Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Convertible or combined
Reexamination Certificate
1996-12-07
2001-04-03
Vidovich, Gregory M. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Convertible or combined
C224S675000, C224S607000, C224S610000, C224S664000, C224S683000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209769
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to a side pack to be worn by a user to provide secure, comfortable and ergonomic access to the contents of the side pack. In particular, the invention provides a small side pack for objects, such as a cellular telephone or camera, which affords ready and ergonomic access to the object at the side of the user's torso. The invention is further adapted to include a shoulder strap and to retain the shoulder strap on the user's shoulder with an auxiliary strap extending transversely across the upper torso and beneath the user's distal arm. The invention includes retention straps for connecting the compartment portion of the side pack to the shoulder strap and which are also adapted to allow the compartment portion to be attached directly to a waist belt. The compartment portion thus can be placed at the user's side or waist or on the user's hips either by using the shoulder strap or by suspending it directly from a belt.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The most essential and routinely accessed objects by a person while away from home may be a wallet, checkbook, a pen or pencil, and the increasingly ubiquitous cellular telephone. The necessities for more extended travel or touring may include a wallet, traveler's checks, passport, map, a pen or pencil, and a camera. When traveling lightly, carrying only the bare essentials such as these, it is cumbersome to use a large pack such as a briefcase or sizeable purse. Smaller bags, while conveniently sized and easier to carry, merely provide compact retention of their contents.
Common object holders, be they hand bags, clutches, or brief cases, pose further problems. They can easily become separated from the user because the user frequently removes the pack when slitting, and must remember to retrieve it when moving on. A variation of this problem is presented by cellular telephone cases which protect the cellular telephone, but do not encourage the user to return the telephone to a pack worn on the user's body. There is no generally accepted convenient place to keep a cellular telephone on one's person. The telephone generally is put in a shirt or coat pocket not designed for such a bulky item, or on an adjacent table or chair. Sometimes the cellular telephone is forgotten and left behind. Many cellular telephone cases provide a loop on the back of the case for carrying the case on the user's waist belt. This requires the user to thread the waist belt through the loop—a tedious task usually skipped. Simply put, cases provided for enclosing cellular telephones do not encourage the user to keep the telephone on the user's person.
Access to essential objects is an issue of convenience and efficiency. Virtually instant access becomes important for the cellular telephone user who has just been called. Unnecessary effort spent opening a briefcase, unzipping a purse, or loosening snaps reduces efficiency and lowers convenience of use of the object being retrieved.
Packs or purses hung loosely from a shoulder strap must be constantly monitored and adjusted to keep them in place, thus diverting use of the hands from other tasks. Shoulder straps are normally worn over the shoulder on the same side of the body on which the pack or purse is suspended. The movement of walking causes a pack hung from the shoulder to swing away from the body, pulling the shoulder strap in the direction of the swing and gradually working the strap off the shoulder. The lighter the pack, the more likely the shoulder strap is to slip off the shoulder. Further, with each outward swing comes a return collision with the user thus diverting attention to controlling the position of the pack on the user's body. Monitoring of the strap and the suspended pack diverts attention, reduces freedom of the hands, and hampers walking. The continual collisions with the pack and constant hiking of the shoulder strap back up on the shoulder are annoyances. Finally, after extended wear, many shoulder straps cut into the user's neck and shoulder and become uncomfortable to wear.
Most packs used for carrying personal items are worn over outer layers of clothing, and must be taken off whenever the outer layer of clothing is removed, such as when taking off a coat. The user must later remember where the pack is and retrieve it. Especially for more extended traveling or while touring, failure to retrieve one's pack containing personal belongings or leaving it exposed to theft can lead to difficulties and significant distress.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a side pack for wearing by a user which offers secure, comfortable and ergonomic access to the contents of the side pack. It is a further objective of the invention to provide a side pack sized to hold a cellular telephone or small camera and adapted to fit comfortably on the side of the torso. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a side pack to be worn on the user's body affording secure retention of and quick and ergonomic access to a cellular telephone or camera. It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a side pack having a shoulder strap which is comfortably retained in place on the shoulder by a secondary strap. It is another objective of the invention to provide a side pack suspended from a shoulder strap having a wide midportion allowing the strap to be worn comfortably over the shoulder. It is also an objective of the invention to provide a side pack to be worn suspended from a shoulder strap having a hold-down means which may be attached to a belt loop to prevent the side pack from swinging away from and back against the use while walking. It is an additional objective of the invention to provide a side pack having a strap assembly which can be adapted to allow wearing of the side pack over the shoulder, around the waist or on the hip, at the user's option.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A side pack according to the invention includes a compartment and shoulder strap assembly. The side pack is sized to fit unobtrusively and comfortably at one's side, either above the waist, or at the waist or hips. The side pack comprises a main compartment facing away from the user sized to receive a cellular telephone or other object of like dimensions, such as a small camera. A top closing flap opens and closes over the top opening of the main compartment. The end of the flap is detachably sealed over the opening using a quickly opening fastener, such as Velcro® hook-and-loop-type fastener, to provide instant and easy access to the contents of the main compartment.
The side pack includes a plurality of additional compartments separate from the main compartment facing towards the user sized generally to accept thinner items such as a wallet, credit cards, papers, a passport, maps, or a pen or pencil. The additional compartments are open at the top to allow the user to slip items in and out of them with ease. A key clip may depend from the outermost of the additional compartments and may be attached to a belt loop for holding the bag to the user's body, or it may be used to hold a ring of keys or other objects. The top of the side pack has two opposing waist belt retention straps having conventional fastening means, e.g., snaps, for fastening the straps into loops capable of accepting a waist belt. The side pack can thus be hung on a waist belt at the user's election. A stretchable band may also be affixed to the end of each waist belt retention strap.
A shoulder strap assembly is attached to the bag for hanging the side pack on a shoulder. Each end of the shoulder strap assembly is attached demountably to the waist belt retention strap or to the stretchable band at the user's option depending on the length and elasticity preferred by the user. The shoulder strap and attached waist belt retention straps form a harness which is adjustable in length. The harness may be used to wear the side pack over the shoulder or, at the user's election, around the waist. The shou
Seals Peggy Newgarden
Talbot Carla M.
Beverly Brian
Newgarden-Seals Peggy
Vidovich Gregory M.
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