U.S. patent application number 10/008570 was filed with the patent office on 2002-09-12 for portable carrying devices.
Invention is credited to Cabrera, Conrado Santos, Mercado, Ruby.
Application Number | 20020125090 10/008570 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27353959 |
Filed Date | 2002-09-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020125090 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mercado, Ruby ; et
al. |
September 12, 2002 |
Portable carrying devices
Abstract
A container made of a flexible, durable and pliable material is
disclosed. The container can hold bulky and odd shaped packages. In
a preferred embodiment it is roughly cubic in shape and can be
folded up into a compact unit when not in use for storage or
transportation and deployed when needed. A variation of the
container has pockets to receive rigid sheets to form the container
into an upright case with reinforced sides. These sheets can be
removed and the whole unit packed into a compact unit for storage
and transport. The handles are placed on the container to reinforce
it and facilitate movement of the container. Additionally, a strap
based carrying device is disclosed to facilitate the carrying of
boxes.
Inventors: |
Mercado, Ruby; (Quezon,
PH) ; Cabrera, Conrado Santos; (Pacifica,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Patent Attorney
39 Encantado Canyon
Rancho Santa Maragrita
CA
92688
US
|
Family ID: |
27353959 |
Appl. No.: |
10/008570 |
Filed: |
December 5, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60279984 |
Mar 29, 2001 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
190/107 ; 190/1;
190/127 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 7/0036 20130101;
A45C 5/00 20130101; A45C 13/42 20130101; A45C 13/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
190/107 ;
190/127; 190/1 |
International
Class: |
A45C 007/00; A45C
013/36 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 5, 2000 |
PH |
2-2000 |
Claims
1. A collapsible carrying case comprising: a) six flexible sides,
b) four of the sides forming a peripheral wall with a first and
second facing open ends; c) a fifth side connected to the four
edges of said first open end of the peripheral wall to thereby form
a closed end; d) a sixth side hingedly attached to one edge of said
second open end of said peripheral wall; e) said sixth side being
detachably connectable to three remaining edges of said second open
end of said peripheral wall to thereby form an enclosed interior
space; f) each of said six walls having a pocket to accept and
securely hold a rigid panel so that when a rigid panel is inserted
into each pocket on said six walls the case forms a rigid carrying
case with an interior space; and g) said case also includes
manually graspable member on the exterior of one of its six walls
to allow said case to be thereby picked up and carried.
2. The case of claim 1 wherein said pocket on each wall is located
on an interior side of each of said walls.
3. The case of claim 1 wherein said case forms a cube shape when
said panels are inserted into said pockets.
4. The case of claim 3 wherein said case is 21 inches high by 21
inches wide by 21 inches deep.
5. The case of claim 1 wherein said flexible material said case is
made of is canvas.
6. The case of claim 1 wherein said flexible material said case is
made of is nylon or a similar type of material.
7. A carrying device comprising: at least a first and second strap
with longitudinal lengths of each strap being positioned at a
perpendicular angle to each other with an intersection of said
straps positionable underneath an object to be carried such that
when said intersection is adjacent to the bottom side of said
object to be carried the ends of the first and second strap meet at
a top of the object to be carried and said ends of said straps are
detachably connected to each other to form a handle to thereby
allow the object to be picked up and carried by said handle formed
by said straps.
8. The carrying device of claim 7 wherein said straps are made of
canvas.
9. The carrying device of claim 7 wherein said straps are made of
nylon.
10. The carrying device of claim 7 wherein said intersection of
said straps is permanently connected.
11. A reinforced flexible bag comprising a bag body having at least
an openable portion, with a carrying handle provided on said bag
body, characterized in that said bag body is provided with
rigidifying members, preferably made from plastic like materials,
said rigidifying members being removably secured within said
bag.
12. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 11 wherein said
rigidifying members are positioned within every corner of said bag
body.
13. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 11 wherein a transparent
pocket is are provided on an exterior surface of said bag body.
14. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 11 wherein rollers are
attached at a bottom of said bag to facilitate movement of the
bag.
15. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 11 wherein said bag body
is made of canvass.
16. A reinforced flexible bag comprising a bag body having at least
an openable portion, with a carrying handle provided on said bag
body, characterized in that said bag body is provided with
rigidifying members, preferably made from plastic like materials,
said rigidifying members being removably secured within said bag,
so that upon removal of said rigidifying members said bag can be
compressed into a smaller size when not in use.
17. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 16 wherein said
rigidifying members are positioned within every corner of said bag
body.
18. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 16 wherein transparent
pockets are provided on said bag body.
19. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 16 wherein rollers are
attached at a bottom of said bag to facilitate movement of the
bag.
20. The reinforced flexible bag of claim 16 wherein said bag body
is made of canvass.
