator. The opposing sheet pocket is placed upon the second ball end, also with the inner pocket seam facing outwardly towards the operator. Next, the nearest of the remaining pockets of the sheet is placed directly atop the first ball end, with its inner sewn pocket seam facing inwardly, comprising the first sheet pocket pair. The last remaining sheet pocket is now placed atop the second rodand its ball end, this last sheet pocket is also placed atop this second rodball endwith the sewn inner pocket facing inwardly, comprising the second sheet pocket pair. Operator now gathers the pair of sheet pockets from either of the two pocket pairs and places one of the pairs directly atop the ball endof the opposing pocket pair, bringing all four sheet pocket corners together, and all four pocket corners now residing atop a singular ball end, with all corner pockets gathered neatly together. At this time, operator may lift off and remove the fitted sheet from the ball endor may choose to pull down on the loose edges of the hanging sheet to make a loose hem type arrangement to allow for ease in folding the sheet lengthwise into one-third portions before removal from the rodand ball end. The final folds are done atop the countertop or tabletop, to match the companion flat sheet folded proportions as desired. Flexible rodpair is removed from the angular guide tubesand stowed to the main base. The flexible rodsremain there until next use is desired. Main basewith stowed flexible rodscan now be removed to storage by unclamping from the countertop or may be left in place upon the countertop or other surface, at the operator's discretion.