ROPE BAG

Abstract

A rope bag comprising: a rope compartment with a top end and a bottom end; an adjustable shoulder strap attached to the top end and bottom end; a plurality of loops attached to the interior of the rope compartment generally near the top end; a feed hole located at the bottom end; a rope with an attachment end and a bag end, with the bag end removeably attached to the top end and the attachment end removeably attached to the bottom end; and where the rope is configured to be stored in the rope compartment in a plurality of coils, with at least one coil snugly held in each one of the plurality of loops, such that when the attachment end of the rope is attached to a generally stationary object, the rope feeds out of the feed hole while still being attached to the top end.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES

This patent application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/60/829,465 by Christopher R. Ciccotelli, entitled “Rope Bag”, filed on Oct. 13, 2006, the entire contents of which are fully incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to firefighting devices, and more particularly to a rope bag that allows a person to find his way back out of a burning structure and/or to allow others to find a person in a burning structure.

BACKGROUND

When firefighters arrive at the scene of a fire, it is typically necessary for them to enter a building to knock down a fire or search and rescue people. Ordinarily several firefighters enter the building by either following or carrying a single hose line through an entrance. Depending upon the nature of the fire, some of the firefighters fan out into rooms on either sides of the hose line to search for individuals in need of assistance.

As the building burns, smoke accumulates near the ceiling of each room and significantly reduces visibility. A firefighter who leaves the hose line to fan out into a room to search for individuals in need of assistance runs the risk of becoming disoriented and lost. Further, it is sometimes difficult for a firefighter to carry a victim from an unfamiliar building during a fire. Precious lifesaving seconds may be wasted if the firefighter becomes disoriented and cannot readily egress from the burning structure.

Thus, there is a need for a device that overcomes the above listed and other disadvantages.

SUMMARY

The disclosed invention relates to a rope bag comprising: a rope compartment with a top end and a bottom end; an adjustable shoulder strap attached to the top end and bottom end; a plurality of loops attached to the interior of the rope compartment generally near the top end; a feed hole located at the bottom end; a rope with an attachment end and a bag end, with the bag end removeably attached to the top end and the attachment end removeably attached to the bottom end; and where the rope is configured to be stored in the rope compartment in a plurality of coils, with at least one coil snugly held in each one of the plurality of loops, such that when the attachment end of the rope is attached to a generally stationary object, the rope feeds out of the feed hole while still being attached to the top end.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be better understood by those skilled in the pertinent art by referencing the accompanying drawings, where like elements are numbered alike in the several figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the disclosed rope bag;

FIG. 2 is a close up view of the bottom of the rope bag;

FIG. 3 is a close up view of the top of the rope bag showing the loops;

FIG. 4 is a close up view of the top of the rope bag showing the bag end of the rope attached to the top of the bag;

FIG. 5 is a close up view of the top of the rope bag showing the top cover closed;

FIG. 6 shows the rope bag being worn by a user who also is wearing an SBCA;

FIG. 7 shows a user wearing the SBCA and rope bag in a low profile configuration:

FIG. 8 shows the attachment end of the rope being attached to a fence;

FIG. 9 shows the rope being let out of the bag as the user enters a building; and

FIG. 10 is a side view of the rope bag with a zipper.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows the disclosed rope bag 10. The bag comprises a rope compartment 14, a feed hole 18 located in or near the bottom end 22 of the rope compartment. An adjustable shoulder strap 26 is attached near the bottom end 22 and near a top end 30 of the rope compartment 14. The shoulder strap 26 may have a quick release, to allow a user to quickly remove the rope bag 10 from his person. A rope 34 is shown exiting the feed hole 18. The feed hole 18 is bounded by a grommet 38. The grommet 38 may be metal or any other suitable material, such as high temperature plastic. A connector 42 is attached to the rope 34. The connector 42 may be selected from any suitable connector type, but in this embodiment a carabineer type connector is shown. A bottom strap 46 is located near the bottom side of the rope compartment 14. The connector 42 may be removeably attached to the bottom strap 46 in order to prevent accidental release or feeding out of the rope 34 from the rope compartment 14. The end 36 of the rope 34 shown in this figure is the attachment end 36, which end 36 is meant to attach to a generally stationary object or stationary structure before the user enters a building. The rope 34 thus feeds out of the feed hole 18, providing the user with a lifeline to find his way back to his starting point. The rope 34 may vary in length, depending on the needs of a user. The rope length may also vary in length from about 50 feet to about 300 feet. The rope bag and rope may be made out of a fire retarding material.

FIG. 2 shows a close up view of the bottom end 22 of the rope bag 10.

