PORTABLE ACCESSORY ORGANIZER PACK
A portable accessory organizer pack for storing, organizing and transporting personal articles and accessories along with the pack is provided by an organizer pack having a pouch body with a pair of pouch walls hingedly coupled to a base section and a covering flap and that is configurable between a first position wherein a set of interior storage compartments in the pouch walls and covering flap may all be accessible at one time to facilitate packing and unpacking activities to a narrow profile, ready for transport configuration that further forms a central cavity selectively coverable by the covering flap and providing additional storage space to that already provided by the other internal storage compartments for maximizing storage space.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/981,103 filed on Oct. 18, 2007, entitled the same, and which is hereby by incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable packs for transporting, storing, and organizing personal gear and accessories and more specifically to portable packs that are convertible from one configuration to another.
2. Background Art
When conducting outdoor activities, traveling, going to a gym or exercise class, heading out to the beach or a picnic, or merely conducting local shopping activities or seeking out local entertainment, it is commonplace to carry around personal gear relating to the activity. Often the gear such as clothing, food and beverages, identification, toiletries, and the like is tailored to the event. In addition, if accompanied by small children or infants, there are additional gear needs as well such as diapers, extra clothes, changing mats, wipes, and snacks, for instance. Typically, the solution for transporting personal items is provided by personal carrying products such as purses, handbags, wallets, tote bags, shopping bags, backpacks, and messenger bags. Often more than one carrying product is required due to the amount of gear and needs of the user. Depending on the construction of the carrying product, the user typically supports the product on his or her shoulder, wears the item as a backpack, or merely carries the item using a handle or handles. Also, it is not uncommon to bring bulky items along as well such as umbrellas, sleeping bags, large beach towels, exercise mats, large bulky clothing such as jackets and the like which may need to be hand carried in some instances since the carrying item cannot accommodate the bulky nature of the goods. Thus, the user typically will have one or both hands occupied with carrying additional goods. This may also add multiple trips to and from a vehicle such as when going to the beach, picnic, or barbecue to fully transport all of the goods.
The general construction of many of these carrying products is usually of a sack like construction in that there is a large central pocket that may or may not have a covering flap and some sort of handle or strap for carrying the sack. Thus, the user merely dumps much of the gear into the sack without any organizational thought and is forced to search through the sack to find the desired gear. This drawback appears in many messenger style bags as well.
Other carrying items provide a number of pockets for organizing the gear somewhat but do not allow the user to access all or even most of the pockets at the same time. For example, backpacks are often top loaded and/or front panel loaded. However, when accessing one of the storage compartments, typically, another is covered up and the user is forced to flip back and forth or open and close different sections of the backpack to access another.
One such example may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,034 to Fournier. The Fournier sports bag includes a central section and two outer sections, each including a set of pockets. The outermost edges of the two outer sections may be brought together in an abutting relationship to form and seal off the top side of a generally bell-shaped cavity. The side walls may also be zipped up to fully enclose the cavity. A relatively short flap without any storage capacity may overlap and secure the top edges of the outer walls together. While providing a significant amount of storage, such pack fails to provide any additional storage capacity in the short flap section or quick access into the cavity formed when the bag is assembled for transport. In addition, the relatively bell-shaped cavity forms an enlarged profile of that of a conventional duffel bag and not a slimming profile creating a somewhat bulky bag to keep next to one's person during transport.
Yet another example of a carrying pack is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,401 to Blackman. The Blackman article holder and carrier includes a pack that opens flat with pockets throughout the interior. The pack may be folded up to form a central compartment and includes a side flap for coupling the sidewalls together with a hook and loop fastener and a bottom flap for closing off the bottom of the compartment. The top of the compartment may be sealed with a cinch top closure. When ready for transportation, the pack generally resembles a backpack or half milk carton in profile. The pocket openings run parallel to and face the top opening that is not covered by a flap so that smaller items falling out of the open pockets may fall out of the compartment through the cinch top closure if the pack is inverted. The dual flap closures also require a significant amount of effort on the part of the user to manipulate, align, and close up the pack as both flaps must be coupled to the main body of the pack to close off the compartment making this pack somewhat unwieldy. In addition, the lack of a covering flap for the cinch top opening allows environmental conditions such as rain to enter into the main compartment.
Another product sold under the brand Buxton Over The Shoulder Organizer Bag as available from www.buxtonbag.tv attempts to provide organizational capabilities in an over the shoulder style bag. While such a bag provides a relatively roomy pouch section thanks to an expandable pouch section and a flap section with interior pockets, the pouch section may only be widened for additional storage or zippered into a more narrow profile. The ability to expose the interior surface of the pouch cavity is not provided.
