US20170224033A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20170224033A1
Application number: US15/421,568
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert S. Latta, JR.
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-02-10
Filing date: 2017-02-01
Publication date: 2017-08-10

Abstract

A wearable garment that is a combination sweatshirt and pillow. The sweatshirt has a body, arms, a collar and a hood attached to the collar. A pouch having an open top, closed sides, and a closed bottom is attached to the collar. The pouch lies over the sweatshirt body when in a first position and is rotated over the top to a second position for receiving the sweatshirt body and arms when they are rolled and inserted into the pouch forming a pillow. The hood can be placed over a user's head with the pouch oriented against the user's neck to function as a pillow. In a second embodiment, the garment is provided with a second hood over the first hood. In a third embodiment, a pouch is sewn into a liner in the hood which receives the sweatshirt.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims the priority of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No.62/293,517 filed Feb. 10, 2016.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a sweatshirt or sweater that can be rolled up to form a travel pillow having a hood to cover the user's head and face if desired.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Travelers seek comfort and rest while traveling on plane, train, boat or any other transportation system. However, if the traveler wants to rest or take a nap while traveling, it is difficult to find a comfortable position to support one's head. Having a pillow to support your head and neck comfortably has always been a concern. Various travel pillows have been designed and sold in the past. There are inflatable pillows, pillows jammed into stuff sacks, pillows that have their own carrying case, and pillows made of numerous materials. A shortcoming of all of these pillows is that they have a single function, namely they function as a pillow only.

Travelers also like to have an article of clothing that is easy to put on, provides warmth when needed, is easy to transport and is wrinkle resistant. Generally, travelers prefer sweatshirts or sweaters as they are comfortable, warm, easy to store, wrinkle free and easily stored. In addition. these articles of clothing can have a hood attached to the collar which provides additional warmth and the ability to cover one's head and eyes if trying to block out the ambient light and can provide a level of privacy.

There has never been designed a combination pillow and sweatshirt that provides both of these functions in a singular device, all within its own carrying pouch. The inventive device functions as a sweatshirt that is easily and quickly transformed into a pillow with or without the use of a hood at the top of the sweatshirt. The sweatshirt is easy to store as it folds into itself. When unfolded, it can be worn as a sweatshirt or tied around the user's waist.

Applicant's invention is a sweatshirt, sweater or jacket (which will be referred to herein as a “sweatshirt” or “sweater”) with a storage compartment or pouch formed in the top of the sweatshirt. In the first embodiment, the user simply folds or rolls up the sweatshirt and stuffs it into a pouch sewn into the collar of the sweatshirt. When rolled up and stored in this manner the sweatshirt becomes a pillow. If the sweatshirt has a hood, the sweatshirt can be used with or without the hood.

In a second embodiment, wherein the sweatshirt has a double hood, one being an exterior hood and the other being an interior hood, the interior hood can function as the pouch that receives the rolled-up sweatshirt. The hood has drawstrings to adjust the firmness of the pillow and hold the pillow in place on the user. The outer hood can be used in the conventional manner when the sweatshirt is rolled up and stored in the inner hood.

In a third embodiment, the sweatshirt has a double hood similar to the second embodiment, one being the exterior hood and the other being the interior hood. A flexible liner is sewn into the interior of the interior hood. A rectangular pocket with an open bottom is sewn into the flexible liner to form a pouch having three closed sides and an open bottom. The sweatshirt body is folded into the pouch and drawstrings tighten the pouch to keep the sweatshirt in the pouch and to adjust the firmness of the pillow. The pouch opening can be supplied with a closure to close the bottom and keep the folded sweatshirt from falling out. The outer hood can still be used as in the conventional manner when the sweatshirt is rolled up and stored in the pouch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the inventive sweatshirt/pillow.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the pouch sewn into the collar and flipped upward 180° from the normal position.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front perspective view of the pouch being pulled open by the user.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the sweatshirt being positioned to be rolled up.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front perspective views as the sweatshirt is being rolled up.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the rolled-up sweatshirt ready to be pushed into the partially open pouch.

