Flexible bag including bottle carrier sections

Abstract

A flexible bag including bottle carrier sections having a plurality of side sections and end sections configured to carry wine bottles. An interior portion, defined by the side sections and end sections, configured to carry additional items. The bottle carrier sections include a flexible panel attached to the sides and ends of the flexible bag, where the bottle carrier sections are collapsible when not occupied.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a flexible bag and more particularly a flexible bag including bottle carrier sections for carrying a number of wine bottles and an interior section for carrying additional items.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Generally, many different types of bags for transporting products are commercially available and are provided in a variety of shapes and configurations. Bags dedicated to a particular use are also known, such as, for example, bags for containing grocery products and bags provided with partitions for containing bottles.

In most cases, these bags types of bags are separate, which is an inconvenience to the user because it is cumbersome carrying a number of separate bags. Moreover, placing many items together in a bag can be cumbersome or cause damage to fragile items. The objective of the invention is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above by providing a bag of increased functionality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a flexible bag including bottle carrier sections.

An advantage of the present invention is to provide a single multi-purpose bag configured to carry bottles and additional items.

An additional advantage is that when the bag is not carrying bottles or other items in the side areas, space remains for other items.

Additional advantages and features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a portable flexible bag includes a bottom, an upper open end, opposite side portions, opposite end portions, and a bottle carrier including multiple side sections on each side portion, wherein the side sections are adapted to receive a bottle and are collapsible onto the side portions when empty, further including at least one end section on each end portion, wherein the end sections are adapted to receive a bottle and are collapsible onto the end portions; and an inner containment portion surrounded by the multiple side sections and the end sections; and a strap secured to the portable bag.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the flexible bag including bottle carrier sections of this invention;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the flexible bag folded in a completely collapsed configuration;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a first side section of the flexible bag;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a second side section of the flexible bag;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the end sections of the flexible bag;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the interior region of the flexible bag;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view illustrating the bottle carrier sections in a collapsed configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a portable bag 10 in accordance with the invention. The portable bag 10 includes a rectangular cross-section with opposite longitudinal sides 12 and 14, opposite transverse or end faces 16 and 18, bottom 20 and an open upper end 22. Preferably, the bag 10 is constructed of a material which is sufficiently flexible enough to enable the bag to be folded and completely collapsed for storage when not in use, as shown in FIG. 1A. Exemplary materials include, but are not limited to, cloth, plastic or the like. A strap 24 is secured to the bag 10, as illustrated in the drawings, so as to provide a pair of inverted, U-shaped handles 26 and 28 which extend upwardly from the upper ends of longitudinal sides 12 and 14, respectively. The U-shaped handles 26 and 28 each have two ends 5 and 6, respectively, secured to the material of the bag 10. The bag 10, as illustrated, is designed to carry six wine bottles, but the same could be modified so as to carry eight, ten or twelve bottles if so desired.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a bottle carrier 30 is positioned within the bag 10 and includes multiple side sections 40, 50 and multiple end sections 60, 70. As shown in FIG. 2, side sections 40 are formed by securing a flexible panel of material 42 to the longitudinal side 12. The flexible panel 42 may include, for example, a cloth or plastic material and may be of the same or different material as the bag. Flexible panel 42 may have its end edges 44 and 46 secured to the seams 11 and 13, respectively, of the bag 10 and a mid-section 41 of the flexible panel 42 is secured to the longitudinal side 12. Alternatively, the flexible panel may be secured at varying locations within the bag such that suitable flexibility and interior distance is available to receive a bottle or other intended item. A first section S1 and a second section S2 are thus formed at interior sidewalls of the flexible bag. Flexible panel 42 may have an upper portion 43 and a lower portion 45, where the upper portion 43 is located a distance ‘d’ below the upper end 22 of the bag 10. Where distance ‘d’ can range, for example, from 2¾ to 3 inches. The bottom portion of the flexible panel 42 may be positioned adjacent the bottom 20 of the bag 10 or spaced a distance from the bottom 20 of the bag 10 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Thus, the flexible panel 42 is configured such that bottle 90 may be inserted into upper portion 43 and may extend below lower portion 45.

FIG. 3 illustrates side sections 50 formed by securing a flexible panel of material 52 to the longitudinal side 14. Flexible panel 52 may have its end edges 54 and 56 secured to the seams 15 and 17, respectively, of the bag 10. A mid-section 51 of the flexible panel 52 may be secured to the longitudinal side 14. Alternatively, the flexible panel may be secured at varying locations within the bag such that suitable flexibility and interior distance is available to receive a bottle or other intended item. A third section S3 and a fourth section S4 are formed at interior sidewalls of the flexible bag 10. Flexible panel 52 may have an upper portion 53 and a lower portion 55, where the upper portion 53 is located a distance ‘d’ below the upper end 22 of the bag 10. As stated above, distance ‘d’ can range, for example, from 2¾ to 3 inches. The bottom portion of the flexible panel 52 may be positioned adjacent the bottom 20 of the bag 10 or spaced a distance from the bottom 20 of the bag 10, as illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 illustrates side sections 40 and 50 as being collapsible onto the bag 10 when not occupied by a bottle or other item, whereby the interior region 80 may still be utilized.