A Coach brand messenger bag is another attempt to satisfy consumers craving an organized messenger bag. The Coach brand bag includes a first openable clam-shell style section adjacent a pouch section with a flap section that covers the both the pouch section and the clam-shell style section. However, the Coach brand messenger style bag includes permanent pouch side walls such that interior surfaces of the opposing pouch walls may not be opened flat and exposed and the pouch remains hidden when the adjacent clam-shell style section is opened up. Thus, all of the interior surfaces of the Coach bag cannot be exposed at the same time. Moreover, the clam-shell halves are connected together by a narrow strip of material that projects upwardly into the clam-shell sections to interfere with the withdrawal of materials placed therein or the placement of mat and pads thereon.
Additional examples of more specific accessory focused packs include a tri-fold picnic pack available from www.picnicfun.com under the picnic pack category and sold under the product identification Bordeaux Picnic Set for 4. Such a tri-fold arrangement allows no room for an internal pouch cavity as each of the internal pockets abut one another when the wallet or pack is folded up for transport. In addition, the open side walls of such a pack encourage the loss of internal contents that are not securely fastened to the pack. Thus, loose items could not realistically be stored in such a pack.
Another example from the same web site is the Classico Deluxe Rose Picnic Pack for 2 or Classico Deluxe Riviera Pack for 2. These two packs provide some suitable features but do not include a covering flap and instead provide a two-section clam-shell pack that zips up all around the pack to seal off the interior completely. In addition, there is no internal cavity created as the internal contents abut one another when the pack is closed. Such packs clearly miss out on the incorporation of a covering flap with additional storage as well as an easily accessible internal cavity when folded up for transport.
In surveying these other pack solutions, a primary drawback of many of these carrying items is the loss of possible storage capacity since not all of the surface features contain storage compartments. Yet another frequent drawback is that there is no way to see into the contents of the storage compartments since the outer pocket coverings are usually opaque or the contents are concealed in some fashion even when available for access.
Given the drawbacks of conventional carrying products, there exists a need for an easy to use, portable organizer accessory pack that maximizes storage space while reducing the need for extra baggage and that provides superior organizational features in a relatively narrow profile configuration. Such an organizer pack would also preferably be capable of transporting travel gear and related accessories along with personal items so as to free the user's hands during transportation and further allow the user to access all of the interior storage compartments at the same time reducing the time required to both pack and unpack the travel pack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a portable accessory organizer pack for increasing storage capacity and facilitating assembly between unpacking/packing and transportation ready configurations may be provided with a pouch body having a base section hingedly coupled between two pouch walls with each pouch wall having a storage surface with at least one interior facing pocket, the pouch walls further being rotatable relative to the base section between a first position with the storage surfaces substantially opposing one another to a second position with the storage surface of each pouch wall disposed in substantially the same plane. A connective element constructed to releasably couple the pouch walls together into a transportation ready configuration with the pouch walls, the base section, and the connective element cooperating to maintain the spacing of the innermost surfaces of the pouch walls apart from one another to form a substantially enclosed pouch cavity while leaving at least one opening between the pouch walls providing access into the pouch cavity when the connective element is fully engaged, the connective element being further constructed to free the pouch walls to rotate about the base section into a substantially flat unpacking/packing configuration exposing and providing access to each of the storage surface pockets of the pouch walls is also provided along with a flap element hingedly coupled to the pouch body and including an auxiliary storage surface including at least one interior facing flap pocket, the flap being constructed to rotate relative to the pouch body to extend the flap from the pouch body exposing the interior facing flap pocket when the pouch body is in the unpacking/packing configuration and further constructed to rotate relative to the pouch body so that a user may selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the pouch cavity opening when the pouch body is in a transportation ready configuration.
In another aspect of the present invention, a carrying strap may be provided to facilitate the transportation of the pack and a strap length reducer may be used to convert the carrying strap from a single shoulder strap to a dual loop backpack style configuration, both carrying means offering hands free transport.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the carrying strap may incorporate at least one separable region whereby a user may separate a portion of the carrying strap to encircle a support bar such as a stroller handle and suspend the pack therefrom.
Another feature of the present invention may be the incorporation of a pre-filled cavity with an accessory mat that may be anchored thereto and folded up to fit within the profile of the ready for transport configuration pack.
Other aspects of the present invention include providing connective elements that form the sidewalls of the pouch cavity and may incorporate additional auxiliary pockets or a covering flap that covers at least a portion of the pouch cavity opening and that also introduce additional gap openings for inserting items into the pouch cavity that are larger than the pouch cavity.
Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent with further reference to the following drawings and specification.
