US2656540A

US2656540A - Robe with fasteners

Info

Publication number: US2656540A
Application number: US205979A
Authority: US
Inventors: Verne L Stephenson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1951-01-15
Filing date: 1951-01-15
Publication date: 1953-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1970-10-27

Description

1953 v. L. STEPHENSON 2,656,540

ROBE WITH FASTENERS.

Filed Jan. 15, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Hie/v5 4 57ZP/lE/V30/V BY I W? Oct. 27, 1953 v v. L. STEPHENSON 2 ,656;540

ROBE WITH FASTENERS" Filed Jan. 15, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet? INVENTOR.

Afraid/5K5 Oct. 27, 1953 v. STEPHENSON 2,656,540

ROBE WITH FASTENERS Filed Jan. 15, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet s 52, 1 Eisirwuwmigmmm' INVENTOR. ligelve Lfin'P/lzwsml.

- F1 E- E: myw.

Patented Oct. 27, .1953

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBE WITH FASTENERS Verne L. Stephenson, Goshen, Ind. Application January 15, 1951, Serial No. 205,979 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-695) This invention relates to a robe with fasteners.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a robe which may be used in its extended flat condition as a covering upon a cot or bed, or as a seating pad when spread upon the ground at a beach or a picnic, and which also may be folded and fastened to form a bag or enclosure in which all or a part of the body of the user may fit to effectively cover and protect the user, particularly while in a reclining or in a seated position.

A further object is to provide a device of this character wherein a robe is provided with a plurality of fasteners so located and positioned as to form a bag or enclosure of any of a selected number of sizes and shapes to accommodate users of different sizes and weights, and which robe is so constructed that it may be extended to and used in fiat position if desired.

A further object is to provide a device of this character provided with slide fasteners so positioned and arranged as to form the robe into a bag or enclosure, which bag or enclosure may have a selected number of openings formed therein at desired positions and of selected size by manipulation of said fasteners.

Other objects will be apparent from the following specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the robe in its folded and fastened position to form an enclosure.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the robe shown in Fig. 1, with the fasteners released and the robe extended.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the formation of an enclosure of small size.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating the arrangement of the parts to form an enclosure of larger size than that illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and illustrating the formation of an enclosure of maximum size permitted by the construction of the device.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sec-. tional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of an enclosure formed by a modified embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a robe of the character illustrated in Fig. 7 in its extended form.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 8, illustrating the robe folded to the condition shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the enclosure illustrated in Fig. 7 with the parts separated to provide a small opening in the enclosure.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 to 6 which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the numeral l0 designates a robe or blanket, preferably of rectangular shape and of any size found suitable, but preferably of the size commonly used in robes for use at picnics, football games, and the like. The robe may have a fringe l2 at one end thereof as illustrated.

The robe will be provided with one or two elongated pieces of blanket material, preferably of the same material of which the robe l 0 is formed. Two strips [4 are preferred, one located at each of the two longitudinal edges of the robe and extending for the major part of the length of the robe. The strip or strips l4 preferably taper with the narrow part located at one end of the robe and the wide part thereof terminating short of the opposite end of the robe. Where a robe having a fringed end is provided,the wide part of each strip [4 will be positioned adjacent to but spaced from that fringed end, and the narrow part of the strip M will extend adjacent to but preferably will terminate slightly inwardly spaced from the opposite end of the robe. The strip [4 will be sewed to the robe by longitudinal lines of stitching l6 at its outer edge, as best illustrated in Fig. 6, the outer margin of the strip l4 being inset from the outer longitudinal edge of the robe I0, and the strip [4 lying flat upon the robe to extend inwardly from the stitching line It.

The opposite longitudinal margins of the robe II] will have secured thereto the tapes [8 of slide fasteners, which tapes H! are sewed or stitched at 20 at the margin thereof opposite that margin which mounts the fastener teeth 22. The tape l8 will be so secured and positioned with relation to the robe II) that the fastener teeth 22 will project slightly outwardly beyond the outer margins of the robe It, as best seen in Fig. 6, and the portions of the robe l0 and of the tape l8 positioned outwardly of the stitching 20 are preferably free from one another so that the slider may extend along the teeth to engage the same with the teeth of a complementary strip or to disengage them from the teeth of a complementary strip. The tape [8 will preferably be positioned in contact with the face or surface of the robe II] which is contacted or engaged by the adjacent flap or strip l4.

