Patent Application
20240099484
The field of the present disclosure relates to quilts and, in particular, disclosed herein are various quilts with a footbox wherein the quilt is easily convertible between an opened configuration and a closed configuration.
Conventional sleeping bags include rectangular sleeping bags, semi-rectangular sleeping bags, and mummy-type sleeping bags. Larger bags are often more comfortable and allow more freedom of movement, and smaller bags are typically more thermally efficient due to a smaller interior volume that is heated by a user's body. The user therefore has to compromise or acquire multiple different bags suitable for different temperature and climate conditions; given conventional sleeping bag are not readily adaptable to even a moderate range of temperature and climate conditions. Furthermore, even with larger sleeping bag being suitable for the particular temperature and climate conditions, a sleeping bag is nevertheless more restrictive and less comfortable relative to traditional bedding, and the sleeping bag does not readily accommodate various sleeping positions.
Unlike conventional sleeping bags, quilts are commonly a rectangular covering adapted to keep a user warm, especially while sleeping by laying the quit over the user. While many quilts are intended for indoor use, quilts can also be used in the outdoors by backpackers, hikers, campers, mountaineers, and other users as portable bedding or coverings. Outdoor quilts are often durable, soft, thermally insulated for a particular temperature and climate rating, and weather resistant. Outdoor users commonly prefer quilts over conventional sleeping bags because quilts tend to be lighter in weight/volume and more comfortable. By way of example, quilts are substantially less restrictive during use than a conventional sleeping bag (e.g., a mummy bag).
Conventional quilts, however, do not include means for easily converting the quilt from an opened configuration wherein the width of the quilt is maximized to a closed configuration wherein the quilt is generally in the form of a mummy sleeping bag. As a result, conventional quilts are susceptible to drafts and allowing heat to escape from around the user's body. Thus, conventional quilts provide limited warmth for some users in cooler temperatures.
Accordingly, a need exists for a quilt that can selectively converted from an opened configuration to a closed configuration.
In one aspect, a quilt generally comprises a top edge, a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge spaced from the first lateral edge, a bottom edge, a bottom corner of the first lateral edge, and a bottom corner of the second lateral edge. The second lateral edge crosses the first lateral edge. The first lateral edge and the second lateral edge are connected to or adjacent to the bottom edge.
In another aspect, a quilt generally comprises an inner surface, an outer surface opposed to the inner surface, a top edge, a bottom edge, a first lateral edge, and a second lateral edge spaced from the first lateral edge. A bottom corner of the first lateral edge is in overlapping relationship with a bottom corner of the second lateral edge adjacent the bottom edge. At least one first lateral fastener element extends along the first lateral edge and at least one second lateral fastener element extends along the second lateral edge. The first at least one lateral fastener element is adapted for selective engagement and disengagement with the second at least one lateral fastener element to selectively move the quilt between an opened configuration and a closed configuration of the quilt.
In yet another aspect, a zipper-less quilt generally comprises an inner surface, an outer surface opposed to the inner surface, a top edge, a bottom edge, a first lateral edge, and a second lateral edge spaced from the first lateral edge. A bottom corner of the first lateral edge is attached to or adjacent the bottom edge. A bottom corner of the second lateral edge is attached to or adjacent the bottom edge such that the first lateral edge crosses the second lateral edges. At least one first lateral fastener element extends along the first lateral edge and at least one second lateral fastener element extends along the second lateral edge. The first at least one lateral fastener element is adapted for selective engagement and disengagement with the second at least one lateral fastener element to selectively move the quilt between an opened configuration and a closed configuration of the quilt.
Objects and advantages pertaining to the quilt disclosure herein may become apparent upon referring to the example embodiments illustrated in the drawings and disclosed in the following written description and/or appended claims.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The embodiments depicted are shown only schematically; all features may not be shown in full detail or in proper proportion, certain features or structures may be exaggerated relative to others for clarity, and the drawings should not be regarded as being to scale. The embodiments shown are only examples, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure or appended claims.
