US20080099158A1

US20080099158A1 - Portable designer beach windscreen

Info

Publication number: US20080099158A1
Application number: US11/590,440
Authority: US
Inventors: Deborah Benson Effle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-11-01
Filing date: 2006-11-01
Publication date: 2008-05-01

Abstract

I searched the patent files and could not find a similar product, therefore, I wish to obtain a patent on my invention.

Description

BACKGROUND

My invention is titled the “Portable Designer Beach Windscreen.” It could also be referred to simply as a portable beach windscreen. I designed the portable designer beach windscreen to create a product that would be easy to transport to the beach which would be useful in screening the sun bather from the blowing wind/sand which one encounters at the beach. The item is compact and easy to carry (e.g. portable), and can be carried under one arm. Or the item can be placed in a bag with a handle or transported by slinging it over one's shoulder. When you arrive at the beach, you simply unroll the portable designer beach windscreen and push the dowels down into the sand at the desired depth, and then you have an instant windscreen to protect you from the wind and blowing sand. The item is made of material and is hand sewn. It can be made of various types of fabric such as cotton duck fabrics or polyester “windbreaker” type fabrics. The item can be marketed to everyone in the population, using solid colored fabrics or decorated cotton duck fabrics. The Portable Designer Beach Windscreen could also be used as a privacy screen in almost any outdoor location, where you can push the wooden dowels down into the ground where you want to create a private setting such as in the park while you are setting up a picnic area on the ground.

BRIEF SUMMARY

To summarize, my invention is a portable beach windscreen that is easy to carry and is easy to set up when you get to the beach. You simply unroll the screen length, fold under the left, right, and bottom sides of the fabric by about ¾ of an inch and press with an iron. Fold it back in half, as shown in FIG. 2, and then sew all around the outer edges about ¼ of an inch from the edge of the material. Leave about a one inch opening at the bottom locations indicated by the J's in FIG. 2. I shows the selvage edge of the material which is the side to leave the 1 inch openings which is the spot where the openings will be to insert the wooden dowels when the product is finished. G—be careful when cutting the fabric to be sure that you have measured at least 81 inches in length, and that the width of the material is at least 45 inches wide—that when folded (doubled over), has a width of at least 22½ inches wide.
FIG. 3 show the stitch lines to be sewn into the product to produce 3 pockets for the wooden dowels to be inserted into. K shows the solid lines which are placed to the left, right, and center of the screen to produce an open pocket in which to slip the wooden dowel into to stabilize the product and give it legs to insert into the sand. FIG. 3 shows the 3 pockets which are stitched into which the ½ inch dowels will be placed. M points to the 4 final stitched lines that are made to stabilize the design of the windscreen—M stitching lines are the last sew lines to be done on the product. L points to the area where you will need to remember to leave the end of the pocket open in order to be able to slip in the dowels into the fabric to stabilize it and give it the legs which will be the main support of the product.
FIG. 4 shows the almost complete windscreen. Sew a one (1) yard length of ¾ inch gross grain ribbon on the right hand side of the product, in the middle of the width of the product. Now you can roll up the windscreen (starting from the left side and rolling toward the right), and tie it up with the ribbon which has been sewn on the right and push the wooden dowels down into the sand to stabilize the screen and prevent the wind from blowing sand into your face and body when you are sun bathing on the beach.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF VIEWS OF DRAWING

There are 5 drawings of the invention to clearly demonstrate the manufacturing process for the Portable Designer Beach Windscreen.

FIG. 1 shows a length of fabric and its layout. A is the fold edge of the fabric, B the left cut edge of the fabric, C shows the right cut edge of the fabric, D is the selvage edge of the fabric, and E refers to the design of the actual fabric to be used for the product. It is desirable to select a design which is pleasing to the eye when viewed from FIG. 1's point of view—you should select a design that is viewed from A to D in it's design. For instance, if you selected a strip pattern, then the strip would run from left to right (B to C) in the final design. Since most fabrics are printed to run in that fashion (left to right or from B edge to C edge), it is important to be aware of that when selecting your fabric design so that the final product has a pattern which is pleasing to the eye. You could compensate for this in the cutting of the material by cutting it and placing the pattern so that it runs from A edge to D edge and is pleasing when viewed from FIG. 1's view and compensate by sewing the panels together to come up with the dimensions of the product (e.g. 81″×22½ inches). These variables should be considered when choosing a fabric pattern to use for the product.

FIG. 2 visually shows how to cut the fabric, fold it, and then how to make the first sewing lines around the edges of the product. The fabric should be cut 81 inches long and when folded in half it measures 22½ inches wide. After cutting the fabric hand side of the product. By tying up the rolled up windscreen product in this manner, it becomes portable and easy to carry.

FIG. 6 shows the bag that can be used to carry the Portable Designer Beach Windscreen. It is made of the same fabric as the windscreen and is tied at the top with a piece of ½ inch ribbon, and has a handle which makes it easy to carry or to sling over the shoulder and carry that way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Below is a brief description of the labeled points on all of the Figures in the Drawings. The paragraphs which follow give more detailed description about the points (lettered A-Q) and what they mean describing how to make the product.

