NOVEL SLEEPING BAG
A multi-use sleeping bag is disclosed. In one aspect of the invention, the sleeping bag includes a bottom bag portion of reduced insulation relative to the other portions of the bag. In another aspect of the invention, the sleeping bag includes an intermediate layer disposed within the bag such as to create two sleep chambers, one above the intermediate layer and one below the intermediate layer. In another aspect of the invention, the sleeping bag includes an intermediate layer disposed within the bag, the intermediate layer including a hood portion with a face opening and the bag including a hood portion with multiple face openings, and the intermediate layer and the bag each including one or more baffles that are selectively positionable to cover the face openings.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/050,784, filed on Jul. 11, 2020.
BACKGROUNDThis invention pertains generally to technology for improving functionality of sleeping bags. More specifically, the invention is directed to a multi-climate, multi-purpose, sleeping bag.
In general, a sleeping bag is an insulated structure medially folded upon itself to form a sleeping chamber having a closed lower foot end and an open upper head end. A sleeping bag may include a hood at the upper end. In use, the user enters the sleeping chamber and is thereby substantially encompassed by the insulated material forming the bag. This serves to keep the user warm while sleeping.
Different materials or amounts of insulation are required for different ambient temperatures. More, or more effective, insulation is required for colder ambient temperatures. Less is required for warmer temperatures. As a result, users (such as campers) may be required to own more than one sleeping bag to serve multiple needs. The expense required for multiple bags may decrease participation in camping activities. For example, youth participation in scouting groups that camp in multiple climates can be decreased because of the sleeping-bag expense.
The inconvenience of climate-specific sleeping bags is exacerbated when a single use (such as a multi-day hiking trip) involves sleeping in different climates. For example, hiking through mountains often involves campsites at different elevations, each with its own climate. Higher-elevation campsites typically have a lower ambient temperature than lower-elevation campsites. This temperature difference can be tens of degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, the user typically has the choice of using a single bag that is either too warm for the higher-temperature sites or too cold for the lower-temperature sites, carrying two (or more) bags, or carrying a so-called convertible sleeping bag with multiple top panels. The first option leads to discomfort at the off-temperature sites. The second option increases the weight and volume the user's pack, or requires the user to carry fewer other items (such as food). The third option adds the inconvenience of having to modify the bag at different campsites to prepare it for use.
Some climates are so cold that the user's head must also be encompassed by the bag. For such use, a sleeping bag may include an integral hood such as in a mummy bag. The bags are designed for the user to sleep supine, with the user's head substantially encompassed by the integral hood but leaving his or her face somewhat open. This design is inconvenient and uncomfortable for users that prefer to sleep in other positions. They must either forgo the insulating benefits of the hood or sleep in an other-than-preferred position.
Accordingly, there is a need for technology to improve the function of sleeping bags to enable more efficient use of a single bag.
SUMMARYThe present invention is directed to technology to enable a sleeping bag to efficiently serve a broader function than do prior-art bags.
In one aspect of the invention, an intermediate layer is disposed within the chamber of a sleeping bag such as to create two sleep chambers. The first sleep chamber is defined by the space between the intermediate layer and the bottom of the bag. (The “bottom” of the bag is that portion of the bag that is oriented downward when in typical use.) The first sleep chamber thus has two layers of insulation above the user. The first layer defined by the intermediate layer, the second layer defined by the bag material itself (the outer layer). The second sleep chamber is defined by the space between the intermediate layer and the top of the bag. (The “top” of the bag is that portion of the bag that is oriented upward when in typical use.) The second sleep chamber thus has only one layer of insulation above the user, namely, the bag material. The first sleep chamber is appropriate for lower-temperature locations (e.g., high-altitude campsites). The second sleep chamber is appropriate for higher-temperature locations (e.g., low-altitude campsites). Thus, the bag is suitable for convenient use in multiple climates.
In another aspect of the invention, a portion of the bottom of a sleeping bag includes less insulation than other portions of the bag. This reduces the weight and the volume of the bag. And the overall insulating efficacy of the bag (and thus the temperature rating) is minimally impacted since insulation at the bottom of the bag is compressed during use and is therefore of less import than insulation at other portions of the bag. Thus, the bag achieves a higher insulating effect per unit volume and a higher insulating effect per unit weight than does a standard bag that has a substantially uniform amount of insulation at the top and bottom of the bag.
