Patent Application
20230240387
The present invention relates generally to towel wraps.
There are occasions when an individual does not have a separate cover-up garment available where it would be useful to be able to employ a towel, such as a beach towel, as a cover-up garment. Also, there are occasions, such as at the beach, when it would be desirable not to have to carry both a beach towel and a cover-up garment. However, it is problematic to use a conventional towel, such as a beach towel, as a cover-up garment, because it is difficult to hold a conventional towel in place on an individual to protect that individual’s shoulders and upper torso from the sun or other elements.
According to a first broad aspect, the present invention provides towel wrap comprising: a substantially rectangular towel body comprising one or more fabric materials and having an inner side, an outer side, two long sides and two short sides; an upper hem on the inner side and outer side of the towel body along a first long side of the two long sides of the towel body, the upper hem comprising: a central portion, a first exterior portion and a second exterior portion, the first exterior portion and the second exterior portion being on either side of the central portion; a first neck fastener component and a second neck fastener component for fastening together so that the central portion of the upper hem forms a neck opening when the upper hem of the towel body encircles the neck of a human body, the first neck fastener component being located on the upper hem on the outer side of the towel body and the second neck fastener component being located on the upper hem on the inner side of the towel body, the first neck fastener component being located at a first end of the central portion of the upper hem and the second neck fastener component being located at a second end of the central portion; a first chest fastener component mounted on the first exterior portion of the upper hem; and a second chest fastener component mounted on the second exterior portion of the upper hem, wherein the towel wrap is configured so that when the towel body is draped on the back of the human body with the inner side of the towel body facing the human body, the upper hem of the towel body encircles the neck of the human body, and the first neck fastener component and second neck fastener component are fastened together or the first exterior portion and the second exterior portion of the upper hem are draped over the chest of the human body and the first chest fastener component and the second chest fastener component are fastened together, the towel wrap is held in place on the human body and covers up at least a majority of the shoulders and at least part of the torso of the human body.
According to a second broad aspect, the present invention provides a towel wrap comprising: a substantially rectangular towel body comprising one or more fabric materials and having an inner side, an outer side, two long sides and two short sides; an upper hem on the inner side and outer side of the towel body along a first long side of the two long sides of the towel body, the upper hem comprising: a central portion, a first exterior portion and a second exterior portion, the first exterior portion and the second exterior portion being on either side of the central portion; a first neck fastener component and a second neck fastener component for fastening together so that the central portion of the upper hem forms a neck opening when the upper hem of the towel body encircles the neck of a human body, the first neck fastener component being located on the upper hem on the outer side of the towel body and the second neck fastener component being located on the upper hem on the inner side of the towel body, the first neck fastener component being located at a first end of the central portion of the upper hem and the second neck fastener component being located at a second end of the central portion, wherein the towel wrap is configured so that when the towel body is draped on the back of the human body with the inner side of the towel body facing the human body, the upper hem of the towel body encircles the neck of the human body, and the first neck fastener component and second neck fastener component are fastened together, the towel wrap is held in place on the human body and covers up at least a majority of the shoulders and at least part of the torso of the human body.
According to a third broad aspect, the present invention provides a towel wrap comprising: a substantially rectangular towel body comprising one or more fabric materials and having an inner side, an outer side, two long sides and two short sides; an upper hem on the inner side and outer side of the towel body along a first long side of the two long sides of the towel body, the upper hem comprising: a central portion, a first exterior portion and a second exterior portion, the first exterior portion and the second exterior portion being on either side of the central portion; a first chest fastener component mounted on the first exterior portion of the upper hem; and a second chest fastener component mounted on the second exterior portion of the upper hem, wherein the towel wrap is configured so that when the towel body is draped on the back of the human body with the inner side of the towel body facing the human body, the upper hem of the towel body encircles the neck of the human body, and the first chest fastener component and the second chest fastener component are fastened together, the towel wrap is held in place on the human body and covers up at least a majority of the shoulders and at least part of the torso of the human body.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention.
Where the definition of terms departs from the commonly used meaning of the term, applicant intends to utilize the definitions provided below, unless specifically indicated.
It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of any subject matter claimed. In this application, the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise. It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, the use of “or” means “and/or” unless stated otherwise. Furthermore, use of the term “including” as well as other forms, such as “include”, “includes,” and “included,” is not limiting.
For purposes of the present invention, the term “comprising”, the term “having”, the term “including,” and variations of these words are intended to be open-ended and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
For purposes of the present invention, directional terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “above,” “below,” “left,” “right,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “up,” “down,” etc., are used merely for convenience in describing the various embodiments of the present invention. The embodiments of the present invention may be oriented in various ways. For example, the diagrams, apparatuses, etc., shown in the drawing figures may be flipped over, rotated by 90° in any direction, reversed, etc.
