Patent Publication Number: US-2009236299-A1

Title: Method and apparatus for releasably attaching a towel to a close-ended rod

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to towels and more particularly to a method and apparatus for releasably securing a towel to a towel rod so that the towel may be easily hung without distortion of the towel to permit undistorted display of its indicia, with a releasable strap permitting ready access to the towel when desired. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As is common in the hanging of towels, they are inserted between a towel rod and a wall or other support. This permits easy access to the towel simply by pulling the exposed portion of the towel from between the towel rod and the wall. It will be appreciated that this method of hanging of towels is necessitated because a towel rod is close ended, meaning that there are towel rod supports on either end of the rod which preclude the entry of the towel from either end. More recently, so-called circular towels have been made available. These towels hang from a center portion of the towel, with the towel falling in a kind of triangular shape from the point from which they are hung. 
     In the past, these towels have been hung over hooks, nails or other protuberances, but are not easily hung over towel rods, due to their peculiar shape. 
     For instance, when a circular towel is hung over a towel rod, it looks unkempt and is crushed with folds hiding towel designs. 
     Towel rods are typically attached to a wall or come as part of the door handle on ovens. When one wants to give a kitchen a pleasing appearance, one would like to have the towels hanging from a towel rod so that they fall in a pleasing manner and are not seen as disorderly. 
     Moreover, while rectrolinear towels can be folded, for instance in threes, and draped over a towel rod by passing it between the towel rod and the wall or oven door, and while these towels may be smoothed out over the towel rod to display indicia on the towel, it is only with extreme difficulty that one can hang circular towels on a towel rod because the towel bunches. 
     When one attempts to stuff a circular towel through the space between the towel rod and the wall, it looks unsightly. Thus, in the past there has been no convenient way to hang a circular towel so it doesn&#39;t look messy, much less display the towel in a pleasing fashion with indicia on the towel displayable without being hidden by unsightly folds. 
     While in the past circular towels have carried a center loop to assist in their hanging, this loop is only useful when hanging a towel over a hook. A loop in no way assists in hanging the circular towel over a towel rod, because the interior of the loop cannot be placed around the towel rod due to the fact that the ends of the towel rods are not accessible. This precludes hanging the circular towels on a towel rod so that they fall gracefully. 
     Moreover, with a closed loop, there is no way to hang the circular towel from a towel rod with the indicia or surface of the draped circular towel unobscured by folds. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     In order to solve the problem of hanging circular and other towels on a towel rod or the handle of an oven door, in the subject invention a bifurcated loop is sewn to the center of the towel such that the ends of the loop are releasably attachable, in one embodiment by using a button and a buttonhole on either end of the bifurcated loop. In another embodiment, snaps are used on the bifurcated ends, whereas in a third embodiment interlocking loop connectors, such as Velcro®, may be applied to the opposed bifurcated ends. 
     By providing a bifurcated loop strap for the towel, it is possible to hang the towel from a towel rod using the loop so that the towel falls naturally into a triangular shape and looks good. 
     Additionally, any indicia, such as designs and the like, on the towel are clearly visible when the towel is hung by its center on the towel rod so that the towel designs are unobscured by folds. Further, multiple draped towels can be positioned on the towel rod to provide its pleasing appearance and not look messy. 
     In summary, a round towel is provided with a centrally located bifurcated strap having closure apparatus at the distal ends thereof to permit hanging the towel by its center over a rod or other elongated longitudinally running support member having closed ends. In one embodiment the towel is hung on the rod by surrounding the rod with the distal ends of a strap, with the strap ends releasably secured to form a loop around the rod. This hanging method enables one to hang towels from a towel rod by a loop rather than passing a portion of the towel through and over the rod, while at the same time providing visibility of towel indicia, since the towel is not bunched by its passage over the towel rod. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features of the subject invention will be better understood in connection with the Detailed Description, in conjunction with the Drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic illustration of a prior art towel rack and towel, illustrating the bunched hanging of the towel on the towel rack when the towel is inserted between the towel rack and a backing such as the door of an oven; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic illustration of a prior art circular towel with a continuous loop showing the hanging of this towel over a hook or other protuberance; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic illustration of a circular towel hung from its center by a bifurcated loop which is snapped over a towel rod, in which the indicia on the towel as well as a large portion of the towel is straight and in a triangular shape so that when viewed, the towel looks neat and tidy with towel indicia unobscured; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic illustration of the bifurcated loop of  FIG. 3  in which snaps are utilized to join the bifurcated ends of the loop; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic illustration of the bifurcated loop of  FIG. 3  in which a button and buttonhole are used to join the ends of the bifurcated loop; and, 
         FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic illustration of the loop of  FIG. 3  where the bifurcated ends of the loop are joined together utilizing an interlocking loop connector such as Velcro®. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a towel rod  10  is attached to a door  12  of an oven or wall utilizing end brackets  14  and  16  which, as will be appreciated, deny access to the ends of the towel rod. 
