Abstract:
An adaptable foot warmer having adjustable pocket depth and foot capacity is provided. The adaptable foot warmer has detachable means for securing the foot warmer to a bed mattress and may be adapted to a blanket when desired. In addition the detachable means allows for the foot warmer to be used other than on a mattress.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/816776 filed Jun. 27, 2006. The disclosure of this Provisional Patent Application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of Use 
         [0003]    This invention relates to bed covers and more particularly to an adaptable foot warmer/blanket held securely in place by detachable means. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Prior Art (Background) 
         [0005]    During the winter months and especially in colder climates, the need to keep warm is a pervasive problem. This becomes particularly acute when an individual retires for the evening. Conventional bedding including sheets, blankets, bedspread, comforter, etc., when-used in total, can become quite cumbersome to the user and some individual&#39;s feet are quite sensitive to the extra weight of multiple covers. In particular, one&#39;s feet, being outer extremities of the body, are more prone to becoming cold especially during the inactive time when one is in bed. In order to solve the cold feet syndrome, normally, one simply adds additional layers of covers to a degree sufficient to warm the feet. Of course, when the feet are finally sufficiently warm, the remainder of the body can become uncomfortably warm. In persons with medical conditions such as circulatory problems and diabetes, cold feet are chronically a problem and, in environments such as hospitals and nursing homes, conventional full body covering may not be practical. 
         [0006]    Known efforts to solve this problem have centered around various methods of modifying existing bedsheets and/or covers by permanently attaching additional components normally in the form of a pocket-like feature for the purpose of receiving one&#39;s feet. Of course, such an arrangement is expensive and makes it more difficult to make up a bed. Such arrangements, being permanently affixed to bedsheets and covers, eliminate the ability to utilize conventional bedsheets and covers if additional foot warmth is desired. 
         [0007]    Other known efforts include a foot warmer which, in combination with a bed having a mattress and box springs, provides additional warmth for a user&#39;s feet and comprises a fabric pocket having a width approximately equal to the width of the bed and having permanent attachment straps extending downwardly from the sides of the pocket under the mattress and above the box springs. These straps make it more difficult to remove the foot warmer. In addition, installing the foot warmer requires one to wrestle the foot warmer straps under the mattress; a difficult task for the elderly and handicapped. 
         [0008]    Other efforts in the prior art is for sheet construction to arrange the configuration of the sheet into a desired form. Depending on the nature of the prior art proposal the sheet construction will provide an expandable sheet for different purposes. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,072 to Kay discloses a tubular sheet which fits over a mattress in an “envelope” fashion. U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,191 to Bate discloses a sheet which can be folded to serve as both upper and lower sheets for a narrow bed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,860 to Lehigh discloses a compound bed covering. Different layers are sewn together using double-folded edges. U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,146 to Lester discloses a reversible cover for pillows, mattresses or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,088 to Marquette discloses a blanket with separate panels which can be attached or detached to increase or decrease the thickness and hence the warmth. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0009]    According to this invention, a semi-permanent pleated foot warmer is provided which, in combination with a bed having a mattress and box springs, provides additional warmth for a user&#39;s feet and comprises a fabric pocket having a width approximately equal to the width of the bed and having removable attachment straps extending downwardly from the sides of the pocket under the mattress and above the box springs. In addition, the semi-permanent pleats allow for the foot warmer to be opened flat to ease cleaning and drying. Also, when the foot warmer is opened flat it may be used as an extra blanket. 
         [0010]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention and adaptable foot warmer is provided. The adaptable foot warmer includes rectangularly shaped fabric having opposed ends and opposed side edges, wherein the opposed side edges each comprise an upper and lower half. The foot warmer also includes connectable fasteners disposed along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket and at least one attachment strap for holding the foot warmer in place, e.g., at the foot of a bed. 
         [0011]    The invention is also directed towards rectangularly shaped fabric having opposed ends and opposed side edges, each forming an upper and lower half and a plurality of zipper fasteners disposed along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket. 