The following packs have features in common including a pouch body of a generally rectangular shape that may be configured between a closed, transportation ready, configuration that conceals most, if not all, of the storage compartments used for packing, storing, organizing, and transporting personal gear and accessories and an expanded, open, ready for packing and unpacking configuration with the pouch body and covering flap configured in a substantially flat position to expose the organizing compartments. The packing process transforms each pack from an elongated configuration presenting a large amount of packing space to a closed configuration having a relatively narrow profile generally resembling a messenger style bag or clam-shell style pack with or without a covering flap. In addition, for some of the packs, manipulating the pouch body into the closed configuration creates a central cavity for additional storage space. Exterior facing pockets may also be used on each of the packs to provide additional storage space on the outside surfaces of the packs that are not concealed when the packs are in the closed configuration.
Each of the packs may also include a carrying means such as a shoulder strap, dual backpack straps, one or more handles, or a combination thereof, and attached to various locations on the pouch body and/or covering flap as will be described below. Various closure devices and fasteners are used to close off and control access to the storage compartments and also to maintain the pack in the closed, ready for transport configuration. For example, throughout this description various fasteners or closure devices such as zippers, magnetic snaps and locks, buckles and clips, hook and loop, loose tie strings, straps, buttons, hooks and grommets, tongue and groove type closures, and other suitable fasteners are referred to, but are not meant to be limiting, unless otherwise noted. In addition, attachable accessories such as accessory mats and removable pockets may be used with each pack provided a suitable corresponding attachment structure is provided. The features of one pack are generally understood to be interchangeable with the features of other packs, except where noted.
The packs may also be used to secure and transport gear and accessories either in a fixed storage compartment or loose within the pack and be transported as a single unit with the pack. Other advantageous features and the versatility of the organizer packs will become apparent as this description continues.
Referring now to
The base section 112 further includes an inner pouch wall side edge 114 hingedly connected to an inner pouch wall, generally designated 116. Thus, the base section acts as a dual hinge with two spaced apart hinge lines (110, 114) about which each respective pouch wall 104, 116 may pivot independently. While generally only approximately ninety (90) degrees of rotation is useful for each pouch wall relative to the base section, such hinge may be constructed to enable each pouch wall to rotate through a substantially three hundred and sixty (360) degree arc. The upper and lower boundaries of the inner pouch wall as viewed in
Taking advantage of the interior facing surface area of each pouch walls 104, 116 and the covering flap section 120 as shown in
Similarly, the inner pouch wall 116 includes a set of three pockets as well: a main pocket 134 and two smaller auxiliary pockets 136 and 138, each with a common bottom edge terminating at or near the inner pouch wall side edge 114 of the base section 112. In this exemplary embodiment, the inner pouch wall main pocket 134 includes an upper edge 140 terminating at or near the top edge 118 of the inner pouch wall and including a zipper closure 142 for controlling access into the pocket. As with the corresponding auxiliary pockets on the outer pouch wall, the auxiliary pockets on the inner pouch wall generally subdivide the width of the inner pouch wall. Such auxiliary inner wall pouch pockets also include a common upper edge 144 terminating about one-half of the way between the wall side edge 114 and the outer edge 118 of the inner pouch wall providing a slightly different size configuration than their outer pouch wall counterpart. The common upper edge of the smaller auxiliary pockets does not include a fastener in this example. In addition, the pocket openings of the inner pouch wall face in the opposite direction to those of the outer pouch wall when the pack is unfolded as seen in
With continued reference to
For releasably joining the two pouch walls 104, 116 together, a pair of connective elements 156 and 158 in the form of a pair of opposing zipper assembly closures (complementary toothed zipper walls with zipper pull) is provided in this exemplary embodiment. Each connective element 156, 158 includes one half of the zipper assembly that projects along the longer sides 113, 115 and 121, 123, respectively, of the opposing pouch walls 104, 116 from near their respective top edges 106, 118 to converge at opposing points 160, 162 (
Referring now to an exterior surface view of the organizer pack 100 in
With continued reference to
With continued reference to
As shown in
Referring now to
Referring back to
Alternatively, a second interior sheet of material may be cut into a complementary shape to the exterior sheets and placed over the exterior base sheets. The pocket coverings and piping are then sewn onto and around the multi-sheet assembly. In addition, a rigid insert or insert or other stiffening materials may be inserted between the exterior and interior sheets of material or attached directly to the exterior sheet of material in any one of the sections including the outer pouch wall 104, inner pouch wall 116, base section 112, strap restraint section 122, and covering flap section 120, and/or connective elements 156, 158 to lend additional rigidity to the pack during transport. In addition to or in lieu of a rigid insert, a padding element may also be inserted between the pack sheets in the same sections.
