Patent Application
20170238663
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to outdoor accessories and, more particularly, to a tote bag and detachable towel assembly which can be used for releasably securing the towel to a chairs.
Description of the Prior Art
The use of beach style towels for drying off after swimming and for placing on beach and/or pool adjacent surfaces is well known. Indeed it is common for users in swimming, boating, and/or sunbathing environments to line their seating with a towel in addition to using it to dry themselves off when needed. A problem which still exists, however, is that in windy conditions, a towel placed over a chair can easily be blown off of the chair (when the user is not in place thereon), which may render it unsuitable for subsequent use in drying off. Thus, there remains a need for a tote bag and detachable towel assembly which allows the towel to be secured to a chair so it will not blow off. It would be helpful if such a tote bag and detachable towel assembly employed a tote bag design operative to be secured to any chair and a towel which could be secured to the tote bag. It would be additionally desirable for such a tote bag and detachable towel assembly to employ a towel which could additionally be secured directly to a chair.
The Applicant's invention described herein provides for a tote bag and detachable towel assembly adapted to allow a user to selectably secure a beach style towel to their seat as well as transport the towel when not in use. The primary components in Applicant's tote bag and detachable towel assembly are a tote bag, towel member and securing member. When in operation, the tote bag and detachable towel assembly provides ease of storage/transport of a towel and prevents a towel from blowing away when in use. As a result, many of the limitations imposed by prior art structures are removed.
A tote bag and detachable towel assembly for providing a readily portable towel that may be selectively secured to a seating structure, such as a chair. The tote bag and detachable towel comprises a tote bag having a plurality of external and internal fasteners, a towel base adapted to be stored in the tote bag and selectively attach to the internal fasteners of the tote bag, and a seat securing member adapted to be stored in the tote bag and selectively attach to the external fasteners of the tote bag. When the seat securing member is attached to the tote bag, it may be wrapped around the back of a target seat so as to secure the tote bag to the target seat. The towel member may then be spread out over the target seat and secured to the tote bag to prevent the towel member from blowing away.
It is an object of this invention to provide a tote bag and detachable towel assembly which allows the towel to be secured to a chair so it will not blow off.
It is another object of this invention to provide a tote bag and detachable towel assembly which employs a tote bag design operative to be secured to any chair and a towel which could be secured to the tote bag.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a tote bag and detachable towel assembly which employs a towel which could additionally be secured directly to a chair.
These and other objects will be apparent to one of skill in the art.
Referring now to the drawings and in particular
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The tote bag 30 additionally includes a carrying strap 34 operative to provide a handle to allow it to be grasped while being transported. In some embodiments, the tote bag 30 additionally includes an integrated speaker system which includes a speaker 35 operatively connected to a wireless communication module 36, such as a Bluetooth receiver so as to allow music or other media content from an electronic device paired with the wireless communication module 36 to be played over the speaker 35.
In the preferred embodiment, the external fasteners 32 each define a female portion of a conventional strap fastener so as to allow the strap fasteners 21 at the ends of the seat securing member 20 to attach to the exterior of the tote bag 30. Similarly, the internal securing fasteners 33 each define a female portion of a conventional strap fastener so as to allow the top edge towel fasteners 12 of the towel member 10 to attach to an interior surface of the tote bag 30.
Referring now to
In addition, the towel member 10 is attached at one end to the tote bag 30 by way of the top edge towel fasteners 12 engaging the internal securing fasteners 33. With the end of the towel member 10 containing the top edge towel fasteners 12 in place inside the tote bag 30 the remaining portion of the towel member 10 extends over the back and along the surface of the seating structure 50, 50′ so that the towel member 10 substantially covers the seating structure 50, 50′.
In embodiments where the seating structure 50, 50′includes its own fasteners, such as seats on certain watercraft, it is appreciated that the two side edge fasteners 13 may be secured to such seat integrated fasteners.
Referring now to
It is contemplated that regardless of how the towel member 10 is attached, it may be selectively removed and used to dry a user (or other object) at any point, and then re-attached when desired.
It is appreciated that in other embodiments, alternate fasteners which employ corresponding locking portions (as the male and female portion of a snap fastener) may be employed.
The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.