Each strip M will have secured thereto a slide fastener part consisting of a tape 24 mounting a series of longitudinally spaced grippers or teeth 26 at one edge. The tape 24 is secured to the strip M at the edge portion thereof opposite that which mounts the teeth 26 by means of stitching 28. The tape 24 engages the surface of the strip I4 which normally contacts the robe ill so that when the parts lie in their natural extended position, as illustrated in Fig. 6, the tape 24 will be disposed between the robe It and the strip 14. The teeth 26 will be positioned outwardly from the edge of the strip l4, and the portions of the strip l4 and the tape 24 located outwardly of the line of stitching 28 will be separate and free from one another, preferably.

At e end o thtlfflbe adjacen t e ma Q narrow ends of the strips [4 a plurality of fastener strips are secured. Each of these fastener strips preferably comprises a tape and a plurality of spaced projecting teeth of the character well known in the art. In the form of theiembodi ment shown, four such strips are provided, the same being strips 30, 32, 34 and 36.

Thestrips

30 and 32 are mating strips, and the strips 35 and 36 are mating strips. The strips are preterably of substantially e ual length. The tapes of these strips are preferably secured to the robe H) at the same face of that robe Whiclfi'se'n gaged by the longitudinaltapesl8, andsubstantially the same'arrangemenfi'bf the strips 30'; 32, 34 and 36 with respect to'themargin "and edge of the robe is followed "as has been described above with reference to theta'pe and fastener 1'8, 22; that is, the 'tapes'are stitched to" the 'robe spaced'inwardly from the edge of the robe and at the inner edge'or margin'of the tape, and'the e teeth of each fastener 's'trip" are located in slightly outwardly projecting relation with respect'tfo the edge of the robe. Where'four

fasteners

30, 32, 34, 36 are provided, each thereofi'sfof'a 1ength slightly less than oneuarterof the length of the edge or marginal portion"o'f the robet'o"whicli"they"are secur d. Thus theoute'rmost e'rids of'the Stiifi 30 and (1'6 arespaced inwardly from 'th'es ide edges of robe to which the longitudinal tape strips [8 are secured. The 'inne'fnd's off the tape strips 32', 34 are'spaced apart andare substantially eduif spaced from the longitudinal center of the robe. The" adjacent ends 'o'f' the"

complementarystrips

36,32,84 and 3fi'are'alsdspaed apart. "The 'arj i'ang'ementandspaciflg'ofthel strips is subst tially'asillustrated inFigIZ. "The strips 39, 32 34, "36 are preferably so oriented that the startiny'endstheredf are til ends which are adiacentto each other when the robe is spread flat. "Thus thestrip's and 35 are illustratedas' the strips w urwh the slider elements 38 'are permanently associated, d

s1- uon; It'willbe'unde'rstdod, ho e r, that the fasteners areof the typewhichfpermit complete e a n" f e nil' le tfita ss "t at the part' 30' may be 'c ornplet'e'ly separated frorii the part and thepart 34" may. becpmpletely separated from the'parftiit When it is"desire d tdfform an enclosure, the robe i0 is foldedsubst'antially along the'dotted lines 40 to position the longitudinaledges of the robea'd'jacent to one another. When so folded, the strips scene .12 will register and thestrip's 34 and seven register, sol that the S1iders 3 8inay be manipulated to interengage said strips and thereby substantiallyjclo se the endfof the robe; in the folded. position shown in 1 After the end of the robe has thus been closed, the user canselect the mannerin which the ion: gitudinal fasteners will be engaged. In' other words, the user" can 's'elect'th'e size of enclosure which he requires. lfhesmallest size of' encloj sure illustrated in Fig, 3. can be efiected by inter-i these sliders are illusti tedat their starting p" 4 locking the teeth 22 carried by the tapes l8 secured to the margins of the robe Hi. It will be observed in this connection that a slider 42 is carried by and forms a permanent part of one of the two marginally mounted tapes and forms the means for securing the two fastener parts together. The starting position for the interlocking fasteners is preferably located at the end of the robe adjacent to the

end fasteners

30, 32, 3!}, 3 6 so that the slider will be located near the fringe end of the robe when the fastener has been completely assembled.

