Patent Publication Number: US-2020281419-A1

Title: Towel With Pocket

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Towels are used in many different ways, both in and out of the home. Many people take towels with them when they go to the gym, to protect their skin from dirty equipment or to wipe themselves when you sweat. Towels are also often used on the beach, for example to protect the user against being covered by sand. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments disclosed herein describe towels that can be used for additional purposes. According to an embodiment, a towel is described that has one or more pockets therein. The pockets can be of different types, and can facilitate different functions as described herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the Drawings: 
         FIG. 1  shows a view of a side of the towel, with the pockets located at the corner; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a close up of one preferred method of creating the pocket; 
         FIG. 3  shows the open pocket with items therein; 
         FIG. 4  shows another embodiment with a single pocket; and 
         FIG. 5  shows another embodiment where the single pocket forms a rectangular pocket on a piece of the towel. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments describe a sheet shaped element, which in an embodiment described herein is a towel  100 . One side  105  of the towel  100 , shown in  FIG. 1 , includes multiple pockets such as  110  attached to one side of the towel. Pockets are attached at each of the four corners of the towel  100 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , one pocket is located at each of the four corners, shown as  110 ,  111 ,  112  and  113 . 
     Each of the pockets, such as  120 , has an opening part  115  into which items can be inserted. The pocket is also closed at its opposite ends,  121 ,  122 . In an embodiment, the opening area of the pocket  115  is lined with a pair of oppositely facing Velcro™ or other hook and eye material, or other reclosable and re-openable material so that the pocket can be closed along its opening area to maintain the items therein. 
     In an embodiment, the corner part  300  of the pocket is separate from and seperable from the towel, as shown in  FIG. 3 , which shows the pocket flap  300  as seperable from the surface of the towel  100 . One side of the edge areas  305 ,  310  which have the opening are attached permanently to the towel, e.g., stitched to the towel. 
     This forms a towel with special kinds of pockets. Because the pockets are not permanently attached to the edge of the towel, they do not make the towel significantly more bulky when those pockets are empty. The thickened portion, where the pocket is stitched to the towel, is actually spaced from the edge of the towel. Since the edge surfaces of the towel are often thicker than the remaining part of the towel, this does not even further contribute to that thickening portion, keeping the stitching in a portion of the towel where there are not thickened edge portions. 
     In one embodiment, the towel is a typical thick towel, with thickness between 300 and 900 GSM, having a material thickness of at least 1/16 of an inch, and more preferably, at least 3/32 of an inch. However, the material of the pocket is formed of a thinner material, no greater than 1/16 of an inch and preferably one 32 nd  of an inch. 
     In one embodiment, shown in  FIG. 1 , the towel has four pockets, one at each corner. However, in another embodiment, the towel  400  has only a single pocket  405 . 
     It is conventional to carry a towel at a gym, to protect your skin, and wipe off sweat. The inventors recognized, however, that while at a gym, there is the additional complication of keeping track of one&#39;s personal items, such as keys, wallet, etc. In an embodiment, the pocket on the towel can be used for holding personal items in a secure way. 
     In another embodiment, such as the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the towel is a beach towel where the corners can be used both to hold personal items, and also as a weight to hold down the towel. For example, the pockets can be filled with sand or rocks to hold the towel in place against blowing away. Unlike a permanent weight, which would require the user to carry this weight back and forth to the beach, for example, this device enables the pockets to be emptied by turning them inside out prior to leaving the towel or prior to leaving the beach, thus emptying the pockets and making the device easier to handle. 
     While the above has described beach towels and gym size towels, this can also be used for hand towels, blankets, and for any other sheetlike material. 
     The pockets in one embodiment are sewn to the towel, which provide functional benefits. These pockets can serve as storage for small items such as phone keys credit card ID money or whatever is carried to the gym or the beach or picnic. These also allow for stability as described above, because the pockets can be filled, thus helping to prevent the towel from lifting and blowing up. When used on the beach, this can thus prevent sand from getting on the towel 
     In different embodiments, the pockets are formed from different inner fabric, preferably fabric that is much thinner than the fabric of the towel, which enables the towel, with pockets empty, to be more easily folded adding a bulky feeling to the towel. For example, while the towel material i will will will s made of absorbent material, e.g., terry cloth material, the pocket material can be made of sheetlike material that is e.g., ¼ the thickness of the terry cloth material. 
     In an embodiment, the pocket entry includes Velcro at both sides  200   205  of the opening of the pocket, thus enabling accessing and opening the pocket and using as desired. 
       FIG. 5  shows an alternative embodiment where the towel  500  includes a rectangular pocket  505  at one end thereof. The pocket has an open flap  510  into which items can be inserted, as described in the other embodiments. The pocket can be either stitched at all edges, or can be stitched at the 2 side edges, and folded at the end edge. The open edge can close with a closure, e.g., a Velcro closure as in other embodiments. 
     The previous description of the disclosed exemplary embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these exemplary embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, while the above describes the pockets closing with Velcro, the pockets can also close with alternative closures, such as zippers or crimp seals, or pressure seals. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.