“Discrete” fastener elements as used in the present disclosure are to be contrasted with “continuous” fastener elements. A continuous fastener element attaches together different portions of a quilt or a sheet along a continuous line of attachment, leaving no significant gaps along that line of attachment. Examples of continuous fastener elements include but are not limited to, e.g., mating halves of a zipper, mating strips of hook material and loop material of a hook-and-loop fastener (e.g., Velcro®), or strips of magnetic plastic (e.g., such as is used for refrigerator magnets). Discrete fastener elements attach together different portions of a quilt or sheet at only localized attachment points or areas along an attachment path, leaving gaps between those localized attachment points or areas. Examples of discrete fastener elements include but are not limited to, e.g., a cord loop and a hook to retain the cord loop, mating male and female snap elements, mating button and buttonhole, mating male and female buckle or clasp elements, mating circumscribed patches of hook material and loop material of a hook-and-loop material, or pairs of magnets. Unlike hook-and-loop material (e.g., Velcro®) that includes myriad tiny loops and tiny hooks arranged on strips or patches, a single cord loop and hook are arranged to engage and retain the cord loop.
In accompanying drawings showing all or portions of a quilt or sheet, fastener elements of a mating or corresponding pair are indicated by an “X” for one fastener element (e.g., a hook) and an “0” for the other fastener element (e.g., a cord loop). It is not intended that every “X” or that every “0” in a given drawing necessarily indicates the same type of fastener element, although that can sometimes be the case.
With reference now to
As illustrated in
The discrete lateral fastener elements 131, 141 can be of any suitable type of fastener or have any suitable arrangement, including those described above (e.g., a cord loop and a hook, mating male and female snap elements, mating button and buttonhole, mating male and female buckle or clasp elements, mating circumscribed patches of hook material and loop material of a hook-and-loop material, or pairs of magnets).
With reference again to
As best seen in
With reference now to
In some embodiments, the draw cord 160 is disposed at or adjacent the headward top edge 100a. In some suitable embodiments, the draw cord 160 extends substantially entirely across the width of the headward top edge 100a. The draw cord 160 can be of any suitable or conventional type or arrangement. Pulling the draw cord 160 gathers the headward top edge 100a of the quilt 100 to at least partially close the quilt, and to retain heat of the user. Suitable draw cords and configurations of a quilt having a draw cord are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/872,349 filed Jul. 25, 2022 entitled Adjustable Quilt, which is incorporated herein by reference is its entirety.
The closure arrangement described above for the footbox (or closed) configuration of the quilt 100 is used to quickly and easily move the quilt 100 between the opened configuration (
Weight is an important constraint in designing outdoor gear, particularly if that gear is to be carried by person traveling on foot over a significant distance (e.g., during a backpacking outing). Lightweight materials and specialized construction techniques have been developed over the years to produce ever lighter gear items such as tents and quilts. As weight limits are pressed lower and lower, finding ways to cut further weight becomes correspondingly more difficult. In so-called ultralight quilts, zippers c a n account for a significant percentage of the overall weight, in some cases about 10% to about 20% or even more. A zipper-less quilt arrangement, such as the one disclosed herein, eliminate that weight, thereby enabling further overall weight reduction of the quilt, or replacement of the zipper weight with, e.g., more or denser fill for enhancing the thermal performance of the quilt, or heavier cover material for improved durability.
It is contemplated that the quilt 100, 200 of the present disclosure can be used as a component in the sleeping bag assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,786,100 entitled Girth-Adjustable Sleeping Bag, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In one suitable embodiment, the quilt 100, 200 can be used with a bottom sheet and a sleeping pad.
It is intended that equivalents of the disclosed example embodiments and methods shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure or appended claims. It is intended that the disclosed example embodiments and methods, and equivalents thereof, may be modified while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure or appended claims.
