BAG BLANKET

Abstract

A fully functional carry-all backpack or bag that comprises a full sized backpack or bag with main carrying compartment or open cavity that can safely store personal items of various size with sealable pockets, either external or internal, small or large, useful for securing the storage of additional personal items, a pair of drawstrings or shoulder straps that are attached to the backpack or bag for the purpose of carrying the apparatus either on one's shoulder or back, a material that is comfortable to lie, sit or repose upon, suitable for use on multiple surfaces, including sand, and which is also machine-washable, and a pair of zippers on both sides of the apparatus that maintain the integrity and structure of the carry-all backpack or bag.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/637,396, filed Mar. 2, 2018, entitled BAG BLANKET, the specification of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

There are a number of accessories that are currently available for enhancing the life of someone who is always on the go. People of this nature are also known to ‘fly by the seats of their pants’ and go from one activity to another. These individuals could, for one example, be eating a meal at a restaurant and on a whim decide afterwards they would like to go and lie down on the beach. This type of transition may not always be possible with the comforts one typically requires when going to the beach, for they would have to have been prepared to bring a blanket to repose upon. In another case, one might want to go to the park to lie on the grass and/or have a picnic and from there, go to the mall with friends. In this case, lying on the grass would typically require a blanket as to not get their outfit dirty. Additionally, this person would likely not want to have to carry a bulky blanket with them during their time at the mall. In both of these instances, along with many others, it would be beneficial for these individuals to have a fashionable bag that can carry their personal items, such as a wallet, keys, cell phone, reading material or cosmetics as well as to be useful on the go or when out and about. Other consumers could be mothers who are typically in need of an extra hand from carrying items for their kids as well as needing a place to sit when cheering on their child at a soccer game, or in other situations, instead of sitting directly on the ground. It would be most beneficial and desirable for these individuals to have a way of easily transporting a blanket around with them from one activity to the next. The prior art discloses a number of devices that are good for one or the other but don't address all of these needs.

There remains a need for a lightweight, fashionable, every-day, full-sized, fully-functional, carry-all bag that can also unfold and double as a full-sized blanket to accommodate multiple individuals to sit, rest or repose upon.

SUMMARY

The apparatus of the present invention is both a fully-functional, carry-all backpack or bag and a full-sized blanket, which can be used as a personal carrying accessory for individuals needing to carry items while ‘out-and-about’ that can, on a moment's notice, also be useful when these individuals are looking to sit, rest or repose on something more clean and comfortable than simply the ground surface.

More specifically, the apparatus of the present invention can be useful as a blanket for the beach, when at the park, in yoga classes, at a child's soccer game, at a festival or anywhere for which its use is convenient. By combining the complete functionalities of a carry-all backpack or bag and a blanket into one product, men and women everywhere can comfortably relax and repose, with their friends, anywhere they wish to rest, without sacrificing their stylish personality and without having to pack in advance, transport a bulky blanket or for another example, get a towel all dirty or sandy in instances where a towel is used instead of a blanket to sit or repose upon at the beach.

This multi-purpose accessory of the present invention, when structured as a carry-all backpack or bag, provides a deep cavity, ranging anywhere from 200-400 milliliters in size, which is completely empty and useful for storing items such as towels, books, sweatshirts and other personal items. Additionally, the carry-all backpack or bag of the present invention features pockets that can each be sealed through the closure means of a zipper or other, where additional personal items can be stored and transported securely without the possibility of falling out. Of note, the carry-all backpack or bag of the present invention includes carrying straps, shoulder straps or drawstrings, depending on the style so that individuals can easily carry and transport the items on their shoulders or back.

The carry-all backpack or bag of the present invention has two zippers that extend height-wise from top to bottom on either side of the backpack or bag, which when unzipped, allow the carry-all backpack or bag to instantly transform through a few unfolding steps into a full-sized blanket that can then be placed upon any ground surface for an individual to easily sit, rest, relax or repose upon with less than a minute's notice or desire.

The full-sized blanket of the current invention can be extended and laid upon a ground surface ‘face-up’ or ‘face-down.’ On one face of the blanket are the sealable pockets that, as mentioned above, are useful for storing items when the apparatus of the current invention functions as a carry-all backpack or bag. However, if those pockets are ‘face-down’ when extended and laid out as a blanket, they may be harder to access. Therefore, additional sealable pockets, not accessible when this apparatus is structured as a carry-all backpack or bag, have been integrated into the full-sized blanket of the present invention on the flip side, so that either way the full-sized blanket of the present invention is deployed, sealable pockets that can store personal items such as a cell phone, keys or wallet can be accessed.