The materials used may be of any suitable textile or flexible plastic although metallic and elastomeric materials are not out of the question. Non-limiting examples of materials found to be suitable include soft or hard plastics such as nylon and polyester as well as textiles like corduroy and canvas. Buckles and zippers may also be formed of hard plastic materials or constructed of metallic materials. Materials may be mixed and matched as well throughout the pack body. While the preferable means of assembly is primarily via stitching sheets of material, piping, and fasteners together, other means of securing the pack together such as adhesives, welding, stapling, riveting, and other suitable methods of manufacture may be used as well.
The materials selected for the pocket covering may be opaque, transparent, or semi-opaque, and clear plastic materials so that one may readily ascertain the contents of the pockets when the pack is in the open configuration. If more privacy is required, then an opaque material may be used as well.
In order to ready the organizer pack 100 for transport, referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3-6 and assuming the organizer is empty and unfolded as in
With reference now to
Once the pouch cavity 109 is filled as desired by the user, the user may grasp the outer edge 152 of the covering flap 120 and flip the covering flap to pivot the flap about the top edge 118 of the inner pouch wall 116 and over onto the pouch body 102 to cover the top opening 111 and effectively seal off the pouch cavity 109. In this exemplary embodiment, the strap retention section 122 of the covering flap actually covers the top opening with the remainder of the covering flap positioned so that the pocket covering (generally 146) or interior surface of the covering flap is adjacent or even abutting the exterior surface 177 of the outer pouch wall 104. The user may further secure the free end of the covering flap to the pouch body by engaging the bayonet fastener 154 with the complementary buckle 176. The organizer pack is packed and organized as determined by the user and ready for transport. The pack may be suspended via the shoulder strap to allow hands free transport.
To quickly access the contents of the pouch cavity 109, the user may simply unbuckle the bayonet and buckle fasteners 154, 176, respectively and peel back the covering flap 120 to expose the top opening 111 of the pouch cavity as shown in
It will be appreciated that such a pack provides significant interior storage and organizational capabilities on the interior surface of the pack. The entire interior surface may be quickly accessed by quickly unbuckling the front flap and unzipping the two pack sections from one another. The cavity provides an area for even quicker access since only the flap must be moved out of the way. However, when in a packed, ready for transport configuration, the pack assumes a relatively narrow profile and conceals the interior storage compartments, including the cavity.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In
Referring now to
As shown in
It will be appreciated that the provision of such gap openings 163, 163a, 165b, 163c, 165c, 163d, 165d, and 175d provided in the organizer pack 100 and modified organizer packs 100a-d as illustrated in
Referring now to
In addition, an alternative carrying means in the form of a dual handle carrying or shoulder strap 168e is shown. One of the handles is sewn onto the exterior surface of the outer pouch wall 104 while the opposing complementary handle is sewn onto the exterior surface of the inner pouch wall 116. As shown in
With continued reference to
It will be appreciated that the configuring for unpacking and also for transport are similar to the organizer pack 100 described above exposing all internal pockets and the utensil restraints when the pack 100f is in the unpacking/packing configuration as shown in
Referring specifically now to an interior surface view of the unfolded, pre-packing (or unpacked) organizer pack configuration in
The base section 212 further includes an inner pouch wall side edge 214 hingedly connected to an inner pouch wall, generally designated 216. Thus, the base section acts a dual hinge with two spaced apart hinge lines about which each respective pouch wall may pivot. While generally only approximately ninety (90) degrees of rotation is useful for each pouch wall relative to the base section, such hinge may be constructed to enable each pouch wall to rotate through a substantially three hundred and sixty (360) degree arc. The upper and lower boundaries of the inner pouch wall as viewed in
At the opposing end of the pouch body 202 from the outermost edge 206 of the outer pouch wall 204, the inner pouch wall 216 terminates in an upper edge 218 from which extends a covering flap, generally designated 220, that may include an intermediate strap retention section 222. The covering flap is also hingedly connected to the pouch body about the upper edge 218 that forms another pivot line in the organizer pack. The covering flap may also be rotated about the upper edge pivot line 218 through three hundred and sixty (360) degrees as shown in
Taking advantage of the interior facing surface area of each pouch walls 204, 216 and the flap section 220 as shown in
Unlike the earlier packs described above, the inner pouch wall 216 of this organizer pack 200 includes a single main pocket 234 having a bottom edge terminating at or near the inner pouch wall side edge 214 of the base section 212. The enlarged main pocket includes a set of reinforcing strips around three sides and a mesh central section for viewing contents placed therein. This inner pouch wall main pocket 234 further includes an upper edge 240 terminating at or near the top edge 218 of the inner pouch wall and including a zipper closure 242 for controlling access into the pocket. The pocket opening of the main pocket of the inner pouch wall faces in the opposite direction to those of the outer pouch wall when the pack is unfolded as seen in
With reference to
With continued reference to
In this exemplary embodiments, the modified sidewalls 247, 257 are substantially semi-circular in profile as viewed from the top (
Referring now to exterior surface view of the organizer pack 200 in
With continued reference to
A convenient elongated carrying strap 268 is coupled to the long side outer walls of the sidewalls 247, 257 and reinforced on each side with a short length of webbed strapping spaced apart along the respective sidewalls. As an alternative carrying source, a short handle 289 is riveted, adhered, sewn into, or otherwise suitably secured to the strap restraint section 222. Alternatively, such straps may be attached to other areas of the pouch body, sidewalls, other region of the flap section, or a combination thereof. The carrying strap 289 forms a shoulder strap from which the pack 200 may be carried or suspended and may include an adjustable shoulder pad (not shown) that may be slidably mounted on the strap and can be slid along a length of the strap so that a user can adjust the strap to increase the level of comfort. Furthermore, a quartet of conventional strap length adjusters as with the pack described above are placed along a length of the strap to enable a user to adjust the overall length of the carrying strap as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. This strap is preferably long enough to form an elongated shoulder strap although a short carrying handle would be a suitable substitute. While the carrying strap is convenient, it will be appreciated that the pack could also be carried as a satchel without any carrying strap if desired.
