Adaptable Foot Warmer / Blanket
An adaptable foot warmer having adjustable pocket depth and foot capacity is provided. The adaptable foot warmer has detachable means for securing the foot warmer to a bed mattress and may be adapted to a blanket when desired. In addition the detachable means allows for the foot warmer to be used other than on a mattress.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/816776 filed Jun. 27, 2006. The disclosure of this Provisional Patent Application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND1. Field of Use
This invention relates to bed covers and more particularly to an adaptable foot warmer/blanket held securely in place by detachable means.
2. Description of Prior Art (Background)
During the winter months and especially in colder climates, the need to keep warm is a pervasive problem. This becomes particularly acute when an individual retires for the evening. Conventional bedding including sheets, blankets, bedspread, comforter, etc., when-used in total, can become quite cumbersome to the user and some individual's feet are quite sensitive to the extra weight of multiple covers. In particular, one's feet, being outer extremities of the body, are more prone to becoming cold especially during the inactive time when one is in bed. In order to solve the cold feet syndrome, normally, one simply adds additional layers of covers to a degree sufficient to warm the feet. Of course, when the feet are finally sufficiently warm, the remainder of the body can become uncomfortably warm. In persons with medical conditions such as circulatory problems and diabetes, cold feet are chronically a problem and, in environments such as hospitals and nursing homes, conventional full body covering may not be practical.
Known efforts to solve this problem have centered around various methods of modifying existing bedsheets and/or covers by permanently attaching additional components normally in the form of a pocket-like feature for the purpose of receiving one's feet. Of course, such an arrangement is expensive and makes it more difficult to make up a bed. Such arrangements, being permanently affixed to bedsheets and covers, eliminate the ability to utilize conventional bedsheets and covers if additional foot warmth is desired.
Other known efforts include a foot warmer which, in combination with a bed having a mattress and box springs, provides additional warmth for a user's feet and comprises a fabric pocket having a width approximately equal to the width of the bed and having permanent attachment straps extending downwardly from the sides of the pocket under the mattress and above the box springs. These straps make it more difficult to remove the foot warmer. In addition, installing the foot warmer requires one to wrestle the foot warmer straps under the mattress; a difficult task for the elderly and handicapped.
Other efforts in the prior art is for sheet construction to arrange the configuration of the sheet into a desired form. Depending on the nature of the prior art proposal the sheet construction will provide an expandable sheet for different purposes. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,072 to Kay discloses a tubular sheet which fits over a mattress in an “envelope” fashion. U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,191 to Bate discloses a sheet which can be folded to serve as both upper and lower sheets for a narrow bed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,860 to Lehigh discloses a compound bed covering. Different layers are sewn together using double-folded edges. U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,146 to Lester discloses a reversible cover for pillows, mattresses or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,088 to Marquette discloses a blanket with separate panels which can be attached or detached to increase or decrease the thickness and hence the warmth.
BRIEF SUMMARYAccording to this invention, a semi-permanent pleated foot warmer is provided which, in combination with a bed having a mattress and box springs, provides additional warmth for a user's feet and comprises a fabric pocket having a width approximately equal to the width of the bed and having removable attachment straps extending downwardly from the sides of the pocket under the mattress and above the box springs. In addition, the semi-permanent pleats allow for the foot warmer to be opened flat to ease cleaning and drying. Also, when the foot warmer is opened flat it may be used as an extra blanket.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention and adaptable foot warmer is provided. The adaptable foot warmer includes rectangularly shaped fabric having opposed ends and opposed side edges, wherein the opposed side edges each comprise an upper and lower half. The foot warmer also includes connectable fasteners disposed along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket and at least one attachment strap for holding the foot warmer in place, e.g., at the foot of a bed.
The invention is also directed towards rectangularly shaped fabric having opposed ends and opposed side edges, each forming an upper and lower half and a plurality of zipper fasteners disposed along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention an adaptable foot warmer is provided. The adaptable foot warmer includes thermal retentive material having opposed ends and opposed side edges, wherein the opposed side edges each comprise an upper and lower half coupled by threading or sewing along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket. The foot warmer also includes a plurality of fastening devices disposed along the opposed side edges. Each of the plurality of fastening devices includes an elastic band mounted to the foot warmer and a fastening ring connectable, e.g., a D-ring to the elastic band. The invention also includes at least one attachment strap having at least one Velcro hook area and at least one Velcro loop area for threading the at least one attachment strap through the fastening ring and connecting the least one Velcro hook area with the at least one Velcro loop area.
