Safe Personal Effects Pouches And Strap Means For Under Arm Or Shoulder Wear

Abstract

There is disclosed a personal effects or money and valuable papers carrying pouch arrangement for wear either under the arms or over the shoulders including novel cross-over strap coupling means which incorporate quick-assembly and quick-release mechanisms for the straps. When worn under the arms the pouches are safe from pickpockets.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Persons who must travel frequently carry on their persons identification documents such as passports, letters of credit, money and the like. It is well-known that there is danger of having one's pockets picked during such travels. It is therefore desirable to be able to carry one's valuable papers and effects safely on the person in a manner that would frustrate attempted picking of pockets.

THE PRESENT INVENTION

This invention relates to means by which the desired safety can be achieved in carrying pouches. The means may be used either in the pragmatic safe manner or which may have an alternative use for dress wear, particularly by women.

The invention encompasses an arrangement of a pair of pouches which has removable and separable straps and cross-over coupling devices for the straps which permit the straps to be assembled or disassembled quickly for either use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an individual from the back of his person showing the under-the-arm form of use of the invention with one form of cross-over connection means for the supporting straps;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an individual wearing one of the pouches of the invention separated from the other with the over-the-shoulder form of its use;

FIG. 3 is a detail of one form of cross-over connection means different from that shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detail of another form of cross-over connection means for the use of the invention wherein a bent wire configuration permits easily assembling and disassembling the straps for the respective uses of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a detail of a variant of the form of cross-over connection means for the straps of the invention shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a slotted variant of the cross-over device for the supporting straps of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a further variant of the cross-over device shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a detail of a simplified form of the loops of the bent-wire cross-over devices shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FIGURES

As has been pointed out previously the invention consists of a pair of pouches shown generally in FIG. 1 at 10, and 12, or as shown also in FIG. 2 at 14. The articles shown at 10 and 12 include zipper closures as shown at 11 while that at 14 has snap fasteners as shown at 15. The fasteners 15 or zipper 11 are of known configuration and are used to hold down the flaps 13, or 16 to their respective pouches 10,12 or 14. Each pouch such as either 10, 12, or 14 is equipped with a pair of connecting buckles such as at 19 or 20 fixedly attached to the respective pouches as at 10,12 or 14 where the buckles 19 or 20 are visible.

There are two configurations of the straps 17,18 or 31 which are illustrated in the figures. In FIG. 1 straps 17,18 cross-over so that one end of strap 17 is connected to one of the pair of buckles 19 on pouch 10 visible at the left of the figure and the other end of strap 17 is connected to one of the buckles 19 on the pouch 12 at a point obscured by the right arm of the wearer in the FIG. 1. Similarly strap 18 is visible connected to the other of the buckles 19 on pouch 12 and obscured by the left side of the wearer as seen in FIG. 1, where it is connected to the other buckle 19 of pouch 10. The straps 17 and 18 cross over at the wearer's back as at 21 where they pass through the coupling device.

Coupling device as shown at 21 consists of a round patch of material which may be leather or plastic with slits 22 and 24 disposed near the periphery of the patch on diagonal lines such that straps 17 and 18 may be slid through the patch via these slits in opposite directions to make the cross-over connections between pouches 12 and 10 as above described.

A more complex coupling device is shown in FIG. 3 wherein a pair of x-shaped strips of material such as 26 and 28 are sewn together by their juxtaposed peripheries as at 25 and 27 but not at the ends 29 and 30 which are left open to receive the straps 17 and 18 in diagonally opposite directions as illustrated.

The cross-over strap receiving device 21 of FIG. 1 and the cross-over strap receiving device of FIG. 3 each requires that the straps must be threaded through the slots 29,30 (FIG. 3) or the slits 22,24 (FIG. 1).

An alternative mechanism is the subject of the cross-over strap receiving devices shown in FIGS. 4-8 inclusive. Each of the devices illustrated in FIGS. 4-8 permits the straps 17,18 to be slid into place in the cross-over configuration in a simple sliding and twist action. This is exemplified by the location of strap 17 woven under loops 52 and 46 in the cross-over holding element 40 of FIG. 4 and the strap 18 woven under loops 42 and 49 of article 40. Note that in order to position strap 18 for example under loops 42 and 49 the strap must be rotated under loop 42 from the left towards loops 41 and 43 and under loop 49 from the right towards loops 47 and 48. Similarly strap 17 must be rotated into place under loops 46 and 52, approaching 52 from below and 46 from above. The rotative action is illustrated by arrows x and y in FIGS. 4 and 6.

The cross-over coupling article which is shown in FIG. 4 is generally circular with loops 36,37,38,39 in-bending from points on quadrant lines of the circle formed by device 40. The loops 36-39 are each followed by respective continuation loops 41-43, 44-46, 47-49, and 50-52 each forming a sinuous sequence from the starting loops at the quadrant points of the circle. At the termination of each sinuous sequence of loops the end returns to the circle periphery forming a continuum of wire to create the cross-over clip 40.