In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together in several example embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that any claimed embodiment requires more features than are expressly recited in the corresponding claim. Rather, as the appended claims reflect, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a single disclosed example embodiment. Therefore, the present disclosure shall be construed as implicitly disclosing any embodiment having any suitable set of one or more features—which features are shown, described, or claimed in the present application—including those sets that may not be explicitly disclosed herein. A “suitable” set of features includes only features that are neither incompatible nor mutually exclusive with respect to any other feature of the set.
Accordingly, the appended claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate disclosed embodiment. In addition, each of the appended dependent claims shall be interpreted, only for purposes of disclosure by said incorporation of the claims into the Detailed Description, as if written in multiple dependent form and dependent upon all preceding claims with which it is not inconsistent. It should be further noted that the scope of the appended claims can, but does not necessarily, encompass the whole of the subject matter disclosed in the present application.
For purposes of the present disclosure and appended claims, the conjunction “or” is to be construed inclusively (e.g., “a dog or a cat” would be interpreted as “a dog, or a cat, or both”; e.g., “a dog, a cat, or a mouse” would be interpreted as “a dog, or a cat, or a mouse, or any two, or all three”), unless: (i) it is explicitly stated otherwise, e.g., by use of “either . . . or,” “only one of,” or similar language; or (ii) two or more of the listed alternatives are mutually exclusive within the particular context, in which case “or” would encompass only those combinations involving non-mutually-exclusive alternatives. For purposes of the present disclosure and appended claims, the words “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and variants thereof, wherever they appear, shall be construed as open ended terminology, with the same meaning as if the phrase “at least” were appended after each instance thereof, unless explicitly stated otherwise. For purposes of the present disclosure or appended claims, when terms are employed such as “about equal to,” “substantially equal to,” “greater than about,” “less than about,” and so forth, in relation to a numerical quantity, standard conventions pertaining to measurement precision and significant digits shall apply, unless a differing interpretation is explicitly set forth. For null quantities described by phrases such as “substantially prevented,” “substantially absent,” “substantially eliminated,” “about equal to zero,” “negligible,” and so forth, each such phrase shall denote the case wherein the quantity in question has been reduced or diminished to such an extent that, for practical purposes in the context of the intended operation or use of the disclosed or claimed apparatus or method, the overall behavior or performance of the apparatus or method does not differ from that which would have occurred had the null quantity in fact been completely removed, exactly equal to zero, or otherwise exactly nulled.
For purposes of the present disclosure and appended claims, any labelling of elements, steps, limitations, or other portions of an embodiment, example, or claim (e.g., first, second, etc., (a), (b), (c), etc., or (i), (ii), (iii), etc.) is only for purposes of clarity, and shall not be construed as implying any sort of ordering or precedence of the portions so labelled. If any such ordering or precedence is intended, it will be explicitly recited in the embodiment, example, or claim or, in some instances, it will be implicit or inherent based on the specific content of the embodiment, example, or claim. In the appended claims, if the provisions of 35 USC § 112(f) are desired to be invoked in an apparatus claim, then the word “means” will appear in that apparatus claim. If those provisions are desired to be invoked in a method claim, the words “a step for” will appear in that method claim. Conversely, if the words “means” or “a step for” do not appear in a claim, then the provisions of 35 USC § 112(f) are not intended to be invoked for that claim.
If any one or more disclosures are incorporated herein by reference and such incorporated disclosures conflict in part or whole with, or differ in scope from, the present disclosure, then to the extent of conflict, broader disclosure, or broader definition of terms, the present disclosure controls. If such incorporated disclosures conflict in part or whole with one another, then to the extent of conflict, the later-dated disclosure controls.
The Abstract is provided as required as an aid to those searching for specific subject matter within the patent literature. However, the Abstract is not intended to imply that any elements, features, or limitations recited therein are necessarily encompassed by any particular claim. The scope of subject matter encompassed by each claim shall be determined by the recitation of only that claim.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/376,895, filed Sep. 23, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63376895 | Sep 2022 | US |
