U.S. patent application number 11/316893 was filed with the patent office on 2007-06-28 for knapsack with padded back.
Invention is credited to Song-Teh Hsu.
Application Number | 20070145090 11/316893 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38192422 |
Filed Date | 2007-06-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070145090 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hsu; Song-Teh |
June 28, 2007 |
Knapsack with padded back
Abstract
A knapsack with padded back includes a knapsack main body
defining at least one receiving space, at least one shoulder strap
connected to a back of the knapsack main body, and a pad attached
to at least an outer side of the back of the knapsack main body.
The pad consists of an inner watertight layer in contact with the
back of the main body, a middle air-permeable elastic layer, and an
outer cover layer connected along an outer periphery to a boundary
of the back of the main body. The middle air-permeable elastic
layer is made of a thermoplastic elastic material and formed with a
plurality of voids to provide the pad with good cushioning and air
convection effects, making the knapsack with padded back more
comfortable for carrying.
Inventors: |
Hsu; Song-Teh; (Taipei City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LOWE HAUPTMAN BERNER, LLP
1700 DIAGONAL ROAD
SUITE 300
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
38192422 |
Appl. No.: |
11/316893 |
Filed: |
December 27, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/644 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45F 2003/122 20130101;
A45F 3/02 20130101; A45F 3/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
224/644 |
International
Class: |
A45F 3/04 20060101
A45F003/04 |
Claims
1. A knapsack with padded back, comprising: a knapsack main body
defining at least one receiving space therein; at least one
shoulder strap being connected at two ends to upper and lower ends
of a back of said knapsack main body; and a pad being attached to
at least an outer side of said back of said knapsack main body;
said pad consisting of an inner watertight layer, which is in
direct contact with said back of said knapsack main body, a middle
air-permeable elastic layer located at an outer side of said inner
watertight layer opposite to said back of said knapsack main body,
and an outer cover layer, which is located at an outer side of said
middle air-permeable elastic layer and connected along an outer
periphery to a boundary of said back of said main body to enclose
said inner and said middle layers between said outer cover layer
and said back of said main body; and said middle air-permeable
elastic layer being a three-dimensional structure made of a
thermoplastic elastic material and containing a plurality of
voids.
2. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pad has an outmost surface configured as a planar surface.
3. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pad has an outmost surface configured as a curvy surface
corresponding to a contour of human body's back.
4. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said thermoplastic elastic material comprises polyolefin
plastics.
5. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said thermoplastic elastic material comprises olefin
copolymer/terpolymer plastics.
6. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said thermoplastic elastic material comprises polyvinyl chloride
plastics.
7. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said thermoplastic elastic material comprises polyamide
plastics.
8. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said thermoplastic elastic material comprises polyurethane
plastics.
9. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said thermoplastic elastic material comprises polyester
plastics.
10. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said outer cover layer of said pad is formed with a plurality of
holes extended through a full thickness of said outer cover
layer.
11. The knapsack with padded back as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pad is further provided at an inner surface of every said
shoulder strap that is in contact with a user's shoulder.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a knapsack with padded
back, and more particularly to a knapsack having a padded back that
provides good cushioning and air convection effects and makes the
knapsack more comfortable for carrying.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A conventional knapsack typically defines a receiving space,
and has two shoulder straps connected to a back thereof. The back
of the conventional knapsack is usually provided at an outer side
with an inner layer of padding material, which may be cotton,
sponge, or foamed plastics, and an outer cover layer, which is
located at an outer side of the inner padding material layer and
connected along an outer periphery to a boundary of the back of the
knapsack, and is formed with a plurality of air vents. The inner
padding material layer forms a buffer between the knapsack and a
user's back, and the outer cover layer with air vents allows
discharging of hot air accumulated in the inner padding material
layer.
[0003] Since the inner padding material layer provided at the back
of the conventional knapsack includes only one thin layer of
cotton, sponge, or foamed plastics, it tends to be fully compressed
and flattened to lose its buffering function when the knapsack is
heavily loaded. The fully compressed and flattened padding material
layer, including the cotton, the sponge, or the foamed plastics,
shall have an overly high density to adversely affect the discharge
of hot air accumulated in the padding material layer. With the hot
air stored in the padding material layer for a prolonged time, the
padded back of the conventional knapsack would cause discomfort to
the user's back.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a
knapsack having a padded back that provides good cushioning and air
convection effects and makes the knapsack more comfortable for
carrying, particularly when the knapsack is carried while the user
is walking.
