GB2023412A - Rucksack - Google Patents

Abstract

A rucksack has a rigid, self-supporting shell (1) provided with means, eg hooks (11), for attaching a harness, the shell being shaped and being of sufficient strength to serve as a portable seat. The shell is preferably constructed of two substantially identical parts (2,3) made, for example, from a reinforced plastics material or of metal. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Rigid rucksack This invention relates to a rigid rucksack, i.e. a rigid structure for use as a load-carrying device for supporting a load on the back of a person.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rucksack which can be used to carry easily portable luggage and which will provide good protection for its contents under adverse conditions. It is also an object of this invention to provide a rucksack which can function as a portable seat.

According to the present invention, there is provided a rigid rucksack which can be carried on the back of a person by means of a harness, wherein the rucksack comprises a rigid, self-supporting shell provided with means for attaching a harness, and wherein said shell is shaped, and is of sufficient strength, to serve as a portable seat.

The invention also provides a combination of a rigid rucksack as hereinbefore defined and a harness for supporting the rucksack on the back of a person.

The rucksack of this invention is suitable for use by a traveller who needs to carry his luggage a considerable distance while travelling on foot. Luggage is often subjected to impact, abrasion, oil and dirt when being handied, for example when being loaded into the baggage compartments of public transport vehicles. The rucksack of this invention has a tough, impervious surface which can withstand such heavy treatment.

Preferably, the rucksack shell is formed of an upper part and a lower part which can conveniently be identical in shape and structure. No frame is required to support the shell. The frameless construction gives the shell considerably strength for its weight. The upper and lower parts of the shell preferably join together to provide an effective seal against the ingress of insects, mud, dust, sand and other undesirable materials. Most preferably, the seal is such that the rucksack can withstand complete immersion in water. This can be achieved, for example, by having flanges on the mating edges of the two parts of the shell, the two flanges each being fitted with a gasket, for example of expanded neoprene. A water-proof and heat resistant adhesive can be used to effect the fitting of gaskets.Other sealing arrangements can be employed if desired; for example one part of the shell could be formed with a rubber-filled metal or plastics channel which provides sealing contact with a lip on the other part of the shell.

The shell is preferably formed of a reinforced plastics material, more preferably from a thermoplastic material reinforced with fiberglass, for example with glass fibre mat. Additional reinforcement layers are preferably provided at the top and bottom ends of the shell and in the corners thereof.

This additional reinforcement can be achieved by using layers of glass cloth and carbon fibre tape. The two parts of the shell can conveniently be made from an identical female mould, thus giving two identical shell halves. An internal flange, to provide the sealing properties just described, is preferably formed in each moulding before it is released from the mould.

Such a flange can be prepared by temporarily attaching a metal template to the edge of the mould.

The interior of the shell can be partitioned if desired. As well as providing pockets for small items, this partitioning increases the rigidity of the shell without significantly increasing its weight. This may be valuable when the shell is formed of a thermosetting plastics material (particularly if no reinforcement is used) but is not likely to be significant if a light metal alloy construction is used.

The shell is preferably tapered away from the centre point of the shell towards the ends thereof.

The top and bottom surfaces of the shell should have a sufficiently large flat area to allow the shell to stand upright on the ground and to be comfortable to sit on. In the preferred embodiment employing two identical halves for the shell, accurate symmetry at the plane of the flange ensures that the two halves fit together properly.

Advantageously, the front surface of the shell (that which, in use, contacts the back of the wearer) is concave.

The two parts of the shell are preferably releasably connected by means of hinges at the back and catches at the front. The hinges are preferably capabie of 1800 rotation, which allows the parts of the shell to stand upright in a stable position, when the container is open. Alternatively, catches can be used alone. This means that the two parts of the shell could be completely separated. The catches advantageously have a clamping action which maintains the seal between the two parts of the shell, for example by compressing the gaskets around the edges of the two parts of the shell.

Two upper fittings and two lower fittings can be provided for attaching a harness to the shell. These fittings can be simple nylon snap hooks to which rings fastened to the harness can be clipped. The two upper hooks may be positioned to act as alternative attachment points to suit the size of the wearer.

Preferably there is provision for locking together the two parts of the shell; for example, padlock attachment fittings in the form of two ring bolts can be positioned opposite each other on either side of the seal. A padlock can be used to secure the container and, by use of a chain, the container can be secured to fixed objects.

All the above fittings are preferably attached directly to the container by means of bolts passing through the surface to an aluminium backing plate.

The backing plates can be embedded in plastics resin to ensure watertightness.

An air hole is preferably drilled in the container and stopped with a rubber plug. This is to prevent damage by air pressure fluctuations when flying.

The plug is removed before a flight to allow the air in the container to adjust rapidly to the ambient pressure.