21. A flexible bag comprising a bag body having at least an
openable portion, said bag body being cubic in shape when formed
into a carrying configuration and when formed into a carrying
configuration, said bag has an openable portion being located at a
top side of said bag and said bag includes carrying handles which
project up from the side and are formed from a single band of
material that extends down and around the bottom of the case and
wherein when said bag when not in use can be folded up into a
compact carrying configuration for storage and transport.
22. The flexible bag of claim 21 wherein said bag is formed into a
cubic shape in said carrying configuration it has dimensions of
from 18.times.18.times.18 inches to 20.times.20.times.20 inches.
Description
[0001] This Application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119 (e) of
previously file provisional application number 60/279,984 filed
Mar. 29, 2001. This application also claims the benefit under 35
USC 119 of Philippine patent application number 000525 2-2000 filed
on Dec. 5, 2000 with the Intellectual Property Office of the
Philippines.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to devices for carrying
objects. More particularly it relates to various portable devices
that can be easily deployed for the hand carrying of various sundry
items.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Quite often when a person is traveling for personal or
business reasons they need to carry extra items with them to or
from their destination. If traveling for personal reasons they may
need to carry gifts for the people they may be visiting on their
trip or gifts for friends and family on their return. If traveling
for business they may be carrying products for sale or samples of
products for sale. Often the item may be of an odd size or shape or
simply bulky. Thus, they have need for some type of device or
method that is both durable yet economical for carrying the
item.
[0004] Often the only solution is to use cardboard boxes wrapped
with string or tape as a temporary means or device for carrying the
objects. While this may be an economical and simple way for
transporting such items the packaging is not durable and subject to
tearing and ripping. Cardboard boxes bags and other types of ad hoc
packaging generally are bulky and difficult to carry or handle
since they lack appropriate handles or other devices to lift and
carry them. Temporary packaging such as cardboard boxes with tape
and string also looks unsightly. Additionally, when using public
means of transportation such as airlines, railroads, ships etc.
temporary packaging such as cardboard boxes or similar make shift
packaging may not meet regulations or standard guidelines and thus
may not be allowed on the means for public transport on common
carriers.
[0005] Standard suitcases, valises and other types of specially
made personal carrying devices represent an improvement over use of
cardboard boxes bags or the like. The standard suitcase provides a
protected carrying compartment with stiffened sides often made of
cardboard or plastic like material. However, these are usually
permanently secured within the walls of the suitcase or valise.
Additionally, most if not all suitcases or valises are designed to
hold clothing or similar personal items and tend to be oblong and
narrow in width thus making them unsuitable to carry objects that
tend to be bulky or more cubic in shape. Various common carriers
have guidelines for the size of containers or cases. Airlines have
approved standard sizes for containers in the shape of a cube in
the range of 18.times.18.times.18 inches to 20.times.20.times.20
inches although this may vary from Airline to Airline.
[0006] There are a number of portable suitcases or valises
currently available that are made of flexible material that allows
the suitcase or valise be fouled up into small compact package for
storage and carrying when not in use. Additionally, there are
variations on this design that include one or more rigid panels
that allow for the insertion of the panel into the pockets provided
on the suitcase to add some rigidity when it is expanded for use.
However, all of these designs tend to have a parallelepiped shape
similar to the standard oblong rectangular design of suitcase and
valises. The shape of these cases and often the placement of
reinforcing panels limits them to what they can safely hold and
transport.
[0007] Thus, what is needed is some method and apparatus designed
to securely and safely hold small to medium sized objects for
personal transport. A method and apparatus that is portable and
easily deployed when the need arises to carry objects that may tend
to be bulky in shape or of some other odd size that will not easily
fit into a standard suitcase. What is also needed is a method and
apparatus that complies with requirements of common carriers, in
particular airlines and at airport terminals.
SUMMARY
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
reinforcible flexible bag made form flexible canvass or fabric
material having rigid corners that enable the bag to stand upright
at all times and thus is useful as a BaLikbayan box.
[0009] It is also an object of the present invention to provide a
flexible carrying case made of a durable and light material that
can be compacted for storage and erected with firm sides when it is
needed for use. It is also an object of the present invention to
provide a carrying case that can hold bulky and odd sized objects.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a
container that meets the requirements of common carriers and
facilitates luggage and baggage handling and in particular for
airlines an airport terminals.
[0010] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
strapping mechanism for carrying packages.
[0011] These and other objectives are achieved by providing a
collapsible carrying case with: a) six flexible sides, b) four of
the sides forming a peripheral wall with two facing open ends; c) a
fifth side connected to the four edges of a first open end of the
peripheral wall to thereby form a closed end; d) a sixth side
hingedly attached to one edge of a second open end of the
peripheral wall; e) the sixth side being detachably connectable to
three remaining edges of the second open end of the peripheral wall
to thereby form an enclosed interior space; f) each of the six
walls having a pocket to accept and securely hold a rigid panel so
that when a rigid panel is inserted into each pocket on the six
walls the case forms a rigid carrying case with an interior space;
and g) the case also includes manually graspable member on the
exterior of one of its six walls to allow the case to be thereby
picked up and carried.
