Blanket anchor

Abstract

An anchor member for anchoring a beach blanket or beach towel at the beach, the anchoring member having a stake portion having a lower end and an upper end, the lower end being tapered for facilitating insertion into the sand, the upper end being rounded and having extended therefrom a biased clamping means comprising an upper jaw and a lower jaw and biasing means disposed there between, the upper jaw and lower jaw having serrated surfaces so as to engage the fabric of a beach blanket or beach towel, the edge of which would be disposed there between, there being an anchor member associated with each corner of the beach blanket or beach towel.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Serial No. 60/398,771, filed Jul. 29, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to blankets, and in particular, to a stake member which can be utilized to anchor the corners of the blanket.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] The present invention has application to picnic blankets, camping blankets, beach blankets, beach towels or the like, which are spread on the ground for users to sit on, and which are meant to be maintained in a fully extended, horizontal position, despite the climatic conditions. For purposes of explanation and description, the stake or anchor member of the present invention will be described with respect to the anchoring of beach blankets or beach towels.

[0006] Frequent beach goers are familiar with the problem of anchoring the beach blanket or beach towel in order to maintain it in an extended generally flat condition. Typically, shoes, sandals, coolers or clothing are normally positioned at the corners of the beach blanket or beach towel in order to maintain it in a flat extended position. These stabilizing actions also attempt to maintain the beach blanket in a stable position when windy conditions are encountered at the beach. While these actions oftentimes work, they do reduce the available area of the beach blanket or beach towel for use by the user or family.

[0007] Applicant as developed a combination stake and biased clamp assembly which can be inserted into the beach sand and engage the corners of the beach blanket or beach towel to maintain it in a flat and extended orientation without the need for weighted objects being placed at the corners of the beach blanket or beach towel.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel anchor means for maintaining blankets or towels in position when spread on the ground.

[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel anchoring means which is light-weight and easily transportable.

[0010] A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel anchoring means for a blanket or towel which allows greater use of the surface area of the beach blanket or beach towel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An anchor member for anchoring a beach blanket or beach towel at the beach, the anchoring member having a stake portion having a lower end and an upper end, the lower end being tapered for facilitating insertion into the sand, the upper end being rounded and having extended therefrom a biased clamping means comprising an upper jaw and a lower jaw and biasing means disposed there between, the upper jaw and lower jaw having serrated surfaces so as to engage the fabric of a beach blanket or beach towel, the edge of which would be disposed there between, there being an anchor member associated with each corner of the beach blanket or beach towel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a side view of the anchor member of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the anchor member of the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a top view of the anchor member of the present invention in cooperation with a beach blanket; and

[0016] FIG. 4 is a side view of the anchor member of the present invention with a beach blanket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIGS. 1 and 2 are side and perspective views of anchor member 10 of the present invention. Anchor member 10 comprises an elongate stake member 12 having an upper end 14 and lower end 16. Preferably, lower end 16 is tapered 17 to facilitate its insertion into the beach sand. Stake portion 12 of anchor member 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 is fluted along its longitudinal axis. However, the cross section of the stake portion 12 of anchor member 10 can be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0018] Upper end 16 of stake portion 12 is generally rounded or flat so as not to present a sharp surface at the proximate level of the beach sand in order to avoid foot injuries to those walking proximate the beach blanket or beach towel as more fully set forth hereafter. There is affixed to upper end 16 of stake portion 12 and formed integrally therewith, a first arm member 18 extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of stake member 12. First arm member 18 extends outwardly from stake portion 12 and gradually expands in horizontal cross section such that its width at end 20 is greater than the width of stake portion 12. First arm member 18 is defined by an upper surface 22 and a lower surface 24, lower surface 24 having a serrated surface.

[0019] A second arm member 26 is mounted to first arm member 18 by a biasing means 28. Second arm member 26 has a first end 30 and a second end 32, second end being dimensioned to the cross section of first arm member 18 and having an upper surface 34 which is serrated to cooperate with the serrated lower surface 24 of first arm member 18. First end 30 of second arm member 26 by way of the biasing means 28 may be pivoted towards first arm member 18, thus causing the serrated lower surface 24 of first arm member 18 and the serrated upper surface 34 of second arm member 26 to move away from each other in order to allow the fabric of a corner of a beach towel or beach blanket to be positioned therebetween. The release of first end 30 of second arm member 26 causes the biasing means 28 to force upper serrated surface 34 of second arm member 26 and lower serrated surface 24 of first arm member 18 towards each other thus grasping or securing the corner of the beach blanket or beach towel.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a top view of a beach blanket 40 affixed to the beach by means of the anchor members 10 of the present invention and FIG. 5 is a side view of one corner of the beach blanket 40 illustrating a single anchor member in cooperation with the beach sand and the blanket.

[0021] In these illustrations it can be seen that the configuration of the anchor member 10 is such that there are no sharp edges protruding upwardly. These views also clearly illustrate that the first arm member and the second arm member have divergent side walls such that the width of the serrated upper surface 34 of second arm member 26 and the serrated lower surface 24 of first arm member 18 are sufficiently wide enough to provide a firm grasp to the beach blanket or the beach towel.

[0022] While the present invention has been described with respect to the exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof.

Claims

1. An anchor member for anchoring a blanket or towel at the beach or at a picnic in an open spread orientation, the anchor member comprising:

a stake portion having a lower end and an upper end, said lower end being tapered for facilitating insertion into the ground, said upper end being of a rounded configuration, said upper end having extending horizontally therefrom, a biased clamping means, said biased clamping means comprising a first jaw member and a second jaw member and a biasing means disposed therebetween, one of said jaw members being permanently secured to said upper end of said stake member, said second jaw member being movable in bias relationship to said secured jaw member, said jaw members having a serrated surface juxtaposed each other for engagement of an edge of said blanket or towel.

2. The anchor member in accordance with claim 1 wherein serrated jaw portion of said anchor member is wider than said stake member.

3. The anchor member in accordance with claim 1 wherein said jaw member independent of said stake member is provided with a handle member for movement of said jaw member by means of said biasing means relative to said opposing jaw member.

4. The anchor member in accordance with claim 1 wherein a plurality of said anchor members would be positioned about the periphery of said blanket or towel, engaging said edge of said blanket or towel for maintaining said blanket or towel in a desired orientation.