Convertible Blanket to Tote Bag

The present application relies on the disclosure of and claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/661,187, filed Jun. 18, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The present disclosure is directed to the field of convertible tote bags. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a tote bag that converts to a blanket and vice versa.

In general, in a first aspect, the disclosure features an article of manufacture. The article of manufacture includes a body (also referred to herein as a main body) including first and second circular-shaped layers of material attached together at their outer perimeter, where the first layer and second layer are made of different materials, where the first layer comprises a series of belt loops disposed adjacent to its outer perimeter, and the second layer comprises a set of pockets disposed within and a circular strap woven within the series of belt loops having a length that permits the strap to form two loops on opposites sides of the body such that when the loops are held together, the body drops below the loops and collapses or folds inward to form a bag.

Features of the article of manufacture can include one or more or all of the following. The body can include a circular pad disposed between and in the middle of the first and second layers of material. At least one pocket of the set of pockets is a slip patch pocket with a folded top opening and at least one pocket in the set of pockets is a zippered pocket. The second layer can further include a series of securement straps attached thereto each including an elastic strip of material terminating at a snap button. At least two of the securement straps can be of different lengths. The second layer can further include a strap designed to secure a keyring attached thereto, the strap including a strip of material having at least one male snap button and at least one female snap button. The second layer can further include at least two contralaterally disposed snap buttons disposed adjacent to the perimeter of the second layer.

The article of manufacture can further include an additional body comprising first and second circular-shaped layers of material attached together at their outer perimeter, where the first layer and second layer are made of different materials, the second body capable of being securely folded inward by way of two pairs of contralaterally disposed hidden magnetic snaps disposed adjacent to the perimeter of the additional body, the additional body being attachable to the main body by a strip of material and a snap button.

It should be understood that the articles of manufacture are not to be considered a limitation on the invention defined by the claims. The featured articles of manufacture can be implemented in one or more ways using one or more features depicted in the drawings, described in the detailed description, and set forth in the claims.

Reference will now be made in detail to various illustrative implementations. It is to be understood that the following discussion of the implementations is not intended to be limiting.

As used herein, “inside” and “outside” or “inside layer” and “outside layer” of the convertible blanket to tote bag describe the sides or layers during preferred use in bag mode where items can be secured on the inside of the bag.

The present disclosure provides a convertible blanket to tote bag (referred to hereafter as a blanket/bag). The blanket/bag is capable of transforming between blanket mode and bag mode. To convert from blanket mode to bag mode, the user pulls up the straps firmly on theopposite sides till the blanket is folded into a bag. This cinches the blanket body closed, gathering the material to form a closed bag shape. The straps come together at the top to form carrying handles. To convert back from bag mode to blanket mode, the user spreads out the blanket body and allows the straps to loosen until the blanket body is fully flat.

The blanket/bag's benefits include convenience, as it allows the user to lay the blanket/bag flat and put items inside of it and easily pull up the straps. Some uses of the blanket/bag include use as a diaper bag/everyday casual bag, a picnic bag (instead of carrying a whole picnic blanket), an outdoor festival bag to use on the grass and enjoy the shows, a laundry bag, or a grocery bag where the user can just dump all of their groceries in one bag and be on the go.

Implementations of the blanket/bag include zipper pockets on opposite ends of the blanket/bag so a user can store personal items such as their phone, keys, or billfold. Some implementations of the pockets can be open. Some implementations include a personal key holder that a user can attach their keys onto. Some implementations include securement straps that are designed to hold loose items or objects. Some implementations of the blanket/bag include a soft cushioning pad made so that a user can sit comfortably when the bag is in bag mode.

Turning now to the Drawings,provide views of the inside and outside of the blanket/bag. In, strap loops used to pull the blanket/bag up in bag mode are shown at opposite sides of the blanket/bag.features a circular belt or strap threaded through loops spaced along the perimeter of the blanket/bag that holds the strap in place. It can be seen that the outside layer of the blanket/bag is made of a different material than the inside layer of the bag. To provide an example, the inside of the blanket/bag can be made of materials such as various synthetic fabrics such as vinyl or polyester, while the outside of the blanket/bag can be a made of a durable material such as leather. In some implementations, the outside of the blanket/bag is made of a waterproof material. The waterproof material can be a synthetic weave such as polyester, nylon, or their combination. A waterproof material such as silicone can also be applied on either side (shown in). A side view of the outside of the blanket/bag in bag mode showing the bag hanging from the strap loops is shown in. The distance between the tip of the straps to the tip of the bag is approximately 19 inches.

show an implementation where an additional blanket body is attached to a main blanket/bag body. The additional blanket/bag body has four hidden magnetic snaps, disposed as two pairs on opposite sides: bottom and top snaps, and a pair of side snaps (). The pairs of snaps allow the blanket body to be folded inward, connecting the two opposite sides at the center to keep the blanked partially folded as its side portions, as shown in. This concept is also shown in, where the additional blanket body is folded down by connecting the top and bottom magnetic snaps. A piece of fabric connecting the additional blanket body to the main blanket body is shown in. The additional blanket body is flipped over to the inside of the main blanket/bag body as shown in.

is a schematic diagram showing the inside layer of the blanket/bag and a layout of its features and various dimensions according to one implementation. It should be noted that variations that deviate fromwith respect to dimensions or inclusion, elimination, duplication, location, and/or rearrangement of features are also contemplated. The implementation shown inhas a diameter of 100 cm; the dimensions and layout of various features of the blanket/bag are shown in the figure. Starting from the middle of the blanket/bag, a circular pad is shown. The circular pad is shown in the middle of the bag and is disposed between the inside and outside layers. The circular pad can be made of foam, cotton, or other soft yielding material. Along either side of the circular pad, a pair of slip patch pockets is shown with a top opening facing the perimeter of the blanket/bag; a blow-up diagram of the stitching on top of the pocket is shown the very bottom of the figure. A zipped pocket is shown above the front slip patch pocket. At the top right of the figure is shown an enlargement of the zipped pocket. Various securement straps are shown in the interior at roughly, using the positioning of a clock with 12 o'clock at the top center, 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 8 o'clock, and 10 o'clock. The securement straps are attached to the inside of the blanket/bag at one end and have a snap button at an opposing end that engages with a corresponding snap button on the inside of the blanket/bag (not shown). The securement straps are designed to hold loose items such as pens, flashlights, sunglasses, makeup, reading glasses, and so on. At the left of the figure, blow-up diagrams of the securement straps at 8 o'clock and 10 o'clock are shown. For the securement strap at 10 o'clock (side-folded securement strap A) an elastic webbing strap is shown attached to the inside layer and terminates at a snap button and fabric cover. Securement strap at 8 o'clock (side-folded securement strap B) which is shorter than securement strap at 10 o'clock features another snap button. An enlarged diagram of the keyring strap with multiple snap buttons (two male and one female) and their positions is shown at the extreme left of the diagram, and below that, an inside look of the side strap holding folded material therein is shown. At approximately 1 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock, 9 o'clock, and 11 o'clock, the belt loops' top stitches are shown. At 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock are snap buttons (male and female, or female and male) adjacent to the perimeter and designed to mate together and close the top of the blanket/bag in bag mode. The dashed line along the perimeter or circumference of the blanket/bag represents stitching that attaches the inside layer shown into the outside layer which is behind it and not shown except for its outer edge.

shows the multiple layer construction of the blanket/bag. A cotton pad sits between a polyester layer and a layer of Oxford™ material which is a special blend of polyester and nylon fibers designed to repel water. On either side is a water repellant coating.

The present disclosure has described particular implementations having various features. In light of the disclosure provided above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. One skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed features may be used singularly, in any combination, or omitted based on the requirements and specifications of a given application or design. When an implementation refers to “comprising” certain features, it is to be understood that the implementations can alternatively “consist of” or “consist essentially of” any one or more of the features. Other implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure.

It is noted in particular that where a range of values is provided in this specification, each value between the upper and lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in the range as well. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary in nature and that variations that do not depart from the essence of the disclosure fall within the scope of the disclosure. Further, all of the references cited in this disclosure including patents, published applications, and non-patent literature are each individually incorporated by reference herein in their entireties and as such are intended to provide an efficient way of supplementing the enabling disclosure as well as provide background detailing the level of ordinary skill in the art.