Referring the rear view in
It will be appreciated that, as with the organizer pack 100 and as shown the unfolded configuration with the connective elements disengaged as in
Referring now to
In order to ready the organizer pack 200 for transport, referring now to
With reference now to
Then, in addition to storing articles in the interior pockets of the pouch walls 204, 216 and covering flap 220, the user may also unzip the sidewall auxiliary pocket coverings 237, 239, respectively to expose the auxiliary sidewall pockets 236, 238. The user may select to store additional accessories and goods such as the water bottle 295h and beverage can 295i illustrated as examples in
Once the pouch cavity 209, sidewall pockets 236, 238, and interior pockets 224, 226, 226, 234, and 246 are filled as desired by the user, the user may then fill the exterior pocket 280 by unzipping the zipper element 286 prior to flipping the covering flap 220 over onto the pouch body. Then, the user may grasp the outer edge 252 of the covering flap 220 and flip the covering flap to pivot the flap about the top edge 218 of the inner pouch wall 216 and over onto the pouch body 202 to cover the top opening 211 and effectively seal off the pouch cavity 209 (
To quickly access the contents of the pouch cavity 209, the user may simply unbuckle the bayonet and buckle fasteners 254, 276, respectively and peel back the covering flap 220 to expose the top opening 211 of the pouch cavity as shown in
It will be appreciated that such a pack provides significant interior storage and organizational capabilities on the interior surface of the pack. The entire interior surface may be quickly accessed by quickly unbuckling the front flap and unzipping the two pack sections from one another. The cavity provides an area for even quicker access since only the flap must be moved out of the way. However, when in a packed, ready for transport configuration, the pack assumes a relatively narrow profile and conceals the interior storage compartments, including the cavity.
The base section 312 further includes an inner pouch wall side edge 314 hingedly connected to an inner pouch wall, generally designated 316. Thus, the base section acts a dual hinge with two spaced apart hinge lines about which each respective pouch wall may pivot. While generally only approximately ninety (90) degrees of rotation is useful for each pouch wall relative to the base section, such hinge may be constructed to enable each pouch wall to rotate through a substantially three hundred and sixty (360) degree arc. The upper and lower boundaries of the inner pouch wall as viewed in
Taking advantage of the interior facing surface area of each pouch wall 304, 316 and the flap section 320 as shown in
Similarly, the inner pouch wall 316 includes a main pocket 334 spanning practically the entire interior surface of the inner pouch wall as well. In this exemplary embodiment, the inner pouch wall main pocket 334 includes an upper edge 340 terminating at or near the top edge 318 of the inner pouch wall and including a zipper closure 342 for controlling access into the pocket. In addition, the pocket opening of the inner pouch wall faces in the opposite direction to those of the outer pouch wall when the pack is unfolded as seen in
With continued reference to
Each of the pockets in this exemplary pack 300 are also preferably constructed to lay substantially flat to provide a relatively thin pocket profile or, alternatively, be of an accordion style or have pleated corners to enable further expansion. In addition, the pockets may be formed of a transparent or mesh material to enable ready identification of the pocket contents or opaque if more privacy is required. The pocket coverings may be constructed of a see-through material such as a vinyl coated mesh or clear plastic material. Such see-through material facilitates both the ready identification of stored articles as well as providing some expandability of the pocket for enlarged items and extra capacity. The transparent viewing windows provided by the see-through materials save the user search time when looking for particular contents and also may facilitate airport security screening efforts. However, it will be appreciated that opaque materials may be used if more privacy is desired to conceal the contents of a pocket or pockets.
