Bag Converter

Abstract

Described is an apparatus that includes an outer strap having a first end and a second end that are releasably connected. The apparatus also includes an inner strap permanently connected to the outer strap and configured to be connected to a first bag strap, wherein the outer strap is configured to loop around the first bag strap and a second bag strap causing the first bag strap to form two loops, where the two loops allow a user to wear the bag as a backpack.

Description

FIELD

The exemplary embodiments are related to the field of briefcases, satchels and bags. Specifically, the field of the invention relates to a convertible, self-adjusting, multimodal strap system for bags and packs and is used to convert a strap on a bag or a briefcase into a backpack like configuration.

BACKGROUND

Back and shoulder pain caused by carrying a briefcase or a similar type of bag over the shoulder is a well known and well documented issue. The design of bags and briefcases, especially if they have straps, is not conducive to being carried over long distances or over long periods of time. Due to the weight of the bag being placed on one side of the body, this could create a strain on the body and contribute to chronic pain that exacerbates over time. Furthermore, simply carrying a bag may be impractical, such as when riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, etc. where carrying the bag with one hand is potentially hazardous.

SUMMARY

In one exemplary embodiment, a bag converter is described that includes an outer strap having a first end and a second end that are releasably connected and an inner strap permanently connected to the outer strap and configured to be connected to a first bag strap, wherein the outer strap is configured to loop around the first bag strap and a second bag strap causing the first bag strap to form two loops, where the two loops allow a user to wear the bag as a backpack.

The bag converter utilizes two straps. One strap is the outer strap and the other is the inner strap. The inner strap may be secured inside the outer strap to allow the bag converter to remain connected to a bag when the bag converter is not in use.

The outer strap has connective ends that can loop around the band or handle of a briefcase or bag and where one connective end of the strap can connect to the other connective end.

The connective ends of the outer strap are releasably connectable and may be comprised of any material such as buckles, metal rings with Velcro, buttons and rivets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a first view of the bag converter according to the exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a second view of the bag converter according to the exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a third view of the bag converter when in use with a bag according to the exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a fourth view of the bag converter when in use with a bag according to the exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 5 shows a fifth view of the bag converter when in use with a bag according to the exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows a first view of the bag converter 1 comprising an outer strap 10 and an inner strap 20. As shown in this exemplary embodiment, the inner strap 20 is secured to an inner surface 15 of the outer strap 10 at location 13. The location 13 may be at any point along the length of the outer strap 10. In some exemplary embodiments, the location 13 is the midpoint of the length of the outer strap 10, about two-thirds along the length of the outer strap 10, about four-fifths along the length of the outer strap 10, etc. The inner strap 20 may be connected to the outer strap 10 in any known manner such as by rivets, sewing, fabric welding, etc. The outer strap 10 may be made of any material that exhibits strength to perform the functions described herein for the outer strap 10. For example, the outer strap 10 may be constructed of folded leather, canvas, nylon, a combination thereof, etc.

The outer strap 10 loops around a ring 14 at each of the ends of the outer strap 10, and these rings 14 can be made of any hard substance including, but not limited to, metal, plastic, etc. Upon looping around the rings 14, the ends of the outer strap 10 are secured to the outer strap 10 by rivets 11 to create a secure loop to hold the rings 14. Other methods of creating secure loops may also be used such as sewing, gluing, fabric welding, etc. the ends of the outer strap 10 to create the loops.

The rings 14 at the end of the outer strap 10 connect to connective ends 12 that may be, but are not limited to, buckles, connective buttons, etc. The connective ends 12 allow the outer strap 10 to be releasably coupled, e.g., forming a loop when coupled as shown in FIG. 1 or a straight strap when not coupled. The connective ends 12 may be made of any material that allows the releasable connection to be made, including, but not limited to, metal, plastic, Velcro, etc.

FIG. 2 shows a second view of the bag converter 1 displaying both the outer strap 10 and the inner strap 20, with a greater emphasis on where the location of the inner strap 20 is placed. The inner strap 20 may form a loop into itself on the inside of the outer strap 10 and may be made of, for example, leather, canvas, nylon, elastic, a combination thereof, etc. The inner strap 20 loops around and connects to itself using, for example, adhesive ends 13 which can be made of, but are not limited to, Velcro, connective buttons, buckles, etc. Thus, the adhesive ends 13 may be any material that allows the inner strap to be formed into a releasable loop. In a further exemplary embodiment, the inner strap 20 may be permanently looped, e.g., the inner strap 20 may be made of a single piece of material that is secured to itself via sewing, fabric welding, rivets, etc., to form a permanent loop.

