Carrying Bag

Abstract

A general purpose carrying bag having a tubular body with open and closed ends and a sidewall opening containing a handgrip secured to the bag wall at opposite sides of the opening for holding and carrying the bag. A drawstring laced about the mouth of the bag has a free end which may be pulled to close the mouth and then stored within the bag by insertion through the handgrip opening. The free end of the drawstring may be secured to the handgrip to permit use of the drawstring as a carrying strap or shoulder strap.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to bags and more particularly to a novel, general purpose carrying bag.

2. Prior Art

The ideal carrying bag is one which satisfies four basic requirements. These are: ease of handling, lightweight, low cost, and the capability of being closed to confine the bag contents. The prior art is replete with a wide assortment of such carrying bags. Most of these existing bags satisfy one or more of the above requirements to some degree. This invention provides a carrying bag which satisfies all of the requirements in a very efficient manner and thus constitutes an ideal general purpose carrying bag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present carrying bag has a generally tubular body of fabric or other suitable material. This body has a closed end and an opposite open end providing a mouth. A draw string is laced about the bag mouth to permit closing of the mouth by pulling on the outer free end of the draw string.

According to one feature of the invention, the bag is provided with a sidewall opening containing a cross member joined at its ends to the wall to form a handgrip for holding and carrying the bag. This opening and handgrip are located between the midpoint of the bag and its mouth so that the bag, when filled, is balanced to assume an inclined attitude with its mouth uppermost when held by the handgrip. The bag wall opening, in addition to providing access to the handgrip, serves another important purpose. Thus, the opening provides an access opening to the bag interior through which the free end of the draw string, when pulled tight to close the bag mouth, may be inserted into the bag for convenience of storage of the free end.

Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the free end of the drawstring may be secured to the handgrip. This achieves a twofold advantage. First, it confines the free end. Secondly, the draw string may then be used as a carrying strap or shoulder strap for holding and carrying the bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the present general-purpose carrying bag;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the upper end of the bag; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, the carrying bag 10 of the invention will be seen to have a generally tubular body 12 with a closed end 14 and an opposite open end 16 providing a mouth. This body may be constructed of fabric or any other suitable material. A drawstring 18 is laced about the bag mouth 16 to permit closing of the mouth by pulling on the outer free end 18a of the drawstring. In this instance, the drawstring forms a loop which is threaded through a stitched tubular seam 20 surrounding the mouth. The draw string emerges from the seam through a grommet 22. Preferably, the opening in this grommet is sized to receive the emerging, doubled portion of the draw string with a relatively snug fit which aids in retaining the bag mouth 16 closed when the drawstring is pulled tight.

In the bag sidewall is an opening 24 containing a crossmember 26. This crossmember extends lengthwise of the bag and has its ends stitched or otherwise firmly secured to the bag wall to provide a handgrip by which the bag may be held and carried. If desired, the handgrip may comprise a cord or strap which extends vertically the full length of the bag to prevent separation of the grip from the bag and distribute the carrying force or load over a large area of the wall. The opening 24 and handgrip 26 are located between the midpoint of the bag and its mouth such that the bag, when filled, is balanced to assume an inclined attitude with the bag mouth uppermost when the bag is supported by the handgrip.

It is evident that the bag wall opening 24 provides access to and hand clearance for the handgrip 26. This opening also serves another useful purpose. Thus, when the drawstring 18 is pulled tight to close the bag mouth 16, the free end 18a of the drawstring may be stored within the bag by inserting the free end through the opening.

According to the preferred practice of the invention, the free end 18a of the drawstring 18 is also secured to the handgrip 26. In the inventive embodiment illustrated, this is accomplished by looping the free end about the handgrip, as shown. Attachment of the drawstring to the handgrip is beneficial for the reason that it permits use of the drawstring as a carrying strap or shoulder strap for supporting the bag. Looping the drawstring about the handgrip, as shown, permits the drawstring to be stored in the bag, as described above, when the bag is held by the handgrip.

Claims

What I claim as new in support of Letters Patent is:

1. A carrying bag comprising:

a generally tubular fabric body having a closed end and an opposite open providing a mouth,

a drawstring laced to said body about said mouth and having an outer free end which maybe pulled to close said mouth,

said body having a sidewall opening adjacent to said mouth receiving the free end of said drawstring and through which said free end may be inserted for storage within said bag when said drawstring is pulled to close said mouth, and

means securing said drawstring against being pulled out from said opening.

2. A carrying bag comprising:

a generally tubular body having a closed end and an opposite open end providing a mouth,

a drawstring laced to said body about said mouth and having an outer free end which may be pulled to close said mouth,

said body having a sidewall opening adjacent to said mouth through which the free end of said drawstring may be inserted for storage within said bag,

a handgrip extending across said opening and secured at its ends to said sidewall, and

the free end of said drawstring is secured to said handgrip.

3. A bag according to claim 2 wherein:

said drawstring forms a closed loop and the free end of said drawstring is looped about said handgrip.

4. A bag according to claim 3 wherein:

said drawstring is threaded through a tubular seam about said bag mouth, and said bag includes a grommet through which said drawstring passes and which is sized to produce a snubbing action on said drawstring.