Sleeping bag

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a sleeping bag and in particular to a bag for use on a bed having a detachable mattress supported on a base sheet.

Background of the invention

Carp anglers often spend long periods of time waiting for a fish to take the bait on a fishing line. Specialised folding beds, which may often also be used as chairs, are currently available that to allow them to do so in comfort. Such bed-chairs may have a folding frame across which a base sheet, made for example of canvas, is stretched. A mattress is removably secured to the base sheet using, for example, a zip fastener or hook and loop tape. The mattress provides padding for improved comfort and is made removable because on occasions it may provide too much thermal insulation.

When sleeping on such a bed, an angler places a sleeping bag over the mattress after the frame has been unfolded into a flat configuration. To hold the sleeping bag in place on the bed, it is known to provide straps on the sleeping bed for wrapping around the frame of the bed or to form pockets at the opposite ends of the sleeping bag to fit over the ends of the frame of the bed.

A conventional sleeping bag has a padded lower layer to act as a mattress and a padded upper layer to act as a cover, both layers offering thermal insulation. The two layers may either be formed separately and secured to one another, or they may be formed in one piece and permanently attached to one another along one side of the sleeping bag. Sleeping bags with a detachable third layer have also been proposed to allow the degree of thermal insulation to be selected in dependence on the prevailing weather conditions.

The problems that known sleeping bags present are those of bulk and additional weight. In this context, it should be noted that anglers have to transport a good deal of heavy and bulky equipment to the stretch of water where they will be fishing and that journey may be long and over rough terrain.

Object of the invention

The present invention seeks therefore to provide a sleeping bag designed for use with a bed having a mattress that is releasably secured to a base sheet, the sleeping bag being lighter and less bulky while affording adequate comfort and thermal insulation.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a sleeping bag for use with a bed having a base sheet and a mattress releasably secured to the base sheet, the sleeping bag having lower and upper layers to be disposed in use below and above an occupant of the sleeping bag, respectively, wherein the lower layer has first fastening elements for enabling the sleeping bag to be releasably secured to the base sheet of the bed in place of the bed mattress and second fastening elements for enabling the upper side of the lower layer to be secured to the underside of the bed mattress, whereby the sleeping bag is held securely on the bed, when in use, with the lower layer sandwiched between the base sheet and the bed mattress.

The invention takes advantage of the fact that as the bed already has a mattress, one can rely on that mattress not only for thermal insulation and comfort but also to hold the sleeping bag securely in place. The sleeping bag need only have a thin lower layer, as it is not required for comfort nor thermal insulation, thereby making the sleeping bag lighter and less bulky. Furthermore, the sleeping bag requires neither straps nor pockets to keep it in place on the bed, this being achieved by trapping the lower layers of the sleeping back between the base sheet and the mattress of the bed.

It is convenient for the fastening elements provided on the underside of the lower layer of the sleeping bag to be complementary to the fastening elements provided on the base sheet to secure the mattress to the bed. For example, if hook and loop tape is used to hold the mattress down on the base sheet of the bed, the underside of the lower layer of the sleeping bed may be provided with the same type of tape (hook or loop) as on the underside of the mattress and the topside of the lower layer of the sleeping bag may be provided with the same type of tape as on the base sheet of the bed. Similarly, if a zip fastener is used to secure the mattress to the base sheet of the bed, then the lower layer of the sleeping bag may have two half zips, one for mating with the base sheet and the other for mating with the mattress.

As with conventional sleeping bags, the lower layer of the sleeping bag may be either releasably secured to the upper layer or permanently connected to it along one side. Furthermore, an optional removable top layer may be provided to lie above, or in place of, the upper layer to allow the degree of thermal insulation to be selected.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a plan view of a bed chair with its mattress removed,
• Figure 2 shows the lower layer only of a sleeping bag of the invention,
• Figure 3 is a schematic section showing a mattress resting on the base sheet of the bed, and
• Figure 4 is a section similar to that of Figure 3 with a sleeping bag placed on the bed.

Detailed description of an embodiment

The bed shown in Figure 1 has a collapsible frame 10 supported on folding legs. The frame hinges and the legs are not shown in the drawings as they are well known and not of relevance to the present invention. A base sheet 12 that supports the weight of the bed occupant is secured to the frame 10 and held taut by means of a cord 14, which may be slightly elastic. The base sheet 12 is itself made of a suitable woven material, such as canvas.

The bed is normally used in the manner shown in the section of Figure 3, with a mattress 30 placed above the base sheet 12. The mattress 30 is held in place by hook and loop tape 16 provided on the top side of the base sheet 12 and the underside of the mattress 30. The mattress 30 is padded for comfort and for thermal insulation.

Conventionally, an angler would place both the lower and upper layers of a sleeping bag above the mattress 30 and use straps or pockets to stop the lower layer of the sleeping bag from moving around on the mattress.

The sleeping bag of the present invention has a lower layer 20 that is not padded but is formed as a sheet that fits between the mattress 30 and the base sheet 12 of the bed. The lower layer 20 is shown on its own in Figure 2 with one of its corners turned down to reveal that it carries hook and loop tape 22 on its underside to secure it to the base sheet 12 by engaging with the tape 16 provided on the base sheet 12 to hold the mattress 30 in place. On its upper side, the lower layer 20 of the sleeping bag has further hook and loop tape 24 to engage with the tape provided on the underside of the mattress 30 to secure it to the base sheet 12 of the bed. The hook and loop tapes 20 and 22 on the opposite sides of the lower layer of the sleeping bag are of different type (hook or loop, the tape on its upper side being of the same type as on the base sheet 12 of the bed and the tap on its underside being of the same type as provided on the mattress 30.

In addition to the hook and loop tapes 22, 24 provided on the lower layer 20 of the sleeping bag to secure it of the base sheet 12 of the bed and the mattress 30, a zip fastener 26 is provided securing the lower layer 20 to one or other of the upper layer 32, 34, which are in turn securable to one another. In this way, the angler may use a thin upper layer or cover 34 in warmer conditions, a thick cover 32 is colder conditions and both covers 32 and 34 in still colder conditions.

The advantages offered by the sleeping bag of the invention is that it makes use of the bed mattress for both comfort and thermal insulation thereby dispensing with the need for the lower layer of the sleeping bag to be padded. Furthermore, the sleeping bag makes use of the fastening elements provided for holding the mattress in place to maintain the sleeping bag stationary when it is in use.