[0005] To achieve the above and other objects, the knapsack with
padded back according to the present invention includes a knapsack
main body defining at least one receiving space, at least one
shoulder strap connected to a back of the knapsack main body, and a
pad attached to at least an outer side of the back of the knapsack
main body. The pad consists of an inner watertight layer in contact
with the back of the main body, a middle air-permeable elastic
layer, and an outer cover layer connected along an outer periphery
to a boundary of the back of the main body. The middle
air-permeable elastic layer is made of a thermoplastic elastic
material and formed with a plurality of voids to provide the pad
with good cushioning and air convection effects, making the
knapsack with padded back more comfortable for carrying.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best
understood by referring to the following detailed description of
the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings,
wherein
[0007] FIG. 1 is an assembled rear perspective view of a knapsack
with padded back according to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a partially sectioned side view of the knapsack of
FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a side view showing the knapsack of FIG. 1 is
carried on a user's back;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a partially sectioned side view showing how the
padded back of the knapsack of FIG. 1 functions when the knapsack
is in use;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a knapsack with padded
back according to another embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0013] FIG. 6-1 is an enlarged view of the circled area of FIG.
6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 that are assembled and
partially exploded rear perspective views, respectively, of a
knapsack with padded back according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention, and to FIG. 3 that is a partially sectioned
side view of the knapsack of FIG. 1. As shown, the knapsack with
padded back according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention includes a main body 1 defining at least one receiving
space 11, which is openably closed with a fastening element 12,
such as a zipper; at least one shoulder strap 2 connected at two
ends to upper and lower ends of a back of the main body 1; and a
pad 3 attached to at least an outer side of the back of the main
body 1.
[0015] The pad 3 consists of an inner watertight layer 31, which is
in direct contact with the back of the knapsack main body 1; a
middle air-permeable elastic layer 32 located at an outer side of
the watertight layer 31 opposite to the back of the knapsack main
body 1; and an outer cover layer 33, which is located at an outer
side of the middle air-permeable elastic layer 32 and formed with a
plurality of holes 331 extended through a full thickness of the
outer cover layer 33, and connected along an outer periphery to a
boundary of the back of the main body 1 to enclose the inner and
the middle layers 31, 32 between the outer cover layer 33 and the
back of the main body 1.
[0016] The middle air-permeable elastic layer 32 is a
three-dimensional structure made of a thermoplastic elastic
material 321 and containing a plurality of voids 322. The
thermoplastic elastic material 321 may be selected from the group
consisting of polyolefin plastics, olefin copolymer/terpolymer
plastics, polyvinyl chloride plastics, polyamide plastics,
polyurethane plastics, and polyester plastics.
[0017] Please refer to FIG. 4 that is a side view showing the
knapsack of the present invention is carried on a user's back, and
to FIG. 5 that is a partially sectioned side view showing how the
pad 3 functions when the knapsack of the present invention is in
use. As shown, the pad 3 has an outmost surface in contact with a
user's back when the knapsack is carried on the user's back. The
outmost surface of the pad 3 may be configured as a planar surface
or a curvy surface corresponding to the contour of human body's
back. In the illustrated preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the knapsack has two shoulder straps 2 and the pad 3 has
a curvy outmost surface. To carry the knapsack of the present
invention on back, the user first extends two arms through the two
shoulder straps, so that the shoulder straps 2 are supported on the
user's two shoulders and the outer cover layer 33 of the pad 3 is
in contact with the user's back. When the main body 1 of the
knapsack is heavily loaded, the middle air-permeable elastic layer
32, which is made of a thermoplastic elastic material 321 and
containing a plurality of voids 322, forms an idea cushion to
buffer the pressure applied to the user's back by the loaded
knapsack main body 1, allowing the user to comfortably carry the
knapsack on the back. When the user carries the knapsack while
walking, the outer cover layer 33 and the middle air-permeable
elastic layer 32 of the pad 3 are constantly compressed or loosened
between the user's back and the loaded main body 1 in a natural
way. When these two layers 32, 33 are compressed, hot air in the
voids 322 of the middle layer 32 is discharged via the through
holes 331 of the outer cover layer 33 out of the pad 3 into the
air, and when the two layers 32, 33 are loosened, external cool air
is sucked into the voids 322 of the middle layer 32 via the through
holes 331 of the outer cover layer 33, providing an air convection
effect at the pad 3. With the cushioning effect and the air
convection effect provided by the pad 3, the user's back is not
subjected to heavy load and sweat all the time. On the other hand,
the inner watertight layer 31 of the pad 3 prevents the user's
sweat from penetrating into the receiving space 11 of the knapsack
main body 1, ensuring things held in the main body 1 are always in
a dry and good condition.
[0018] FIG. 6 shows a knapsack with padded back according to
another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment,
the pad 3 is not only provided at the back of the knapsack main
body 1, but also at an inner surface of every shoulder strap 2 that
is in contact with the user's shoulder, as can be clearly seen from
FIG. 6-1, which is an enlarged view of the circled area of FIG. 6.
With the cushioning effect provided by the pad 3 at every shoulder
strap 2, the user's shoulders are protected against heavy pressure
from the heavily loaded knapsack main body 1.
[0019] With the middle air-permeable elastic layer 32, the pad 3 at
the back of the main body 1 and/or the inner surface of the
shoulder straps 2 of the knapsack provides good cushioning and air
convection effects, making the knapsack more comfortable for
carrying.
[0020] The present invention has been described with some preferred
embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and
modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out
without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention
that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
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