In the drawing, the numeral 1 generally indicates a conventional bed having box springs 2 adjoined in known manner to headboard 3. Mattress 4 is situated atop box springs 2.
According to this invention, a foot warmer is provided and is shown in detail in
As best seen in
In order to form pocket 6, the rectangular piece of material is folded over along end edge 7 to form upper and lower fabric sheets which are removeably connected along side edges 8 and 9. Pocket 6 then appears as shown in
In order to secure pocket 6 to bed 1, detachable means is provided in the form of attachment straps 11 and 12 which are secured along the upper ends thereof by detachable means such as, for example, buttons 15A, zippers, or Velcro, respectively, to edges 8 and 9.
Attachment straps 11 and 12 may be expandable in order to accommodate varying sizes of mattresses. The completed foot warmer then appears as shown in
Referring to
When used in conjunction with bed sheet 5 on mattress 4, as shown in
It will be appreciated that the detachable straps may be left under the mattress 4 when it is desired to remove the foot warmer for cleaning or to use the foot warmer independent of the mattress 4, e.g., sitting in a chair.
It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. An adaptable foot warmer comprising:
- rectangularly shaped fabric comprising: opposed ends and opposed side edges, wherein the opposed side edges each comprise an upper and lower half; a plurality of connectable fasteners disposed along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket; and
- at least one attachment strap connectable to the rectangularly shaped fabric.
2. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 1 wherein the plurality of connectable fasteners comprises a plurality of buttons.
3. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 2, wherein the at least one attachment strap comprises at least one button hole corresponding to at least one of the plurality of buttons.
4. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 1, wherein the rectangularly shaped fabric comprises thermal retentive fabric.
5. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of fastening devices connectably disposed along the opposed side edges, wherein each of the plurality of fastening devices comprise:
- an elastic band connectable to the rectangularly shaped fabric; and
- a fastening ring connectable to the elastic band.
6. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 5 wherein the fastening ring comprises a D-ring.
7. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 5, wherein the at least one attachment strap comprises:
- at least one Velcro hook area; and
- at least one Velcro loop area for threading the at least one attachment strap through the fastening ring and connecting the least one Velcro hook area with the at least one Velcor loop area.
8. An adaptable foot warmer comprising:
- rectangularly shaped fabric comprising: opposed ends and opposed side edges, wherein the opposed side edges each comprise an upper and lower half; a plurality of zipper fasteners disposed along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket; and
- at least one attachment strap connectable to the rectangularly shaped fabric.
9. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 8, wherein the rectangularly shaped fabric comprises thermal retentive fabric.
10. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 8 further comprising a plurality of fastening devices disposed along the opposed side edges, wherein each of the plurality of fastening devices comprise:
- an elastic band; and
- a fastening ring connectable to the elastic band.
11. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 10 wherein the fastening ring comprises a D-ring.
12. The adaptable foot warmer as in claim 10, wherein the at least one attachment strap comprises:
- at least one Velcro hook area; and
- at least one Velcro loop area for threading the at least one attachment strap through the fastening ring and connecting the least one Velcro hook area with the at least one Velcor loop area.
13. An adaptable foot warmer comprising:
- opposed ends and opposed side edges, wherein the opposed side edges each comprise an upper and lower half; coupling threading disposed along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket;
- a plurality of fastening devices disposed along the opposed side edges, wherein each of the plurality of fastening devices comprise: an elastic band; and a fastening ring connectable to the elastic band, wherein the fastening ring comprises a D-ring;
- at least one attachment strap connectable to the rectangularly shaped fabric, wherein the at least one attachment strap comprises: at least one Velcro hook area, and at least one Velcro loop area for threading the at least one attachment strap through the fastening ring and connecting the least one Velcro hook area with the at least one Velcro loop area.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 21, 2007
Publication Date: Jan 10, 2008
Inventor: Mary G. Sylvia (North Dartmouth, MA)
Application Number: 11/766,769
International Classification: A47C 23/02 (20060101);