FIG. 4 illustrates, end section 60 formed by securing a flexible panel of material 62 to the traverse side 16. Flexible panel 62 may have its end edges 64 and 66 secured to the seams 11 and 15, respectively, of the bag 10. Alternatively, the flexible panel may be secured at varying locations within the bag such that suitable flexibility and interior distance is available to receive a bottle or other intended item. A fifth section S5 is formed at an interior end portion of the flexible bag 10. Flexible panel 62 may have an upper portion 63 and a lower portion 65, where the upper portion 63 is also located a distance ‘d’ below the upper end 22 of the bag 10. The bottom portion of the flexible panel 62 may be positioned adjacent the bottom 20 of the bag 10 or spaced a distance from the bottom 20 of the bag 10 as illustrated in FIG. 4. Thus, the flexible panel 62 is configured such that bottle 90 may be inserted into upper portion 63 and may extend below lower portion 65.

End section 70, as illustrated in FIG. 4, may be formed by securing a flexible panel of material 72 to the traverse side 18. Flexible panel 72 may have its end edges 74 and 76 secured to the seams 13 and 17, respectively, of the bag 10. Alternatively, the flexible panel 72 may be secured at varying locations within the bag such that suitable flexibility and interior distance is available to receive a bottle or other intended item. A sixth section S6 is formed at an interior end portion of the flexible bag 10. Flexible panel 72 may have an upper portion 73 and a lower portion 75, where the upper portion 73 is also located a distance ‘d’ below the upper end 22 of the bag 10. The bottom portion of the flexible panel 72 may be positioned adjacent the bottom 20 of the bag 10 or spaced a distance from the bottom 20 of the bag 10 as illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 illustrates end sections 60 and 70 as being collapsible onto the bag 10 when not occupied by a bottle, whereby the interior region 80 may still be utilized.

As stated above, flexible panels 42, 52, 62 and 72 are secured to the bag 10 to form the sections S1-S6 of the bottle carrier 30. FIGS. 1 and 6 illustrate the flexible panels 42, 52, 62 and 72 as being secured to seams 11, 13, 15 and 17 of the bag 10. As shown, the flexible panels 42, 52, 62 and 72 include a width less than a height of the bag 10. Additionally, flexible panels 42, 52, 62 and 72 are configured to wrap around and secure the bottle 90 within each section S1-S6.

The bottle carrier 30 forms within the bag 10 an interior region 80, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The interior region 80 is centrally located and defined by the bottle carrier 30. The interior region 80 is provided to receive other items within the bag 10.

It should be noted that when items such as bottles 90 are inserted into the sections S1-S6 formed by the flexible panels 42, 52, 62, and 72 as described above, the bottles 90 may be held in an upright position to provide greater stability to the user of the bag. Moreover, as additional bottles 90 are inserted into the sections, contact between the bottles 90 is minimized reducing the possibility of damage that could be caused by such contact. Further, if fewer or no bottles 90 are placed in the bag 10, the flexible panels 42, 52, 62, or 72 of unused sections lie substantially flush with the interior wall of the bag allowing for storage space for other times. Thus, the present bag 10 offers utility and versatility to its user.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A portable flexible bag comprising:

a bottom;

an upper open end;

opposite side portions;

opposite end portions;

a bottle carrier including;

multiple side sections on each side portion, wherein the side sections are adapted to receive a bottle and are collapsible onto the side portions when empty;

at least one end section on each end portion, wherein the end sections are adapted to receive a bottle and are collapsible onto the end portions when empty; and

an inner containment portion surrounded by the multiple side sections and the end sections; and

a strap secured to the portable bag.

2. The bottle carrier of claim 1 wherein the side sections include an open upper portion and an open lower portion.

3. The bottle carrier of claim 2 wherein the open upper portion of the side sections is disposed a distance below the upper open end of the portable bag.

4. The bottle carrier of claim 1 wherein the end sections include an open upper portion and an open lower portion.

5. The bottle carrier of claim 3 wherein the open upper portion of the end section is disposed a distance below the upper open end of the portable bag.

6. The bottle carrier of claim 1 wherein the side sections include a contiguous fabric material secured to the side portions.

7. The bottle carrier of claim 6 wherein the contiguous fabric material is secured to the side portion thereby forming the side sections.

8. The bottle carrier of claim 6 wherein the side sections of each side portion are separated from each other.

9. The bottle carrier of claim 1 wherein the end sections are secured to the end portions.

10. The bottle carrier of claim 1 wherein the end sections are secured to a seam of the end portions of the portable bag.

11. The portable bag of claim 1 further comprising a flexible material.

12. The portable bag of claim 11 wherein the flexible material includes a cloth material.

13. The portable bag of claim 11 wherein the flexible material includes a plastic material.