Backpack with inflatable air cushions
A backpack with inflatable air cushions integrated onto shoulder straps, back side of the backpack, and hip belt to enhance comfort and support and reduce body fatigues especially on shoulders and back when carrying a load. The backpack includes a main container with front, back, sides, top, and bottom portions, the back portion including an inflatable air cushion; a pair of shoulder straps having two ends with one end connecting to the upper back side of the container, and one end connecting to the low back side or bottom portion of the container, such that the shoulder straps are inflatable to form air cushions; and a removable hip belt with air cushions to transfer weight to the hip.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/581,715, filed Nov. 5, 2017.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to the field of backpacks, and more particularly to methods and systems for cushioning a backpack.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn order to provide for comfort in use backpacks commonly employ various forms of padding and cushioning on the back side and on shoulder straps and other harnesses.
However, such cushioning adds to the weight and also increases the size of the backpack in a folded-up configuration, for example when the backpack is put away for storage.
As such, considering the foregoing, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for novel and improved devices and methods for cushioning a backpack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention, wherein in aspects of this invention, enhancements are provided to the existing model of backpack cushioning.
As presented herein, various aspects of the present invention improve the comfort and support of a backpack using inflatable air cushions while minimizing the weight and size of the backpack. The air cushion forms the shoulder straps and the back padding of the backpack. In one aspect, the backpack also contains a removable hip belt that can be integrated with the air cushion. The air cushion can include an inlet and outlet valve for inflation and deflation. In another aspect, an inflating device can be added to inflate and deflate the air cushion quickly.
In an aspect, a backpack can include:
- a) a container;
- b) a rear cushion disposed on a back side of the container, the rear cushion comprising first and second rear sheets, which can be connected in a first plurality of connection portions, to form a first plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions; and
- c) first and second shoulder straps, which each can be connected to the container in first and second ends, each of the first and second shoulder straps comprising first and second strap sheets, which can be connected in a second plurality of connection portions, to form a second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
In a related aspect, the first and second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions can be fluidly connected.
In another related aspect, the first rear and first strap sheets can be part of an entire first sheet and the second rear and second strap sheets can be part of an entire second sheet.
In yet a related aspect, the backpack can further include a hip belt, comprising at least one inflatable hip cushion, which can be connected to a lower part of the container, the at least one inflatable hip cushion including first and second hip sheets, which can be connected in a third plurality of connection portions, to form a third plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
In a further related aspect, the at least one inflatable hip cushion can be fluidly connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
In yet another related aspect, the backpack can further include at least one inlet valve, which can be connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Before describing the invention in detail, it should be observed that the present invention resides primarily in a novel and non-obvious combination of elements and process steps. So as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art, certain conventional elements and steps have been presented with lesser detail, while the drawings and specification describe in greater detail other elements and steps pertinent to understanding the invention.
The following embodiments are not intended to define limits as to the structure or method of the invention, but only to provide exemplary constructions. The embodiments are permissive rather than mandatory and illustrative rather than exhaustive.
In the following, we describe the structure of an embodiment of a backpack with inflatable air cushion 100 with reference to
With reference to
- a container 110, including a front portion 112, a back portion 114, a pair of side portions 116, and top 118 and bottom portions 119;
- a pair of shoulder straps 120 each having two ends with a first end 142 connecting to the top of the container and a second end 144 connecting to the bottom 119 of the container 110;
- wherein the container 110, as shown in
FIG. 5A , has an opening 512 into an interior 514 of the container 110 and this opening 512 can be closed through various closure mechanisms, such as zipper or roll top closure. In some embodiments, the shoulder strap ends connecting to the bottom of the container can be adjustable by a buckle or clip (not shown) of a type known in the art.
In an embodiment, as shown in
In a related embodiment, common connection methods, for connecting the first material sheet 232 to the second material sheet 234, include taping, welding, gluing, sewing, using baffles, and other fabric joining techniques known by those of ordinary skill in the art.
The sheets of materials 232 234 can generally be made of gas impermeable laminate material including polyurethane, polyethylene, silicone rubber, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
In a further related embodiment, as shown in
In a related embodiment, the inflatable air cushions 228 on the shoulder strap can be fluidly connected to the inflatable air cushions 238 on the back side of the container. An air valve 420, as shown in
In a related embodiment, as shown in
In another related embodiment, as shown in
In another example embodiment, as shown in
In related embodiments, as shown in
In yet another embodiment, an air cushion having shape of the back of the backpack and two shoulder straps as shown in
In an embodiment, as shown in
- a) a container 110;
- b) a rear cushion 130 disposed/positioned on a back side of the container 110, such that the rear cushion can be connected to or be a part of the back side of the container, the rear cushion 130 including first and second rear sheets 232 234, which are connected in a first plurality of connection portions 236, to form a first plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions 238; and
- c) first and second shoulder straps 120, each connected to the container in first and second ends 142 144, each of the first and second shoulder straps 120 including first and second strap sheets 122 124, which are connected in a second plurality of connection portions 226, to form a second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions 228.
In related embodiments, as shown in
- a) Separate from the container 110 with the backside 114, as shown in
FIG. 4B , such that the container of the backpack has its own backside fabric layer 114, whereby the rear cushion forms a padding, optionally including fluidly connected shoulder straps, which is attached/connected to the container 110; or - b) An integral part of the container 110, as shown in
FIG. 4C , as such that the backside fabric layer 114 forms/is the first sheet of material 232.
