While spending time in the outdoors, several different pieces of equipment may be needed depending on the weather and location. While hiking or camping, a person may need to be sheltered from the cold, wind, rain or other elements. However, carrying a jacket, poncho, sleeping bag, blanket, pillow, etc., could be too difficult and cumbersome. Similarly, while attending sporting events or visiting a beach, the same equipment could be used to protect one from the elements (wind, rain, sunshine, cold temperatures, etc.). Carrying a single piece of equipment that can provide all of these services would greatly reduce the burden on the user and also allow a user to go outdoors when they otherwise may decide to stay home because of the potential weather issues that may be presented.
Thus, a multi-purpose blanket has been designed that provides the owner with, among other things, a pillow, a blanket, a sleeping bag, a hammock, a tarp, a canopy, a poncho, a hammock liner and a hammock underquilt.
The present invention is directed to a multi-purpose blanket that includes a base member having a width and a length and having at least two opposing edges, each of the opposing edges having a casing along at least a portion thereof, a strap inserted into each of the casings, each of the straps being secured to the base member at one end of the casing, the straps having a plurality of webbing loops disposed along a length thereof, a bag formed by a portion of one side of the base member and a bag panel attached to the one side of the base member, the bag panel being secured to the base member along a plurality of edges and leaving an opening along one side thereof, and a plurality of snap members disposed around a periphery of the base member.
In some embodiments, a hood is attached to the inner layer of the base member adjacent to the bag.
In some other embodiments, there are a plurality of accessory hoops disposed around a periphery of the base member, the loops having an opening therein to provide a location to attach fixation elements.
In another embodiment, there is a handle affixed to one of the portion of one side of the base member and the bag panel.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is a multi-purpose blanket that includes a base member having a width and a length and having at least two opposing edges, each of the opposing edges having a casing along at least a portion thereof, a means for turning the multi-purpose blanket into a hammock, a means for turning the multi-purpose blanket into a sleeping bag, a bag formed by a portion of one side of the base member and a bag panel attached to the one side of the base member, the bag panel being secured to the base member along a plurality of edges and leaving an opening along one side thereof, and a plurality of snap members disposed around a periphery of the base member.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is a multi-purpose blanket that includes a base member having a width and a length and having at least two opposing edges, each of the opposing edges having a casing along at least a portion thereof, a strap inserted into each of the casings, each of the straps being secured to the base member at one end of the casing, the straps having a plurality of webbing loops disposed along a length thereof, a bag formed by a portion of one side of the base member and a bag panel attached to the one side of the base member, the bag panel being secured to the base member along a plurality of edges and leaving an opening along one side thereof, a hood attached to the inner layer of the base member adjacent the bag, a plurality of accessory hoops disposed around a periphery of the base member, the loops having an opening therein to provide a location to attach fixation elements, a handle affixed to one of the portion of one side of the base member and the bag panel, and a plurality of snap members disposed around a periphery of the base member.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present embodiments of the invention are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring to
Along the right 112 and left 114 edges are two casings 116,118, respectively. The casings 116,118 are formed by folding a width of the multi-purpose blanket 100 (the inside and outside portions together) over along the right 112 and left 114 edges so that the inside surface 102 faces itself (and a portion of the outside surface 104 is now visible from the inside (
Inserted into each of the casings 116,118 is a strap 120, 122, respectively. The strap 120 and strap 122 are preferably of the same construction. The straps 120, 122 are preferably 25 mm wide webbing and have a finished length of about 180 cm, which generally corresponds to the width of one embodiment. Referring to
The straps 120,122 are also sewn to the multi-purpose blanket 100 or the casing 116,118 for two reasons. First, by sewing the straps 120,122 to the multi-purpose blanket 100 or the casing 116,118 on one end, the straps are not lost during use, transport or storage. Second, the sewn end of the strap becomes a part of the anchor for making the multi-purpose blanket 100 into a hammock. As illustrated in
The multi-purpose blanket 100 also includes a bag 140 into which the multi-purpose blanket 100 can stored. The bag 140 is formed by a bag panel 142 being sewn to the inside surface 102 of the multi-purpose blanket 100. The bag panel 142 is preferably a rectangular shape and the top edge 144 is left open, while the other three edges 146 of the bag panel 142 are sewn to the inside surface 102. In the configuration of
The multi-purpose blanket 100 also has a hood 160. The hood is connected to the the inside surface 102 of the multi-purpose blanket 100 adjacent the top edge 144 of the bag. The hood 160 has a soft inner surface 162 and a more durable outside surface 164. Preferably the outside surface 164 is made from the same material as the outside surface 104 of the multi-purpose blanket 100—210T nylon rip stop and may also be treated to be water-resistant.
As illustrated in
The third zipper portion 170 is attached on the opposite side of the hood 160 from the second zipper portion and may be connected in the same manner as the second zipper portion 168. To connect the first portion 166 and the third portion, the hood 160 must be stored away. This allows the multi-purpose blanket 100 to be used in many different configurations (hammock, ground cover, tarp, sleeping bag, etc.) without the hood 160 being in the way.
When the multi-purpose blanket 100 is stored into the bag 140, then the first zipper portion 166 is connected to the second zipper portion 168 to close the bag 140.
The multi-purpose blanket 100 also has a plurality of snap members 170 disposed around the periphery thereof. The snap members or snap fasteners 170 include male snap members 172 and female snap members 174. The snap members 170 allow the multi-purpose blanket 100 to be arranged in a number of different configurations. Therefore, the positioning of the snap members 174 (male and female) relative to one another is important. It is also possible that the male snap members 172 and female snap members 174 can be replaced with the other type. For the multi-purpose blanket 100 to have all of the same functions as noted herein, all of the male snap members 172 and female snap members 174 would have to be replaced with the other type. However, it would be possible for only some of the male snap members 172 and female snap members 174 to be switched out and still retain some of the same functions.