Referring now to exterior surface view of the organizer pack 300 in
A convenient elongated carrying strap 368 is coupled to the short ends 364, 366 of the strap retention section 322. Alternatively, such strap may be attached to the pouch body, other region of the flap section, or a combination thereof. The carrying strap forms a shoulder strap from which the pack 300 may be carried or suspended and may include an adjustable shoulder pad 368a that may be slidably mounted on the strap and can be slid along a length of the strap so that a user can adjust the strap to increase the level of comfort. The strap 368 also includes a set of conventional length adjustment devices placed along a length of the strap to enable a user to adjust the overall length of the carrying strap as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The strap is preferably long enough to form an elongated shoulder strap although a short carrying handle would be a suitable substitute. While the carrying strap is convenient, it will be appreciated that the pack could also be carried as a satchel without any carrying strap if desired.
Furthermore, referring to
In addition, referring now to
When ready for use, the user may unfold the pack 300 into the configuration shown in
With continued reference to
It will also be appreciated the pad attachment anchor 331 and accessory mat 333 with fastener 335 may be incorporated into any other organizer pack described herein and placement, while preferred on the base section is not limited thereto and other locations of such anchoring element such as on the strap restraint section, for example, will occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, the modified straps are particularly useful for suspending the pack from a bar support such as on a stroller. Such straps may also be incorporated into the other packs described herein as well.
With continued reference to
Turning now to
To secure the pouch walls 404, 416 together, a connective element 456 is provided in the form of a three-sided zipper assembly runs the periphery of the pouch walls on each side but the base section side. By engaging the zipper pull all around the pouch walls, the pouch wall may be brought together and releasably secured forming a pouch cavity 409 (
The construction and use of the shoulder strap with modified stroller strap loops 468 is identical to the shoulder strap 368 described above for the organizer pack designated 300 and such description will not be repeated here. The accessory mat 433 is also constructed in a similar manner to the accessory mat 333 described above.
In use, assuming the unfolded, pre-packing configuration of
Each of the packs described above may be constructed of materials that render the pack bodies substantially flexible throughout or include one or more stiffening elements inserted at strategic locations to give the packs more form when folded into the transport configuration. More rigid materials may also be used to impart more rigidity into the packs. While the flexibility of the packs provides certain advantages, hard plastic or leather materials may be used in constructing the pack. Fold wells, fold lines, seams, hinges and the like are provided between sections to accommodate the folding and packing process.
The pack bodies are generally constructed of an outer layer of fabric sewn to a similarly dimensioned inner layer of fabric forming an exterior bag body surface and interior bag body surface. The outer edges of the bag bodies may be finished off with conventional ¼ inch filled piping circumscribing the perimeter of the bag body if desired or plastic piping. The packs may be constructed of nylon, polyester, cloth, canvas, hard leather, soft leather, denim, and other suitable textiles. For some applications, the selected material may be selected from a substantially waterproof or water resistant material or treated with a waterproof material. This prevents personal articles that may leak from spreading to other compartments in the pack body. In addition, a wet towel may be placed in one the pockets without concern of dampening the other articles. By providing a waterproof exterior surface, the items in the pockets are further protected from exterior moisture.
The pockets of each pack may be formed by sewing, adhering, welding or using other suitable joining techniques to join the three sides of a substantially rectangular sheet or sheets to the interior surface of the respective bag body. A fourth edge of the sheet forms an opening into the respective pocket compartments that may be closed using conventional closure devices such as plastic or metal zippers, hook and loop closures, buttons, snaps, magnetic snaps, and other suitable closure devices. It is not necessary to use a closure device however. In some instances, it is preferable to use clear plastic sheets or a see-through mesh material to form a viewing window or a portion of a viewing window so that the contents of the pocket may be easily ascertained without having to open the pocket and remove the contents one at a time until the desired article is retrieved.
To maximize the storage capacity of the bag body, it is also preferable to provide pockets across the entire width and height of the bag body with fold well or pivotal connections at intermediate locations to facilitate folding of the bag body even when the pockets are full but smaller pocket configurations may also be used. In addition, the pockets openings are generally configured parallel to the outer edges of the rectangular bag body. In addition, the vertical and inwardly facing openings of each pocket reduce the likelihood of any articles falling out of a pocket during transport even if the closures are left open. The interior facing pockets also reduce the likelihood of theft of important articles during transport. It will further be appreciated that the interior facing pockets and changing pads cooperate to cushion the articles stored in the organizer packs during transportation.
