U.S. patent application number 14/336635 was filed with the patent office on 2015-01-22 for windproof beach blankets and towels.
The applicant listed for this patent is Roger Guillaume. Invention is credited to Roger Guillaume.
Application Number | 20150020310 14/336635 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52342381 |
Filed Date | 2015-01-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150020310 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Guillaume; Roger |
January 22, 2015 |
Windproof beach blankets and towels
Abstract
A windproof beach blanket provides built-in weights at the
corners and in the centers of the long edge seams. The weights are
secured in pockets in the edges and corners of the blanket 10 using
hook-and-loop fastener strips 13, so that they may be removed when
the blanket 10 is laundered. The invention may be applied to
blankets, beach towels, or any other fabric item which must lay
flat and be secured against the wind.
Inventors: |
Guillaume; Roger;
(Pensacola, FL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Guillaume; Roger |
Pensacola |
FL |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52342381 |
Appl. No.: |
14/336635 |
Filed: |
July 21, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61856134 |
Jul 19, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/417 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 9/062 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/417 |
International
Class: |
A47G 9/06 20060101
A47G009/06 |
Claims
1. A weighted fabric item comprising a fabric sheet; said fabric
sheet having disposed about its perimeter a plurality of corner
pockets and a plurality of side pockets; each of said plurality of
corner pockets being contoured to complementarily accept one of a
plurality of corner weights; each of said corner weights being of a
solid nongranular material; each of said plurality of side pockets
being contoured to complementarily accept one of a plurality of
side weights; each of said plurality of corner pockets and each of
said plurality of side pockets having a contoured closure affixed
about its outer edge relative to said fabric sheet.
2. The weighted fabric item of claim 1 wherein said fabric sheet is
rectangular in footprint; wherein said plurality of corner pockets
is four in number; and wherein each of said plurality of corner
pockets and each of said plurality of corner weights is configured
in a ninety degree v-shape.
3. The weighted fabric item of claim 2 wherein each of said
plurality of corner weights and each of said plurality of corner
pockets is bar shaped, one half inch in diameter, and six inches in
length in both axial dimensions.
4. The weighted fabric item of claim 2 wherein each of said
plurality of side weights and each of said plurality of side
pockets is bar shaped, one half inch in diameter, and six inches in
length.
5. The weighted fabric item of claim 3 wherein each of said
plurality of side weights and each of said plurality of side
pockets is bar shaped, one half inch in diameter, and six inches in
length.
6. The weighted fabric item of claim 1 wherein said closure is a
hook and loop fastener.
7. The weighted fabric item of claim 2 wherein said closure is a
hook and loop fastener.
8. The weighted fabric item of claim 3 wherein said closure is a
hook and loop fastener.
9. The weighted fabric item of claim 4 wherein said closure is a
hook and loop fastener.
10. The weighted fabric item of claim 5 wherein said closure is a
hook and loop fastener.
11. The weighted fabric item of claim 1 wherein said fabric sheet
is made of an absorbent material.
12. The weighted fabric item of claim 1 wherein said fabric sheet
is made of a non-absorbent material.
13. The weighted fabric item of claim 1 wherein said fabric sheet
is made of an impervious material.
14. The weighted fabric item of claim 1 wherein said fabric item is
selected from the group of blankets and beach towels.
15. The weighted fabric item of claim 5 wherein said fabric sheet
is made of an absorbent material.
16. The weighted fabric item of claim 5 wherein said fabric sheet
is made of a non-absorbent material.
17. The weighted fabric item of claim 5 wherein said fabric sheet
is made of an impervious material.
18. The weighted fabric item of claim 5 wherein said fabric item is
selected from the group of blankets and beach towels.
19. The weighted fabric item of claim 17 wherein said closure is a
hook and loop fastener.
20. The weighted fabric item of claim 18 wherein said closure is a
hook and loop fastener.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/856134 filed Jul. 19, 2013, which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable
PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT
[0003] Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM
LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX
[0004] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The invention relates generally to beach and swimming pool
accessories and in particular to a windproof beach blanket or
towel. Anyone who has spent a day at the beach or an outdoor
swimming pool is familiar with the problem of beach blankets and
towels being blown around by the wind. Using personal items, such
as a cooler or a bottle of suntan lotion, to weight down the
corners of the blanket or towel is an incomplete and inconvenient
solution at best. A windproof beach blanket or towel, with built-in
weights at the corners and in the centers of the long edge seams,
would solve this problem conveniently. In particular a blanket or
towel with weights which are secured in the edges and corners of
the blanket using hook-and-loop fastener strips, so that they may
be removed when the blanket is laundered would be ideal. The design
may be used for blankets, beach towels, or any other fabric item
which must lay flat and be secured against the wind.
[0006] In the prior art, U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
US2010/0017960 by Blaauboer ("Blaauboer") teaches a weighted beach
cover of blanket that provides weights in pockets about the
perimeter. Blaauboer is notably distinguished from the present
invention by its absence of closures of any kind for the weighted
pockets, where the present invention provides hook-and-loop
fastener closures by which the perimeter weights are retained.
Further, Blaaboer is limited in its disclosure to absorbent
materials, whereas the present invention contemplates the
advantageous use of non-absorbent materials, as in commonly used
towels and blankets, which may be quickly dried for transport to
and from a beach setting, as well as impervious materials, which
serve to protect the user and the user's items from wet ground.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, the invention is preferably directed to a
windproof beach blanket or towel, with built-in weights at the
corners and in the centers of the long edge seams. The weights are
secured in pockets in the edges and corners of the blanket using
hook-and-loop fastener strips, so that they may be removed when the
blanket is laundered. The design may be used for blankets, beach
towels, or any other fabric item which must lay flat and be secured
against the wind.
[0008] Additional features and advantages of the invention will be
set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent
from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
invention. The foregoing general description and the following
detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended
to provide further explanation of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0009] The accompanying drawing is included to provide a further
understanding of the invention and is incorporated into and
constitutes a part of the specification. It illustrates one
embodiment of the invention and, together with the description,
serves to explain the principles of the invention.
[0010] The FIGURE shows a top transparency view of the first
exemplary embodiment, displaying the blanket 10, the corner weights
11, the side weights 12, the hook-and-loop fastener strips 13, the
corner pockets 14, and the side pockets 15.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Referring now to the invention in more detail, the invention
is directed to a windproof beach blanket, with built-in weights at
the corners and in the centers of the long edge seams. The weights
are secured in pockets in the edges and corners of the blanket 10
using hook-and-loop fastener strips 13, so that they may be removed
when the blanket 10 is laundered. The invention may be applied to
blankets, beach towels, or any other fabric item which must lay
flat and be secured against the wind; the Applicant refers to these
items generically as fabric items, with the generic analog of the
blanket 10 being termed a fabric sheet. A generic fabric sheet may,
but need not be rectangular in footprint, thereby necessarily
having four 90.degree. corners and four sides. In this
configuration, four corner pockets 14 and four corner weights 11
are provided, and two side pockets 15 and two side weights 12 may
be provided along the long edges only, or different numbers of side
weights may be provided on the long and short edges, depending upon
user preference and upon the length and relative proportion of the
edges.
[0012] The corner weights 11 are preferably V-shaped with each arm
preferably six inches in length and one-half inch in diameter, and
the arms 90.degree. apart. The side weights 12 are preferably bar
shaped, six inches in length and one-half inch in diameter. Each of
the weights is preferably one-eighth inch thick with an oval
cross-section. The first exemplary embodiment features one corner
weight 11 at each of its four corners, and one side weight 12 at
the center of each of its two long edge seams, for a total of four
corner weights 11 and two side weights 12. The blanket or towel is
preferably sixty inches long and thirty inches wide. A blanket or
towel to be shared by more than one person is also contemplated
that is sixty inches long and seventy inches wide. Beach blankets
and beach towels of several different sizes are contemplated. More
or fewer weights are also contemplated for the different sizes.
[0013] Each of the corner weights 11 is secured in a contoured
corner pocket 14 with stitched inner seams, and outer edge closures
which are preferably secured with hook and loop fastener strips 13
or similar fasteners. Similarly, each of the side weights 12 is
secured in a contoured side pocket 15 with stitched inner seams,
and outer edge closures which are preferably secured with hook and
loop fastener strips 13 or similar fasteners.
[0014] To use the first exemplary embodiment, the user spreads out
the blanket 10 on the ground. The user then inserts a corner weight
11 in each corner pocket 14, and a side weight 12 in each side
pocket 15, closing each pocket with the hook and loop fastener
strips 13 after a weight is inserted.
[0015] The blanket 10 is preferably manufactured from a flexible,
durable material that is easily laundered, such as cotton or a
cotton-rayon blend, though nonabsorbent materials such as nylon or
water impervious materials such as vinyl are also contemplated. The
corner weights 11 and side weights 12 are preferably manufactured
from a rigid, durable material of substantial mass that is
corrosion resistant, such as stainless steel or aluminum. The
hook-and-loop fastener strips 13 are preferably manufactured from a
flexible, durable material such as plastic or nylon.
[0016] Components, component sizes, and materials listed above are
preferable, but artisans will recognize that alternate components
and materials could be selected without altering the scope of the
invention.
[0017] While the foregoing written description of the invention
enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is presently
considered to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill in
the art will understand and appreciate the existence of variations,
combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method,
and examples herein. The invention should, therefore, not be
limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples,
but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of
the invention.
* * * * *