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(11) | EP 2 939 716 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | DISPOSABLE COVER |
| (57) A low cost disposable hygienic cover that may be easily used, preferably shaped so
as to be easily folded to assume an extremely compact shape, that may be contained
in dispensers of the type used for distributing paper towels or in automatic vending
machines, comprises a bi-laminated cloth having at least a layer made of a water-proof
material, adapted to be placed against a bench or chair, coupled with a layer of absorbing
material, destined to come into contact with the body of a user, and a band whose
length is adjustable fixed at a portion of said bi-laminated cloth for laying the
head and configured for fastening the cover on the bench or chair keeping the layer
made of impermeable material against the bench or chair.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention is a hygienic disposable cover particularly suitable for gym benches, shaped so as to be easily transported and distributed in a folded form.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Commonly, in gyms users are advised to carry their own towel or cloth to be placed on the bench before performing an exercise, for obvious hygienic reasons. Nevertheless, even taking this precaution, the used bench remains clean only if the towel placed thereon is not wet with sweat.
[0003] In order to obviate to the lack of a personal towel or cloth, sometimes a roll of absorbing paper is made available, from which it is possible to cut a strip of a desired length for covering the sitting surface or the bench back. This solution is cheap, though it is often ineffective because the strip of paper may easily displace while performing the exercise, leaving uncovered portions of the bench that may be soiled with sweat. Moreover, the absorbing paper quickly impregnates with sweat when coming into contact with the user's body and is crumbled, thus after each use cleaning the bench would be appropriate.
SUMMARY
[0004] An objective of this disclosure is to provide a low cost disposable hygienic cover that may be easily used. The cover disclosed hereinafter will be preferably shaped so as to be easily folded to assume an extremely compact shape, that may be contained in dispensers of the type used for distributing paper towels or in automatic vending machines.
[0005] The present invention is substantially composed of a bi-laminated hygienic cloth having at least a water-proof layer, destined to be placed on the chair or bench, coupled with an absorbing layer, against which the user will lay, and an adjustable band or elastic for fastening the cover to the seat or bench.
[0006] The claims as filed are integral part of this specification and are herein incorporated by reference.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007]
Figure 1 depicts: a) a shaped bi-laminated hygienic cloth according to a preferred embodiment of the cover of this disclosure; b) an adjustable band for fastening to a bench.
Figure 2 depicts a preferred embodiment of the disposable cover of this disclosure in an unfolded position, wherein an end portion of the cloth is folded and sewed to form a containment pocket.
Figures from 3 to 8 show how to fold the disposable cover of figure 2 so as to put it in the containment pocket in order to obtain the folded configuration of figure 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] The disposable cover of the present invention is substantially composed of a hygienic cloth 1, for example shaped as shown in figure 1a, on which a band 2 of adjustable length is fixed, for example of the type shown in figure 1b. The hygienic cloth 1 is a bi-laminated sheet comprising a water-proof layer 3, depicted with filling lines in figure, for example a laminated sheet made of polyethylene, coupled with a layer of absorbing material 4, that may be for example a non-woven laminated fabric.
[0009] Preferably, the hygienic cloth is shaped as depicted in figure 1a and has a lower portion 5, on which the user may sit and may lay his/her body trunk, a narrower intermediate portion 6, for laying the neck, a portion for laying the head 7 and an upper end portion 8. According to the preferred embodiment shown in figure 2, the upper end portion 8 is folded over the portion for laying the head 7 and is sewed and/or glued thereon along the opposite sides 9a and 9b so as to define with the portion for laying the head 7 a containment pocket in which the folded hygienic cloth is inserted.
[0010] The adjustable band 2 is fixed to the hygienic cloth 1 in correspondence of the portion for laying the head 7 so as the disposable cover, when fastened around an upper portion of a bench, disposes itself by gravity force in the desired fashion covering the bench back and the sitting surface. Moreover, the waterproof layer 3 is placed against the bench and the user's body comes into contact with the absorbing layer 4. In this configuration, the bench will never be soiled with sweat because the position of the adjustable band will force the user to put always the water-proof layer and not the absorbing layer against the bench. Moreover, the bi-laminated hygienic cloth will not be crumbled when in contact with the user's body, even if the absorbing layer 4 is impregnated with sweat.
[0011] For sake of ease of use, the upper end portion 8 will be substantially rectangular and wider than the intermediate portion 6 for laying the neck, so as the hygienic cloth may be folded and inserted in the containment pocket, as indicated by the arrows in figures from 3 to 7, up to assume the closed configuration of figure 8. In this closed configuration, the disposable cover has a minimum encumbrance and may be easily brought along and distributed by automatic vending machines.
[0012] As an example, possible sizes of the various parts may be as follows:
- the upper end portion may be 15cm x 15cm;
- the portion for laying the head may have a substantially oval shape that may be inscribed within a rectangle 15cm x 30cm;
- the adjustable band, that may be an elastic band, may be 2.5cm wide and may be at most 45cm long;
- the intermediate portion for laying the neck may have a minimum width not greater than 15cm, so as the folded hygienic cloth may be fully contained in the containment pocket;
- the lower portion for laying the body trunk may be substantially rectangular and its size may be 30cm x 70cm.
a bi-laminated cloth (1) comprising at least a layer made of water-proof material (3), adapted to be placed against a bench or chair, coupled with a layer of absorbing material (4), destined to come into contact with the body of a user;
a band (2) whose length is adjustable, fixed at a portion for laying the head (7) of said bi-laminated cloth (1) and configured for binding the cover on the bench or chair keeping the layer made of impermeable material (3) against the bench or chair.
- a substantially rectangular lower portion (5) for laying the body trunk of a user, having a first width,
- an intermediate portion (6) for laying the neck of a user, having a second width smaller than the first width,
- said portion for laying the head (7) having a third width greater than the second width,
- an upper end portion (8) having a substantially rectangular shape and being foldable over said laying portion of the head (7), having a fourth width greater than said second width, said upper end portion (8) being foldable over the portion for laying the head (7) and is sewed and/or glued thereupon along opposite sides (9a, 9b) so as to define with the portion for laying the head (7) a containment pocket adapted to contain in a folded form said lower portion (5) and said intermediate portion (6).
said layer made of water-proof material (3) is made of a laminated of polyethylene;
said layer made of absorbing material (4) is made of a non-woven laminated fabric.