Abstract:
An article of manufacture is provided for covering ironing boards. The article is comprised of an ironing board cover and a pouch attached to the cover. The pouch may be a pocket or a bag-like enclosure for holding accessories. In one embodiment, the bag is fixed to the cover. The bag may also be detachable from the cover, and may be detachable from one or more locations on the cover.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to ironing boards and more specifically to ironing board covers with a bag or pouch attached to the cover to hold articles.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    Ironing board covers in the present state of the art provide a surface on which garments, linens and the like can be pressed. Typical covers provide a smooth padded surface for ironing. The top material of the cover is usually heat resistant or insulated so that heat from the iron is reflected back into the garment being pressed, and not transferred to the ironing table beneath the cover. The underside of the cover may comprise padding and/or a slip-resistant material that keep the cover stationary on an ironing table as an iron slides over the cover.  
           [0003]    Ironing boards are generally limited in size to provide a portable ironing surface that can be stored easily. When the ironing board is collapsed for storage, other accessories, such as spray starch, also need to be stored. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a storage container associated with the ironing table such that the ironing table and accessories can be readily stored.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides an ironing table cover that holds accessories. The cover includes a sheath that fits around an ironing board. A pouch attached to the sheath holds accessories while the cover is on the ironing board or when the cover is detached from the ironing board. When the cover is on the ironing board, the pouch holds accessories within convenient reach of a person using the ironing board.  
           [0005]    The pouch is attached to the sheath using any conventional fastener. In one embodiment of the invention, the pouch is fixed to the sheath. The pouch may also be detachable from the sheath, and may be detachable from the sheath at one or more places. The pouch may be manufactured in several forms, including a pocket integrally connected to the cover or a mesh bag. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    The foregoing summary as well as the following description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the figures in which:  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ironing board cover with a pouch, in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a top view of the ironing board cover in FIG. 1 attached to an ironing table, said table being represented by dashed lines.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the ironing board cover in FIG. 1.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an ironing board cover, showing a pouch detached from the cover.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of another alternative embodiment of an ironing board cover showing a cylindrically-shaped pocket attached to the cover. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0012]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 3  in general, and to FIGS. 1 and 2 specifically, a cover  10  for covering an ironing board is shown. The cover  10  includes a fabric sheath  12  adapted to fit around the perimeter of an ironing board. A pouch  20  is located at one end of cover  10  and holds one or more articles, such as a bottle of spray starch, iron-on patches or other accessories. In use, cover  10  attaches to an ironing board and holds articles in the pouch so that a person using the ironing board can easily reach the articles while ironing.  
         [0013]    Referring now to FIG. 1, the cover  10  is shown attached to an ironing table  5 . Cover  10  may be used with standard ironing tables or with table-top ironing boards. As shown in FIG. 1, cover  10  is configured to conform with the shape of an ironing board  7  on ironing table  5 . In particular, the sheath  12  is adapted to fit over ironing board  7 . Sheath  12  preferably includes a securing means to hold the cover  10  firmly on board  7 .  
         [0014]    The ironing table  5  includes an ironing board  7  supported by a pair of legs  8 . The legs are pivotable so that the board can be collapsed for storage as shown in FIG. 1 in phantom. When the legs are extended as shown in FIG. 1, there is a gap between the legs and the board  7 . When the table is collapsed, the legs are adjacent the table so that there is no significant gap between the board and the legs. Preferably, the pouch  20  is configured and positioned so that the pouch and its contents do not extend into the gap, which would interfere with folding the ironing table. More specifically, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the pouch is attached to the top surface of the cover  10 , and configured so that it does not hang below the ironing board  7  between the legs and the ironing board.  
         [0015]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, cover  10  will be described in greater detail. Sheath  12  comprises a generally rectangular end  16  and a tapered end  18  that generally conforms to the shape of the ironing board. Preferably, the perimeter dimensions of sheath  12  are slightly larger than perimeter dimensions of ordinary ironing boards, so that cover  10  can easily fit around the ironing board. In addition, corner edges of sheath  12  are preferably rounded to conform to the shape of the ironing board. Referring now to FIG. 3, the edge of sheath  12  folds inwardly toward the interior of the sheath so as to form an opening  13  on the underside of cover  10 . Sheath  12  is adapted to slip over the edges of ironing board  7 , such that the board is received into opening  13  beneath the sheath, as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0016]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a bag or pouch  20  is attached to one end of sheath  12 . Preferably, pouch  20  is attached to sheath  12  at rectangular end  16 . Pouch  20  may be manufactured in several configurations. For example, pouch  20  may comprise a generally rectangular piece of heat-resistant material attached on three sides to sheath  12 . The fourth side of pouch  20  is left unattached to the sheath  12  so as to form a pocket on top of the sheath. Alternatively, pouch  20  may comprise a bag-like enclosure attached to sheath  12  as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The bag  20  can be formed of numerous materials, including but not limited to clear or opaque plastic or vinyl. In FIG. 1, bag  20  is shown as a mesh bag.  
