Flexible bags – Lifting or suspending element – Unitary with bag
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-06
2001-05-01
Shoap, Allan N. (Department: 3727)
Flexible bags
Lifting or suspending element
Unitary with bag
C383S022000, C383S025000, C383S037000, C383S063000, C383S113000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06224258
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a storage system used to store objects, and, more particularly, to a storage system used in an outdoor environment.
2. Description of Related Art
People enjoy many outdoor activities, such as water activities involving boats, such as canoeing, rowing, water-skiing, fishing and so forth. In participating in such water activities, an individual must deal with the fact that water, while necessary for the intended activity, is often detrimental to any personal effects he or she may be carrying, including wallets, watches, keys, printed matter, food, electronic items, and bottles or cans of insect repellent, sunscreen and the like. Particularly in canoeing, in which there is always an increased possibility of capsizing, as compared to other types of boating, an individual constantly has the nagging responsibility of trying to maintain the dryness of his or her personal belongings.
To deal with this situation, various strategies have been employed. Some individuals simply minimize the personal belongings taken into the boat, keeping only essential items, such as keys, with them during the activity. While effective to a degree, this approach often results in personal hardship and/or deprivation to the user. Moreover, the determination of essentialness may vary from person to person, and may even vary for the same person within a given day. For example, sunscreen that was determined to be non-essential in the morning may be re-evaluated to be essential as a blistering sunburn develops, and snack items that were foregone early in the day may become more important as the boating excursion extends beyond the planned return time.
Other individuals place their personal belongings in waterproof containers, such as watertight coolers or sealable plastic containers, and keep these containers with them in the boat. While effective at keeping items dry, this approach reduces precious leg-room in the boat. Furthermore, if the boat does capsize, the individuals become immediately preoccupied with righting the boat, and have little time or ability to retrieve the container. The containers may in some cases be tied to the boat to prevent their separation from the boat at the time of capsizing. However, if there is more than one container, or if the container is not configured with a through-hole or other structure to receive the tying member, this may not be feasible. Additionally, if only one or two watertight containers are available, it is inevitable that it/they will end up holding the personal belongings of everyone in the boat, making it difficult to locate and/or retrieve one's personal belongings when desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To deal with the above situations, the invention provides a bag that can be easily secured to a structure, such as a canoe strut, tree branch, swimming pool structure, picnic table, chair or the like, by a securing device. A plurality of different bags may be provided, each being releasably attached to the same securing device. The bags may be of different shapes, sizes, colors, or materials, depending on the needs and/or preferences of the buyer. For example, a set of bags of progressively larger sizes (i.e., small, medium, large, extra-large) may be provided, and/or one or more bags of the set may be transparent, to allow ready identification of their contents, while other bags of the set may be opaque, to provide privacy or to protect light-sensitive items. Any or all of the bags may be colored by adding colored pigment to the material of the bags. Furthermore, the bags may be waterproof reclosable bags and/or non-watertight breathable bags.
The securing device may be a flexible, elongate member having two ends, one of which is passed through or around a structure such as a canoe strut, tree branch, swimming pool structure, picnic table, chair or the like and attached to the other end to form a closed loop. For example, the securing device may be a ball chain, a nylon web with a plastic snap-lock fastener, or even a plain rope.
Each bag has its own fastener that can be attached to the securing device. For example, the fastener can be a snap hook. The fastener is attached to the bag by first providing at least one grommet in the plastic bag, and then attaching the snap hook to the bag by threading the snap hook through the grommet, or by connecting the snap hook to the bag via an intermediate member such as a split key ring, a length of ball chain or the like.
Adhesive is preferably provided between the grommet and the bag material. This adhesive may, for example, be provided as a double-sided adhesive plastic tab.
Additionally, one or more bags may be provided with at least one protective insert to protect fragile or sensitive items and/or to provide additional flotation for relatively heavy objects.
Furthermore, a desiccant package may be provided in any or all of the bags to reduce or eliminate moisture introduced through condensation or when the bags are opened.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments.
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Hylton Robin A
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Shoap Allan N.
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