Handbag organizer with light

Abstract

The organizer includes a normally planar, flexible internal member that tends to return to a planar state when bent, such that the organizer applies an outwardly directed force on the interior surface of the handbag sidewalls to permit easy access to the retained items and automatically conforming to the shape of the handbag interior, making the organizer suitable for use with a large number of different size and shape handbags. No structure for attaching the organizer to the handbag sidewalls is required. Further, the organizer is provided with a built-in light source with an actuation switch.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING”, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER

PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

The present invention relates to an organizer adapted to be received within a handbag or other similar bag for retaining one or more items and more particularly to such an organizer that conforms to the interior walls of the handbag and includes a light to illuminate the handbag interior.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Many inserts and attachments for retaining items in handbags, often referred to as organizers because they are useful in keeping a number of items in an organized fashion, are known in the art. The organizers are commonly designed with individual compartments for holding personal items, such as eyeglasses, writing instruments, cell phones, wallets and the like. Such organizers may either be received loose within the handbag interior, or may be permanently or removeably attached to the handbag sidewalls.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART INCLUDING INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER 37 CFR 1.97 AND 1.98

However, organizers that are loosely received within the interior of a handbag tend to move around within the handbag. If the sidewalls of the handbag are non-rigid, they may partially collapse over the organizer, and may obstruct the path to the organizer, making location and removal of the retained items from the organizer difficult. On the other hand, organizers that are attached to the sidewalls of the handbag must be fabricated to fit the sidewalls of the particular handbag within which they are designed to be received. Thus, a large variety of different size and shape organizers are required for use with the many different handbag configurations available on the market. Further, such organizers must include a means for attachment to the handbag sidewall to prevent the organizer from moving around within the handbag interior.

It would therefore be desirable to have an organizer what would keep the walls of a non-rigid walled handbag apart for unobstructed access to the items retained in the organizer and, at the same time, would be capable of conforming to the dimensions of a variety of different size and shape handbags with rigid sidewalls, such that a single organizer style could be used with any one of a large number of different handbags.

Further, the interior of the handbag is often dark, making it difficult to locate a particular item within the organizer. It would therefore be advantageous to have an organizer with a built-in light source to illuminate the handbag interior.

It is, therefore, a prime object of the present invention to provide an organizer for a handbag or the like that tends to keep the sidewalls of a handbag with non-rigid sidewalls apart to facilitate location and removal of items retained therein.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handbag organizer that will automatically conform to the sidewalls of the handbag in which it is situated.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handbag organizer that can be used with a large variety of different size and shape handbags.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handbag organizer that does not require any means for attachment to the handbag sidewalls.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a handbag organizer with a built-in light for illuminating the handbag interior.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the above mentioned objects are achieved by the organizer of the present invention through the use of a normally planar, flexible internal member that tends to return to a planar state when bent, such that the organizer applies an outwardly directed force on the interior surface of the handbag sidewalls, keep the sidewalls apart to permit easy access to the retained items and automatically conforming to the shape of the handbag interior, thereby making the organizer suitable for use with a large number of different size and shape handbags without the necessity of any structure for attaching the organizer to the handbag sidewalls. Further, the organizer is provided with a built-in light source with an easily accessed actuation switch.

More specifically, the present invention relates to an organizer for a handbag or the other type bag that has an interior space defined in part by two or more sidewalls. The organizer includes first and second sheets of material joined together at the periphery so as to form a recess therebetween. A normally generally planar member is situated within the recess formed between the sheets. The member is formed of flexible material which when bent will tend to return to the planar state, thereby causing the organizer to press against and conform to the sidewalls of the handbag into which it is received.

A compartment, preferably in the form of a pocket, situated on one of the material sheets, is adapted to retain an object therein. A light source is mounted on the organizer.

Preferably, a plurality of different size pockets are provided. Those pockets are adapted to retain different size objects. A flap is preferably provided for covering one of the pockets. Several flaps may be provided for covering several of the pockets. The light source is preferably mounted on one of the flaps.

The light source preferably takes the form of a light emitting diode.

A battery is provided on the organizer. A switch is provided for actuating the light source. The light source and the battery form a unit mounted to one of the flaps of the organizer pockets.

The organizer may also include key retaining means mounted thereon. The key retaining means preferably takes the form of a self-closing key loop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS

To those and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to a handbag organizer with a light, as described in detail in the following specification and recited in the annexed claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the organizer of the present invention bent into a shape to permit insertion into a handbag;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the organizer showing the item retaining pockets;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the organizer;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of one of the pocket flaps of the organizer showing the built-in light; and

FIG. 5 is a front view of a handbag showing the organizer received therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As seen in the drawings, the present invention relates to an organizer, generally designated A, for a handbag or the like, generally designated B. It should be understood that although the organizer of the present invention is disclosed for use with a handbag, it could be utilized with any type of bag, such as a tote bag, sports bag, luggage, backpack or book bag, having either non-rigid or rigid sidewalls.