FIG. 3 shows a third view of the bag converter 1 when in use with a bag. In this exemplary embodiment, the outer strap 10 is wrapped around both a handle 33 of a bag 30 and a strap 36 of the bag 36. The inner strap 20 wraps around the strap 36 of the bag 30. The outer strap 10 is intended to encompass both the handle 33 of the bag 30 and the strap 36 of the bag 30. Specifically, the outer strap 10 loops around the handle 33 and the strap 36 of the bag 30 and connective ends 12 of the outer strap 10 are connected to each other to form a loop out of the outer strap 10. The inner strap 20 loops around the strap 36 of the bag 30 and the adhesive ends 13 of the inner strap 20 connect to each other within the inner strap 20 to loon a loop of the inner strap 20. The inner strap 20 is used to secure the bag converter 1 to the strap 36 when the outer strap 10 is not formed into a loop.

FIG. 4 shows a fourth view of the bag converter 1 when in use with a bag. In this exemplary embodiment, the outer strap 10 is wrapped around both the handle 33 and the strap 36 of the bag 30. Again, the inner strap 20 inside the outer strap 10 wraps around the strap 36 of the bag 30 to secure the bag converter 1 to the bag 30. As will be described in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 5, connecting the outer strap 10 to the handle 33 and the strap 36 of the bag 30 allows the strap 36 of the bag to be converted into two large loops rather than a single loop

FIG. 5 shows a fifth view of the bag converter 1 when in use with a bag 30. When not in use, the bag converter 1 is designed to be attached to the strap 36 via the inner strap 20. Thus, when not in use, the bag converter 1 may be attached to the strap 36 and may hang at the side of the bag 30 near one of the buckles that attach the strap 36 to the bag. While not apparent from the drawings, the bag converter 1 is small and should not be noticed when hanging from the bag 30. In another exemplary embodiment, the user may remove the bag converter 1 from the strap 36 when not in use and store the bag converter 1 in the bag when ready to be used.

When the user wants to use the bag converter 1, the user may move the bag converter 1 from one of the sides of strap 36 to a more central location of the strap 36 by pulling the inner strap 20 to the central location. When in the central location, the user may then secure the outer strap 10 around both the strap 36 and the handle 30 as shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4. As described above, this will cause the strap 36 to form two loops as shown in FIG. 5. Each of these loops will be large enough to slide a person's arm through, much like a backpack.

Since the loops formed by the bag converter 1 and the strap 36 are large enough for a person to put their arms through, the bag 30 may be carried similar to a backpack even though the bag 30 is not designed to be a backpack. The bag converter 1 may be used with any bag that includes a handle and a strap such as illustrated in the figures to convert the bag into a backpack like bag for carrying. When the user has reached their destination, the user may disconnect the outer strap 10 from around the strap 36 and handle 30 and resume to carry the bag as it was originally designed to be carried. As described above, the bag converter 1 may continue to be attached to the strap 36 via the inner strap 20 when the outer strap 10 is released or as described above, the inner strap 20 may also be released and the bag converter 1 may be stored in the bag 30 when not in use.

The bag converter 1 solves the issue of back and shoulder pains caused by carrying a briefcase or a similar type of bag 30 over the shoulder by moving the mass of the bag 30 from the side, hung by the strap 36, to the center of a user's back. This allows the person carrying the bag 30 to no longer have to suffer back pains due to the awkward placement of the bag 30 and its strap 36 on the person's shoulders and back. The bag converter 1 also allows a user to use the backpack like configuration when in transit, e.g., riding a bike, skateboard, on the subway, etc., but then the bag can be reconverted back to the original configuration when the user reaches a destination such as a meeting location where the user does not want to carry the bag in the backpack configuration.

In another exemplary embodiment, either the outer strap 10 or the inner strap 20 may have an adjustable length. This adjustable length may be implemented by any known manner such as by a clip or buckle that allows the straps 10 or 20 to be slidable with respect to the other portions of the strap to vary the length. This variable length may allow, for example, the outer strap 10 to more securely connect to the strap 36 and handle 33 of the bag 30 to form the backpack configuration. It may also be useful to adjust the straps 10 or 20 to different sizes or types of bag straps or handles.

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

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

an outer strap having a first end and a second end that are releasably connected; and

an inner strap permanently connected to the outer strap and configured to be connected to a first bag strap, wherein the outer strap is configured to loop around the first bag strap and a second bag strap causing the first bag strap to form two loops, where the two loops allow a user to wear the bag as a backpack.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outer strap includes at least one ring coupled to one of the first end or second end and a connective end to releasably connect the first and second ends.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outer strap is constructed of one of leather, canvas, nylon, or a combination thereof.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner strap is constructed of one of leather, canvas, nylon, elastic or a combination thereof.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner strap includes a first end and a second end that are releasably connected.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner strap is permanently connected to an inner side of the outer strap.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the inner strap is permanently connected to the inner strap at a location that is between one-fifth and four-fifths of a length of the outer strap.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the inner strap or outer strap has an adjustable length.