Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a sleeping bag having a removable book located in a cavity in the top cover of the sleeping bag. The book is accessed by unzipping the opening of the cavity. The book is removably attached to the interior of the cavity using fastening means such as a hook and loop connection.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/473,371, filed Apr. 8, 2011. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of sleeping bags. More particularly, the present invention relates to sleeping bags having a cavity formed therein for storing a removable book. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Sleeping bags are well known. Typically, sleeping bags are formed of a body having a bottom cover attached to a top cover along a side. Two of the three other sides of the top cover and bottom cover can be attached to each other by a zipper, thereby allowing a user easy access to the interior of the sleeping bag. Some sleeping bags also have an integral pillow attached to the top or bottom cover of the sleeping bag. 
     However, most sleeping bags are simply utilitarian and do not provide any entertainment for children. Therefore, a need exists for a sleeping bag capable of providing entertainment to a child. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a sleeping bag formed from a bottom cover member and a top cover member attached along one side. The top cover member and bottom cover can be formed from one integral member that is folded to define the top cover member and the bottom cover member or from two separate members joined at a seam. The top cover member and the bottom cover member are removably attached along two other sides via a zippered connection. 
     The top cover member has a cavity with an opening. A book is located in the cavity and is removably attached to the interior of the cavity. The opening of the cavity may be sealed by a zippered connection to secure the book within the cavity. Preferably, the book is able to be read by the child while in the sleeping bag. 
     In some embodiments, the book is removably attached to the interior of the cavity using fastening means such as a hook and loop connection (e.g., Velcro™) or a zippered connection. The book is preferably a children&#39;s book for providing entertainment to a child. Because the books are removable, they can easily be changed if a child is no longer entertained by the book currently in the sleeping bag. 
     The sleeping bag may also contain a pillow member attached to the top cover member or the bottom cover member of the sleeping bag. In some embodiments, the pillow member is removably attached to the sleeping bag (e.g., via a zippered connection). 
     The top cover member, the bottom cover member, and/or the pillow member may contain a removable foam insert. This allows the foam insert to be replaced and washed. In some embodiments, the foam insert has a waterproof covering so that it can easily be cleaned. 
     The book can be constructed of any known pliable materials such as cloth, plastic, or rubber. The material must be pliable so that the book can be rolled up along with the sleeping bag. 
     The sleeping bag may further comprise a carrying member adapted to store the sleeping bag when it is rolled up. In some embodiments, the carrying member has a handle or shoulder straps for easy transport of the carrying member. 
     In a further embodiment, the interior of the cavity has a sealable (e.g., with a zipper) pocket adapted to store an audio device, such as an MP3 player or a CD player, that contains a recording of the book. Such an audio device is useful for children who have not yet learned to read or have difficulty reading. In some embodiments, the content for the device can be obtained from the Internet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a view of the sleeping in a closed position; 
         FIG. 2  depicts an alternate view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  depicts an enhanced view of corner B of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 1  showing the zipper detail; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 1  showing the top cover member opened to expose the book; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 4  after the book has been opened; 
         FIG. 6  depicts a view of the book of  FIG. 4  after it has been removed from the sleeping bag and opened; 
         FIG. 7  depicts a bottom view of the book of  FIG. 4  after it has been removed from the sleeping bag; 
         FIG. 8  depicts a view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 4  after the book has been removed from the sleeping bag; 
         FIG. 9  depicts a bottom view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  depicts a top view of the foam body insert after it has been removed from the sleeping bag; 
         FIG. 11  depicts a top view of the pillow insert after it has been removed from the sleeping bag; 
         FIG. 12  depicts a view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 1  partially rolled up; 
         FIG. 13  depicts a view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 12  fully rolled up. 
         FIG. 14  depicts a carrying case for use with the sleeping bag of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 15  depicts an alternate view of the sleeping bag of  FIG. 4  wherein the cavity containing the book has a sealable pocket. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , depicted is a top view of sleeping bag  100 . Generally, sleeping bag  100  comprises top cover member  102 , bottom cover member  104  (not shown), and pillow member  105 . In some embodiments, pillow member  105  may be removably attached to sleeping bag  100  (e.g., via a zippered connection). 
