U.S. patent number 3,796,357 [Application Number 05/323,490] was granted by the patent office on 1974-03-12 for combination article carrier.
Invention is credited to Darrell Johnson.
United States Patent |
3,796,357 |
Johnson |
March 12, 1974 |
COMBINATION ARTICLE CARRIER
Abstract
An apparatus for supporting a variety of articles from an
individual's shoulder having a flexible shoulder strap provided
with multiple integrally connected article supports and a pair of
detachable article carrying pouches.
Inventors: |
Johnson; Darrell (Thomson,
GA) |
Family
ID: |
23259422 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/323,490 |
Filed: |
January 15, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/609; 224/615;
224/907; 294/159; 224/602; 294/141; 294/170 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45F
3/02 (20130101); Y10S 224/907 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A45F
3/02 (20060101); A45F 3/00 (20060101); A45f
003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;224/5R,5M,45T,47,46R,58,45BA,45H,43,44 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
52,062 |
|
Jun 1933 |
|
NO |
|
1,198,768 |
|
Dec 1959 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Forlenza; Gerald M.
Assistant Examiner: Forsberg; Jerold M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dowell, Jr.; A. Yates
Claims
1. An apparatus for supporting a plurality of articles from an
individual's shoulder comprising a flexible carrier strap to be
disposed over a person's shoulder, said strap having a loop
adjacent each end for receiving hangers on which garments and other
articles are supported, a pad fixed to said strap under each of
said loops to form a protective barrier between the loops and an
individual's shoulder, an article carrying pouch removably mounted
adjacent each end of the flexible carrier strap, each of said
pouches having a flap, means on said flap for selectively
connecting said pouch to said strap and said selective connecting
means includes a plurality of slits in said flap through which
2. The structure of claim 1 in which said pad is generally
rectangular and at least two corners of the pad are received in
said slits.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to article carrying devices of
various kinds and relates particularly to apparatus for supporting
a variety of articles from an individual's shoulder while the hands
of the individual remain free and unencumbered.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, the handling and transporting of articles such as
clothing, papers and other literature, personal effects, and the
like, when a person is travelling away from home or changing his
residence from one area to another, has normally been accomplished
by using suitcases, trunks, brief cases and the like.The packing of
certain articles of clothing, such as suits, dresses, and other
outerwear, has not been satisfactory due to the wrinkling of the
clothing because of the confined space available. To overcome the
wrinkling some people have placed the clothing on hangers in either
an exposed condition or within a protective bag or covering and
have carried the clothing with them. This also has not been
satisfactory since the hangers were difficult to handle and
required the servides of at least one hand so that the clothing had
to be placed somewhere when two hands were required, as when
purchasing tickets, buying merchandise, transacting travel business
and the like. Some efforts have been made to provide a sling which
was supported on an individual's shoulder and on which articles of
clothing mounted on hangers could be supported. Some examples of
this type of structure are shown by the patents to Galazin U.S.
Pat. No. 3,362,599 and Hebel U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,590. These
structures have improved the situation but have not been entirely
satisfactory, particularly when it is desired to provide structure
for supporting papers and other literature such as tickets, time
schedules, personal papers and the like which a traveller should
have on his person.
Historically saddle bags of various kinds have been provided for
carrying small articles when travelling on horseback, motorcycles,
bicycles and the like so that the traveller's hands were free;
however, such saddle bags normally are connected together so that
such bags could not be used independently. Some examples of this
type of structure are the patents to Pettus, U.S. Pat. No. 235,013;
Wood, U.S. Pat. No. 299,609; Marshall, U.S. Pat. No. 340,399;
Alber, U.S. Pat. No. 2,672,263; MacArthus, Jr., U.S. Pat. No.
2,813,602; and Greaves, U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,098.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus for supporting multiple articles from an individual's
shoulder comprising the combination of a flexible carrier or sling
strap having loops formed at each end for supporting articles
mounted on hangers and having a protective pad or backing member
fixed to the strap beneath each loop. Such pads protect the
clothing of the user and provide means by which article carrying
pouches can be attached to opposite ends of the strap in a manner
to be supported thereby.