         [0017]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, bag  20  has a bottom side  27  that attaches to sheath  12  and a top side  29  that faces upwardly when the bag  20  and sheath are attached to ironing board  7 . The top side  29  has a slit or opening  25  that provides access inside the bag. A closure  26  on the bag  20  operates to open and close opening  25 . Closure  26  may be of any type known in the art, including but not limited to a zipper, hook and loop connects, a snap connection or a button connection. In FIG. 1, closure  26  is shown as a zipper connection. Preferably, the materials used to form bag  20  are sufficiently heat-resistant to resist melting or damage when they come in contact with a hot iron.  
         [0018]    As stated earlier, sheath  12  preferably includes a securing means  14  to hold the cover  10  firmly on board  7 . The securing means  14  may comprise any conventional material, such as an elastic band or a draw string connected to the perimeter of opening  13 . Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, the securing means  14  comprises a draw string. A pair of terminal ends  15  on drawstring  14  protrude from the cover  10  at tapered end  18 . Terminal ends  15  are operable to expand or contract opening  13  when the ends are pulled or released. After sheath  12  is fitted around the edges of ironing board  7 , tension applied to terminal ends  15  tightens drawstring  14  to contract opening  13  and tighten the cover  10  around ironing board  7 . Release of tension from drawstring  14  loosens sheath  12  around ironing board  7  to allow removal or adjustment of cover  10 . The adjustable nature of drawstring  14  allows sheath  12  to fit around most ironing boards.  
         [0019]    Pouch  20  is attached to sheath  12  using any common fastener or method of assembly known in the art. For example, the pouch  20  may be fixed to sheath  12  using stitching or a layer of adhesive. Alternatively, pouch  20  may be removably attached to sheath  12  using fasteners such as snap connections or hook and loop fasteners, such as velcro. Referring to FIG. 4, the pouch  20  is shown in connection with hook and loop type connectors for releasably connecting the pouch to the sheath  12 . In FIG. 4, pouch  20  is shown detached from hook and loop connector  19  on sheath  12 . Connector  19  includes a hook connector  21  fixed to the bag  20  and a loop connector  23 A fixed to the sheath  12 . Alternatively, loop connector  23 A may be fixed to the bag  20  and hook connector  21  fixed to sheath  12 .  
         [0020]    It is not uncommon for plastic components in hook and loop connections to collect lint or other fibrous material. This may occur if the plastic strip  21  rubs against garments or articles containing a heavy amount of lint. A significant amount of lint may accumulate on hook connector  21  if it is fixed to the sheath. In particular, if hook connector  21  is fixed to the sheath and cover  10  is used while bag  20  is detached, the plastic strip may grab onto garments or linens as they are ironed. Lint that accumulates on plastic strip  21  can prevent velcro connection  19  from working properly. Therefore, it may be desirable to place the hook connector  21  on the bottom side  27  of bag  20  rather than on the sheath.  
         [0021]    Connector  19  is positioned so that pouch  20  rests on top of ironing board  7  when the cover  10  is attached over the board. In this way, pouch  20  remains on top of table  5 , as opposed to hanging over an edge of the table, so that the person ironing can easily reach the pouch without walking around the table.  
         [0022]    Occasionally, the person ironing may desire to remove the pouch from the top of ironing board  7  so that an item can be pressed on the entire ironing board surface. This may occur, for example, where large drapes are being ironed. Pouch  20  and its contents may present an irregular surface that is not suitable for ironing. Although removal of pouch  20  increases the amount of work space that can be used for ironing, the advantages of having the pouch are sacrificed when the pouch is removed. As a result, it is desirable to have a pouch  20  that can be attached to multiple sections of an ironing board  7  and not just the top surface.  
         [0023]    In FIG. 4, the cover is shown with multiple hook and loop fasteners for attaching the pouch at multiple locations. Specifically, a pair of loop connectors  23 A,  23 B are shown attached to sheath  12 . Loop connectors  23 A is configured to connect with pouch  20  on the top of ironing board  7 . Loop connectors  23 B is configured to connect with pouch  20  on the side of ironing board  7 , allowing the pouch to hang off of the side of the ironing board so that the entire surface of the board can be used for ironing.  
         [0024]    In the previous figures, the pouch is illustrated as a flat pouch. However, alternate pouch configurations can be used. For instance, FIG. 7 illustrates an alternate pouch configuration in which the pouch  120  is generally cylindrically-shaped, extending across the table  105 . To firmly secure the pouch and prevent it from floppy or rolling, preferably the pouch is attached to the cover  110  by two spaced apart rows of stitching  122  that are generally parallel. Similarly, the pouch can be attached to the cover by two spaced apart rows of hook and loop fasteners, or other connectors. The ends of the pouch  120  are closed, and an opening in the side permits access to the interior of the pouch. Preferably, a zipper  125  or other closure mechanism is provided for closing the side opening.  
         [0025]    The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation. There is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof. It is recognized, however, that various modifications are possible within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention incorporates variations that fall within the scope of the following claims.