         [0012]    In accordance with another embodiment of the invention an adaptable foot warmer is provided. The adaptable foot warmer includes thermal retentive material having opposed ends and opposed side edges, wherein the opposed side edges each comprise an upper and lower half coupled by threading or sewing along the opposed side edges for connecting the upper half with the lower half to form an open ended pocket. The foot warmer also includes a plurality of fastening devices disposed along the opposed side edges. Each of the plurality of fastening devices includes an elastic band mounted to the foot warmer and a fastening ring connectable, e.g., a D-ring to the elastic band. The invention also includes at least one attachment strap having at least one Velcro hook area and at least one Velcro loop area for threading the at least one attachment strap through the fastening ring and connecting the least one Velcro hook area with the at least one Velcro loop area. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional bed in combination with a foot warmer according to the invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the foot warmer shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is an elevational view taken along the line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a pictorial view of the invention shown in  FIG. 2  with the down rings; and 
           [0017]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are pictorial views of alternate attaching straps of the invention shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    In the drawing, the numeral  1  generally indicates a conventional bed having box springs  2  adjoined in known manner to headboard  3 . Mattress  4  is situated atop box springs  2 . 
         [0019]    According to this invention, a foot warmer is provided and is shown in detail in  FIG. 2 . More specifically, the foot warmer comprises a fabric pocket  6  which is formed from generally rectangularly shaped fabric material. Material generally suitable for blankets has been determined to be highly desirable for purposes of this invention although any suitable thermal retentive materials could be satisfactorily utilized. 
         [0020]    As best seen in  FIG. 1 , the pocket portion of the foot warmer has a width approximately equal to the width of the bed  4  on which it is used and an adjustable length extending from the foot end of the foot end of the bed sufficiently to cover only the feet portions of a user, below the knees of a user, the length being substantially smaller than the length of the bed. 
         [0021]    In order to form pocket  6 , the rectangular piece of material is folded over along end edge  7  to form upper and lower fabric sheets which are removeably connected along side edges  8  and  9 . Pocket  6  then appears as shown in  FIG. 3  which is closed on end  7  and sides  8  and  9 . Of course, by this means, formed in pocket  6  is opening  10 . It will be appreciated that connected side edges  8  and  9  may be connected by any suitable means which allow for the edges to be easily unconnected and reconnected as desired and to adjust the depth of pocket  6 . For example, the edges may have appropriate strips of Velcro, zippers, or even buttons  15 A as shown in  FIG. 2 , distributed along the edges  8  and  9 . Another example, but not limited to, is shown in  FIG. 4 . Attachment rings such as D-rings  41 , or any other suitable ring or fastener is connected to pocket  6  along edges  8  and  9  via elastic straps  42 . It will be appreciated that two D-rings  41  are shown along each edge  8  and  9  but any suitable number of D-rings or suitable fasteners may be used. It will also be appreciated that the D-rings may be any suitable material such as plastic or metal. 
         [0022]    In order to secure pocket  6  to bed  1 , detachable means is provided in the form of attachment straps  11  and  12  which are secured along the upper ends thereof by detachable means such as, for example, buttons  15 A, zippers, or Velcro, respectively, to edges  8  and  9 . 
         [0023]    Attachment straps  11  and  12  may be expandable in order to accommodate varying sizes of mattresses. The completed foot warmer then appears as shown in  FIG. 2 . It will be appreciated that having detachable means distributed along edges  8  and  9  allows for the foot warmer to be adjusted for position along the length of the bed. It will be further appreciated that having detachable means along edges  8  and  9  will allow for the foot room in the warmer to be adjustable. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  attachment straps may be elastic straps  51 , each with hook  52  and loop  53  Velcro disposed along the elastic strap  51 . 
         [0025]    When used in conjunction with bed sheet  5  on mattress  4 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , the foot warmer, as shown in  FIG. 2 , is placed at the foot end of the bed with opening  10  facing headboard  3 . This is accomplished by slipping the detachable means in the form of attachment straps  11  and  12  under the mattress so that the attachment means is disposed between box springs  2  and mattress  4 . 
         [0026]    It will be appreciated that the detachable straps may be left under the mattress  4  when it is desired to remove the foot warmer for cleaning or to use the foot warmer independent of the mattress  4 , e.g., sitting in a chair. 
         [0027]    It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.