For purposes of the present invention, a value or property is “based” on a particular value, property, the satisfaction of a condition, or other factor, if that value is derived by performing a mathematical calculation or logical decision using that value, property or other factor.
For purposes of the present invention, the term “fastener” refers to any type of fastener. Examples of fasteners that may be useful in various embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to snap fasteners, zippers, buttons and buttonholes, button and loops, hook-and-loop fasteners (such as Velcro® brand fasteners), etc.
For purposes of the present invention, the term “fastener component” refers to a component of a fastener. A fastener component may include sub-components. For example, a fastener such as a zipper may include two sets of teeth as fastener components. In addition, one of the sets of teeth may include a slider slidably mounted thereon used to open and close the zipper. In such a case, the combination of one of the set of teeth and slider may be considered a fastener component. Other examples of fastener components include but are not limited to a snap fastener, a button, a buttonhole, a strip of hooks for a hook-and-loop fastener, a strip of loops for a hook-and-loop fastener, etc.
For purposes of the present invention, the term “majority” refers to greater than 50%.
For purposes of the present invention, the term “substantially rectangular in shape” refers to an object, such as a towel, that is generally in the shape of a rectangle. An object that is substantially rectangular in shape may have rounded corners, sides that includes indentions, etc. Examples of items that are generally rectangular in shape include objects such as bath towels, beach towels, etc.
For purposes of the present invention, the term “torso” refers to the human body apart from the head, neck, arms, and legs.
For purposes of the present invention, it should be noted that to provide a more concise description, some of the quantitative expressions given herein are not qualified with the term “about.” It is understood that whether the term “about” is used explicitly or not, every quantity given herein is meant to refer to the actual given value, and it is also meant to refer to the approximation to such given value that would reasonably be inferred based on the ordinary skill in the art, including approximations due to the experimental and/or measurement conditions for such given value.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and the scope of the invention.
In one embodiment the present invention provides a towel wrap with a large towel area that can be used by individual to dry himself or herself, while also being able to be used as a cover-up. By including one or more fasteners, the towel wrap may be “fitted” to an individual allowing the towel wrap to be held in place on the individual as cover-up. In some embodiments of the present invention several fasteners may be included as part of the towel wrap to allow the towel wrap to fit individuals of various sizes.
Male snap fastener component 140 and female snap fastener component 212 together form snap fastener type neck fastener. Zipper teeth set 144, zipper, teeth set 148, slider 160 and puller 162 together form a zipper type chest fastener.
In various embodiments of the present invention the towel body made be made of any type of fabric material that can be used to make a towel and may be made of two or more fabric materials. Example of suitable fabric materials for the towel body include but are not limited to terry cloth, microfiber, blended material, etc.
Although the embodiments of the present invention shown in
Although the embodiments of the towel wrap of the present invention shown in
The upper hem of the towel wrap is made of a material that is strong enough to support the one or more fasteners mounted in, on or along the upper hem. In some embodiments of the towel wrap of the present invention, the upper hem of the towel wrap may be integral with the rest of the towel body. In one embodiment of the present invention, the transition from the rest of the towel body of the towel wrap to the upper hem may be smooth to provide more comfort to the individual wearing the towel wrap.
In some embodiments of the towel wrap of the present invention, the upper hem may be comprised of one or more separate pieces of material attached to the rest of the towel body. In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper hem may made be made of a different material that is attached to the rest of the towel body of the towel wrap. In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper hem may be made of a material that is stronger than the material used to make the rest of the towel body.
In various embodiments, a towel wrap of the present invention may be used as both a standard beach towel, which is usually about 50 inches long by about 30 inches wide and as an upper arm and full torso cover-up. In one embodiment, a towel wrap of the present invention may fit adults having a neck size up to 20 inches, but in other embodiments of the present invention the towel wrap may fit adults having a neck sizes larger than 20 inches. In one embodiment of the present invention, a towel wrap may be sized to be worn by a child.
In various embodiments, a towel wrap of the present invention provides a convenient cover-up in various situations in which an individual may use a towel including after a shower or bath, after a swim in the pool or a dip in the surf, in the sauna, during a workout on treadmill, during a workout on an exercise bike such as sold under the trade name Peloton®, etc.
Although not shown in the embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawing figures, in various embodiments of the present invention, the towel wrap of present invention may be made in various colors. Also, although not shown in the embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawing figures, in various embodiments of the present invention, the towel wrap of present invention may may include various types of artistic designs, logos, pictures, insignias, sayings, phrases, slogans, flags, etc. that are formed in the towel body during manufacture and/or stitching of the towel body or applied to the towel body after the towel body is manufactured.
All documents, patents, journal articles and other materials cited in the present application are incorporated herein by reference.
While the present invention has been disclosed with references to certain embodiments, numerous modification, alterations, and changes to the described embodiments are possible without departing from the sphere and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it has the full scope defined by the language of the following claims, and equivalents thereof.
