US20190045943A1

US20190045943A1 - Fitted Towel

Info

Publication number: US20190045943A1
Application number: US16/053,309
Authority: US
Inventors: Benjamin Heasley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-08-08
Filing date: 2018-08-02
Publication date: 2019-02-14

Abstract

A fitted towel for securing to a chair. The fitted towel includes a layer of fabric with a front surface and a rear surface, wherein a first pocket extends from a first end of the rear surface of the fabric and a second pocket extends from an opposing second end thereof. The pockets can stretch over portions of the chair so as to attach the fitted towel thereto. The pockets include a plurality of apertures to allow debris and sand to flow therethrough in order to prevent accumulation within the pocket. A storage compartment extends from an edge of the fabric, wherein the storage compartment includes an opening and a fastener having a pair of overlapping rings that can secure the opening in a closed position. A cord is removably positioned through the pair of overlapping rings so as to form a secure, closed loop.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/542,521 filed on Aug. 8, 2017. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field Of The Invention

The present invention relates to a fitted towel. More specifically, the present invention provides a towel configured to secure to and cover an entire surface of a chair. Many people enjoy sitting by the pool or on the beach using a beach towel in conjunction with a lounge chair. However, conventional beach towels are not long enough to cover the entire length of a lounge chair, which could cause the towel to blow in the wind or otherwise slip off the chair when not weighed down. Further, people typically bring personal items with them when going to a pool or beach, such as keys, wallets, or a phone which, can easily be lost or stolen without a proper storage space. The present invention provides a secured storage space for personal belongings giving a user peace of mind that their items are safe while relaxing at a pool or beach. Additionally, people often bring liquid beverages with them to the beach and pool and they require a place to hold the beverage while sitting in a lounge chair. Thus, a towel that can remain stationary on a lounge chair while providing a secured storage space and container to securely hold beverages is needed.
Devices have been disclosed that relate to fitted beach towels. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent publications. These devices generally relate to a towel that configured to removably secure to a chair. However, these devices fail to disclose a towel, wherein a cord is configured to removably secure a towel with a storage compartment to a chair through a fastener having plurality of overlapping rings, such that the storage compartment cannot be opened by an unauthorized person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known art it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing illuminated stand devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.
The present invention provides a towel having a front surface and a rear surface. A first pocket is disposed on a first end of the rear surface and can receive an upper portion of a chair therein. A pair of second pockets are disposed on opposing corners of an opposing second end of the rear surface, wherein the pair of second pockets can receive a lower portion of a chair therein. A storage compartment having an opening secured by a fastener extends from a lateral edge of the towel. A cord can be inserted through a plurality of rings of the fastener in order to prevent the storage compartment from being opened by an unauthorized person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1A shows a planar view of the front of the fitted towel secured to a chair.