The full-sized blanket of the present invention can easily be folded back up—even with items resting on top—into the structure of the carry-all backpack or bag, so that the individual can not only be ready to relax and repose almost instantaneously, but also be packed up and on the go as quickly as they need to leave.

The material from the apparatus is durable and machine washable.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a multi-functional apparatus that in and of itself, will in one aspect operate as a fully-functional, carry-all backpack or bag for transporting items and in another aspect operate as a full-sized, comfortable blanket for use in covering up any ground surface for which to rest or repose.

It is another objective of the present invention to make the transition from either function to the other as quickly and seamlessly as possible to allow for maximizing all of the time in the day.

It is still yet another objective of the present invention that the carry-all backpack or bag have both a deep, empty cavity as well as sealable pockets that are useful for transporting an individual's personal items—whatever they may be—wherever they may be going.

It is a further objective of the present invention that the carry-all backpack or bag be equipped with some sort of carrying device, either a shoulder strap, drawstrings or similar, for ease of carrying the backpack or bag and transporting personal items within.

It is still yet another objective of the present invention to ensure that the carry-all backpack or bag have fashionable print that would accommodate any setting and allow the apparatus to function as an ‘every day’ backpack or bag, regardless of where the individual's plans may take them.

A further objective of the present invention is to have a full-sized blanket that is in fact the same material that is used in constructing the structure of the carry-all backpack or bag, so the two features of the apparatus are in fact one in the same. They are not two separate objects that are connected and folded into or out of one another.

Another objective of the present invention is to have the full-sized blanket big enough to allow one adult individual to comfortably repose upon, or multiple adults to comfortably sit upon.

Still another objective of the present invention is to have the full-sized blanket equipped with sealable pockets, on both faces of the blanket, to allow for easy access to whatever items may be stored in those pockets—such as a phone, keys, wallet—regardless of which side of the blanket faces up when laid upon a ground surface for use.

A still further objective of the present invention is to make the blanket out of comfortable, durable material, which may or may not include a layer of padding, but that is machine washable for easy cleaning.

Another objective of the present invention is to have precise stitching throughout the fabric that create “guide” lines to help the user fold the blanket back up into the backpack or bag structure more easily.

These and other objects, features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art, providing they read through the detail description below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims contained herein.

The apparatus takes the functionality of the traditional backpack or tote-bag and adds on the ability to also use the same apparatus as a full-sized blanket. No longer does one have to pack a separate blanket for use at the beach or use their towel to avoid sitting on the sand, grass or any other surface they wish to sit or repose upon, or carry a separate bag to store personal items. Now the actual backpack or bag can double as a full-sized beach blanket.

There have been past efforts by inventors and manufacturers to create products from which a chair, blanket, or seat covering emerge from within the confines of the carrying device. However, in any of these past instances either: a) the chair is of a solid structure instead of a soft blanket and only seats one person, whereas this apparatus is of a soft, comfortable fabric that can be laid upon any surface and can seat more than one person; b) the blanket or seat covering emerge from within the carrying device and get tucked back inside the carrying device, whereas the full blanket material of this apparatus is the same material that makes up the structure for the carrying device and are not separate objects that are integrally attached; c) the blanket, when folded up and structured as a carrying device only serves the purpose to primarily carry the blanket or seat covering and perhaps some small objects leaving little to no additional room for storage of personal items, whereas this apparatus, when folded back up, becomes a fully functional carrying device that is able to store and transport both large and small personal items through the use of a deep inner cavity and sealable pockets.

As described, the primary purpose for this apparatus is for use at the beach or in the park but it can really be used anywhere. The apparatus functionality and design is perfect for every day use; the blanket functionality can be useful wherever you go and need to sit or repose, be it on a picnic, at a concert or festival, on a boat, at a kid's soccer game or even when working out or doing yoga. The usefulness of this device is that it is perfect for people who are always on the go and like to have the ability to take a break and relax wherever they happen to be at any time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are an angled profile-perspective view of the present invention of both carrying styles, when folded up and functioning as a carry-all backpack or bag, respectively, so the individual can transport personal items utilizing the inner cavity or sealable pockets;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a flat perspective view of the present invention in either carrying styles once the side height-wise zippers are unzipped, allowing the backpack or bag to begin to unfold in step one of the process for transforming to a blanket, showing inner sealable pockets that can be utilized when the present invention is functioning as a backpack or bag or while used as a blanket;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a flat perspective view of the present invention in either carrying styles in step two of the transformation process, showing the apparatus fully extended lengthwise/vertically;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a flat perspective view of the present invention in either carrying styles, once the apparatus is fully unfolded, extended both horizontally and vertically, and face up, whereby showing the additional sealable pockets that are available for use in storing personal items; and