.In cases where two strips 44 are provided upon the robe, the fastener upon the inner edge of the strip, adjacent to whose outer edge is 10- dated the outer fastener carrying the slider 42, will have permanently associated therewith the sliderfi. This slider will permit interlocking of the inner margin of the strip I4, by which it is ca'rridj with either of the fastener strips at the opposite marginsof therobe, that is, either with nie'rasener "strip located "at the "opposite "margin of thejblanket' or with 'the fastener strip located at the inn r edge of he S'tri p f4 carried by i l posit'edge or the'rdbeL It" will be understood; ofbourse, that eithefbf the fastener sections carrying the sliders 42 or 44"may'beassociated witheither'of the two fastener sections positioned a'tthe' 'opposite'marg in" of the robe; It is pre'-' ferred that the fastener mounting the'slider 42 will interlock with the fastener mounted on the inner end of the strip I4 carried by the opposite sides of therobe whereonly one of the strips [4 ist'o be 'eXtendedlofincreasing the size of the enclosure to'its' intermediate size, as illustrated in 'Fig'j '4. The reason for that arrangement is thatthe slider 44' 'is then "positioned confined within the enclosurefbut this arrangement is not required. In the base'where the enclosure is to be fully extended t6 'its'greate'st size, the slider 5 W 1 memes t e. as e er' t t whi h s a s cia ed he g m le te fastener it mer ted eii i l e n r m n o s e strip it as' lust e'din F s 'e- 1 It willbe apparent th'atthe robe of the charactenillustrated in Eigs'fl 'tdd, is especially suited for use as a sleeping bag or as a blanket enclosure for use inamb'ula'nces or other occasions where the user assumes a reclining" position. The enclosureinsures that the user will be fully protected and will not become uncovered incident to movementbf the user within the enclosure. th as ener are en ed ma P tions' of the robe material extend in substantial edge engagement so that full protective valuebf isf fb is provid a d iQf ltseeapsor op .I .1 L 12-: w 2'. i w I Z -l T e ad m n for size, dvantag o esp cially for u'sejin ambulances or thelike where different personsuse the blanket or robe. At the same timefthe robe is capable of use in its fiat extended condition, thusr'enderingthe item" a multiple purpose item." In this connection; to the. best of my knowledge, preyiousconstructions of robes of'tliis hara t r which form enclosures or. sleepin ba s have a wa been such. that they havenot been suitable for. use fiat extended form. The ability tofuse the'robe in its flat'form' greatly increases itsfutility, and particularly In lges it usable durin warm weather when pic"- bl'anktsor. beach blankets are usable. This robe can'se'rve assucn picnic blanket, or beach blanket without alteration and merely by disconnest n a ners i wi e mem s hat e ng o the.

strips l4 and of the longitudinal fasteners used therewith may be varied according to the wishes of the user or the manufacturer and that said strips and fasteners may extend substantially full length of the robe if desired. Also, it will be understood that the strips l4 need not be of the tapered shape shown, although this tapered shape is advantageous from the standpoint of the fact that it enables the fasteners at the inner margins of the strips to be engaged at points which are close to the

strips

30, 32, 34, 36 so that the openings provided at the closed end of the enclosure may be kept small and the possibility of air entering therethrough may be held at a minimum.

Referring now to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, the numeral 50 designates a robe of any desired size and preferably of rectangular shape, and which may have fringes '52 carried by the opposite ends thereof.

The robe 50 has a pair of complementary slide fastener parts 54 and 56 secured to the opposite margins thereof and preferably terminating spaced from the end edges of the robe. The fastener part 56 includes the slider 58 as a permanent part thereof, and the slide fasteners are preferably of the type well known in the art which permits the two

strips

52 and 56 to be completely separated from each other. It will be understood that the character and construction of the fasteners may be of the usual type, wherein fabric tapes 66 carry a plurality of longitudinally spaced interlocking teeth 62 along one margin thereof. The tapes 66 of the fastener parts 54 and 56 are so arranged that the teeth 62 upon said strips will preferably project slightly beyond the longitudinal edges of the robe,

Spaced from one end of the robe and secured thereto in longitudinal alignment transversely of the robe are a series of

fastener sections

64, 66, 63 and I6, each of which includes the usual tape 66 and teeth 62 carried by and projecting from one margin of the tape. The

sections

64 and 66 are complementary, with the section 66 mounting the slider 12; and the

sections

68 and 10 are complementary, with the section 68 mounting the slider 14. As best illustrated in Fig. 8, the

tapes

64 and 16 preferably extend substantially to the opposite longitudinal edges of the robe 56. The inner edges of the

fastener units

66 and 68 extend to adjacent but slightly spaced relation substantially centrally of the robe, and the

complementary sections

64, 66, 68 and 10 are spaced apart slightly at their inner ends.