In another aspect of the invention, an intermediate layer is disposed within the chamber of a sleeping bag such as to create a multi-position hood. The bag includes a hood portion with multiple face openings (e.g., one on the top portion of the bag, and one on each side of the bag) and one or more selectively positionable baffles that can selectively cover one or more of the multiple face openings and thereby limit egress of warm air from the bag, or ingress of cold air into the bag, through the covered face opening. The baffles may be implemented in a variety of ways. For example, as a flap portion that folds or flaps over the opening, or panel portions that overlap to cover the opening. The intermediate layer includes a hood portion complementary to the bag hood portion in that the intermediate-layer hood portion includes a face opening and one or more baffles that may be used to cover the intermediate-layer-hood-portion face opening and a bag-hood-portion face opening. The bag hood portion and the intermediate-layer hood portion cooperate to form a user-configurable hood that the user may configure for his or her particular sleep preference (e.g., a side sleeper may use the baffles to cover all face openings except one on the side portion of the bag). Thus, the bag enables effective hood insulation for the user while allowing the user to sleep as he or she chooses.
In another aspect of the invention, one or more baffles are integrated into the outer layer of a sleeping bag to form a multi-position hood. The bag includes a head opening at the head end of the bag. The outer layer of the bag includes a baffle portion that extends down from the head end of the bag to cover the head opening and overlap with the outer layer that is toward the foot end of the bag from the head opening (the overlapped portion), thus forming a hood for the user. The baffle portion may be secured to the overlapped portion of the bag to keep the hood in place and may be shaped to provide two or more areas of overlap where the user can selectively separate the baffle portion from overlapped portion to provide a face opening. The baffle portion and the overlapped portion cooperate to form a user-configurable hood that the user may configure for his or her particular sleep preference (e.g., a side sleeper may use the baffle portion to cover the entire head opening except for once section on the side portion of the bag to provide a face opening). Thus, the bag enables effective hood insulation for the user while allowing the user to sleep as he or she chooses.
In another aspect of the invention, multiple straps are disposed on the outside surface of the bottom of a sleeping bag. The straps are configured to define a loop to accept a sleeping pad and thereby secure the sleeping pad to the outside surface of the bottom of the bag. Advantageously, the straps are disposed such that they are neither parallel to nor perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bag (the head-to-foot direction). In one embodiment, two straps may form a roughly “X” shaped on the bottom of the bag.
In another aspect of the invention, a baffled opening is positioned in a sleeping bag toward the foot portion of the bag. This enables the user to selectively regulate temperature by positioning a foot or leg through the opening and outside of the bag.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
In the summary above, and in the description below, reference is made to particular features of the invention in the context of exemplary embodiments of the invention. The features are described in the context of the exemplary embodiments to facilitate understanding. But the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. And the features are not limited to the embodiments by which they are described. The invention provides a number of inventive features which can be combined in many ways, and the invention can be embodied in a wide variety of contexts. Unless expressly set forth as an essential feature of the invention, a feature of a particular embodiment should not be read into the claims unless expressly recited in a claim.
Except as explicitly defined otherwise, the words and phrases used herein, including terms used in the claims, carry the same meaning they carry to one of ordinary skill in the art as ordinarily used in the art.
Because one of ordinary skill in the art may best understand the structure of the invention by the function of various structural features of the invention, certain structural features may be explained or claimed with reference to the function of a feature. Unless used in the context of describing or claiming a particular inventive function (e.g., a process), reference to the function of a structural feature refers to the capability of the structural feature, not to an instance of use of the invention.
Except for claims that include language introducing a function with “means for” or “step for,” the claims are not recited in so-called means-plus-function or step-plus-function format governed by 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). Claims that include the “means for [function]” language but also recite the structure for performing the function are not means-plus-function claims governed by § 112(f). Claims that include the “step for [function]” language but also recite an act for performing the function are not step-plus-function claims governed by § 112(f).
Except as otherwise stated herein or as is otherwise clear from context, the inventive methods comprising or consisting of more than one step may be carried out without concern for the order of the steps.