FIG. 5 is a flat perspective view of the present invention in the backpack carrying style, illustrating an additional step in the transformation process that is required to get from FIG. 3A to 4A as the backpack has two lengthwise/horizontal unfold steps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers are used herein to designate like elements throughout, the various views and embodiments of bag blanket are illustrated and described, and other possible embodiments are described. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in some instances the drawings have been exaggerated and/or simplified in places for illustrative purposes only. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the many possible applications and variations based on the following examples of possible embodiments.

Illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 5 is the apparatus of the present invention displayed as a fully-functional, everyday, carry-all backpack 1 and fully-functional, everyday, carry-all bag 15 along with all of their features and all of the steps in the transformation process to transform the apparatus into a full-sized blanket 13.

As seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a seemingly typical backpack 1 or bag 15, with drawstrings 2 as shown in the backpack 1 style in FIG. 1A, or shoulder carrying straps 12 as shown in the bag 15 style in FIG. 1B, allow an individual to easily carry the backpack 1 or bag 15 and transport personal items. The backpack 1 and bag 15 in FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively, also display a deep, empty cavity 3 that has between 200-400 milliliters of volume available for carrying personal items on the go. The drawstrings 2 of the backpack 1, as seen in FIG. 1A, can be pulled tight to close the top of the bag thereby sealing the cavity 3 for that style. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, both backpack 1 and bag 15 styles may be equipped with exterior pockets 5 that are also manufactured with sealable closures 6 to ensure that personal items can be transported securely in the backpack 1 or bag 15 without fear of them falling out.

Most importantly, side zippers 4 can be seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B on the side of the backpack 1 and bag 15, which extend from the top to the bottom on both sides. When unzipped, it allows the backpack 1 or the bag 15 to begin the transformation process, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A through 5, for transforming into a blanket 13. It can be seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B that there is extra material 14 that will continue to be unveiled as the transformation process continues.

In FIGS. 2A and 2B the side zippers 4 have been opened allowing the backpack 1 and the bag 15, respectively, to unfold in step one of the transformation process along the stitched folding line 9. The drawstrings 2 in FIG. 2A and the shoulder straps 12 in FIG. 2B are still accessible at this point. FIGS. 2A and 2B clearly show the internal pockets 7 equipped with internal pocket sealable closure devices 8 for securing and storage of personal items.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show step two of the transformation process, where the inner flaps further unfold and extend vertically along stitched folding lines 9. The side zippers 4 are still visible in this step of the transformation process. Also clearly identified in FIGS. 3A and 3B is more material 14 that will be revealed as the process for unfolding and creating a full-sized blanket 13 continues.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show the final outcome of the process, where the apparatus has transformed into a full-sized blanket 13. Both styles allow for smaller surface pockets 10 that are equipped with smaller sealable closure devices 11. In order to begin the transformation back to the backpack 1 or bag 15 structures, the individual can simply reverse the above-listed process by folding along stitched guide lines 9.

FIG. 5 shows an additional step in the transformation process for the backpack 1 style to get from positions illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 4A, which requires and further step to reveal additional material 14 by unfolding horizontally along the stitched folding lines 9. This step in the process reveals one smaller surface pocket 10 with a smaller sealable closure device 11 to allow for storing of personal items.

While the process described in FIGS. 1A through 5 to transform the backpack 1 or bag 15 into the blanket 13, or vice versa, may seem complex or complicated, the process is actually self-evident and rather simple and takes less than 10 seconds to complete.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this bag blanket provides a lightweight, fashionable, every-day, full-sized, fully-functional, carry-all bag that can also unfold and double as a full-sized blanket to accommodate multiple individuals to sit, rest or repose upon. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner, and are not intended to be limiting to the particular forms and examples disclosed. On the contrary, included are any further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, as defined by the following claims. Thus, it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments.