[0012] In a further aspect of the invention it
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The invention will be better understood by an examination of
the following description, together with the accompanying drawings,
in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 depicts a strapping device for carrying items;
[0015] FIG. 1A, another view of the straps of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 2 depicts a container made according to the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 2A, depicts a face view of a reinforcing panel;
[0018] FIG. 3 depicts a variation the container of FIG. 2 with
optional reinforcing watts removed and folded up for ease of
transport will not in use;
[0019] FIG. 4 depicts the container of FIG. 2 and 3 with a package
inside for transport;
[0020] FIG. 5 depicts another version of the container of the
invention with reinforced corners;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a view of the interior of the version of the
container in FIG. 5;
[0022] FIG. 7 is a view of a third variation of the container of
the present invention; and
[0023] FIG. 8 provides a view of another aspect of the third
variation of the container of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] 1. Strapping Device for Carrying Boxes or Similar
Objects
[0025] The first version of the invention provides a detachable
strapping device provide a handle or similar apparatus to carry the
package as depicted in FIG. 1. The straps 21 are secured to a box
23. The straps meet at the together and connected to a handle 25.
The straps 21 can be tightened around the box with the lose ends
27. When not in use the straps can be rolled up and easily carried
in a person's pocket or their luggage. A Velcro.TM. type of
material can be used to secure the ends of the straps to each other
when they are placed around a package as depicted in FIG. 1.
Alternatively a buckle can be used to secure the ends of the straps
together.
[0026] The straps 21 in the preferred embodiment are connected
permanently where they meet 28 at the bottom of the package 23. The
straps could be made of nylon, canvas or similar strong or durable
material. When laid out flat as depicted in FIG. 1A the straps 21
are perpendicular to each other and meet each other at juncture
28.
[0027] 2. Portable Carrying Container
[0028] FIG. 2 depicts a container or carrying device 30 that can be
made of a durable nylon or some similar material in a canvas weave
or similar strong weave. The case could also be made of canvas. A
handle 32 is formed at the top. Reinforcing sheets 34 can be
inserted into pockets 36 on each of the sides of the container 30.
The bottom and five other sides of the case 30 each will thus each
have a reinforcing sheet 34 inserted into the pocket on each side.
The pockets 36 each hold a sheet 34 securely in position. The
reinforcing sheets 34 turn the container into a semi-rigid
container for carrying various objects and sundry items. The
reinforcing sheets 34 are thin flexible but rigid sheets of a
Length 34L (FIG. 2A) and width 34W. These dimensions are slightly
smaller than the dimensions of the side of the case 30 that the
sheet would reinforce. As noted the sheets could be made of
cardboard, plastic or some similar Light weight, durable and rigid
material.
[0029] Since the reinforcing sheets 34 can be removed from the
pockets 36 of the container, the container can be folded into a
compact unit 39 as depicted in FIG. 3. Each of the rigid sheets 34
are then stacked as depicted in FIG. 3 to form the compact unit 39.
This allows for ease of storage and transportation of container 30
when not in use. The rigid sheets 34 can be made of plastic,
cardboard or some other similar rigid but light material.
Additionally, the sheets 34 can be cut from cardboard boxes
available when it comes time to use the container 30. This would
allow one to fold the unit up into an even more compact unit for
storing and carrying when not in use.
[0030] In a preferred embodiment the shape of case 30 as depicted
in FIGS. 2 and 4 is cubic in shape. The typical dimensions could be
from 15 to 30 inches on a side. Such as it could be 21 inches high,
21 inches deep and 21 inches wide. However, it could be even
greater or less in dimensions than 15 to 30 inches on a side. The
cubic shape provides utility in that it can carry objects or items
contained in cardboard boxes that tend to the cubic shape.
Additionally, it can handle bulky items not easily carried in
standard shaped suitcases or valises.
[0031] Since the carrying device 30 has rigid sides 34 when they
are inserted into side pockets one could put items directly into
the carrying device 30 without first putting the item into a box or
other protective covering. However, the item to be transported can
be inserted into a box 41 and placed in container 30 as depicted in
FIG. 4. One of the advantages of placing the item or items to be
carried in a cardboard box or some other box that is roughly the
size of the interior space of container 30 when expanded for use is
that the rigid panels 34 do not have to be used the box 41 provides
the necessary support for the walls of the container 30. In another
version of the case 30 of the present invention it could be made
without the pockets for rigid panels and instead the object being
carried can provide the support for the sides of the case 30. In
another variation the object or objects could be placed in a
cardboard box of dimensions slightly smaller than the interior
carrying space of case 30 and thus, the cardboard box provides the
support for the case. Naturally, the box could be made of plastic
or any other suitable lightweight material.