The terms “comprising,” “comprises,” “including,” “includes,” “having,” “haves,” and their grammatical equivalents are used herein to mean that other components or steps are optionally present. For example, an article comprising A, B, and C includes an article having only A, B, and C as well as articles having A, B, C, and other components. And a method comprising the steps A, B, and C includes methods having only the steps A, B, and C as well as methods having the steps A, B, C, and other steps.
Terms of degree, such as “substantially,” “about,” and “roughly” are used herein to denote features that satisfy their technological purpose equivalently to a feature that is “exact.” For example, a component A is “substantially” perpendicular to a second component B if A and B are at an angle such as to equivalently satisfy the technological purpose of A being perpendicular to B.
Except as otherwise stated herein, or as is otherwise clear from context, the term “or” is used herein in its inclusive sense. For example, “A or B” means “A or B, or both A and B.”
An exemplary sleeping bag 100 according to an aspect of the invention is illustrated in
As illustrated in
While the bag 100 is illustrated with a single intermediate layer 104, it is possible to include additional intermediate layers to define additional sleep chambers. For example, an additional intermediate layer may be disposed in the bag 100 such that a first chamber includes three insulating layers above the user (bag layer 102, the first intermediate layer 104, and the additional intermediate layer), a second chamber includes two insulating layers above the user (bag layer 102 and intermediate layer 104), and a third chamber includes a single insulating layer above the user (bag layer 102).
The region 110 of reduced insulation has less insulation than insulating layer 102. This lowers the overall volume and weight of the bag 100 compared to a bag with a uniform layer of insulation. When combined with the intermediate layer 104, this enables a multi-climate bag without significant (or any) increase in weight or volume over a standard bag of similar temperature rating.
Another exemplary sleeping bag 200 according to an aspect of the invention is illustrated in
The baffles in the embodiment of
Another exemplary sleeping bag 300 according to an aspect of the invention is illustrated in
As depicted in
Another exemplary sleeping bag 400 according to an aspect of the invention is illustrated in
Another exemplary sleeping bag 600 according to an aspect of the invention is illustrated in
While the foregoing description is directed to the preferred embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the basic scope of the invention. And features described with reference to one embodiment may be combined with other embodiments, even if not explicitly stated above, without departing from the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims which follow.
Claims
1. A sleeping bag comprising:
- (a) an outer layer having a top portion, a bottom portion, two side portions, a head portion, and a foot portion, wherein the outer layer is shaped to define a chamber bounded by the top portion, bottom portion, side portions, and foot portion; and
- (b) an intermediate layer disposed in the chamber of the outer layer between the top portion and bottom portion of the outer layer and fastened to a surface of the outer layer such that the intermediate layer subdivides the chamber of the outer layer.
2. The sleeping bag of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of straps attached to the bottom portion of the outer layer outside the chamber of the outer layer.
3. The sleeping bag of claim 2 wherein at least two of the plurality of straps are oriented to cross each other.
4. The sleeping bag of claim 1 further comprising:
- (a) at least two outer-layer baffles attached to the outer layer; and
- (b) an intermediate-layer baffle attached to the intermediate layer;
- (c) wherein the head portion of the outer layer comprises a hood having at least two face openings;
- (d) wherein the intermediate layer includes a hood having at least one face opening that corresponds to one of the head-portion-hood's face openings;
- (e) wherein the outer-layer baffles are configured to selectively cover the head-portion-hood's face openings; and
- (f) wherein the intermediate-layer baffle is configured to selectively cover at least one face opening of the intermediate-layer hood.
5. The sleeping bag of claim 1 wherein the head portion of the outer layer includes a head opening and a hood configured to selectively overlap the head opening.
6. The sleeping bag of claim 1 further comprising:
- (a) a first foot opening in the outer layer;
- (b) a second foot opening in the intermediate layer;
- (c) a first foot-opening baffle attached to the outer layer, wherein the first foot-opening baffle is configured to selectively cover the first foot opening; and
- (d) a second foot-opening baffle attached to the intermediate layer, wherein the second foot-opening baffle is configured to selectively cover the second foot opening.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 30, 2021
Publication Date: Jan 13, 2022
Inventor: Gary Robert Clayton (Benbrook, TX)
Application Number: 17/363,955