Abstract:
A stuffer for clothing articles such as purses and boots is disclosed. One embodiment is a purse stuffer comprised of a single sheet of an elegant, quilted fabric folded and stitched together to form an elegant product. The embodiment has a pocket that accommodates a satchel containing an aromatic filling. The embodiment may be manufactured in several sizes to accommodate different size purses; however, each size may be configured so that it works over a range of purse sizes. In an alternate embodiment, two sheets of quilted fabric are folded and stitched together to form an elegant boot stuffer. Two boot stuffers are used for stuffing a pair of boots.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/335,066 filed Dec. 31, 2009 by the present inventors. This provisional patent application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to stuffers of purses, boots, and the like. More particularly the present invention relates to stuffers that are simple to make and have an elegant appearance and a pleasant fragrance. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0003]    Stuffers for apparel items such as purses, shoulder bags, and boots are widely used. They serve several purposes. First, they retain the preferred shape of the apparel item during storage, thereby extending the life of the item. Second, they give the apparel a pleasant appearance during storage or when commercially displayed, appealing to a woman who has paid or is willing to pay several hundred dollars to purchase the item. Third, they help organize a home closet or a shelf in a commercial establishment so that the items may be displayed nicely in a row, rather than appearing haphazardly. 
         [0004]    Various prior art patent documents and commercial products provide stuffer designs. The most common stuffer is the simplest: a piece of foam, styrofoam, crunched tissue paper, or a towel. Some stuffer products provided commercially are designed to be produced as cheaply as possible, yet preserve the preferred shape of the items during shipment or commercial display. Typically, they are discarded once the item is purchased. Another type of prior art stuffer is designed so they collapse when not in use, and expand when inserted in the purse or other item. Often they have complex implementations that include springs and collapsible frames. Still another type of prior art stuffers are high-end products that provide multiple functions such as absorbing moisture and providing a pleasant scent. 
         [0005]    However there is still a need for a simple stuffer that may preserve the preferred shape of a purse, shoulder bag, or boot, offers an attractive appearance when used with an expensive item, is relatively simple to manufacture, and appeals to the woman with elegant taste. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0006]    A first embodiment of the present invention is a simple but elegant purse stuffer. It is comprised of two major components, a member comprised of a quilted component that is shaped so it fits in the purse that it is designed for, and a sachet that contains a scented material. Various versions of the present invention may be implemented so they fit in purses of various dimensions. The present invention, when inserted into a purse, preserves the preferred shape of the purse, and when removed from the purse, preserves the purse&#39;s place in the user&#39;s closet. The simplicity and elegance of the present invention fits the needs and desires of the woman who uses it. A second embodiment applies the same inventive concept to boot stuffers. A preferred fabric is a quilted polyester silk charmuese. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the components of a purse stuffer comprising a first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are front perspective views illustrating the construction of the first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a quilted stuffer of the first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3B  is a sectional view of  FIG. 3A . 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view a pair of boot stuffers comprising a second embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates the three components used to construct the second embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIGS. 6A through 6G  illustrates the steps involved in constructing a boot stuffer of the second embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    In the following detailed description, terms such as top, bottom, left, right, upper, lower, horizontal and vertical refer to the figure where each reference applies. The same numeral may be used to denote the same part in different views and in different embodiments. The term “internal cavity” of an apparel is used to refer to the interior space of a purse that holds its content, or the interior space of a boot where a user&#39;s leg fits. The “preferred shape” of an apparel having an internal cavity is the shape of the apparel when in normal use; e.g. the shape of a boot when being warn by a user or the shape of a purse when filled with user&#39;s items and being carried by the user. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the two components comprising a first embodiment  100  of the present invention. First embodiment  100  is comprised of a member comprised of a quilted purse stuffer  102  made out of a flexible, resilient fabric, preferably a quilted fabric, and a sachet  104 . Quilted purse stuffer  102  has a pocket  112  with a hook/loop pair for opening and closing the pocket  112  that receives sachet  104 . Note that only loop material  110  of hook/loop pair is visible in pocket  112 . Sachet  104  contains an aromatic filler. The aromatic filler is not illustrated in  FIG. 1 . A preferred fabric is quilted polyester silk charmuese, although other quilted fabric may be used. 
         [0016]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate how quilted purse stuffer  102  is constructed. Note that  FIG. 1  includes markings  106  illustrating the seams of the quilted fabric.  FIGS. 2A and 2B  omit the seam markings. Referring to  FIG. 2A , a small strip of a hook material  108  is attached to top center of a purse rectangular sheet  114  made of quilted fabric, positioned horizontally. A small strip of loop material  110  is attached to bottom center of purse rectangular sheet  114  positioned horizontally. Purse rectangular sheet  114  is divided into a rectangular sheet top half  118 T and a rectangular sheet bottom half  118 B by a horizontal purse fold line  115 . Purse rectangular sheet  114  is then folded in half along horizontal purse fold line  115  by folding rectangular sheet top half  118 T forward and then down. A folded purse rectangular sheet  116  results from this fold as illustrated in  FIG. 2B . 
         [0017]    Referring now to  FIG. 2B , a first purse stitched path  120  is stitched, and a second purse stitched path  122  is stitched, thereby creating the pocket  112  for sachet  104 . Pocket  112  is not illustrated in  FIG. 2B . Then a third purse stitched path  124  is stitched, and a fourth purse stitched path  126  is stitched, completing the construction of quilted purse stuffer  102 . Quilted purse stuffer  102  is then shaped by folding along first purse stitched path  120  and second purse stitched path  122  to form a purse stuffer shape as illustrated in  FIG. 3A . Sachet  104  may be added to pocket  112 . 
