Multipurpose Personal Blanket

Abstract

A multipurpose personal blanket includes a blanket member having a front side opposite a back side and opposed side edges connecting the front and back sides, the blanket member having upper and lower ends extending between the side edges. The blanket includes a padded area proximate the blanket member upper end. The blanket member defines a hole proximate the padded area configured to receive the head of the person therethrough. The blanket member includes an elongate configuration such that a torso, legs, and feet are covered when the person's head is in the hole. The blanket includes a foot pocket attached to the back side of the blanket member that defines an interior space with an open top for access thereto. The hole is offset from the padded area so that a user's head is supported thereby when a wearer is in a recumbent position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/316,085, filed on Mar. 22, 2010 titled MULTIPURPOSE PERSONAL BLANKET.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to blankets and, more particularly, to a blanket that includes an integrated pillow/headrest and a hole suitable for receiving a user's head therethrough so as to access the pillow/headrest.

Traditional blankets typically have relatively large square or rectangular configurations and are useful substantially covering an entire bed. A person desiring to use a blanket to stay warm, whether in bed, outdoors, or an interior area that is not adequately heated must repeatedly snuggle the blanket up around his neck or even wrap the blanket around his legs and neck. Especially inconvenient is having to reposition the blanket to cover a user's torso, head, hands, and feet each time he stands up, changes positions, or moves from one location to another. Even positioning a pillow under one's head may cause a portion of the blanket to be dislodged from a previously set position. Another common problem with using a loose blanket is keeping one's feet from poking out one of the unsecured sides.

Various devices have been proposed in the art for providing a personal blanket that is designed to keep a single user warm or dry and that stays in position despite a user's movements. For instance, a traditional “poncho” is a garment having a hole through which a user's head may be inserted such that the remainder of the garment substantially covers the user's body even when the user is moving around. Although assumably effective for its intended purposes, a poncho is not comfortable to recline in, say on a couch or reclining chair in that the poncho completely surround a wearer's body, does not ordinarily cover a wearer's feet, and does not provide a headrest for use when reclining. Other full size blankets also have limited effectiveness in that they are not conducive to vehicle or airplane travel.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a multipurpose blanket that defines a head hole that keeps the blanket positioned for coverage of the front of a wearer, includes a pillow pocket for maintaining a padded area proximate the head hole, and includes a foot pocket for maintaining coverage of a wearer's feet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A multipurpose personal blanket according to the present invention includes a blanket member having a front side opposite a back side and opposed side edges connecting the front and back sides, the blanket member having upper and lower ends extending between the side edges. The blanket includes a padded area proximate the blanket member upper end. The blanket member defines a hole proximate the padded area configured to receive the head of the person therethrough. The blanket member includes an elongate configuration such that a torso, legs, and feet are covered when the person's head is in the hole. The blanket includes a foot pocket attached to the back side of the blanket member that defines an interior space with an open top for access thereto. The hole is offset from the padded area so that a user's head is supported thereby when a wearer is in a recumbent position.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a multipurpose blanket that may be worn over a person's head and that maintains a desired position relative to a wearer's body.

Another object of this invention is to provide a multipurpose blanket, as aforesaid, that includes a pillow pocket that may be selectively positioned to support the head of a wearer.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a multipurpose blanket, as aforesaid, having a foot pocket for receiving a wearer's feet therein when the blanket is worn by a user.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a multipurpose blanket, as aforesaid, that maintains a position cover a wearer thereof from the shoulders to the feet.

A further object of this invention is to provide a multipurpose blanket, as aforesaid, that is easy to use and economical to produce.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multipurpose personal blanket according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the blanket as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a back view of the blanket as in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the blanket as in FIG. 1 in being worn by a person illustrated in a reclined position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A multi-purpose personal blanket according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings. The multipurpose blanket 10 includes a blanket member 20 that defines a head hole 32, a pillow pocket 40, and a foot pocket 50.

The blanket member 20 includes a front side 22 opposite a back side 24 and opposed side edges 26 situated longitudinally to the front 22 and back 24 sides. The blanket member 20 may have a unitary construction (i.e. is a single layer) or may include multiple layers connected by the side edges 26. The blanket member 20 includes upper 28 and lower 30 ends extending laterally between opposed side edges 26. Preferably, the blanket member 20 includes a generally rectangular configuration although other configurations would also be suitable. It should be appreciated that the blanket member 20 does not define an overall open space in the nature of a sleeping bag but rather a single layer of blanket material, such as fleece or the like.

The blanket member 20 includes a padded area 40 attached to the upper end 28 thereof and extending outwardly therefrom. More particularly, the upper end 28 may integrally form the padded area 40 as best shown in FIG. 3. The padded area 40 may have a folded configuration so as to form a pocket and is also referred to herein as a “pillow pocket” for reasons that will become clear below. The pillow pocket/padded area 40 defines an interior space 42 and at least one side opening 44 that provides access to the interior space 42. Preferably, the opening 44 is inline with a respective blanket member side edge 26. In other words, the pillow pocket opening 44 is situated generally along a longitudinal axis established by a respective blanket member side edge 26. The multipurpose blanket 10 may also include a pillow 46 having a configuration complementary to a configuration of the padded area interior space 42 such that the pillow 46 may be selectively and removably inserted and positioned therein.