In this embodiment of the invention, the portion 16 of the robe outwardly of the

fastener sections

64, 66, 63, I is folded along a fold line 18 substantially coincident with said fastener sections and in a direction to position the tapes 60 of said fastener sections outermost. The robe is then folded along the longitudinal dotted lines 86 centrally between the adjacent ends of the complementary fastener strips, thereby positioning the complementary fastener strips in register with one another. The longitudinal folds of the.

robe occur in a direction to position the

fastener sections

64, 66, 68, 10 outermost and the folded end portion I6 of the blanket within the interior of the enclosure formed by the folding operation. The

complementary fasteners

64, 66 may then be engaged, and the

complementary fasteners

68, 16 may then be engaged. The fasteners are preferably so oriented that they start or engage adjacent the longitudinal center of the enclosure and are pulled outwardly toward the folds 80.

This arrangement, while preferable, is, of course, not essential. It does, however, provide for .a partial closure only of the complementary fasteners as illustrated in Fig. 10, thereby providing an opening in the enclosure, through which opening the user may extend his foot, if desired. The opening can be adjusted as to size so that it will not be of any larger size than is required for the leg to pass therethrough. In other words, after the user has extended his leg through the opening, the slider 14 may then be moved outwardly to reduce the size of the opening and to cause the robe to fit snugly around the users leg. In this Way air cannot enter the interior of the enclosure through the opening around the leg of the user. The enclosure is then completed by engaging the longitudinal fastener strips 54, 56 and manipulate ing the slider to close the same.

This embodiment of the invention possesses substantially the same features, characteristics and advantages that are possessed by the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1. The enclosure or bag formed is of smaller size than that shown in Fig. 1 for any given size of robe, and this especially suits the device for use as a foot and leg protector by persons who are watching athletic contests out-of-doors, such as football games, or by occupants of wheel chairs.

The Fig. 7 embodiment possesses several charteristics which are distinctive of it and in addition to those which are possessed by the Fig. 1 embodiment. Among these advantages are the fact that the return infolding of the parts 16 of the robe provides an internal flap construction which cooperates with the

slide fasteners

64, 66, 68 and i6 to seal the lower end portion of the enclosure against the entry of air. Another advantage of the construction is that the tapes 60 of the

slide fasteners

64, 66, 68 and I0 which are located at the line 18 upon which the robe is folded serve, especially when positioned externally as is preferred, as a wear strip to protect the robe at the point of fold against wear due to friction and due to contact with a supporting surface when pressed against such surface by the feet of the wearer.

Still another advantage of the construction is illustrated in Fig. 10 and has been mentioned above, namely that the construction provides for two or more access openings at the lower normally closed end of the devic through which the feet of the user may extend in instances where the feet of the user must be accessible. One instance in which such usage would be advantageous would be use by the driver of a truck or an automobile of the sport type, in cold weather, or of any other type in instances where the automobile heater was not functioning properly. This embodiment, like the embodiment of Fig. 1, possesses the dual advantage of usage extended fiat in the Fig. 8 position, as well as folded to form an enclosure as in the Fig. '7 position.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes in the construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a robe having opposite longitudinal margins, a pair of complementary slide fastener sections secured to said longitudinal margins and each having an end portion terminating spaced from one end of said robe, and a plurality of complementary fastener sections secured to said robe to extend end to end in transversely extending relation adjacent the last named nd portions of said fastener strips and spaced from" the end of said robe whereby said robe may be folded transversely adja ent to saidlast named fastener strips and thence may be folded longitudinally to form an enclosure with said coniplem'entary longitudinal and transverse fastener "sections in cooperating relation.

21 An article of manufacture as defined in claim" 1, wherein each slide fastener is of the type including a slider permanently attached to one fastener section and detachablyi engageable with the other fastener section, and wherein the slider of at least one transverse fastener has a starting position intermediate the sides of said enclosure and said fastener sections extend laterally outwardly from said starting position.

3. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 1, wherein said transverse fastener sections in.- clude tape portions secured to said robe at the surface of said robe. which is exposed wh n s id robe is folded transversely- YERNE L. STEPHENSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 156,446 Lustgarten Dec. 13, 1949 906,551 Newr'nan h. Dec. 15, 1908 2,259,267 Ranken T Oct. 14, 1941 2342,105 Vacheron May 25,; 1948 2,598,462 Strauss V May 27, 1952