Patent Application
20170265537
This disclosure relates to kitchen aprons, and more particularly to fluid blocking and protecting aprons.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Household and kitchen aprons are well known in the art including aprons as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,129,486 that issued Sep. 6, 1938 to Berman. Aprons are intended to protect clothing from accidental splatters, food debris, and various fluids. Many apron users will dry their hands and fingers on apron surfaces during use. Known apron designs utilize cotton, an absorbent material. Cotton aprons absorb fluids and food splatter, protecting a user's clothing and protect a user's footwear by absorbing the fluid and food material before it falls unto the footwear. Cotton aprons protect clothing and user's garments until fluid and other food splatter permeates the apron to an underside.
Known aprons lack an impermeable layer under an outside surface having absorbent properties and a towel ring. Hence there is a need for an apron that includes an absorbent front-facing surface configured for food and fluid absorption and an underside or middle section that is impermeable to fluid and food debris that includes a ring one may drape a towel and a detachable strap for easy removal of a towel ring.
An apron is disclosed that includes a garment configured to cover a portion of a user's body, the garment comprising a first outer layer formed of an absorbent material, a middle layer formed of an impermeable layer, and a back layer, and a towel ring connected to the first outer layer, wherein the towel ring is shaped to receive a towel.
Certain embodiments of the invention include a feature of a forward-facing detachable strap for easy removal of the towel ring.
This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
One or more embodiments will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, where like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the invention, which is limited only by the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the claimed invention.
Referring to
Various embodiments of the body 12 may be different sizes and shapes, such as a larger, approximately rectangular shape to accommodate an adult, or a smaller, substantially oblong shape. In some embodiments, the body 12 can include an upper section 14 and lower section 16.
The upper section 14 can be sized to cover, and in some embodiments, wrap at least partially around, the torso, or upper torso, of the user of the apron 10. The upper section 14 can include a top edge 13 and upper side edges 15. The upper side edges 15 can be substantially straight, or, as illustrated in the exemplary embodiment, concaved or tapered, to provide a better fit for the arms of a user, as is known. The top edge 13 can be curved, to conform to the shape of a user's neck, or it can be substantially straight, as shown in the exemplary embodiments of
The upper section 14 can include a pair of straps 40 configured to adjustably hold apron 10 around a user's neck, such as by tying the straps 40 together. Straps 40 can be positioned along top edge 13 or an upper portion of upper side edges 15. One skilled in the art will understand that apron 10 can be held around a user's neck in many different ways, and can be adjustable to fit many different users. The straps 40 can include any of the materials described above for the body 12, or may include other known strap materials, such as rope, elastic, webbing material, and the like. In some embodiments, the straps 40 can be configured to adjustably hold the apron 10 around a user's neck with buckles, snaps, zippers, clasps, hook/loops, and any other mechanical fastening and adjustment device known in the art. In some embodiments, apron 10 can include a single, contiguous strap that forms a loop to hold apron 10 around a user's neck such as shown in an exemplary embodiment in
The lower section 16 can be sized and shaped in any way to cover, and/or wrap at least partially around a lower portion of a user's body, e.g., a lower torso, a user's waist, and/or legs. The lower section 16 can include a bottom edge 17 and lower side edges 19 positioned between the bottom edge 17 and the upper side edges 15. The edges 17, 19 can be curved, or as shown in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, substantially straight. The lower section 16 can include straps 30 configured to hold apron 10 around a user's torso, such as by tying the straps 30 around the user's waist. The straps 30 can include any of the materials described above for the straps 40 and/or the body 12, and can function similarly to the manner thereof, to adjustably hold the lower section 16 to a lower portion of a user's body.
The upper section 14 and the lower section 16 can include any of the materials described above for body 12, and can include the same or different materials relative to each other. In some embodiments, one of the sections 14, 16 includes a material that absorbs fluid, whereas the other of sections 14, 16 includes a material that repels, or is resistant to absorbing fluid, i.e., impermeable. In some embodiments, the sections 14, 16 include a single integrated piece. In one embodiment, the sections 14, 16 can include a common edge 24.
In some embodiments, the lower section 16 can include pockets 22 such as shown in
In one embodiment, the pockets 22 may be hidden or concealed. As shown in
The disclosure has described certain preferred embodiments and modifications thereto. Further modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the specification. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