[0032] A clear panel pocket 47 is provided on the outside of the
container 30 for shipping or identification information.
[0033] Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, which show another version
of the reinforced flexible bag 50. This version of the invention is
similar in shape to version depicted in FIG. 2 and 4. The version
50 depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6 has reinforced corners.
[0034] The reinforced flexible bag 50 comprises a bag body 51 made
preferably from flexible materials such as canvass, fabric and the
like having at least one openable portion 52 provided thereon and
carrying handle 53 provided on the bag body.
[0035] A transparent pocket 54 is provided on the bag body for
recipient of identifiable tags and other paraphernalia. Rollers 59
(FIG. 6) may be used as leg supports attached at the bottom of its
stiffened base 566 to slide the bag body to facilitate handling of
thereof. It should be noted that rollers 59 could also be used with
the version of the invention depicted in FIGS. 2 to 4.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 6 the bag body 51 is further provided with
rigidifying members 53 removably secured at predetermined locations
(preferably at every corner) within the bag body to make the bag
body upright at most times and protect the contents thereof from
damage due to bumps during handling. The corners are thus
reinforced by rigidifying members 53, which as depicted in FIG. 6
are a pair of rigid flat projections 57 that fit in to pockets in
the corners of the bag or case 50. Each corner has its own set of
rigidifying members 53. Once inserted into the corners they provide
support for the sides of the bag and protection of the corners.
These rigidifying members 57 are defined by stiffened unitary
elements made preferably form plastic materials. Naturally, the
[0037] The corners are reinforced by rigid flat projections 57
(FIG. 5) that fit in to pockets in the corners of the bag or case.
Once inserted into the corners they provide support for the sides
of the bag and protection of the corners.
[0038] The reinforced flexible bags shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 may be
used as a Balikbayan box, mail bag, traveling bag and the like.
[0039] FIG. 7 provides depicts a third variation of the container
of the present invention. Container 71 is made of flexible and
resilient material like those depicted in FIGS. 2 to 6. This can be
canvas or denim, which in a preferred embodiment would be around 14
oz weight material. Container 71 as well as the others depicted in
FIG. 2 to 6 can be made of a man made material such as nylon of an
appropriate weight or any other suitable man made material. In the
preferred embodiment container 71 would be 18.times.18.times.18
inches to 20.times.20.times.20 inches. However, it could be made in
other sizes and shapes without departing from the concepts of the
present invention.
[0040] One of the unique aspects of container 71 opens at its top
72. Container 71 as depicted in FIG. 7 has a zipper that runs
around three edges 72A, 72B and 72C. Zipper 74 has two zipper
pulleys 74A and 74B that meet when the container is zippered
closed. Pulleys 74A and 74B have eyelets 74C and 74D at their ends
to allow a pad lock, not shown, to secure the case. Naturally,
container 71 of the present invention can have a different closing
mechanism instead of a zipper and still be practiced.
[0041] Container 71 also has handles 75 at its top 72 edges 72A and
72C. The case also has a clear label holder 77 on one of its sides
to allow the placement of identifying information. Since the
container or bag 71 is made of a flexible, pliable, rugged and
durable material when it is not in use it can be folded up into a
compact package 79 (FIG. 7A) or even rotted up into a cylindrical
shape 81 (FIG. 7B) for storage or transport when not in use.
[0042] FIG. 8 provides a view of another feature of the container
of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment the handles
75 are formed from a continuous strip 83 of durable strong fabric
or other material and extends down one side 85 along the bottom 87
and up the other side 89. Strip 83 at each top edge 72A and 72C
then ends to form handles 75A and 75B. This construction makes the
handles very strong and durable as well as easy to grip and use. In
the preferred embodiment continuous strip 83 would be a strap like
material made of the same or similar material as container 71 and
sewn to its sides 85 and 89 and its bottom 87.
[0043] In a variation of container 71 as an option pockets to
accept rigid sheets as depicted in FIG. 2; however, container 71
can be made and used without this feature.
[0044] Container 71, as well as the other containers and strap in
FIGS. 1 to 6 because of their unique design and functionality can
expedite the handling of baggage or luggage for common carriers in
particular airlines. Additionally, they can expedite the handling
of luggage and baggage in terminals, especially airline terminals.
At check in and baggage claim areas in airline terminals the
various versions of the present invention can facilitate the
handling of baggage.
[0045] While the invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will
be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in
form and detail may be made to it without departing from the spirit
and scope of the invention.
* * * * *