         [0018]    Purse stuffer  100  may be manufactured in a variety of sizes to accommodate purses and shoulder bags of various sizes. To give two examples, a medium size purse stuffer preferably has a length  130  of 24 inches (60.96 centimeters), a height  128  of 12 inches (30.48 centimeters) and pocket  112  having a pocket width  132  of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters). Sachet  104 , in the medium sized example, is made of muslin, and has a length of 11 inches (27.94 centimeters) and a width of 4 inches (10.16 centimeters). A mini-sized purse has length  130  of 9.25 inches (23.49 centimeters) and height  128  of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters). 
         [0019]      FIG. 3B  illustrates a sectional view of  FIG. 3A  illustrating rectangular sheet top half  118 T of purse rectangular sheet  114 , bottom half of purse rectangular sheet  118 B, and pocket  112 . 
         [0020]    Purse stuffer  100 , illustrated in  FIG. 1 , has the shape of a tent. However, purse stuffer  100  may be folded in alternate shapes such as being rolled into a tube or folded into rectangles to accommodate purses of different sizes. Sachet  104  may have an aromatic filler comprising a mixture of organic hulls and lavender. As an example, the filler may contain 2.5 ounces (70.87 grams) of hulls and 0.5 ounces (14.17 grams) of lavender. Alternately the filler may be comprised of hulls and cedar. 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a second embodiment  200 . Second embodiment  200  is comprised of a set of two boot stuffers  202 . The boot stuffer  202  has the shape of a cylindrical shaft  203 , cylindrical shaft  203  is flattened at a shaft first end  208  with a cap  204  positioned at a shaft second end  209 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , boot stuffer  202  of second embodiment  200  is constructed out of two components, a member comprised of two subcomponents; a boot stuffer rectangular subcomponent  205  having an substantially rectangular shape and a boot stuffer circular subcomponent  206  having a circular shape, and a second component comprised of a sachet  104 . Both boot stuffer rectangular subcomponent  205  and boot stuffer circular subcomponent  206  are made out of a flexible, resilient fabric, preferably a quilted fabric such as a quilted polyester silk charmuese. 
         [0023]      FIGS. 6A through 6G  illustrate the steps of constructing the boot stuffer  202  (illustrated in  FIG. 4 ) out of boot stuffer rectangular subcomponent  205 , boot stuffer circular subcomponent  206 , and sachet  104 . To construct boot stuffer  202 , the following steps are performed. Note that  FIG. 5  includes markings  106  illustrating the seams of the quilted fabric.  FIGS. 6A through 6G  omit seam markings. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , boot stuffer rectangular subcomponent  205  is divided into a boot stuffer rectangular component first half  212 T and a boot stuffer rectangular component second half  212 B by a horizontal fold line  210 . Boot stuffer rectangular component second half  212 B is folded up so boot stuffer rectangular component second half  212 B lies on top of boot stuffer rectangular component first half  212 T. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 6B , boot stuffer rectangular component first half  212 T and boot stuffer rectangular component second half  212 B are stitched together along a first boot stitched path  218 . The result is a folded rectangular sheet  217  that has been stitched together as illustrated. 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIG. 6C , folded rectangular sheet  217  is folded into a predominantly cylindrical shape forming a cylindrical portion  219  having a boot stuffer rectangular component first edge  227  and a boot stuffer rectangular component second edge  228 . Boot stuffer circular subcomponent  206  is folded into an inverted bowl shape  220  and placed over cylindrical portion  219  of folded rectangular sheet  217 . 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6C and 6D , boot stuffer circular subcomponent  206  is inserted into cylindrical portion  219  of folded rectangular sheet  217  so that boot upper edge  222  of boot cylindrical shape coincides with cap upper edge  224  of boot stuffer circular subcomponent  206 . 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 6D , boot stuffer circular subcomponent  206 , and boot stuffer rectangular subcomponent  205  are stitched together along a second boot stitched path  226 . The result is a boot with cap  229 . 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 6E , boot stuffer rectangular component first edge  227  and boot stuffer rectangular component second edge  228  of boot with cap  229  are stitched together along a third boot stitched path  230 . 
         [0030]    Referring now to  FIG. 6F , boot with cap  229  is turned inside out, then sachet  104  is inserted into bottom opening  232  of boot with cap  229 . 
         [0031]    Referring now to  FIG. 6G , bottom opening  232  is closed and stitched together along a fourth boot stitched path  234 . The final shape of the second embodiment has a cylindrical shaft  203  flattened at a shaft first end  208  with a cap  204  located at shaft second end  209 . This completes the construction of boot stuffer  202 . Alternately, bottom opening  232  may be secured with a hook and loop pair or a zipper so that sachet  104  may be removed. 
         [0032]    Boot stuffer  202  may come in various sizes to accommodate boots of various sizes. Construction details are the same; only the dimensions of the components change. For example, boot stuffer  202  may have outside diameter of 4 inches (10.16 centimeters) at the top and 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) at the bottom, and a length of 12 inches (30.48 centimeters). The sachet may have a length of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) and a width of 6 inches (15.24 centimeters), and uses a filling of two parts hull and 1 part cedar. Alternate methods of construction are also considered within the present invention. For example, boot stuffer may have a length larger or smaller than 12 inches (30.48 centimeters). Boot stuffer rectangular subcomponent  205  my not be folded over, but may be made of a thick quilted fabric that is given the shape as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , but constructed in a different manner than what is illustrated in  FIGS. 6A through 6G . The fabric used in the construction may use a thick resilient fabric that is not quilted. 
         [0033]    The embodiments of the present invention are to be considered as only illustrative of the present invention and not a limitation of the scope of the present invention. Various permutations, combinations, variations and extensions of these embodiments are considered to fall within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of this invention should be determined with respect to the claims and not just by the embodiments presented.