In a related embodiment, the first and second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions 238 228 can be fluidly connected, as shown in
In another related embodiment, the first rear and first strap sheets 232 122 can be part of an entire first sheet 122 and the second rear and second strap 234 124 sheets can be part of an entire second sheet 124.
In another related embodiment, as shown in
In various embodiments, the shapes of the first plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions 238 of the rear cushion 130 can vary, and can for example include:
- a) diamond-shaped air inflatable cushions 238, as shown in
FIG. 2A ; - b) vertical, elongated air inflatable cushions 438, as shown in
FIG. 4A ; and/or - c) other shapes, such as rectangular, round, ellipsoid, polygonal, irregular, random; and can include different combinations/distributions of sizes and shapes.
- In various related embodiments, shapes of the second and third pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions 228 348 can vary similarly.
In another related embodiment, the backpack 100 can further include at least one inflatable hip cushion 340, which can be fluidly connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions 348, for example via a fluid connection 570, such as a tube 570, as shown in
In yet another related embodiment, the backpack 100 can further include at least one inlet valve 420, which can be connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
In yet another related embodiment, the backpack 100 can further include at least one outlet valve 420 440, which either can be the same as the inlet valve 420, or can be a separate outlet valve 440, which at least one outlet valve 420 440 can be connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
In yet a related embodiment, as shown in
Here has thus been described a multitude of embodiments of the backpack 100, and methods related thereto, which can be employed in numerous modes of usage.
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention, which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Many such alternative configurations are readily apparent, and should be considered fully included in this specification and the claims appended hereto. Accordingly, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, the invention is not limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and thus, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A backpack, comprising:
- a) a container;
- b) a rear cushion disposed on a back side of the container, the rear cushion comprising first and second rear sheets, which are connected in a first plurality of connection portions, to form a first plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions; and
- c) first and second shoulder straps, each connected to the container in first and second ends, each of the first and second shoulder straps comprising first and second strap sheets, which are connected in a second plurality of connection portions, to form a second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
2. The backpack of claim 1, wherein the first and second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions are fluidly connected.
3. The backpack of claim 1, wherein the first rear and first strap sheets are part of an entire first sheet and the second rear and second strap sheets are part of an entire second sheet.
4. The backpack of claim 1, further comprising a hip belt, which is connected to a lower part of the container, the hip belt comprising at least one inflatable hip cushion comprising first and second hip sheets, which are connected in a third plurality of connection portions, to form a third plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
5. The backpack of claim 4, wherein the at least one inflatable hip cushion is fluidly connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
6. The backpack of claim 1, further comprising at least one inlet valve, which is connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
7. A backpack comprising:
- a) a container having a back side, the container comprising at least one first air cushion disposed on the back side, the at least one first air cushion comprising a first at least two material sheets connected by a first plurality of connection portions to form a first plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions;
- b) at least one shoulder strap having a first end connecting to a top of the container and a second end connecting to a bottom of the container, the at least one shoulder strap comprising at least one second air cushion, comprising a second at least two material sheets connected by a second plurality of connection portions to form a second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions; and
- c) at least one inlet valve, which is fluidly connected to at least one of the first and second air cushions.
8. The backpack of claim 7, further comprising at least one outlet valve, which is fluidly connected to at least one of the first and second air cushions.
9. The backpack of claim 7, further comprising at least one inflating device, wherein the at least one inflating device is connected to the at least one inlet valve.
10. The backpack of claim 7, wherein at least one air cushion on the shoulder strap is fluidly connected to at least one air cushion on the back of the container.
11. The backpack of claim 7, wherein the first and second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions are fluidly connected.
12. The backpack of claim 7, wherein the first rear and first strap sheets are part of an entire first sheet and the second rear and second strap sheets are part of an entire second sheet.
13. The backpack of claim 7, further comprising a hip belt, which is connected to a lower part of the container, the hip belt comprising at least one inflatable hip cushion comprising first and second hip sheets, which are connected in a third plurality of connection portions, to form a third plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
14. The backpack of claim 13, wherein the at least one inflatable hip cushion is fluidly connected to at least one of the first and second pluralities of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
15. A backpack, comprising:
- a) a container having a back portion, and at least one inflatable back cushion disposed on the back portion, at least one inflatable back cushion comprising a first at least two material sheets connected by a first plurality of connection portions to form a first plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions;
- b) at least one shoulder strap having a first end connecting to a top of the container and a second end connecting to a bottom of the container, the at least one shoulder strap comprising at least one inflatable shoulder cushion, comprising a second at least two material sheets connected by a second plurality of connection portions to form a second plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions; and
- c) at least one hip belt, which is connected to the container in a lower back portion of the container, the at least one hip belt comprising at least one inflatable hip cushion, comprising first and second hip sheets, which are connected in a third plurality of connection portions, to form a third plurality of fluidly connected air inflatable cushions.
16. The backpack of claim 15, wherein the at least one inflatable hip cushion is fluidly connected to the at least one inflatable back cushion.
17. The backpack of claim 15, wherein the at least one inflatable shoulder cushion is fluidly connected to the at least one inflatable back cushion.
18. The backpack of claim 15, wherein the at least one inflatable hip cushion is fluidly connected to the at least one inflatable back cushion, and the at least one inflatable shoulder cushion is fluidly connected to the at least one inflatable back cushion.
19. The backpack of claim 15, wherein the at least one inflatable shoulder cushion is fluidly connected to the at least one inflatable hip cushion.
20. The backpack of claim 15, wherein the hip belt is removable.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 13, 2018
Publication Date: May 9, 2019
Inventor: Daniel Shir (Hillsboro, OR)
Application Number: 15/919,990