It is an object of the invention to provide a combination article
carrier to be suspended over a person's shoulder and including a
carrier strap with looped ends through which articles on hangers or
hooks can be supported and a pair of pouches which are removably
mounted on the carrier strap for transporting papers and small
loose articles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrating one application of the
invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective of a shoulder strap with the pouches
removed.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the shoulder strap.
FIG. 4 is a side elevation thereof.
FIG. 5 is a front elevation of one of the pouches.
FIG. 6 is a side elevation thereof.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective to a reduced scale of a pouch
with the flap tucked into the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With continued reference to the drawing, an article carrier 10 is
provided having a strap 11 constructed of leather, canvas, flexible
reinforced thermoplastic material, or the like having a central
portion 12. The opposite ends of the strap are secured by stitching
13 to the central portion to provide supporting loops 14 at each
end which receive the hooks of conventional clothes hangers 15. A
generally rectangular pad 16 is secured to the bottom of each of
the loops 14 in any desired manner, as by stitching 17 and a rivet
18 so that a diagonal line drawn from one corner of the pad to an
opposite corner is aligned with the center line of the strap 11.
The pads 16 provide a protective padding between the shoulder of a
person using the carrier strap and the hooks of the hangers 15
received within the loops 14 so that such hooks do not tear the
person's clothing.
In order to carry papers, tickets, small personal effects and the
like in an easily accessible position, one or more pouches 20 are
selectively removably mounted on the strap 11. Each of the pouches
20 is fabricated of sheet material such as leather, imitation
leather, thermoplastic, or other relatively stiff, flexible
material and includes a front portion 21 and back portion 22
connected by stitching 23 to an intermediate web 24 defining the
sides and bottom of the pouches. A flap 25 having inwardly inclined
upper edges 26 is connected to the back portion 22 by stitching 27
or other suitable fastening means. The flap 25 is provided with a
pair of spaced generally parallel, substantially vertical slots 28
and a substantially horizontal slot 29.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, the horizontal slot 29 is spaced
from the vertical slots 28 and such slots are adapted to receive
the corners of the rectangular protective pads 16. A score line or
bend line 30 extends from side to side of the flap 25 to facilitate
bending of the same.
The pouches 20 may be supported by the pads 16 of the carrier 10,
or if desired such pouches can be removed from the pads and used
independently. When separated from the pads 16, papers and other
small articles can be placed within a pouch after which the flap 25
is bent along the score line 30 and is tucked into the pouch as
illustrated in FIG. 7 so that the flap 25 closes the open upper
portion of the pouch. By doing this the pouch can be used as an
envelope or portable case carried by the hands of the user. The
separation of the pouch from the pads 16 in no way affects the
capacity of the article carrier 10 for supporting hangers 15.
In use, the combination carrier is easily and comfortably carried
over an individual's shoulder, as shown in FIG. 1 with one end in
front and the other end behind the person for an even weight
distribution. The loops of the carrier strap provide a comfortable
and balanced support for the hangers 15 on which various garments
or other articles are suspended. The pouches are generally of a
dimension great enough to readily accept standard 81/2 .times. 11
inch paper and other relatively small articles. Normally, the web
24 is folded lengthwise like an accordian to permit the front 21
and back 22 to be located close together or to be spaced a
substantial distance apart when expanded. The detachable nature and
construction of the pouches permit them to be removed from the
carrier strap and used independently. a comfortable and balanced
support for the hangers 15 on which various garments or other
articles are suspended. The pouches are generally of a dimension
great enough to readily accept standard 81/2 .times. 11 inch paper
and other relatively small articles. Normally, the web 24 is folded
lengthwise like an accordian to permit the front 21 and back 22 to
be located close together or to be spaced a substantial distance
apart when expanded. The detachable nature and construction of the
pouches permit them to be removed from the carrier strap and used
independently.
* * * * *