Turning to
The use of the snap members 170 will now be explained. In
The multi-purpose blanket 100 can also be used to create a midlength poncho and allow the user's arms to be accessible. This begins with the hood 160 on the head of the user (and thus the left and right designation corresponding to that of the user). The snap members 172c/174c can be snapped together and 174a/172f can be snapped together. The user puts his/her arms through the openings along the sides 112, 114 created by snapping those snap elements together. Then snap members 172b/174b are snapped together in front of the user and then 174a/172c are snapped together to complete the midlength poncho.
The multi-purpose blanket 100 can also be used as a sleeping bag. In order to do so, the hood 160 should be stored away and the outside surface 104 positioned downward to the ground or other surface. The inside surface 102 is therefore facing upward and has thereon a sleeping bag zipper 180. The sleeping bag zipper 180 has two portions. A first portion 182 that begins adjacent the snap member 174f and runs up toward and along the top edge 108. The first portion 182 is behind the hood 160 when the hood is not stored away. The first portion 182 then ends between the snap members 172b and 172c. The second portion 184 is separated (the slide from one portion is disconnectable from the other portion) from first portion 182 when the multi-purpose blanket 100 is not being used. This allows for the multi-purpose blanket 100 to lie flatter than if the two portions 182/184 were always connected. The second portion 184 also begins adjacent the snap member 174f and runs up down and along the bottom edge 110. Folding the multi-purpose blanket 100 along a line that extends between snap members 174f and 172d and then connecting the two portions of zipper 182/184 completes the sleeping bag.
It is also possible to use the snap members to close the sleeping bag as well. For example, the following pairs of snap members can be snapped together to achieve almost the same effect: 174a/172f; 174b/172e; 172a/174e; and 172b/174d.
The multi-purpose blanket 100 also includes a number of accessory hoops 190 that are disposed around the periphery of the multi-purpose blanket 100. The accessory hoops 190 are folded over pieces of webbing material whose ends are then sewn into the multi-purpose blanket 100. The accessory hoops 190 are not as wide as the straps 120/122, but could be of any size. The accessory hoops 190 may also be secured at the same places as the snap members 170—with the snap members assisting to secure the accessory hoops 190 to the multi-purpose blanket 100. The accessory loops 190 are preferably at each of the four corners of the multi-purpose blanket 100 and at the midpoint of each of the edges or sides 108/110/112/114. The accessory hoops 190 can be used with a fixation element such as a stake, carabiner, rope, etc. to secure the multi-purpose blanket 100 in position. For example, when used as a ground cover, a wire stake can be inserted through a number of the accessory loops 190 to keep the multi-purpose blanket 100 from blowing away. As illustrated in
A second embodiment of a multi-purpose blanket 200 according to the present invention is illustrated in
Along the right 212 and left 214 edges are two casings 216,218, respectively. The casings 216,218 are formed in the same manner as above by folding a width of the multi-purpose blanket 200 (the inside and outside portions together) over along the right 212 and left 214 edges so that the inside surface 202 faces itself and sewing the folded portion to the multi-purpose blanket 200. See
Inserted into each of the casings 216,218 is a strap, which are preferably the same as straps 120, 122, respectively, as described above. Again, the straps may have different construction, length, width, etc. as noted above. The straps 120,122 are also sewn to the multi-purpose blanket 200.
The multi-purpose blanket 200 includes a pocket 240 for a hood 260. The pocket 240 is formed by a pocket panel 242 being connected to the inside surface 202 of the multi-purpose blanket 200. The pocket panel 242 may be sewn to the inside surface 202 or attached in another manner. The pocket panel 242 is preferably a rectangular shape and can be made of one or two pieces. As illustrated in
The multi-purpose blanket 200 has a hood 260. The hood 260 is connected to the the multi-purpose blanket 200 inside the pocket 240. The hood 260 can be pulled outside through the open zipper 266. It can also be inserted back into the pocket 240 when necessary and the zipper 266 closes the pocket 240. The hood 260 has a soft inner surface 262 and a more durable outside surface 264. Preferably the outside surface 264 is made from the same material as the outside surface 104 of the multi-purpose blanket 100—210T nylon rip stop and may also be treated to be water-resistant.
The multi-purpose blanket 200 has two pockets 250 in the upper corners. The pockets 250 are preferably triangularly shape pieces of cloth 252 secured along the edges of the multi-purpose blanket 200. The pockets 250 are a two layer construction—one layer is the same material that is used for the inside surface 202 and also have an inner liner of fleece 254. See
The multi-purpose blanket 200 has snap members 270—4 male snap members 272 and 4 female snap members 274 that are, like in the embodiment above, used to change the width and hold the multi-purpose blanket 200 around the user. In the embodiment above, the male snap members 172 and female snap members 174 preferably all have their connection side on the inside surface 102. In this embodiment, there are two snap members that have their connection side on the outside surface 204 as discussed in more detail below.
With reference to
The multi-purpose blanket 200 includes a number of accessory hoops 290 that are disposed around the periphery of the multi-purpose blanket 200. As with the embodiment above, a number of accessory hoops 290 are disposed around the periphery of the multi-purpose blanket 100 and in the middle of the top and bottom edges 208/210. The accessory hoops 290 are constructed the same way as noted above, but could be other widths and lengths and still fall within the scope of the present invention.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) to provisional application No. 62/453,241 filed on Feb. 1, 2017, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62453241 | Feb 2017 | US |