DIVIDED LINEN

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a blanket assembly that permits a first user to collapse a first portion of the blanket assembly independently from a second portion, the first user being associated with the first portion and a second user being associated with the second portion. The assembly includes a blanket body, a separation partially extending into the blanket body from a first end of the blanket body, the separation separating the blanket body into a first portion and a second portion, and an attachment member coupled to the first portion and the second portion along the separation.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present application relates to bedding, and more particularly to bed blankets and comforters.

2. Description of Related Art

Traditionally, blankets and bed comforters are used to cover a user for warmth while the user is sleeping in a bed. However, for a bed having two users, the two users may not agree on a comfortable temperature. While one user may be comfortable being covered by a blanket or bed comforter, the second user may feel too hot by the blanket. A typical solution for the second user in this scenario would be to push the blanket to the side of the second user towards the first user. However, this action may give the first user too much blanket or may disturb the first user while sleeping while performing the action. Another solution is to shift the blanket entirely towards the first user so that the blanket does not cover the second user, however, this solution requires frequent adjustment between making the bed and preparing for sleep. Furthermore, should the second user become cold during the night, the second user must shift the blanket back to covering the second user thereby disturbing the first user in the shifting process. Therefore, it is desired to develop a blanket that permits either the first or the second user to displace a portion of the blanket corresponding to each user without disturbing the other user.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a blanket assembly that permits a first user to collapse a first portion of the blanket assembly independently from a second portion, the first user being associated with the first portion and a second user being associated with the second portion. In one embodiment of the present invention, an assembly is provided comprising: a blanket body having a first end and a second end; a separation partially extending into the blanket body from the first end, the separation separating the blanket body into a first portion and a second portion; and an attachment member coupled to the first portion and the second portion along the separation.

Ultimately the invention may take many embodiments. In these ways, the present invention overcomes the disadvantages inherent in the prior art.

The more important features have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and to ensure that the present contribution to the art is appreciated. Additional features will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow.

Many objects of the present application will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments are capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the various purposes of the present design. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions in so far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the application are set forth in the appended claims. However, the application itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a blanket assembly having separate blanket portions for each user, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the blanket assembly of FIG. 1 having a first blanket portion rolled away separately from a second blanket portion;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the blanket assembly of FIG. 1 having the first blanket portion folded away separately from the second blanket portion towards a second end; and

FIG. 4 is a top view of the blanket assembly of FIG. 1 having the first blanket portion folded away separately from a centerline.

While the embodiments and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the application to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments of the preferred embodiment are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial relationships between various components and to the spatial orientation of various aspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attached drawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the present application, the devices, members, apparatuses, etc. described herein may be positioned in any desired orientation. Thus, the use of terms to describe a spatial relationship between various components or to describe the spatial orientation of aspects of such components should be understood to describe a relative relationship between the components or a spatial orientation of aspects of such components, respectively, as the embodiments described herein may be oriented in any desired direction.

The assembly and method in accordance with the present invention overcomes one or more of the above-discussed problems associated with blankets. In particular, the system of the present invention is a blanket having a partial separation extending from an end of the blanket that separates the blanket into a first portion and a second portion, the two portions corresponding to two users that permit each user to either roll or fold the corresponding portion without disturbing the other user. Furthermore, the system can optionally employ an attachment member to releasably detach the two portions from each other along the partial separation.

The system will be understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments of the system may be presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different embodiments may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment as appropriate, unless otherwise described.

The system of the present application is illustrated in the associated drawings. As used herein, “system” and “assembly” are used interchangeably. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Additional features and functions are illustrated and discussed below.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identify corresponding or similar elements in form and function throughout the several views. FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a top view of a blanket assembly having separate blanket portions for each user where FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate different methods of collapsing each blanket portion.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a top view of blanket assembly 100 having separate blanket portions for each user is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, blanket assembly 100 includes, but is not limited to, blanket body 101 having ends 103a and 103b and a separation (i.e., separation 105) partially extending into blanket body 101 from end 103a, thereby separating blanket body 101 into portions 107a and 107b. Portions 107a and 107b are integrally connected to each other proximately towards end 103b. Portions 107a and 107b are blanket portions corresponding to a first user and a second user.

In general, blanket body 101 can be a blanket, a bed comforter, or a bed linen such that blanket body 101 may have varying thickness and material for varying degree of comfort and/or insulation for maintaining heat for a user. In some instances, blanket body 100 may have insulation stuffing within blanket body 100, such as down, cotton, or polyester stuffing. In general, end 103a is positioned towards corresponding heads of the first user and the second user while the users are laying in a bed, and end 103b is conversely positioned towards feet corresponding to the first user and the second user. In this figure, separation 105 is oriented along center line 111 of blanket body 101.

