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.

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.

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.