FIG. 1B shows a planar view of the rear of the fitted towel secured to a chair.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up view of the storage compartment of the fitted towel.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the fitted towel in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the fitted towel. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.
Referring now to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, there is shown a planar view of the front of the fitted towel and a planar view of the rear view of the fitted towel secured to a chair, respectively. The fitted towel 10 is comprised of at least one layer of fabric having a front surface 12 and a rear surface 11 sized to fit over an entire surface of a chair wherein the chair is a lounge chair, deck chair or another similarly structured chair. In the illustrated embodiment, the fitted towel 10 is made of a soft, absorbent material such as terrycloth, microfiber or another similar material and is a rectangular shape. The fitted towel 10 further comprises opposing, longitudinally extending and opposing first and second ends 13 and 14, respectively, and opposing, laterally extending side edges 21 and 22, respectively. Conventional lounge chairs are sold in a wide variety of sizes; however, one standard size is 27″ W×78″ L×22.5″ H. For this reason, in the illustrated embodiment, the fitted towel 10 is approximately by 78″ in height, wherein the height is measured between the longitudinal ends, to suitably secure the fitted towel 10 to the chair.
The fitted towel 10 further comprises at least one pocket to secure the fitted towel to a chair. In the illustrated embodiment, the fitted towel 10 comprises a first pocket 15 disposed on the first end 13 thereof and a pair of second pockets 16 disposed on the second end 14 thereof. In the shown embodiment, the first pocket 15 extends along the first end 13 from the lateral side edges 21, 22, the first pocket 15 sized to receive a top portion of the chair therein. The pair of second pockets 16 are disposed on the second end 14 at opposing corners of the towel 10, wherein the second pockets 16 can receive a lower portion of the chair therein. In alternate embodiments, the pair of second pockets 16 is only a single pocket equivalent in dimension to the first pocket 15 in the shown embodiment, such that the fitted towel 10 is symmetrical.
In the illustrated embodiment, each pocket comprises a plurality of apertures 23 so as to allow sand or other debris flow therethrough. In this way, if the fitted towel 10 is used on the beach, sand will not accumulate in any of the pockets 15, 16. In the shown embodiment, the apertures 23 are disposed in a uniform pattern and entirely cover the exterior of the pockets 15, 16.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a close-up view of the storage compartment of the fitted towel. In the shown embodiment, the fitted towel 10 further comprises a storage compartment 18 extending along the lateral side edge 21 thereof. The storage compartment 18 is configured to receive items therein, such as a wallet and a cell phone. An opening 27 is disposed on a front surface 24 of the storage compartment 18, extending from the lateral sides thereof. The opening 27 provides access to an interior volume of the storage compartment 18. The opening 27 is securably closed via a fastener. In the illustrated embodiment, the fastener is a double zipper 30, wherein a first and second zipper 31, 32 each comprise a ring 33 configured to overlap one another and receive a cord 34 therethrough.
The storage compartment further comprises an aperture 35 configured to receive the cord 34 therethrough. In the illustrated embodiment, the aperture 35 is reinforced with a reinforcement ring 37. A lock 36 is disposed on an end of the cord 34 and configured to retain the cord 34 in a closed loop configuration until the lock 36 is unlocked. Once the lock 36 is unlocked, an end of the cord 34 is released therefrom and the cord 34 no longer maintains a closed loop configuration. Once the cord is released, the cord can be removed from the ring 33, thereby allowing the first and second zipper to separate. In this way, a user is able to store items securely in the storage compartment. The cord can also be wrapped around a chair that the fitted towel is attached to for added security.
In the illustrated embodiment, the storage compartment 18 is stitched via stitching 41 to a lateral edge of the fitted towel. However, in alternate embodiments shown in FIG. 3), the storage compartment 18 is removably secured to the fitted towel via a fastener, such as a snap or hook and loop material. In the shown embodiment, the storage compartment is only connected to the lateral edge of the fitted towel along an uppermost edge thereof. However, alternate embodiments as shown in FIG. 1B, a rear surface of the storage compartment 18 is entirely attached to the rear side of the fitted towel such that only the front surface of the storage compartment is visible. The storage compartment 18 is made of a durable material, such as nylon. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the storage compartment is composed of a material that water-proof and cut resistant.
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a perspective view of the fitted towel in use. In operation, the fitted towel 10 is positioned on an upper surface of a lounge chair 61, such that the fitted towel 10 entirely covers the upper surface. The first pocket 15 is stretched and positioned over an end of the lounge chair 61 and the pair of second pockets 16 are stretched and positioned over the opposing end. The apertures 23 of the pockets allow sand to flow therethrough. The double zipper 30 is positioned such that the opening is closed and the rings of each zipper overlap. The cord is placed through the rings, through the aperture and wrapped around a portion of the lounge chair 61. The lock is then secured to prevent the closed loop configuration from opening until a user then unlocks the lock.
It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1) A fitted towel comprising:

at least one layer of fabric having a front surface and a rear surface configured to fit over an entire surface of a chair;

a pocket extending from the rear surface of the at least one layer of fabric and configured to receive a portion of the chair therein;

a storage compartment extending from an edge of the at least on layer of fabric, wherein the storage compartment comprises an opening providing access to an interior volume therein;

a fastener having a pair of overlapping rings configured to secure the opening in a closed position;

a cord removably positioned through the pair of overlapping rings and configured to form a closed loop.

2) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the opening disposed on a front-end portion of the storage compartment.

3) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the fastener is a double zipper.

4) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the pockets are configured to stretch around the portion of the chair.

5) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the pocket comprises a first pocket disposed on a first end of the at least one layer of fabric and a second pocket disposed at an opposing second end thereof.

6) The fitted towel of claim 5, wherein the second pocket comprises a pair of pockets disposed at opposing ends of the opposing second end of the at least one layer of fabric.

7) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the pocket comprises a plurality of apertures configured to allow debris and sand to pass therethrough.

8) The fitted towel of claim 7, wherein the plurality of apertures cover the entire pocket in a grid formation.

9) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the cord is secured in the closed loop configuration via a lock.

10) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein a rear surface of the storage compartment is flush with the rear surface of the at least one layer of fabric.

11) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the storage compartment is removably secured to the edge of the at least one layer of fabric.

12) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the opening of the storage compartment is disposed along the edge of the at least one layer of fabric.

13) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the storage compartment is formed of a durable material, wherein the durable material is nylon.

14) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the storage compartment is water-proof.

15) The fitted towel of claim 1, wherein the storage compartment is formed of a c resistant material.