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the sweatshirt being pushed into the pouch.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the sweatshirt after it is stored in the pouch and the hood is pulled away from the pouch to form the pillow.

FIG. 10 is a side perspective view of the user placing the hood of the sweatshirt over his head.

FIG. 11 is a side perspective view of the hood placed over the user's head with the pillow positioned at the user's neck.

FIG. 12 is a side perspective view of the hood and pillow placed behind the user's neck.

FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of an alternate embodiment in which the sweatshirt has a first or outer hood and a second or inner hood within the first hood.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view similar toFIG. 3 showing the pouch being pulled opened.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are front perspective views of the alternate embodiment with the sweatshirt being rolled up.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the pouch being pulled open so that it can receive the rolled-up sweatshirt.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the rolled-up sweatshirt stored in the pouch.

FIG. 19 is a side perspective view of the hood placed over the user's head with the pillow positioned at the user's neck.

FIGS. 20 through 22 illustrate a third alternate embodiment in which an inner lining is sewn inside the first or inner hood forming a pouch in the inner hood.

FIG. 23 is another alternate embodiment similar to the third embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 20 through 22 except the inner lining is sewn into the outer (and only) hood.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning first toFIG. 1 there is illustrated the first embodiment of the inventive sweatshirt/pillow10. Although the word “sweatshirt” is used throughout, it is meant to include such articles of clothing worn bout the user's torso including, but not limited to a sweatshirt, shirt, sweater, jacket, or windbreaker. Thesweatshirt10 is illustrated as a hooded sweatshirt having abody12 andsleeves14. The sweatshirt has acollar15 at the top of the12 in a conventional manner. There is ahood16 which hasdrawstrings17 on either side in order to tighten the hood around the user's head. There is apouch18 formed from a front sheet ofmaterial20 and a rear sheet ofmaterial22. The front and

rear sheets

20 and22 are joined, generally by sewing, along two

sides

24,26 and abottom edge28. Atop30 does not have the front and

rear sheets

20,22 sewn together, but rather only the top of therear sheet22 is attached to thecollar15 thus forming an open top in thepouch18. Therear sheet22 is attached to thecollar15 by sewing, hook and loop fasteners, buttons, zippers or other suitable means. Optionally thepouch18 may have soft

flexible anchoring loops

32,34 which attach to buttons on the inside of thesweatshirt10 to secure thepouch18 in place while being worn as a sweatshirt. Thepouch18 is preferably made of soft flexible material that provides a comfortable surface when it is in contact with the user. Preferred materials are cotton or a cotton/polyester blend. The comfort and flexibility allows the pouch to perform the functions it is designed to perform as will be more fully described below.

As seen inFIG. 2, thepouch18 has been flipped upward 180° so that thebottom edge28 and top30 are easily seen. In this mode, thebottom edge28 is now oriented on top and the top30 is now disposed below thebottom edge28. Because the top edge of thefront sheet20 is sewn to the collar, therear sheet22 can be raised and lifted away from thefront sheet20, as seen inFIG. 3. This forms anopening36, similar to a pocket, towards thetop edge30 of thepouch18.

FIGS. 4-9 are progressive photographs of thesweatshirt10 being folded and rolled up into thepouch18.FIG. 4 illustrates thehooded sweatshirt10 with thesleeves14 folded inwardly across the12.FIG. 5 shows thebody12 of thesweatshirt10 being rolled upward towards thepouch18.FIG. 6 illustrates thehooded sweatshirt10 being further rolled up toward thepouch18.FIG. 7 shows the hooded sweatshirt rolled up to thecollar15 and to the top30 with thepouch18 flipped upward into the direction of thehood16. Theopening36 in the top30 is being spread to an open position by the user.FIG. 8 shows the user stuffing thesweatshirt10 into theopening36 in thepouch18.FIG. 9 shows theentire sweatshirt10 completely stuffed into thepouch18 so that the only part of thesweatshirt10 that is outside of thepouch18 is thehood16.

