Combination jacket and backpack

Abstract

A combination jacket and backpack with a jacket type garment, a sleeve to body connecting device and a body panel closure. The sleeve to body connecting device allows the distal end of the left and right arm sleeve to be releasably connected to the right and left lower portion of the body of the jacket. The body panel closure, such as a zipper, is attached to the left and right side of the bottom edge of the jacket body allowing the bottom edge of the jacket body to be sealed. The jacket garment is capable of being used as a backpack when the right and left arm sleeves to act as a backpack strap and the body closure creates a sealed bottom of the backpack so that items can be stored within the body panels of the jacket.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of convertible garments and more specifically to a combination jacket and backpack.

Outerwear garments such as jackets are well known around the world and are used during mild to cold climate conditions to help keep the wearer warm. Occasionally, a person has the need to carry items in a backpack, which is a bag that be worn on a person's back and shoulders, where left and right straps extend vertically from the top of the bag to an area near the bottom of the bag. In some instances, it would be helpful to convert a jacket into a backpack, for example when a person travels to a grocery store, buys several items and then wants to carry those items in a convenient way, but only has the jacket he or she is wearing and no carry bag or backpack. In this case it would be ideal, in mild weather circumstances, to be able to covert the jacket into a backpack which could be worn on the user's shoulders thereby making carrying the grocery items more convenient to carry.

Others have explored the idea of incorporating a backpack into a jacket, so that it was always available when needed. For example, Toru Itoi in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,629 discloses a jacket and bag combination where a person can cinch closed the bottom of the jacket and use two rope-like straps to hold the resulting bag onto the user's back. Many other patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,970,316 and 4,689,831 and 6,654,388 all describe designs that incorporate bag or backpack into a jacket, so that both the jacket and the backpack can be used at the same time. However, these designs may not look stylish because of the additional bag feature sewn onto a jacket.

However, none of the designs in the prior art use the arms of the jacket as the backpack straps so that the jacket looks perfectly normal when being used as a jacket, but can be easily converted to a backpack without the use of extraneous ropes or other accessories that may take away from the stylish look of the jacket.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide a jacket that can be quickly and easily transformed into a backpack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a jacket that turns into a backpack where the arms of the jacket act as the carrying straps for the backpack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a jacket that looks like a normal jacket, with no visual abnormalities, that can transform into a backpack.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a combination jacket and backpack comprising: a jacket type garment, a sleeve to body connecting means, a body panel closure means, said sleeve to body connecting means allowing the distal end of the left and right arm sleeve to be releasably connected to the right and left lower portion of the body of said jacket, said body panel closure means attached to the left and right side of the bottom edge of said jacket body allowing the bottom edge of said jacket body to be sealed, and said jacket garment capable of being used as a backpack when said right and left arm sleeves to act as backpack straps and said body closure means creates a sealed bottom of said backpack and where items can be stored within the body of said jacket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the bottom of the jacket body in the open position

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the bottom of the jacket body in the closed position.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the invention with the arms connected as straps.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the invention being worn by a person.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

Referring now to FIG. 1 we see a front view of the combination jacket and backpack of the present invention. The front body panels 18, 26 from the front of the jacket, and a rear body panel 36 forms the rear of the jacket. A zipper 20 connects the two front panels 18, 26. Arms 22, 24 are attached to the panels 18, 26 in a standard way. Pockets 14, 16 are sewn to arm sleeves 22, 24 and can be the same color as the jacket material thereby making them almost invisible. Pockets 10, 12 are sewn onto front panels 18, 26 in a similar way. Zippers 2, 4 are shown in the unzipped position where zipper pulls 6, 8 are at the extreme right and left of the jacket panels 18, 26. The jacket in its current configuration can be worn as a normal jacket for protection from wind and cold.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing the zippers 2, 4 in the unzipped position. This is the position of the zippers 2, 4 when the invention is being used as a standard jacket

FIG. 3 is a partial front view showing the zippers 2, 4 in the zipped position so that the bottom of the jacket can form the bottom of a backpack as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the jacket with snap fasteners 30, 32 attached to straps 28, 34 forming a connection between the bottom portion of the arms 22, 24 and the bottom sides of the jacket panels 18, 26. Straps 28, 34 are sewn at one end into the inside of pockets 12, 14. The same is true with the left arm 24 and corresponding jacket panel 26.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a person 40 wearing the combination jacket and backpack of the present invention while it is in the backpack mode. Arm pieces 22 act as the straps for the backpack. Connectors 30, 32 act to removably retain the bottom of the arm piece 22 to the bottom of the jacket panel 18. The same is true when seen from the opposite direction where arm piece 24 is connected to jacket panel 26.

In the above described and illustrated way, the combination jacket and backpack of the present invention allows a person to wear a stylish jacket, with no obvious sign of a second use, and then to transform the jacket into a backpack without using any other major components except for the connector straps that were previously hidden in pockets that blend in with the rest of the jacket design. The body of the jacket forms the item holding enclosure of the backpack. The bottom of the backpack is sealed by zippers 2, 4 thereby creating a bottom to the holding enclosure of the backpack.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. combination jacket and backpack comprising:

a jacket type garment;

a sleeve to body connecting means;

a body panel closure means;

said sleeve to body connecting means allowing the distal end of the left and right arm sleeve to be releasably connected to the right and left lower portion of the body of said jacket;

said body panel closure means attached to the left and right side of the bottom edge of said jacket body allowing the bottom edge of said jacket body to be sealed; and

said jacket garment capable of being used as a backpack when said right and left arm sleeves to act as a backpack strap and said body closure means creates a sealed bottom of said backpack and where items can be stored within the body panels of said jacket.

2. combination jacket and backpack as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sleeve to body connecting means is a snap fastener.

3. combination jacket and backpack as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body panel closure means is one zipper that seals the left side of the bottom of said body panel and a second zipper that seals the right side of said body panel.

4. combination jacket and backpack as claimed in claim 1 further comprising pockets sewn to the outer portion of said jacket sleeves and said body panel to conceal said sleeve to body connecting means when not in use.