Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Article held by receiver
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-25
2001-01-30
Cronin, Stephen K. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Article held by receiver
C224S153000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179186
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a backpack as set forth in the preamble to the appended claim
1
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional backpacks usually have a sack made of a flexible material and comprise a front side facing a carrier, which side is either soft or comprises a frame. Such backpacks are suitable for carrying soft and durable objects, such as clothing, but they are less suitable for many other cumbersome and fragile objects, such as papers, books, binders, portable computers, and cameras. There are particular problems when the backpack is used in connection with various activities where there is a risk that the backpack will be subjected to blows and knocks.
There are also backpacks which comprise a dimensionally stable container for holding various objects. When the backpack is formed as a dimensionally stable container, e.g. from plastic, comfort problems arise. It is uncomfortable to carry a hard container directly against one's back. There have been various attempts to solve this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,640 discloses a backpack which is made of a semi-rigid material throughout. For ease of carrying, the front side of the backpack has been given a curved profile in order to adapt it to the back of a carrier to a certain extent. However, neither does this construction achieve a backpack which is particularly comfortable to carry, especially for individuals whose body shape deviates from the shape to which the backpack is adapted.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,108 discloses a rigid “backbox”, which has an inflatable air cushion facing the back of the carrier. A mouldable surface is formed against the carrier, but the “backbox” becomes cumbersome and is hardly comfortable to carry for a long period of time. In addition, the construction shown presents a clear risk of the carrier being injured by sharp corners and edges of the “backbox”, e.g. in the case of a fall.
SE 503,777 describes a portable storage device with a dimensionally stable container and a separate harness, which has its own dimensionally stable back piece forming a surface for the carrier in front of the container. This construction also becomes cumbersome and difficult to adapt to carriers of various body shapes and creates a risk of the carrier being injured, e.g. in the case of a fall.
The two latter constructions have the drawback that they are difficult to carry with a heavy load, since the centre of gravity ends up being low and too far behind the carrier.
Carrying objects on one's back is ergonomically correct, relatively comfortable, and less tiring than carrying objects in other ways. There is thus a need for an improved type of backpack which is easy to handle and which, moreover, enables the carrying of objects which in many situations are presently unsuitable for carrying in existing types of backpack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a backpack, which is an improvement on the known constructions described above.
In this connection, a particular object is to provide a backpack which is suitable for carrying fragile objects and which at the same time is comfortable and easy to handle.
These and other objects, which can be seen from the description below, have now been achieved by the invention by means of a backpack which is of the type described in the introductory part and which, in addition, has the features recited in the characterising part of claim
1
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Thus, the backpack according to the invention has a casing which surrounds a space.
The casing has a flexible front wall, which directly adjoins the space and is intended to be facing the back of a carrier. In this way, a backpack is provided which is comfortable to carry by virtue of the fact that the front wall can conform to the shape of the carrier's back and which, moreover, by virtue of the absence of dimensionally stable panels facing the back of the carrier, is lightweight and easy to handle and carry.
The casing has a dimensionally stable shell means extending from the front wall. In this way, a space is extended which maintains its shape and volume regardless of whether or not an object is placed in the space. In this connection, it is possible for a carrier to pack fragile objects, as well as to carry these objects in a safe and comfortable manner.
Making the side of the casing facing the back flexible and making the rest of the walls defining the space rigid, takes advantage of the fact that the carrier's back constitutes an essentially flat surface and thus only achieves small curvatures and little action upon the front wall in connection with carrying. At the same time, the flexible wall in a simple way permits formation in accordance with the back of a carrier, resulting in good ease of carrying.
In connection with the invention, a flexible wall refers to a pliable or formable wall with no substantial rigidity or ability in itself to maintain a given shape when being acted upon by an external force. In connection with the invention, a dimensionally stable shell means refers to a shell means capable of maintaining its given shape despite being acted upon by a certain degree of external force.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are stated in the subclaims.
In a preferred embodiment, a lower portion of the front wall is connected to a lower portion of the shell means. By the fact that the connection between the rigid shell means and the flexible front wall is arranged along a portion, i.e. an extent with a certain area, in the lower area of the casing instead of along an edge, one avoids uncomfortable and dangerous edges cutting into the back of the carrier in the area where the horizontally acting forces between the backpack and the carrier are the greatest. In this connection, it is a particularly preferred feature that the lower portion of the shell means, which portion is connected to the front wall, comprises a supporting surface arranged along the front wall for resting against a carrier.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the lower portion of the shell means, which portion is connected to the front wall, has a backwardly curved portion below the supporting surface. In this way, good adaptation is achieved to the shape of the lower part of the back in different people, while the lower edge of the shell means faces away from the carrier, whereby the risk of injury in connection with blows and knocks is avoided.
In a particularly preferred embodiment the shell means is detachably connected to the other parts of the backpack. In this way, the backpack can be divided into one rigid part and one flexible part.
According to one aspect of the invention, it comprises a backpack with a casing which has one soft or flexible part and one rigid or hard part. The rigid part comprises a shell means which in the downward, backward, and sideways directions defines a space in the backpack. The soft part comprises the front wall of the space, which at the same time forms a back panel facing the back of a carrier, and carrying straps connected thereto. The shell means is directly connected to the lower portion of the front wall. Moreover, the shell means has upper front portions which are connected to the front wall, either directly thereto or by the intermediary of wall portions associated with the soft part, which form part of the side walls of the space. It is of substantial importance to the invention that the shell means is considerably more rigid than the front wall.
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patent: 4088252 (1978-05-01), Grunberger
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patent: 4750654 (1988-06-01), Menetrier
patent: 5004135 (1991-04-01), Dufournet et al.
Brevard Maerena W.
Cronin Stephen K.
Global Act AB
Smith , Gambrell & Russell, LLP
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