     Top cover member  102  and bottom cover member  104  can be formed of a single member or formed from two members and joined at seam  106 . Zippered connection  108  extends around the periphery of two sides of top cover member  102  and bottom cover member  104  allowing them to be removably attached to each other using zipper  110 , thereby allowing a user easy access to the interior of sleeping bag  100 . For example, a user can open sleeping bag  100  by drawing zipper  110  from point A, to point B, and then to point C. The portion of sleeping bag between points C and D remains as a closed hinge so that top cover member  102  can be pivoted to an open position. Sleeping bag  100  can be closed by advancing the zipper from point C, to point B, and then to point A. 
       FIG. 2  depicts an alternate view of sleeping bag  100  in its closed position. Should the user want to read the book contained in top cover member  102 , a second zippered connection  202  is provided around the periphery of top cover member  102  defining a cavity therein.  FIG. 3  depicts an enlarged view of corner B showing zippered connections  108  and  202 . Zippered connection  202  is used to access the cavity containing the book while zippered connection  108  provides access to the interior of sleeping bag  100  as previously described. Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the cavity can be accessed by moving zipper  204  from point A, to point D, to point C, and then to point B. This opens three sides with the connection between A and B remaining closed and serving as the pivot for top cover member  102 . The arrangement of the zipper allows an occupant of the sleeping bag to utilize the contents of the sleeping bag while situated in the sleeping bag. For example,  FIG. 4  depicts the sleeping  100  after zippered connection  202  has been opened, revealing the cover of book  300 . Utilizing this arrangement, the occupant can read the book while residing in the sleeping bag  100 . 
     Book  300  can be made of any flexible material that aids in warmth such as cloth, plastic, or rubber. Book  300  can either be read in sleeping bag  100 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , or removed via a removable connection and read alone as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 7  depicts the reverse side of book  300  having hook connectors  702  which mate with corresponding loop connectors  802  on sleeping bag  100  as shown in  FIG. 8 , thereby providing a removable connection between book  300  and sleeping bag  100 . It should be appreciated that other types of releasable connections, such as snaps, may also be used. 
     Sleeping bag  100  contains a base support of foam material located in bottom cover member  104  as shown in  FIG. 9 . An additional zippered connection  902  or the like can be provided from points E to F to allow insertion and removal of a foam insert into the base of sleeping bag  100 . Likewise, to permit removal of pillow inserts, a zippered connection  904  can be provided in pillow member  105 , for example from point G to H, on the sleeping bag  100 , thereby allowing the pillow insert to be removed for washing or replacement purposes. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , there is a foam insert  1002  which is the base portion that is inserted through zippered connection  902  ( FIG. 9 ) in the sleeping bag  100 . Foam insert  1002  may optionally comprise waterproof cover  1004 , thereby allowing the foam to be easily wiped clear without requiring it to be washed in a machine. 
       FIG. 11  similarly shows pillow insert  1102  which would be inserted zippered connection  904  ( FIG. 9 ). Likewise, pillow insert  1102  may be made of a foam material having a waterproof cover  1104 . 
     As with other sleeping bags, sleeping bag  100  can be rolled up as depicted in  FIGS. 12 and 13 . After sleeping bag  100  has been rolled up, it can be inserted into carrying member  1402  for easy transportation as depicted in  FIG. 14 . Carrying member  1402  contains shoulder straps  1404  so it can be used as a backpack and zippered connection  1406  for securing sleeping bag  100  within carrying member  1402 . 
       FIG. 15  depicts an alternate view of sleeping bag  100  in an opened position. As shown, sleeping bag  100  may optionally contain zippered pocket  1502  for a CD player and/or MP3 player having a recording of book  300  for younger children who do not read. Each time a different book  300  is placed in sleeping bag  100 , the recording can be changed by replacing the CD in the CD player or downloading a new track to the MP3 player. 
     While the above description constitutes a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the present invention is susceptible to further modification and change without departing from the fair meaning of the accompanying claims.