Optionally, blanket body 101 may have an attachment member that is coupled to portions 107a and 107b along separation 105, wherein the attachment member has at least two parts (i.e., parts 109a and 109b), and wherein the two parts are releasably detachable from each other. In this figure, part 109a is in communication with portion 107a and part 109b is in communication with portion 107b. The attachment member may be a variety of fastening systems. For example, the attachment member can be a hook and loop fasteners, a snap assembly, magnetic co-members, zip fasteners, button and buttonhole fasteners, or hook and eye clasp fasteners.

Optionally, blanket body 101 may have a second separation perpendicular to separation 105 that permits portions 107a and 107b to fold away from centerline 111. In this figure, blanket body 101 has second separation 113 that partially extends into blanket body 101 from separation 105, thereby partially separating portions 107a and 107b from portion 107c. Furthermore, blanket body 101 may optionally have a second attachment member that is coupled to portions 107a-c along separation 113, wherein second attachment member has at least three parts (i.e., parts 115a-c), and wherein two parts releasably detach from the third part. In this figure, part 115a is in communication with portion 107a, part 115b is in communication with portion 107b, and part 115c is in communication with portion 107c, and wherein parts 115a-b releasably detach from part 115c. Parts 115a-c may be a variety of fastening systems, such as hook and loop fasteners, a snap assembly, magnetic co-members, zip fasteners, button and buttonhole fasteners, or hook and eye clasp fasteners.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a top view of blanket assembly 100 having portion 107a rolled away separately from portion 107b is illustrated.

In general, separation 105 permits portions 107a and 107b of blanket body 101 to collapse independently from each other towards end 103b. In this figure, portion 107a is collapsed towards end 103b by rolling portion 107a towards end 103b. This feature permits a first user associated with portion 107a to displace portion 107a without displacing portion 107a onto a second user or without displacing portion 107b associated with the second user, thereby not disturbing the second user from sleeping.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a top view of blanket assembly 100 having portion 107a folded away separately from portion 107b is illustrated.

In this figure, portion 107a is collapsed towards end 103b by folding portion 107a towards end 103b.

As a method of using blanket assembly 100, a user associated with either portion 107a or 107b decouples portion 107a from portion 107b by using the attachment member. Then, either the first user or the second user collapses the corresponding portion associated with each user (i.e., portion 107a or 107b) towards end 103b by either rolling or folding the corresponding portion.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a top view of blanket assembly 100 having portion 107a folded away separately from centerline 111 is illustrated.

Alternatively, the user may fold a respective portion (e.g., portion 107a and/or 107b) away from centerline 111. In this figure, separation 113 permits portion 107a to be folded away from centerline 111. As a method of performing the fold in this figure, the user decouples portion 107a from portion 107b along separation 105, decouples portion 107a from portion 107c along separation 113, and then folds portion 107a away from portion 107b (i.e., away from centerline 111).

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the application may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the application. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. It is apparent that an application with significant advantages has been described and illustrated. Although the present application is shown in a limited number of forms, it is not limited to just these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

Claims

1. A blanket assembly, comprising:

a blanket body having a first end and a second end;

a separation partially extending into the blanket body from the first end, the separation separating the blanket body into a first portion and a second portion; and

an attachment member coupled to the first portion and the second portion along the separation.

2. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a second separation perpendicular to the separation, the second separation partially extending into the blanket body from the separation, the second separation partially separating the first portion and the second portion from a third portion of the blanket body; and

a second attachment member coupled to the first portion, the second portion, and the third portion along the second separation.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member has at least two parts, a first part and a second part, the first part in communication with the first portion and the second part in communication with the second portion, the first part and the second part being releasably detachable from each other.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member is a snap assembly.

5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member are magnetic co-members.

6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member is a zip fastener.

7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member is a button and buttonhole fastener.

8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member is a hook and eye clasp fastener.

9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the separation partially extending into the blanket body is oriented along a center line of the blanket body.

10. A method of using a blanket assembly, comprising:

obtaining a blanket assembly of claim 1; and

decoupling the first portion from the second portion using the attachment member.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising collapsing a portion of the blanket assembly towards the second end.

11. (canceled)

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the portion is the second portion.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein collapsing the portion of the blanket comprise of rolling the portion.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein collapsing the portion of the blanket comprise of folding the portion.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

decoupling the first portion from a third portion using a second attachment member; and

folding the first portion away from the second portion.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the attachment member has at least two parts, a first part and a second part, the first part in communication with the first portion and the second part in communication with the second portion, the first part and the second part being releasably detachable from each other.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the attachment member is a snap assembly.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the attachment member is a zip fastener.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein the attachment member is a button and buttonhole fastener.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the attachment member is a hook and eye clasp fastener.