FIG. 3 shows a close up view of the top end 30 of the rope bag 10. Attached near the top end 30 of the rope bag, in the interior of the rope compartment 14, are a plurality of elastic loops 50. The rope 34 may be formed into plurality of rope coils 54 or loops, and each coil 54 or loop may be inserted into the elastic loops 50, which holds the rope coils 54 in a coiled or looped configuration as shown. The second end 58 of the rope 34 is shown on the right side of the bag 10 in this figure. The second end 58 of the rope 34 shall be referred to as the bag end 58 of the rope 34. The top cover 66 of the rope bag 10 may be closed over the rope coils 54 with a drawstring 62.

FIG. 4 shows a close up view of the top end 30 of the rope bag 10 with the bag end 58 of the rope 34 connected to at least one top strap 70 via a connector 42. The one or more top straps 70 are attached generally near the top end 30 of the rope bag 10. The connecting of the bag end 58 of the rope 34 to the rope bag 10 via the strap 70 prevents all the rope 34 from being let out of the bag 10.

FIG. 5 shows a close up view of the top end 30 of the rope bag 10 with the top cover 66 covering the rope coils 54, and the drawstring 62 closing the top cover 66.

FIG. 6 shows a view of the rope bag 10 being worn by a user 74 who also is wearing a self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) 78. The disclosed bag 10 does not interfere with the wearing of a SCBA, and sits on one side of the SCBA 78.

FIG. 7 shows a user 74 wearing his SCBA 78 in a low-profile configuration. The disclosed rope bag 10 can be worn below and behind the SCBA 78, and still maintain a low-profile configuration for the user 74.

FIG. 8 shows the user 74 attaching the attachment end 36 of the rope 34 to a stationary object 82, such as, but not limited to, a fence. The connector 42 is used to attach the attachment end 36 to the stationary object 82. FIG. 9 shows the user 74 walking away from the stationary object 82, and the rope 34 being let out of the feed hole 18 of the rope bag 10.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the disclosed rope bag 10. In this side view of the rope bag 10, the shoulder strap 26, bottom strap 46, and top strap 70 are behind the bag 10 and not visible. A zipper 84 is shown traveling longitudinally along the length of the bag 10. The zipper pull 90 is shown near the top 30 of the bag 10. The zipper 84 allows a user to open the bag from the top cover 66 to generally the bottom 22 of the rope bag 10 for easy access to the interior of the rope compartment 14.

The disclosed rope bag 10 has many advantages. The disclosed rope bag has a draw string at the top, not the bottom, on the bottom of the disclosed rope bag is a metal grommet, and this reduces and/or eliminates the chance of the drawstring opening accidentally and releasing the rope prematurely or without the user being aware that the rope is being released. The attachment end of the rope and connector (carabineer) are exposed, and easily grabbed and released from the bag with the gloved hand of the operator. Also, the disclosed rope bag does not attach to the SCBA and also has the quick disconnect built into the shoulder strap for quick emergency removal of the rope bag. The disclosed rope of the rope bag clips to a generally stationary object, generally outside the area to be searched, preferably outside the hazardous environment. When used in a hazardous situation, the rope would lead the firefighter to safety with no additional equipment needed. The rope bag is made out of a pliant material that allows a user to squeeze through a confined space. The rope bag does not need to be held by the user, but simply worn by the user using the shoulder straps.

It should be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, and “third”, and the like may be used herein to modify elements performing similar and/or analogous functions. These modifiers do not imply a spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order to the modified elements unless specifically stated.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to several embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A rope bag comprising:

a rope compartment with a top end and a bottom end;

an adjustable shoulder strap attached to the top end and bottom end;

a plurality of loops attached to the interior of the rope compartment generally near the top end;

a feed hole located at the bottom end;

a rope with an attachment end and a bag end, with the bag end removeably attached to the top end and the attachment end removeably attached to the bottom end; and

wherein the rope is configured to be stored in the rope compartment in a plurality of coils, with at least one coil snugly held in each one of the plurality of loops, such that when the attachment end of the rope is attached to a generally stationary object, the rope feeds out of the feed hole while still being attached to the top end.

2. The rope bag of claim 1, further comprising:

a top cover located at the top end, the top cover having a drawstring.

3. The rope bag of claim 1, further comprising:

a quick release attached to the shoulder strap.

4. The rope bag of claim 1, further comprising:

a top strap located near the top end;

a top connector removeably attached to the top strap, and removeably attached to the bag end of the rope;

a bottom strap located near the bottom end;

a bottom connector removeably attached to the bottom strap and removeably attached to the attachment end of the rope.

5. The rope bag of claim 1, wherein the top connector and bottom connector are both carabineers.

6. The rope bag of claim 1, further comprising:

a zipper located longitudinally along the length of the rope bag.

7. The rope bag of claim 1, further comprising:

a grommet bounding the feedhole.

8. The rope bag of claim 1, wherein the rope is between about 50 feet to about 300 feet in length.

9. The rope bag of claim 1, wherein the rope compartment and rope are made out of a fire retardant material.