In addition, at least one fastener 48 is situated in or proximate to the interior space 42 and suitable to removably hold the pillow 46 within the interior space 42. For instance, a hook and loop fastener may be fixedly attached to an interior surface of the padded area 40 that is able to grip the pillow 46 although complementary fasteners may be on both the padded area interior surface and on the pillow 46 to enhance the coupling. It is understood that other types of fasteners may be utilized, such as snaps, zippers, buckles, or the like.

The blanket member 20 defines a hole 32 proximate the upper end 28 thereof and having a configuration that is complementary to the shape of a person's head such that a person's head may be received therethrough. When a person inserts his head through the hole, or rather receives the blanket member 20 onto his body by placing the hole 32 over his head, the multipurpose blanket 10 may be worn by the user (also referred to herein as a “wearer” of the garment). Preferably, the hole 32 is offset from the upper end 28 and padded area 40 such that a person's head, when inserted through the hole 32 will be positioned so as to be supported by the padded area 40 when the wearer of the blanket member 20 is in a recumbent or reclined position (Fig. ??). Preferably, the hole 32 is equally offset between the opposed side edges 26 such that the blanket member 20 maintains its position on the front of a wearer's body.

The multipurpose blanket 10 may also include a foot pocket 50 positioned on the back side 24 and adjacent to the lower end 30 of the blanket member 20. The foot pocket 50 includes a closed bottom fixedly attached to the blanket member back side 24 and positioned substantially at the blanket member lower end 30. The foot pocket 50 also includes closed side edges attached to the back side 24 and extending upwardly along respective blanket member side edges 26 so as to define an open top and interior space configured to receive a user's feet therein. It is understood that the blanket member 20 includes an elongate configuration such that a user's torso, legs, and feet are covered when worn over the user's head.

In use, a user (i.e. a “wearer”) of the multipurpose blanket 10 may insert his head through the blanket member hole 32 from the back side 24 toward the front side 22 thereof such that the blanket member 20 is positioned to cover a front side of the wearer's torso, legs, and feet. A user's arms are free to be positioned beneath the blanket member 20 or to be extended around respective side edges 26. Once the blanket member 20 has been draped over the front side of a wearer, the wearer may insert his feet into the foot pocket 50. The configuration of the hole 32, central positioning of the hole 32 between respective side edges 26, the freedom to extend one's arms around the side edges 26, being able to insert one's feet into the foot pocket 50, and the ability to recline one's head against the padded area 40 all enhance the ability to maintain the blanket member 20 in a desired position on the front side of a wearer.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the multipurpose blanket 10 is particularly suited for covering a person in a reclined position on a couch, reclining chair, deck chair, or the like and includes particular structures for maintaining a desired position and for keeping a user's torso, hands, and feet warm.

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A multipurpose personal blanket for use in covering a person, comprising:

a blanket member having a front side opposite a back side and opposed side edges connecting said front and back sides, said blanket member having upper and lower ends extending between said side edges;

a padded area proximate said blanket member upper end; and

wherein said blanket member defines a hole proximate said padded area.

2. The blanket as in claim 1, wherein said blanket upper end includes a folded configuration so as to form a pocket.

3. The blanket as in claim 2, wherein said padded area defines an interior space and at least one opening that provides access to said interior space;

said blanket further comprising a pillow removably positioned in said interior space.

4. The blanket as in claim 3, further comprising at least one fastener situated proximate said opening configured to selectively hold said pillow in said interior space.

5. The blanket as in claim 4, wherein said fastener is one of a hook and loop fastener, a snap, or a zipper.

6. The blanket as in claim 1, wherein said hole is situated an equal distance between respective blanket member side edges such that said blanket member is held in position on a front of a person when said person's head is inserted through said hole.

7. The blanket as in claim 1, wherein said hole is offset from said upper end.

8. The blanket as in claim 1, wherein said hole is offset from said upper end and from said padded area such that said padded area is configured to support said person's head when said person is in a recumbent position.

9. The blanket as in claim 1, wherein said blanket member includes an elongate configuration such that a torso, legs, and feet are covered when said person's head is in said hole.

10. The blanket as in claim 3, wherein said opening providing access to said interior space is situated longitudinally along a respective blanket member side edge.

11. The blanket as in claim 10, further comprising, a foot pocket attached to said back side of said blanket member adjacent said blanket member lower end, said foot pocket having a closed bottom and pair of opposed side edges fixedly attached to said back side of said blanket member and defining an open top edge, wherein said foot pocket defines an interior space configured to selectively receive a person's feet therein.

12. The blanket as in claim 3, further comprising, a foot pocket attached to said back side of said blanket member adjacent said blanket member lower end, said foot pocket having a closed bottom and pair of opposed side edges fixedly attached to said back side of said blanket member and defining an open top edge, wherein said foot pocket defines an interior space configured to selectively receive a person's feet therein.

13. The blanket as in claim 3, further comprising, a foot pocket attached to said back side of said blanket member adjacent said blanket member lower end, said foot pocket having a closed bottom and pair of opposed side edges fixedly attached to said back side of said blanket member and defining an open top edge, wherein said foot pocket defines an interior space configured to selectively receive a person's feet therein.