Handbag B has an interior space 10 defined, in part, by sidewalls 12. As shown in FIG. 1, handbag A is formed of four sidewalls 12: a front sidewall 12a, a left sidewall 12b, a rear sidewall 12c and a right sidewall 12d. The handbag also includes a bottom or floor 14 and a flap 16 which forms the top of the handbag. Handbag flap 16 is provided with a female clasp part 18 which is adapted to receive a male clasp part 20 which extends outwardly from the exterior surface of front sidewall 12a. Male clasp part 20 has a rotatable outer part 22 for maintaining the clasp in the “locked” position so as to retain flap 16 adjacent to the front sidewall of the handbag.

As best seen from FIG. 4, organizer A includes first and second sheets of fabric, plastic, vinyl or other suitable material 24, 26 joined together at the periphery 28 by adhesive, stitching, heat welding or any other conventional closure method so as to form an elongated recess 30 between sheets 24, 26. A normally generally planar structural insert member 32 is situated with recess 30 formed between the sheets 24, 26. Member 32 is formed of flexible plastic or metallic material which when bent will tend to return to its original planar state. This characteristic of member 32 causes organizer A to apply an outward force to press against the interior surfaces of sidewalls 12 of the handbag when the organizer is bent and placed within the handbag.

In this manner, if sidewalls 12 of the handbag are made of non-rigid material, the organizer prevents the sidewalls from partially collapsing and obstructing access to the organizer. Whether the sidewalls of the handbag are non-rigid or rigid, the organizer will substantially conform to the shape of the interior of the handbag, making a single style organizer suitable of use with a large variety of different size and shape handbags.

A plurality of item retaining compartments in the form of pockets 34, of different sizes and shapes, are formed adjacent sheet 24. Pockets 34 are adapted to retain various items therein such as a pen 36, envelopes 38, a cigarette lighter 40 and the like. The pockets are either open at the top, in which case the edge of the mouth of the pocket is provided with elastic or the mouth of the pocket is closed with a flap 44.

As is best seen in FIG. 4, the central flap 46 is provided as a base for a light containing unit 48 attached to the interior surface thereof. Unit 48 includes a circular housing 50 with a lens 52 mounted on the front surface thereof. Contained within housing 50 is a light source and a battery (not shown). A switch 54 for connecting the battery to the light source is accessible from the exterior of the housing. Switch 54 is accessible when flap 46 is open and may be manually actuatable to connect the battery to the light source to illuminate the interior of the handbag.

Alternatively, switch 54 may automatically turn the light on when flap 46 is opened. In that case, switch 54 is spring-loaded toward the non-depressed position but is normally held in the depressed position by the exterior surface of the underlying pocket 34 when flap 46 is closed. When flap 46 is opened, switch 54 is released and the internal spring causes the switch to move to the non-depressed position to connect the battery to the light source.

The light source may include any kind of low voltage lamp but preferably includes a light emitting diode.

The organizer also includes key retaining means mounted thereon. The key retaining means preferably takes the form of a self-closing key loop 56 mounted on a strap 58 located near one of the corners of the organizer.

It will now be appreciated that the present invention relates to a handbag organizer that is designed to apply an outwardly directed force to prevent the collapsing of non-rigid sidewalls that might otherwise obstruct access to the retained items, which will automatically conform to the shape of the handbag interior to facilitate access to the retained items and making it suitable for use with a large number of different size and shape handbags, and which will illuminate the interior of the handbag.

While only a single preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed herein for purposes of illustration, it is obvious that many variations and modifications could be made thereto. It is intended to cover all of those variations and modifications that fall within the scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims:

Claims

1. An organizer for a handbag or the like of the type having an interior space defined in part by two or more sidewalls, the organizer comprising first and second sheets of material joined together at the periphery so as to form a recess therebetween, a normally generally planar member situated within said recess, said member comprising a flexible material which when bent will tend to return to the planar state thereby causing the organizer to press against and substantially conform to the sidewalls of the handbag, a compartment formed on one of said material sheets, adapted to retain an item therein, and a battery operated light source.

2. The organizer of claim 1 wherein said compartment comprises a plurality of different size pockets adapted to retain different size items.

3. The organizer of claim 1 further comprising a flap for covering said compartment.

4. The insert of claim 1 wherein said light source is a light emitting diode.

5. The insert of claim 3 wherein said light source is located on said flap.

6. The organizer of claim 5 wherein said light source is a light emitting diode.

7. The organizer of claim 1 further comprising a further comprising a switch for actuating said light source.

8. The organizer of claim 1 further comprising a battery and wherein said light source and said battery form a unit.

9. The organizer of claim 8 wherein said unit is mounted on said flap.

10. The organizer of claim 1 further comprising key retaining means.

11. The organizer of claim 10 wherein said key retaining means comprises a self-closing key loop.