Travel blanket

Abstract

A travel blanket apparatus for use in travel vehicles. The travel blanket includes a strap attached at a first and second attachment mechanism. The strap extends around a portion of a seat when in use. At one end, the strap is slidably engaged to the front side of the blanket material. At the other end, the strap attached to a releasable buckle including a safety buckle that separates the strap from the blanket material when released. The blanket material may include a pocket, a hand muff, and a foot rest assembly.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A travel blanket apparatus for travel comprising:  
       a two-dimensional blanket material; and 
       a strap attached to the blanket material via a first attachment mechanism and a second attachment mechanism, where the strap extends between the first attachment mechanism and the second attachment mechanism at a top end of the blanket material, where the strap is configured to secure the blanket to a part of a backing of a seat. 
     
     
         2 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 1  where: 
 the first attachment mechanism includes a slide buckle configured to slidably engage the strap and to secure the strap in a fixed position, where the slide buckle is affixed to a front side of the blanket material. 
 
     
     
         3 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 1  where the second attachment mechanism includes a safety buckle comprising a first portion attached to an end of the strap and a second portion attached to the blanket material, the safety buckle configured to engage to secure the strap to the blanket material and to release to separate the strap from the blanket material. 
     
     
         4 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 3  where the second portion of the safety buckle is attached to a front side of the blanket material using a flat lanyard strap and the strap surrounds the user’s neck to attach at the second attachment mechanism on the front side of the blanket material. 
     
     
         5 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 3  where the second portion of the safety buckle is attached to a top edge of the blanket material using a loop strap and where the strap surrounds the user’s neck to attach at the second attachment mechanism on the loop strap extending from the top edge of the blanket material.  
     
     
         6 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 2  where the slide buckle is a buckle of the type that includes a cam buckle, slide-release buckle, and a snap buckle.  
     
     
         7 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a hand muff secured to a back side of the blanket material, the hand muff including hand muff openings on each side for entry of the user’s hands. 
     
     
         8 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 7  where the hand muff is sewn to the back side of the blanket material. 
     
     
         9 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 7  where the hand muff attaches to the blanket material with cords extending from each side of the hand muff. 
     
     
         10 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 9  where the cords extend through the blanket material to join on the front side of the blanket material as a single cord 
     
     
         11 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a pocket with a pocket opening for storing the user’s possessions and for holding the blanket material in a folded state. 
     
     
         12 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 11  where the pocket opens to the front side of the blanket material and extends on the back side of the blanket material. 
     
     
         13 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 12  where the pocket includes a closure mechanism at the pocket opening. 
     
     
         14 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 13  where the closure mechanism is one of a zipper, a loop and hook mechanism, buttons, and snaps. 
     
     
         15 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising at least one port configured to allow passage of a cable from one side of the blanket material to the other side of the blanket material. 
     
     
         16 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising an opening configured to allow passage of a user’s head from the back side of the blanket material, where the opening allows a majority of the blanket material to lay over the front of the user’s body and a rest of the blanket material to extend behind the user’s neck. 
     
     
         17 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a foot rest assembly disposed on a bottom end of the blanket material opposite the top end of the blanket material. 
     
     
         18 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 17  where the foot rest assembly includes a foot rest pad disposed in an enclosure. 
     
     
         19 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 18  where the foot rest pad has a generally wedge shape. 
     
     
         20 . The travel blanket apparatus of  claim 19  where the wedge shape includes a taller wall on a toe side of the foot rest pad, a surface to support a sole of the user’s foot extending to a vertical stop for supporting the user’s heel.