Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Convertible or combined
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-30
2001-06-12
Vidovich, Gregory M. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Convertible or combined
C224S155000, C224S582000, C224S627000, C297S118000, C297S188010, C297S188200, C297S219100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244481
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to backpacks and, more particularly, to a backpack with pockets for transporting personal belongings that is carried on a user's back with a cushion between the user's back and the pockets as a comfort pad. The backpack cushion serves as a seat padding primarily for chairs and may also be used as a cushion for bleacher or stadium seats. Thus, for example, a student or sports fan is able to transport books, food, drink, clothing and the like to a school or a sports event in the backpack pockets and upon arrival unfold the pockets away from the cushion to avail the cushion as a soft seat over a desk seat or a hard bleacher bench.
2. Prior Art
Backpacks are commonplace in use, for example, as a carrier to conveniently transport a student's books and belongings to school, to transport a hiker's equipment and supplies, and other similar personal carrier use. The usual advantage is in supporting a substantial or inconvenient load on a user's torso, specifically the user's back, rather than the user's arms which would tire more quickly. It also frees up the user's arms for other use.
Seat cushions are also commonplace, for example, as portable pads that add comfort to a hard seating surface, such as hard desk chairs, bleachers or stadium seats. A sports fan may carry a seat cushion along with whatever other paraphernalia he might choose to have during a sporting event to the stadium, typically in bags or backpacks. It is known to have backpacks that anticipate that a user will want to carry a seat cushion or otherwise provide for a seat cushion. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,287 by Cormier teaches a cushion covered by a second member that together form a cavity for transporting belongings. When the second member is removed, the cushion is revealed, ready to sit on. U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,575 discloses a hunter's chair including a seat back and bottom strapped together and a detachable pack strapped to each seat bottom side to carry a hunter's supplies. During transport the pack is placed over the user's head with the seat back carried over the user's torso front and the seat back over the user's back with the side packs strapped to the seat bottom. U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,463 discloses a seat cushion pocket and pack for a stadium chair that straps the seat cushion in its pocket on the chair to a flap for holding personal belongings under the chair. For transport, the flap folds over the seat cushion pocket. It is not common, however, for a cushion to be adapted for use on a student desk seat while doubling as a book carrier.
None of the disclosures teaches a desk seat cushion with pockets for carrying books and personal belongings with the pockets folding away from the cushion and depending from the desk seat during use, the seat cushion also doubling as a backpack that is transportable on a user's back and a pad for buffering the pockets from the user's back.
SUMMARY
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat cushion with a plurality of foldaway pockets for carrying personal belongings. It is a further object that the cushion also double as a backpack. It is a further object that the seat cushion-backpack be comfortably carried on the user's back with a cushion between the backpack pockets and the user's back.
These objects are achieved in seat cushion comprising a pad large enough for a user to sit on during use and having fold-away pockets attached to pad sides that hang down from the seat, such as a student desk seat, with the pockets opening upward for ease of access to the seated student. During transport, the pockets fold over the cushion pad and close together in the general look of a traditional backpack, the pad rests against the user's back. To support the cushion-backpack, two arm straps are provided with ends attached to the pad back forming arm loops through which the user may place his arm and shoulders, respectively, thus bringing a pad first face against the user's back with the flaps on a pad second face opposite the first face putting the pad between the user's back and the flaps.
An outside flap is provided of size approximately that of the cushion that typically includes at least one pocket inside and one pocket outside the flap. It folds over the cushion on a fold line shared between the cushion and the flap where they are attached on a common portion of the perimeter of each. A zipper is shared around the perimeter of each, releasably joining them together and enclosing a storage cavity within. A second flap also with at least one pocket is attached to the cushion inside the zipper, typically on a side opposite the outside flap, on a fold line on a perimeter portion common between them. Similar to the second flap, a third flap with at least one pocket may be foldably attached to the cushion also inside the zipper on another cushion side, and likewise can a fourth flap be attached. All flaps are foldable over the cushion alternately for carrying with the outside flap being the last as an outside cover zipping the other flaps in the cavity within. And all flaps are also foldable on their respective folds lines away from the cushion availing the cushion for sitting on without obstruction of the personal belongings within their pockets.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3763972 (1973-10-01), Karzmar
patent: 4236657 (1980-12-01), Brunton
patent: 4854637 (1989-08-01), McCree
patent: 5178310 (1993-01-01), Sowerby
patent: 5544792 (1996-08-01), Arnwine
patent: 5816463 (1998-10-01), Echeverri
patent: 5927575 (1999-07-01), Gatling
patent: 5988465 (1999-07-01), Vitale et al.
Tingey David L.
Vidovich Gregory M.
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