- A. fold edge of the fabric
- B. left cut edge of the fabric
- C. shows the right cut edge of the fabric
- D. shows the selvage edge of the fabric. The length of fabric can very—use approximately 2¼ yards of fabric or 81 inches long, and about 45 inches wide—or wider to enable you to produce a windscreen that measures about 80 inches long and 21½ inches wide after sewing together.
- E. fabric design can very. You could use decorated cotton duck or a waterproof windbreaker type of polyester fabric. The pattern selected should look good when viewed from the angle shown in the diagram (FIG. 1) that runs from the selvage edge to the fold edge of the fabric.
- F. fabric length is 81 inches, using fabric that is about 45 inches wide. You could use longer lengths of fabric. If you were to use longer lengths of fabric, you would need to increase the number of dowels used in the design of the windscreen.
- G. Cut the fabric 81 inches long, measuring along the selvage edge. Fold under cut edges and selvage edges ½ inch to ¾ inch and iron or press. Sew or stitch along the dotted lines to close all 4 edges including along the top (fold edge of fabric).
- H. fold along cut edge of fabric
- I. fold along selvage edge of fabric
- J. Leave a one inch opening—3 places along the bottom edge to allow for the insertion of a dowel (FIG. 3 shows the stitching lines which will hold the wooden dowels).
- K. Stitch lines (solid lines), to hold the ½×36 inch wooden dowels.
- L. Leave a one inch opening at the bottom of each stitching line to allow for insertion of the wooden dowel
- M. Stitch lines between the stitched pockets where the dowels are to be inserted (shown as heavy black dotted lines). This is done to help stabilize and strengthen the design of the product.
- N. Insert dowels into the stitched pockets at this location. When the stitching is finished, if you remembered to leave an opening here, then you will be able to slip the wooden dowels into the windscreen at this location.
- O. Attach a one yard length of ¾ inch gross grain ribbon (a color that coordinates with the fabric design you selected) here by stitching it a few times back and forth to give it extra strength, as this point will take a lot of abuse as the customer ties and unties it many times.
- P. Rolled up Portable Designer Beach Windscreen—this is what the windscreen will look like when it is finished and rolled up and tied, ready to be carried to the beach.
- Q. This last drawing (FIG. 6) shows the simple bag made to carry the Portable Designer Beach Windscreen in. The product could be produced without this bag if so desired

The item is made by cutting a piece of fabric 81 inches long (refer to FIG. 1 of the Drawings). FIG. 1 shows the fabric laid out, doubled over, as it comes when you buy it.
FIG. 2 shows the fabric which has been cut to 81 inches long. (Refer to H)—the fabric is folder over with the fold edge on the top and the selvage edge along the bottom. Fold the fabric under ¾ of an inch under on the cut edges and the selvage edge. Pin it together and sew along all edges leaving an inch opening at each location where there is a “J” placed on FIG. 2. Leaving this one inch spacing at the 3 places along the bottom where you see the “J” placed on the drawing in FIG. 2 will allow a spot to insert the 3 dowels, after you have sewn in stitching lines which will hold the dowels.
FIG. 3 shows the item after you have stitched it together, leaving the 3 bottom openings for the dowels. Now the next step is to stitch the guides where the dowels will be inserting into the windscreen (K). K points to the solid lines which you stitch to allow the dowels to be inserted into the fabric, which will hold the dowels into place. The Π line should be about 1-1½ inches wide to allow for the dowel to slip into it and be stationary after being inserted. Sew the Π line 3 times—on the left and right sides and in the middle of the item. (M) points to additional stitching lines (4 stitching lines), between the stitched Π line (which holds the dowels), which should be sewn to further stabilize the design of the windscreen. (L) points to the bottom of the lines which are stitched to hold the dowels and is there as a reminder that you need to leave the bottom of the line open so that the dowels will have an opening to be inserted into.
FIG. 4 shows the product after it has been sewn. (O)—take a ¾ inch piece of gross grain ribbon, fold it in half and place it midway along the right edge of the item and sew it in place. (N)—insert the dowels into the slots/pockets shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 5 shows the Portable Designer Beach Windscreen after it has been rolled up and tied with the gross grain ribbon. The product is now ready to take to the beach and stick into the sand to produce an effective wind and sand screen for you when you are sun bathing on the beach and the wind and sand are blowing across the beach.
I believe that my invention is new and unique and there is no other product on the market which is similar to my design. I think that my invention has merit because I think that there is a need for a product such as this that will screen the wind and sand away from the sun bather. For that reason, I think that my invention has practical uses and that I should be given a patent to market this item or sell it to a manufacturer.

Claims

1. I believe that my invention is an original idea because I did a complete search of the patent files and could not find anything similar to its design. Although I did find an item that was used to protect someone from the wind and sand on the beach in the patent files, it was constructed of a plastic frame and was a very large frame in which polyester fabric was attached to it. It was designed as a larger structure and had no real resemblance to my design/invention.

I believe that my design/invention is unique in its conception and design as a portable windscreen that can be easily carried with you to the beach and easy to set up, just like portable umbrellas are carried to the beach and used by many people. Also, because it is made with decorated fabrics. I think it will have universal appeal to many customers and will be a very marketable product.