The pockets are constructed primarily to received flattened, substantially flattened, compressible, or relatively non-bulky items. The pockets may include gussets, expandable fabric, or be constructed with accordion-like side walls to provide for more capacity if desired. Other pocket configurations and opening positions and orientations will occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. The use of an all plastic sealable pocket may also allow the user to compress the pocket to drive the air out and then seal the pocket to reduce the profile of the pocket even more. While several exemplary embodiments have been described above, other suitable pocket, pocket openings, and fold well configurations may be used.
While certain fasteners, retainers, connective elements, or closure devices such as hooks and loop type fasteners, buckles and bayonet clips, zippers, lanyards, and elastic restraining bands have been described herein, it will be appreciated that snaps, ties, buttons, magnets, releasable adhesives or other suitable complementary fasteners may be used in place of or in combination with those fasteners. Also, where a sewn article is indicated, adhesion, welding, and other suitable joining techniques including those mentioned herein may be used. Also, the dimensions discussed herein are not meant to be limiting in any manner or other suitable dimensions will occur to one of ordinary skill in the art.
In addition, a removable pocket releasably attached to the anchor strip for transporting toiletries, for example, may be substituted for or in addition to the accessory mat. Such removable pocket may be clipped onto or otherwise releasably secured to the interior surface of the pouch body as with the accessory mat and removed by the user as desired thus providing additional interior storage and facilitating removal of a single pocket for short trips instead of the entire pack. Such removable pocket as with the accessory should ideally be constructed to fit within the confines of the pack during transport.
While the present invention has been described herein in terms of a number of preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that various changes, uses, and improvements may also be made to the invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof.
Claims
1. A portable accessory organizer pack for increasing storage capacity and facilitating assembly between unpacking/packing and transportation ready configurations comprising:
- a pouch body with a base section interposed between two pouch walls, each pouch wall being hingedly coupled to opposing spaced apart regions of the base section and having a storage surface with at least one pocket having an innermost surface, the pouch walls further being rotatable relative to the base section between a first position with the storage surfaces substantially opposing one another to a second position with the storage surface of each pouch wall disposed in substantially the same plane;
- a connective element constructed to releasably couple the pouch walls together into a transportation ready configuration with the pouch walls, the base section, and the connective element cooperating to maintain the spacing of the innermost surfaces of the pouch wall storage surfaces apart from one another to form a substantially enclosed pouch cavity while leaving at least one opening between the pouch walls providing access into the pouch cavity when the connective element is engaged, the connective element being further constructed to free the pouch walls to rotate about the base section into a substantially flat unpacking/packing configuration exposing and providing access to each of the storage surface pockets of the pouch walls; and
- a covering flap hingedly coupled to the pouch body and including an auxiliary storage surface with at least one interior facing flap pocket, the covering flap being constructed to rotate relative to the pouch body to extend from the pouch body positioning the interior facing flap pocket in substantially the same plane as the pouch wall pockets when the connective element is disengaged providing access to all interior facing pockets and further constructed to rotate relative to the pouch body so that a user may selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the pouch cavity opening when the pouch body is in a transportation ready configuration.
2. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:
- a carrying strap secured to the pouch body or covering flap and constructed to be exposed when the pack is in the transport configuration.
3. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- the connective element forms opposing side walls of the pouch cavity.
4. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 3 wherein:
- the connective element extends from the base section to a point proximate the uppermost extent of the pouch walls.
5. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- the pouch walls, the base section, and the covering flap include exterior surfaces that reside in substantially the same plane when the connective element is disengaged and the covering flap extended.
6. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- at least one of the pockets includes a substantially see-through pocket covering forming a viewing window.
7. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- the pouch body and covering flap are constructed of a substantially flexible material.
8. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- the connective element forms a side wall of the pouch cavity and further includes at least one auxiliary pocket.
9. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- the covering flap is constructed to cover the entire opening of the pouch cavity.
10. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- the pouch body includes a first covering flap fastener element; and
- the covering flap includes a complementary covering flap fastener operable to releasably secure the covering flap to the pouch body with the interior flap pocket abutting an exterior surface of one of the pouch walls.
11. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:
- at least one pocket on an exterior surface of the pouch body or covering flap.
12. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 3 wherein:
- the connective element extends from the uppermost extent of the pouch walls toward the base section leaving at least one gap into the pouch cavity proximate the base section.
13. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 3 wherein:
- the connective element extends between the uppermost extent of the pouch walls and the base section leaving at least one upper gap opening and at least one lower gap opening into the pouch cavity.
14. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 3 wherein:
- the connective element includes a set of spaced apart connective strips operable to releasably secure the pouch walls together.
15. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- the pouch walls are substantially parallel to one another when the connective element is engaged.
16. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:
- an accessory mat constructed to fold up within the profile of the pouch body when the pouch body is in the transport configuration; and
- an anchoring element on the interior surface of the pouch body constructed to releasably secure the accessory mat to the pouch body.
17. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:
- a carrying strap coupled to the pouch body and having at least one separable section constructed to encircle and releasably engage a bar to suspend the pack therefrom.
18. The organizer pack as set forth in claim 2 wherein:
- the carrying strap is a single loop shoulder strap;
- an exterior surface of the pouch body or flap section includes a strap converter constructed to releasably capture a portion of the carrying strap to subdivide the single loop shoulder strap into a dual loop backpack strap.
19. A portable accessory organizer pack for increasing storage capacity and facilitating assembly between unpacking/packing and transportation ready configurations comprising:
- a pouch body with a base section interposed between and hingedly connected to an outer pouch wall with an outermost free edge and an inner pouch wall terminating in an uppermost hinge element, each of the pouch walls having an interior surface and an exterior surface and being independently rotatable through a substantially one hundred eighty degree arc relative to the base section;
- a strap retention section extending from the hinge element of the inner pouch wall and further extending into an elongated covering flap with an interior surface, the covering flap being constructed to pivot about the hinge element from a pouch cavity access position aligning the interior surfaces of the inner pouch wall and the covering flap in substantially the same plane to a covering position with the interior surface of the covering flap abutting the exterior surface of the outer pouch wall;
- at least one pocket on each of the interior surfaces of the pouch walls and covering flap;
- a pair of opposing connective elements projecting between the base section and a region proximate the top of each pouch wall, the connective elements being constructed to releasably secure the pouch walls together with the interior surfaces of the pouch walls opposing one another in a spaced apart, parallel relationship to form a pouch cavity with a top opening at least partially coverable by the covering flap, the connective elements further being constructed to free the pouch walls to rotate away from one another about the base section into a substantially flat configuration; and
- a carrying strap coupled at opposing ends to the strap retention section for suspending the pack during transport whereby a user may selectively engage the connective elements to couple the pouch walls together and pivot the covering flap over onto the pouch body to cover the top opening of the pouch cavity to form the pack into a transport configuration and also pivot the covering flap away from the pouch body into a position extending from the inner pouch wall and selectively disengage the connective elements to pivot the pouch walls away from one another to position the interior surfaces of the pouch walls and covering flap in substantially the same plane exposing all of the interior pockets in each of the pouch walls and covering flap.
20. A portable accessory organizer pack for increasing storage capacity and facilitating assembly between unpacking/packing and transportation ready configurations comprising:
- a pouch body with an inner pouch wall and an outer pouch wall hingedly coupled to opposing spaced apart regions of a base section interposed therebetween, each pouch wall having an interior facing storage surface with at least one pocket and being rotatable relative to the base section between a first position with the storage surfaces substantially opposing one another in a spaced apart relationship to a second position with the storage surface of each pouch wall disposed in substantially the same plane;
- a connective element on each side of the pouch body constructed to releasably couple the pouch walls together into a transportation ready configuration with the pouch walls, the base section, and the connective element forming a substantially enclosed pouch cavity while leaving at least one opening between the pouch walls when the connective element is fully engaged providing access into the pouch cavity, the connective element being further constructed to free the pouch walls to rotate about the base section into a substantially flat configuration exposing and providing access to each of the interior facing pockets of the pouch walls;
- a flap element hingedly coupled to the pouch body and including an auxiliary storage surface including at least one interior facing flap pocket, the flap being constructed to rotate relative to the pouch body to extend the flap element from the pouch body exposing the interior facing flap pocket when the pouch body is in the unpacking/packing configuration and further constructed to rotate relative to the pouch body to cover at least a portion of the pouch cavity opening when the pouch body is in a transportation ready configuration;
- an accessory mat with a first fastener element having an unfolded profile larger than the pouch body in at least one dimension and constructed to fold up to fit within the profile of the pouch body when the connective element is engaged;
- a complementary second fastener element disposed on the interior surface of the pouch body constructed to align with the first fastener element and releasably secure the accessory mat to the pouch body;
- a strap length reducer on the exterior surface of the pouch body; and
- a carrying strap having opposing ends coupled to the pouch body or covering flap and constructed to be selectively captured by the strap length reducer to bisect the carrying strap into two loops, the carrying strap further including at least one separable section constructed to encircle and releasably capture a support bar to suspend the pack therefrom.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 18, 2008
Publication Date: May 7, 2009
Inventor: Lisa A. Landay (San Clemente, CA)
Application Number: 12/253,964
International Classification: A45F 4/00 (20060101); A45F 3/00 (20060101);