Abstract:
A mummy sleeping bag which allows the user to free his/her arms and upper torso while the hood and lower portion of the bag remains in place. This allows the user to complete tasks outside of the sleeping bag without completely exiting the bag through the hood end.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES 
       [0001]    not applicable 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    not applicable 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0003]    not applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    The present invention relates to a sleeping bag having an improved closure system. 
         [0006]    2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
         [0007]    A typical prior art mummy sleeping bag is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,017, which is incorporated by reference. The traditional sleeping bag completely encloses the body of the user and has a closure means which typically is a zipper that ends near the user&#39;s neck or face and a “draw cord” to create a snug fit of the hood onto the user&#39;s head. A neck baffle is also provided which utilizes a second draw cord to create a seal around the user&#39;s neck in order to keep warm air in the main body of the bag. In addition, the zipper usually runs along one side of the bag with a short insulated baffle on the interior to prevent heat loss through said zipper. A disadvantage of this system is that when the user needs to perform a task outside of the sleeping bag, the user must first loosen the hood and neck baffle, and then undo the zipper to provide an exit opening. In addition, the draw-cord controlled baffle found on most bags is only partly effective in slowing heat loss through the zipper and may rub on the user&#39;s neck or chin and cause irritation. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The invention provides in a sleeping bag having a hood closure system, a novel closure system which comprises an extended exterior flap having a hand engaging means on an interior wall for grasping the exterior flap and allowing it to be placed over a longitudinally positioned zipper closure where said extended exterior flap is held in place by a hook and eye closure system. The hook and eye closure system is placed in close proximity to the head end of the bag where a hood is positioned in order to allow the sleeping bag to remain in place on the users head. A second optional hand engaging means is placed on the interior wall of the sleeping bag adjacent to the zipper to provide a gripping surface to hold the sleeping bag wall in position when the extended flap is placed over the zipper and placed in contact with the hook and eye closure system. 
         [0009]    In operation, the hand engaging means on the extended exterior flap allows the user to pull the extended exterior flap over the zipper and attach the extended exterior flap to the hook and eye closure system while simultaneously adjusting the snugness of the closure to accommodate the user&#39;s body shape. This allows the user to open only the extended exterior flap and perform tasks outside of the sleeping bag without fully exiting it. In addition, the snug fit achieved with this system eliminates the need for the partially effective draw cord controlled neck baffle found on current bags. The zipper itself is located at the inside edge of an overlaid section of the bag, effectively becoming insulated from outside air, and solving the problem of insufficient baffles. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a top plan view of the fully closed sleeping bag at rest on the ground. Internal closures are illustrated as dotted lines. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a cross sectional view of a fully closed bag containing the user. View is from the head end. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a top plan view of the sleeping bag with one side open. This illustration also shows the user&#39;s relationship to the bag and the working parts of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates a view of the interior of the upper part of the front of the bag, taken from the perspective of a user before the hood is secured in place. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The invention is primarily intended for use in what is commonly known as a mummy type sleeping bag. Mummy type sleeping bags are insulated with various natural and synthetic fibers such as down or polyester fibers and are sized to accommodate a human body by being narrow at the area intended to accommodate the feet, wider at the hip and shoulder areas and narrower at the head area. An opening at the head area is typically provided with a hood that covers the head except for the face which has the hood closely fitted to the face with an appropriate drawstring closure system. 
         [0015]    As best shown in  FIG. 1 , sleeping bag  1  has a conventional head end portion  2  with a hood region  3  and a foot end portion  4 . The full-length or continuous zip fastener  5  closing the entry opening of the sleeping bag extends along the side of the bag from the region of the foot end  4 , starting in the area indicated by  6 , and from extends up to the top of the region defined by the extended exterior flap  12 . The extended exterior flap  12  is preferably made of the same material and is insulated with the same materials used to construct the body of the sleeping bag. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the upper end of the extended exterior wall flap is sized to extend past the zip fastener  5  in a transverse direction along line  6 A and is preferably secured to a hook and eye closure system  15  at the top of the front wall of the sleeping bag. The hand engagable means  8  is provided on the interior wall of the extended exterior flap  12  and is intended to engage the users right hand and it may comprise a finger sized pocket sized to engage the fingers which is made of fabric, a gripable string or strap, a hand engagable grip made of metal or plastic which is sewn or adhesively bonded onto said interior wall of the extended exterior wall flap. The interior wall flap  11  is also optionally provided with hand engagable means  7  which may be the same as hand engagable means  8  except that it is intended to engage the left hand. The entire zip fastener  5  may be bordered on all sides by flaps  9  and  10  which are preferably made of snag proof materials such as 1000 Denier Cordura Plus Nylon. The zipper half  5  is located on the interior edge  11   a  of the interior flap  11 . The other zipper half  5   a  is located on the exterior flap  12  at the point where the inside edge of the interior flap contacts the exterior flap  12 . The extended exterior flap  12  may overlay the interior flap  11  by approximately 50 to 100% of the width of the front of the sleeping bag. In practice a  12 ″- 16 ″ overlay ending at edge  12 A is effective and the top edge  12 B of the extended exterior flap may terminate at a location which extends up to the vicinity of the face opening  13  at the head end  2  of the sleeping bag. The preferred hand engagable means  7  and  8  are right and left hand pockets, which are located in the neck area below the face opening  13  of the head end  2 . The right hand pocket  8  is backed with a hook and eye closure device such as a Velcro® system which is located adjacent to the face opening  13 , which is preferably on the left side of face opening  13 . An optional full length longitudinally oriented hook and eye strip  14  &amp;  14   a,  or similar draft closure system, may be located along exterior flap edge  12   a  and the outer wall of interior flap  11 . A single draw cord  16  is positioned on the exterior of face opening  13  where it passes through a sewn sleeve  16  as best seen in  FIG. 4 . The sewn sleeve  16  begins near the right hand pocket  8  and continues adjacent to the perimeter of the face opening  13 , and terminates at a hole  17  on the left side of the hood  3  where its end is exposed. The draw cord  16  may be of elastic material, and has a plastic clamp, or any other form of draw-cord clamp, on the exposed end. Additional draw cords or alternate drawcord configurations may be used to maximize the fit of the hood to the user&#39;s head. All of the previously described parts and mechanisms may be reversed for a left side zipper configuration. 
         [0016]    In a preferred embodiment, the user utilizes the hand pockets  7  and  8  to create opposing forces to the area at the neck below the face opening  13  and secures the hood  3  in place using the hook and loop closure  15  &amp;  8  as best shown by line  6   a  in  FIG. 3 . The hook patch  15  is preferably made larger than the loop backing on right hand-pocket  8  so that the connection between them can be made in different places, allowing users of different sizes to adjust the hood to fit. The draw cord  16  allows for fine adjustment of face opening  13 , providing a tight seal around the face. The opening and closing of the zip fastener  5  may be completely independent of the securing of the hood  3  to the users head, thereby allowing the user to reach outside of the bag without completely disengaging from it. In addition, the zip fastener will have a minimum of heat loss as it is located at the base of a preferred  12 ″ overlaid baffle formed by flaps  11  and  12 . The outer shell fabric may be one of many typically used in sleeping bags, such as basic nylon, or any one of the commercially available waterproof breathable fabrics. There may be a neck baffle to prevent bodily heat loss through the head end of the bag.