     When hanging a towel on such a towel rod, a towel  20  is stuffed into an area  22  in back of towel rod  10  such that the towel is looped over the towel rod. Especially for circular towels the hanging of the towel and draping of it over the towel rod is bunched and messy, such that the towel does not create a pleasing appearance when hung in this matter. While rectrolinear towels can be stretched out along the length of towel rod  10  and, therefore display a face of the towel that is flat, when using circular towels, the appearance of the towel in such a fashion stuffed in between the towel rod and the backing of the towel rod creates a messy and unpleasant appearance for the display of the towel. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , in the prior art a circular towel  24  is hung by a continuous loop  26  over a hook  28  such that when the towel is hung in this manner, it drapes into a cone-like configuration. This is the same type of draping that would occur if one picked up the circular towel by its center. It will be appreciated that the circular towel with a continuous loop such as shown cannot be conveniently hung on a towel rod, due to the fact that the circular towel has to be stuffed between the towel rod and its backing. The loop itself cannot be looped around the towel rod because of the closed ends of the towel rod. 
     In contradistinction to the prior art described above, in the subject invention, as seen in  FIG. 3 , in one embodiment a circular towel  30  is mounted to a towel rod  34  on a door  36  of an oven  40  in which towel  30  is provided with a bifurcated loop  42 . The bifurcated loop has bifurcated ends  44  and  46  which are joined together by a fastener  48  once the bifurcated loop encircles the towel rod. 
     The result is that the circular towel drapes down in a triangular or cone shape form, as illustrated, with indicia  50  being clearly visible due to the fact that there are no unsightly folds created were the towel to be stuffed between the towel rod and a wall. 
     More than one towel can be positioned on the towel rod in this manner, such that the towels can be moved laterally with respect to the towel rod, whereby a number of circular towels draped in a conical fashion can be carried by the towel rod and displayed side by side with ease. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , in one embodiment the bifurcated strap or loop  42  is provided by mating snaps  50  and  52 , with the center  54  of the strap being sewed, as illustrated at  56 , to the center of the circular towel. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in a second embodiment bifurcated loop  42  is provided with a button  60  and a buttonhole  62 , with loop  42  being secured to the towel at  54 , as illustrated by sewing  56  so that towel  30  is hung from its center. 
     Finally, with respect to  FIG. 6 , towel  30  may be provided with a bifurcated loop  42  that has interlock loop Velcro® portions  64  and  66  to join the bifurcated ends of loop  42  together around a towel rod. 
     The snap and the button arrangements are preferred to the Velcro® insofar as the Velcro® can catch on the towel material. However, if care is taken, Velcro® need not catch on to the towel material itself. 
     What has been provided is a convenient method for hanging a circular towel to a towel rod utilizing a bifurcated loop. The subject arrangement allows for unobstructed view of the indicia on the towel when the towel is draped utilizing the bifurcated loop structure described above. 
     Moreover, since the loop can be laterally moved on the towel rod, the position of the towel on the towel rod can be easily adjusted. Additionally, depending on the length of the towel rod, numbers of circular towels can be mounted in this fashion. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , it will be appreciated that the subject towel mounting method can be utilized to handle multiple towels  30  side by side on a towel rod so that, as shown, children&#39;s indicia can be lined up across the towel rod by hanging the towels side by side. 
     As can be seen, the unobstructed view of the indicia on the towels makes it possible to hang towels across the rod to give a pleasing display such as would be welcomed by children in which each individual child may be provided with his own towel or indicia. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications or additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims.