Safe Sport Court Towel

Abstract

A sports towel includes a moisture absorbing fabric having an inwardly disposed slit with reinforced stitching and a pair of soft / plastic grommets on either side of the slit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to towels for use in various sports-related applications to provide a readily available dry towel for a user to dry a moist surface. In particular, the towels of the present invention are useful to a player, a referee (official), coach and / or observer on the sport court of play for wiping and drying moisture or debris off of athletes hands, face, etc., and / or equipment, and / or playing surface for those who play their game.

[0002] In all sports, indoor and outdoor, towels are used by and needed by the players and officials to wipe off hands, faces, etc. and equipment, and court surfaces used in playing the game. For indoor sports, towels are also needed but many times are not readily and conveniently available for incidents which frequently occur on hard court environments such as dangerous transfer of sweat to the playing surface, therefore creating a safety hazard if not properly dried and cleaned during play.

[0003] It is preferred to have towels available to the players and officials and / or coaches and / or observers for use whenever they feel the need, but also provide a way to attach / hang and store the towel in a variety of ways. In this way, the players and officials and / or coaches can use the towel to wipe off their hands and face and the wipe off the ball as in volleyball and basketball, any other ball or they may wipe moisture from the playing surface to keep playing surface safe to continue to use.

[0004] Many sports employ the use of shoulder bags or backpacks and it is also desirable to provide a convenient way to hang / attach towels on such bags which enable quick removal while also a way to prevent the same from getting unnecessarily wet or dirty or misplaced.

[0005] In volleyball and basketball games for example, players bring bags / backpacks which contain their equipment. These bags typically have straps or handles and it is desirable to attach the towel to these in an easy and user friendly manner.

[0006] These like other game are played just about all times of the year and is, of course, and the player and or official is seldom near any stationary supply of towels and so carrying one is preferred. With a need for improvement of accessibility and enhanced safety in the field of sport towels, the present invention aims to meet such need.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a towel with a novel multi-connection combination for use in sports to provide a towel for immediate use by a player, coach or an official.

[0008] It is another object to provide such a towel which can be readily removed from either a belt or uniform of a player, coach or official and / or strap of a bag for quick access of use.

[0009] It is another object to provide such a towel with a multi-connection combination wherein the towel can provide a dual connection method wherein it may be 1) secured to itself through an internally designed opening to pull through itself around an object or 2) attached / clipped to any equipment by way of a carabiner or clip through the grommets and allows the towel to be easily detached and reattached after each use.

[0010] It is another object to provide a towel which includes a unique attachment design to render the towel in a suitable storage position for displaying a graphic image in a visually acceptable manner.

[0011] According to embodiments of the present invention, the towel having a moisture absorbing fabric of a predetermined width, for example about 14-15 inches, and predetermined length, for example about 35-45 inches, defining a perimeter and includes an inwardly disposed slit preferably having reinforced stitching about the slit to prevent the slit from undesirably enlarging due to tearing and use of the towel. The slit is preferably sized to receive through an opening which it defines outwardly disposed portions of the towel in a manner to serve as a mechanism by which the towel can be readily retained on any loop or strap of any sporting equipment. In this way it can be easily removed for use and replaced securely for storage. Also, provided are soft / non-metallic grommets on either side of the slit. These grommets enable the use a carabiner for mechanical attachment and to permit the towel to hang in a manner to more readily display any graphic, such as a team logo, a tournament logo, or facility or sponsor logo.

[0012] These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art of sport from the following description of specific embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings.DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the towel.

[0014] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of the towel.

[0015] FIG. 3 is yet another enlarged part of the towel.

[0016] FIG. 4 depicts the towel suspended via carabiner / clip / hook through grommets.

[0017] FIG. 5 depicts the towel pulled through a central slit.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

[0018] Referring now to the drawings, a towel according to the disclosed invention is generally designated by the numeral 10. FIG. 1 shows the towel 10 in an elongated manner or to be seen lying flat without suspension.

[0019] The towel 10 includes a moisture absorbing fabric of a proprietary poly fabric blend having a predetermined width W, for example about 14-15 inches, and predetermined length L, for example about 35-45 inches, having a perimeter 12 with reinforced stitching 13. A slit 14 is inwardly disposed from the perimeter 12 preferably having reinforced stitching 15 about the slit 14 to prevent the slit 14 from undesirably enlarging due to tearing and use of the towel 10. The slit 14 is preferably sized to receive through an opening 16 which it defines, outwardly disposed portions 18 of the towel 10 in a manner to serve as a mechanism by which the outwardly disposed portions 18 can wrap through a belt, strap or any other applicable opening 22, for example, and be inserted through the opening 16 and can be readily retained on any strap with the slit 14 being the retaining mechanism. In this way, the towel 10 can be easily removed for use and replaced securely for storage. The slit 14 defines the opening 16 of a size to readily permit the insertion of one or more portion 18 while also retaining the same and also enables the quick removal of the portion 18. For example, the slit 14 opening 16 can be approximately 8 inches long. The towel 10 can be made of a suitable cloth material which is quick moisture absorbing material and quick drying. The towel 10 can also include a polyblend material which lends itself to die sublimation techniques.

[0020] Soft or plastic / non-metallic grommets 20 are provided on either side of the slit 10. These grommets 20 can be disposed a predetermined distance from the slit 12, for example approximately ¼″, and can be made of nylon, plastic or other suitable non-metallic material which is surface friendly and does not tend to scratch a playing surface, such as an indoor court surface. These grommets 20 enable the use a carabiner 24 for mechanical attachment and to permit the towel 10 to hang in a manner to more readily display a graphic, such as a team logo.

[0021] The unique configuration provides for a technique that allows greater ease of access to the towel 10 while also providing a reliable retaining mechanisms.

[0022] While the invention described herein is described in connection with several embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to those embodiments. It is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, equivalents and variations of those embodiments and their features as may be made by those skilled in the art of sport within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sports towel, which includes:a moisture absorbing poly blend fabric having a predetermined width W of between 14 and 15 inches, and predetermined length L of between 35 and 45 inches defining a perimeter with reinforced stitching thereby preventing fraying;an inwardly disposed slit having reinforced stitching about said slit to prevent said slit from undesirably enlarging due to tearing and use of said towel, said slit sized to receive through an opening which said slit defines, an outwardly disposed portion of said towel in a manner to serve as a mechanism by which said towel can be readily retained on one of a loop, strap and annular sports equipment surface; anda pair of soft grommets on either side of said slit.

2. The sports towel of claim 1, wherein said fabric includes a die sublimated graphic.

3. The sports towel of claim 1, wherein said soft grommets are on opposing sides of said slit and equally spaced from said slit.

4. The sports towel of claim 1, wherein said slit and said grommets are centrally disposed on said towel.

5. The sports towel of claim 1, wherein said grommets are non-metallic.

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