FIG. 10 shows the user placing thehood16 over his head while thepouch18 drops down past his head and lies adjacent to his neck as illustrated inFIG. 11. The storedsweatshirt10 now forms the pillow. In this position, thedrawstrings17 are tightened and thehood16 not only covers the users head but can cover the user's eyes for added light blockage and ease of napping. The tightening of the drawstrings results in the hood assuming the position inFIG. 11 with the pouch now acting as a pillow to support the user's head.FIG. 12 illustrates the invention with the hood removed from the top of the user's head and pushed down on top of thepouch18 to give added support to the back of the user's neck.

The second embodiment is illustrated inFIGS. 13-19. InFIG. 13 there is illustrated a sweatshirt having a first orouter hood16 and a second orinner hood38 within thefirst hood16. For clarification, we will call thehood16 the outer hood and thesecond hood38 the inner hood. InFIG. 14 theinner hood38 is seen as it is pulled away from theouter hood16. Thesweatshirt10 is then rolled up as in the first embodiment. InFIG. 15 the sweatshirt'ssleeves14 are being folded onto each other across thebody12. InFIG. 16, thebody12 andsleeves14 are being rolled up toward theinner hood38.FIG. 17 shows theinner hood38 being opened to receive thebody12 andsleeves14 and inFIG. 18 thebody12 andsleeves14 have been stuffed into theinner hood38. In this manner, thebody12 andsleeves14 are stored in theinner hood38, which functions as a pouch, rather than in a separate pouch as described in the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 shows the user with theouter hood16 over the user's head and theinner hood30 with thesleeves14 andbody12 stuffed within it, functioning as a pillow behind the user's head. As in the previous embodiment, thedrawstrings17 can be used to tighten the inner or outer hoods to maintain thestuffed body12 andsleeves14 within theinner hood38 while tightening theouter hood16 around the user's head.

FIG. 20 throughFIG. 22 illustrate the third embodiment, which is a variation of the double hood embodiment. A soft, flexibleinner lining40 is sewn inside theinner hood38. The lining40 is sewn around its outer edges into theinner hood38 but a portion of the lowermost portion of theliner42 is left unsewn.FIG. 21 is an enlarged view of the hoods in which alining40 is stitched to form a rectangular storage region orpouch44 within thelining40.Stitching46 goes from each side of theinner hood38 for several inches, then thestitching46 goes vertically upward toward the crown of theinner hood38 for approximately six to nine inches, but in no case all the way to the top or crown of theinner hood38. Then thestitching46 proceeds toward the center to form the substantiallyrectangular pouch44 with anopening48 at the bottom of thepouch44. However, it must be noted that thepouch44 does not have to be rectangular, and in fact it may be semicircular in shape. The important point is that it is sufficiently large to hold the entire sweater when thesweatshirt body12 andsleeves12 are rolled up and stuffed into thepouch44.

In this third embodiment, thesweatshirt body12 andsleeves14 are folded and rolled as previously described. The rolledbody12 andsleeves14 are stuffed into thepouch44 through theopening48 at the bottom of thepouch44. Thedrawstrings17 on theinner hood38 are used to tighten thepouch44 to keep the folded sweatshirt inside the pouch and to adjust the compression on the sweatshirt which in turn adjusts the firmness of the pillow. Thepouch44 can be provided with abutton hole50 to receive abutton52 for keeping theopening48 closed and so that the sweatshirt does not inadvertently come out of the pouch. Thebutton52 also can be used to keep thepouch44 closed when thesweatshirt10 is being worn as a sweatshirt and not being used as a pillow. A Velcro® hook and loop fastener, zipper, or other similar device for providing a closure means can similarly be used for the same function.

FIG. 23 illustrates a design similar to that which is illustrated inFIG. 22 except that it is used with the single hood, not the double hood. Thepouch44 is sewn into thehood16 with anopen bottom48. In all other aspects, it functions as described in the embodiment shown inFIGS. 20 through 22.

Thus, there has been provided a combination sweatshirt and travel pillow that fully satisfies the objects set forth above. While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A combination sweatshirt and pillow comprising:

a sweatshirt comprising a sweatshirt body, arms, a collar at the top of the sweatshirt body, and a hood, the hood attached to the collar,

a pouch having an open top, closed sides, and a closed bottom, the open top attached to the collar,

the pouch lying over the sweatshirt body when in a first position when the sweatshirt is disposed in a sweatshirt orientation,

the pouch adapted for rotation about the open top to a second position for receiving in the open top when it is rotated to the second position the sweatshirt body and arms when they are rolled up towards the rotated open top, the sweatshirt body and arms inserted through the open top into the pouch forming a pillow,

whereby the hood can be placed over a user's head with the pouch oriented against the user's neck to function as a pillow.

2. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 1 wherein the pouch has a front sheet of material with a top, sides and a bottom, a rear sheet of material having a top, sides and a bottom, the front sheet attached to the rear sheet along the sides and the bottom with the top remaining open.

3. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 2 and further comprising attachment means for attaching the top of the rear sheet of material to the collar.

4. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 3 wherein the attachment means comprises sewing, hook and loop fasteners, zipper, or buttons.

5. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 4 and further comprising closure means for closing the open top of the pouch.

6. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 1 and further comprising a second hood disposed over the first hood.

7. A combination sweatshirt and pillow comprising:

a sweatshirt comprising a sweatshirt body, arms, a collar and a hood, the hood attached to the collar,

a pouch formed from a front sheet and a rear sheet of material, the front sheet and the rear sheets having opposed tops, sides and bottoms, the front sheet attached to the rear sheet along the opposed sides and bottoms and having an open top,

the top of the rear sheet attached to an area adjacent to the collar along a lateral line,

the pouch adapted for rotation about the lateral line to a second position for receiving when in the second position the sweatshirt body and arms when they are rolled up towards the rotated open top, the sweatshirt body and arms inserted through the open top into the pouch forming a pillow,

8. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 2 and further comprising attachment means for attaching the top of the rear sheet of material to the collar.

9. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 3 wherein the attachment means comprises sewing, hook and loop fasteners, zipper, or buttons.

10. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 4 and further comprising closure means for closing the open top of the pouch.

11. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 1 and further comprising a second hood disposed over the first hood.

12. A combination sweatshirt and pillow comprising:

a sweatshirt comprising a sweatshirt body, arms, a collar at the top of the sweatshirt body, and a hood, the hood attached to the collar, the hood having a liner sheet disposed within the hood,

a pouch formed within the hood, the pouch having sides and a top that are stitched closed within the hood, the pouch having an open bottom disposed adjacent to the collar,

the pouch receiving in the open bottom the sweatshirt body and arms when they are rolled up towards the open bottom, the sweatshirt body and arms inserted through the open bottom in the pouch thus forming a pillow.

13. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 12 wherein the liner sheet has a top, bottom and sides, the top and sides are sewn into the hood with a portion of the bottom not being attached to the hood.

14. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 13 wherein the pouch is formed from stitching the pouches sides and top to the hood and liner sheet and the portion of the bottom of the liner sheet is not stitched forming the open bottom of the pouch to receive the sweatshirt body and arms.

15. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 14 wherein a portion of the bottom of the liner sheet is stitched to the hood thus forming a reduced size open bottom.

16. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 15 and further comprising closure means for closing the open bottom of the pouch.

17. The combination sweatshirt and pillow ofclaim 14 and further comprising a second hood disposed over the first hood.