In FIG. 5 a similar quadrant array of sinuous loops is formed in cross-over clip 60 which has a hooked cross configuration.

The clip 60 differs from clip 40 in that instead of a new loop being formed in the sinuous sequence as at 43,45, 48, 51 (FIG. 4) the sinuous loop terminal ends as may be seen typically at 54,55 - 56,57 and their continuations, bending over one another at the center 53 to form a locked "X" configuration with the ends of the "X" at all four points being bent over into the sinuous loops including loops 61, 62 63 and 64 given a rectangular completed appearance.

The clip 60 is used for cross over coupling of the straps 17,18 in the same manner as that described for FIG. 4.

The clips 40 and 60 are wire formed articles.

Another type of cross over coupling device can be fabricated from plastic or stiff fabric,like buckram,or pasteboard. Such devices are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, at 70 and 71.

In FIG. 6 cutouts 75a-d are provided with tongue extensions extending into the cutouts as at 73a-d. Each tongue has a half circle at the free end with its radius about equal the width of the tongue. The half circles 74a-d act as stops when the straps 17,18 are inserted in the same twisting manner described in connection with the use of the clips 40 and 60. The cutouts are generally on slightly offset diagonal lines symmetrical about the center of the clip 70, with the tongues opposed in direction at each end of the diagonals.

The clip 71 is similar to clip 70 in that there are generally rectangular cutouts 77a-d on the offset diagonal positions near the periphery of the circle of clip 71. A cut as at 76 a-d is made from the periphery of the circle to the inner line of the cutout so that the straps may be slipped into the cuts 76a-d with the same twisting motion previously described. A central cutout 72 with tongue and hemispheric head 79,78 similar to the cutout and tongues of FIG. 6 may be used in the center of clip 71 as an additional securing guide for one of the straps. As illustrated, strap 17 is passed through cutout 72 under tongue 79 to be held against slippage.

A further embodiment of a technique for holding the straps in the same manner as above described is suggested by the illustration in FIG. 8 where a sardine-can twist-key handle type of end 85,86 on a bar 84 can be made to extend on the four quadrant points of the circle 80 to form a similar sequence of four slots as formed by loops 85 86. The strap 17 is indicated as it would pass through the loops on opposite side bars 82 and 84. Similarly strap 18,not shown,would pass through similar loops (not shown) extending from bars 81 and 83.

It should be clear from the above that a pair of pouches such as 10 and 12 with straps such as 17 and 18 can be assembled together with clips such as 40, or 60 or, 70, or 71 or that shown in partial form in FIG. 8 so that the straps cross-over to permit the pouches to be worn under ones arms beneath ones clothing. That they may be disconnected quickly for individual over-the-shoulder wear should be self-evident in that the straps 17,18 can be twisted in the direction opposite from the direction shown by arrows x and y (FIGS. 4 and 6) to be removed from the clips.

Using the cross over guide items 21 of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 permit equally rapid assembly and dissassembly for the alternative under arm or over the shoulder use by slipping the straps through the slots of FIG. 1 or guides of FIG. 2 in or out as needed.

There has been described hereinabove an arrangement of pouches and straps including clips and other devices to permit the straps to be connected together in a cross-over configuration such that the pouches may be worn under the arms beneath one's clothing for protective carrying of valuables and important documents. The clips are separable from the straps readily so that the pouches may be quickly disassembled and worn as separate pouches over the shoulder. Separating the straps from the clips which hold them in the cross-over configuration is accomplished by slipping the straps out of them. Two modes of removal are involved. One is a twist and remove action from clips as exemplified in FIGS. 4 through 8 and the other is the slipping of straps in or out of slots or slits and exemplified in FIGS. 1-3 inclusive.

Claims

What is claimed as new is:

1. Alternatively usable pouch and strap configurations for under-arm or over-the-shoulder wear, said pouch and strap configurations comprising:

first and second pouches each having a pair of buckles at the top thereof;

first and second straps being connectable with said pouches in a first configuration wherein said first strap is connected between one of said pair of buckles on said first pouch and a different one of said pair of buckles on said second pouch, and said second strap is connected between the other of said pair of buckles on said first pouch and the remaining one of said pair of buckles on said second pouch; and

cross-over coupling means connectable slidably with said first and said second straps such that when said straps are interconnected between said pouches in said first configuration to permit both said pouches to be worn under an individual's arms, the straps cross over in said coupling means behind the individual's back, each of said straps being removable slidably from said coupling means for reconnection to each,respectively,of said pouches individually between said pair of buckles thereon so that said pouches may be worn separately from the shoulders of an individual in a second configuration.

2. In the pouch and strap configurations defined in claim 1,

said cross-over coupling means comprising an element including guides disposed therein through which said straps may be slipped in or out readily to permit the alternate interconnections of said pouches for said under arm or over the shoulder wear.

3. In the pouch and strap configuration as defined in claim 2 said guides in said crossover means for straps therein including:

slots disposed on diagonal opposite peripheral edges thereof to receive said straps in a criss-cross configuration one end of said slots being cut through said peripheral edges thereof, and end stop means in said slots to retain said straps therein.