Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Flaccid attaching means looped around neck or crossing shoulder
Utility Patent
1997-11-26
2001-01-02
Sholl, Linda J. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Flaccid attaching means looped around neck or crossing shoulder
C224S643000, C024S16300K, C417S234000, C417S480000
Utility Patent
active
06168056
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the technical field of satchels and rucksacks (backpacks) that may be intended for school, sporting or hiking use.
School satchels are often designed to be worn on the back by the pupil and the shoulder straps press on the shoulders. This type of satchel has the advantage of freeing the pupil's hands and, above all, ensures a better balanced load. The load can be relatively heavy, of the order of 10 to 20 kg, depending on the number of files and books carried. There is therefore a need to improve, as much as possible, carrying comfort.
Hiking rucksacks that can be used for any purpose and for leisure use in particular may, in some cases, be heavily loaded with products and various clothing, thus making it necessary to improve carrying comfort.
In view of the problems mentioned above, there have been proposals to make the shoulder straps of satchels, backpacks or similar bags with built-in inflatable means, thus making it possible to create pockets of air to improve and make the carrying of such articles more comfortable. Many patents have been filed in this area, e.g. FR 1028577, AT 675838, FR 2406402, FR 2697143.
In these embodiments, the inflatable element was introduced directly into the shoulder strap with an external means of control used to ensure inflation or deflation.
Proposals have also been made, in numerous patents, to incorporate in the rear surface or the bottom of the satchel one or more inflatable chambers with pumps or external bulb inflators with this assembly offering improved carrying comfort.
Various investigations that have been carried out demonstrate that the need to lighten and/or make the carrying of packs or satchels more comfortable are very real and meet genuine medical concerns to protect the pupil or wearer, especially their vertebral column.
Although the concept of inflating certain parts or components of the pack and/or satchel offer undeniable benefits, in practice certain drawbacks or inadequacies in the protection of the means of inflation or deflation have been observed. If the latter is an inflator bulb as described in Patent FR 2700675 or a bellows, it generally remains visible from outside the pack or satchel. It can be operated by persons other than the wearer with all the resulting risks of damage, puncture and other risks of the same type.
In addition, once the pack or satchel is worn by the user, none of the known techniques makes it possible to vary, if required, the degree of inflation in order to adapt it to the carried load and therefore to adjust inflation as required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object sought after by the invention was to devise an inflation/deflation device for shoulder straps associated with a pack, satchel or similar that would, on the one hand, be protected as such, be operable chiefly by the user and adjustable during use as required.
These objects and others will become apparent from the following description.
According to a first aspect, the device for inflating/deflating the shoulder straps of a means of the satchel, pack or similar type intended to be worn on the back by a person, the shoulder strap or straps comprising an inflatable integral cushion controlled by an external means of inflating the shoulder strap, is distinctive in that the inflation/deflation device is incorporated in a one-piece part constituting the means of guiding and adjusting the length of the strap attached to the pack, satchel or similar, said one-piece part forming a pad being shaped and devised to ensure positioning of the means of inflating/deflating the shoulder straps, its protection, its connection to one of the ends of the shoulder strap whilst allowing the injection of inflating air into the cushion incorporated in the shoulder strap.
These aspects and others will become apparent from the following description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3883053 (1975-05-01), Pritchard et al.
patent: 5840400 (1998-11-01), Landi et al.
patent: 271951 (1914-03-01), None
patent: 948 829 (1949-08-01), None
patent: 2 697 143 (1994-04-01), None
patent: 2 700 675 (1994-07-01), None
patent: 219874 (1924-08-01), None
patent: 94/28756 (1994-12-01), None
Sholl Linda J.
Tenesee S.A.
Wall Marjama & Bilinski
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