Claims

1. A fully functional carry-all backpack or bag, comprising:

a full sized backpack or bag with main carrying compartment or open cavity that can safely store personal items of various size;

sealable pockets, either external or internal, small or large, useful for securing the storage of additional personal items;

a pair of drawstrings or shoulder straps that are attached to the backpack or bag for the purpose of carrying the apparatus either on one's shoulder or back;

a material that is comfortable to lie, sit or repose upon, suitable for use on multiple surfaces, including sand, and which is also machine-washable; and

a pair of zippers on both sides of the apparatus that maintain the integrity and structure of the carry-all backpack or bag but allow the apparatus to further unfold.

2. The fully functional carry-all backpack or bag of claim 1, wherein the backpack or bag is combined with the functionality of a full-sized comfortable blanket, where both are made from the same material;

not to be confused with an apparatus that offers the functionality of just a backpack or bag;

not to be confused with an apparatus that offers the functionality of just a blanket;

not to be confused with an apparatus that offers the convenience of a blanket as stated along with a functional way for said blanket to be rolled up and carried over the shoulder on the back or through any other method of conveyance;

not to be confused with a backpack or bag that has a blanket integrally attached to said backpack or bag that can then be deployed; and

not to be confused with a backpack or bag that has a blanket that only unfolds vertically and doesn't add extra width to the blanket through additional unfolds and extensions of the fabric in a horizontal direction.

3. The fully functional carry-all backpack or bag of claim 2, further comprising using a functionality to maintain the integrity and structure of the carry-all backpack or bag through the use of:

zippers that extends from top to bottom going down both sides of the backpack or bag that allow the apparatus to stay closed and functional, but also to open and unfold into the blanket; and

a functionality not to be limited to the use of solely a zipper as described for maintaining integrity of structure of the backpack or bag as those well schooled in the arts of design and manufacturing may be able to replicate the same functionality and structure using fasteners, Velcro™, buckles, buttons, snaps or other tools and resources.

4. The fully functional carry-all backpack or bag of claim 1, wherein a functionality, such as a zipper, is utilized to allow for sealable pockets for storing personal items securely:

not to be limited to the use of solely a zipper for closing and sealing pockets as those well schooled in the arts of design and manufacturing may be able to replicate the same functionality and structure using fasteners, Velcro™, buckles, buttons, snaps and other tools and resources; and

not to be restricted to the number, size or positions of the sealable pockets.

5. A full-sized blanket, comprising:

an elongated and extended, generally rectangular or square fabric piece that when flat defines the extent of the blanket;

wherein the blanket is created by unfolding a backpack or bag and extending the fabric in both vertical and horizontal directions;

wherein the blanket is not withdrawn nor pulled from within the backpack or bag, nor is it a separate item that is integrally attached to the backpack or bag;

a blanket that can easily accommodate one average-sized reposing adult, or multiple average-sized adults while seated;

wherein said blanket has accessible, sealable pockets for use of storing personal items when it lies flat on a surface; and

wherein said blanket is comfortable to sit or repose upon, and manufactured using either one or two layers of fabric and either contains a layer of padding between the fabric or does not.

6. The full-sized blanket of claim 5, wherein the blanket is combined with the functionality of the backpack or bag, where both are made from the same material; not to be confused with a backpack or bag that has a blanket that only unfolds vertically and doesn't add extra width to the blanket through additional unfolds and extensions of the fabric in a horizontal direction.

not to be confused with an apparatus that offers the functionality of just a backpack or bag;

not to be confused with an apparatus that offers the functionality of just a blanket;

not to be confused with an apparatus that offers the convenience of a blanket as stated along with a functional way for said blanket to be rolled up and carried over the shoulder on the back or through any other method of conveyance;

not to be confused with a backpack or bag that has a blanket integrally attached to said backpack or bag that can then be deployed; and

7. The full-sized blanket of claim 6, further comprising using a functionality to maintain the integrity and structure of the backpack or bag through the use of:

zippers that extends from top to bottom going down both sides of the backpack or bag, that allow the apparatus to stay closed and functional, but also to open and unfold into the blanket; and

a functionality not to be limited to the use of solely a zipper as described for maintaining integrity of structure of the backpack or bag as those well schooled in the arts of design and manufacturing may be able to replicate the same functionality and structure using fasteners, Velcro™, buckles, buttons, snaps or other tools and resources.

8. The full-sized blanket of claim 5, wherein a functionality, such as a zipper, is utilized to allow for sealable pockets for storing personal items securely:

not to be limited to the use of solely a zipper for closing and sealing pockets as those well schooled in the arts of design and manufacturing may be able to replicate the same functionality and structure using fasteners, Velcro™, buckles, buttons, snaps and other tools and resources; and

not to be restricted to the number, size or positions of the sealable pockets.