Advantageously, the shell has straight front edges which project forward of all the front fittings. This provides protection for the fittings, e.g. from hard contact with the ground. The hinges at the back do not need to project far from the surface, and can take rough treatment.

All the fittings are preferably made of stainless materials.

By employing a construction as described above, the shell can have a very high strength to weight ratio. The weight of a rucksack of this invention need not exceed that of a conventional framed canvas rucksack by any significant amount.

The harness for use with the rigid rucksack preferably comprises padded shoulder straps and a padded hip belt joined together. The hip belt can be dispensed with if carrying comfort over long distances is not important The harness fulfils the dual role of carrying the rucksack and, by means of the padded sections, keeping the container surface away from the wearer's back. Contact with a non-porous surface would cause discomfort, particularly in a hot climate. No cushioning is necessary on the container (i.e. the shell) itself. The harness can be quickly detached and put inside the container whenever it needs protection.

The padded sections of the shoulder straps can extend down the back of the wearer, and the lower ends are preferably sewn to the hip belt. Two rings can be attached at the back of the belt, and these clip onto the lower hooks on the container. All the downward load is taken by the lower hooks. If desired, pouches (e.g. of canvas) can be attached to the harness to provide pockets for small articles.

Such pouches can be clipped to the harness as and when required, otherwise being stowed away for protection within the body of the rigid rucksack.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure lisa perspective view of the rigid rucksack of this invention; Figures 2 and 3 are front and side elevations respectively, of the rucksack shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view of the rucksack at line B-B of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view of the rucksack at lines A-A of Figure 2; and Figure 6 is an illustration of a harness for use with the rucksack of this invention.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 5, there is shown a rigid rucksack 1 comprising a shell having an upper part 2 and a lower part 3 connected together at line 4.

The upper and lower parts are substantially identical, and are formed from glass fibre-reinforced polyester resin. The shell is of greatest width at its centre line 4, and tapers gently away towards its ends 5 and 6.

Cooperating flanges such as that marked 7 in Fig ure 5 are provided at the mating edges of upper and lower parts 2 and 3. An expanded neoprene gasket 8 is secured to each of the flanges 7 by means of a water-proof and heat-resistant adhesive. The two parts of the shell are held together by means of a hinge 9 and catches 10. Hooks 11 are provided for attachment of a harness.

The ends 5 and 6 of the shell are flat and enable the rigid rucksack to be placed on the ground and act as a portable seat. The sides 12 and 13 of the rucksack are rounded in shape, while the front face 14 of the rucksack is generally concave. This arrangement makes the rucksack more comfortable to wear. The rear face 15 of the rucksack is convex in outline. The edges 16 are straight, as can be seen from Figure 3.

A harness suitable for use with the rucksack illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 is shown in detail in Figure 6. The harness comprises padded shoulder straps 21 and a padded hip belt 22 sewn together at 23. Adjustable lengths of flat webbing 24 extend between the front of the shoulder straps 21 and the hip belt 22. A strap 25 extends between the upper rear portions of the two shoulder straps 21 and carries an upper attachment ring 26. Lower attachment rings 27 are provided adjacent to the positions 23 where the shoulder straps are attached to the hip belt. Ring 26 is intended to connect with one of the hooks 11 in the upper part 2 of the rucksack shell.

This upper fastening serves only to keep the rucksack container upright by applying a horizontal force in the forward direction. The length of strap 25 can be adjusted by means of a buckle 28. Similar buckles 29 are provided for length adjustment of the webbing 24. The lower attachment rings 27 connect with the hooks 11 on the lower part 3 of the rucksack shell. All the downward load is taken by these lower hooks.

Conveniently, the webbing and padding used in the harness can be made of synthetic polymeric materials. The padded sections comprise a sleeve of porous cloth filled with closed cell plastics foam.

The rigid rucksack illustrated in the drawings has a tough impervious surface which resists dust and dirt, can easily be wiped clean, and has a high strenghtto weight ratio. Although the illustrated embodiment has upper and lower parts of the shell which are substantially identical, the shape and proportion of the two parts of the shell can be varied to give containers adapted to particular functions, for example carrying a tripod and other photographic equipment.

Claims (18)

1. A rigid rucksack which can be carried on the back of a person by means of a harness, wherein the rucksack comprises a rigid, self-supporting shell provided with means for attaching a harness, and wherein said shell is shaped, and is of sufficient strength, to serve as a portable seat.

2. A rucksack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said self-supporting shell is formed in two parts.

3. A rucksack as claimed in claim 2, wherein said two parts of the shell are substantially identical in shape.

4. A rucksack as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said shell is formed of a plastics material.

5. A rucksack as claimed in claim 4, wherein said plastics material is a thermosetting plastics material.

6. A rucksack as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the plastics material has a reinforcing material embedded therein.

7. A rucksack as claimed in claim 6, wherein said reinforcing material is glass fibre.

8. A rucksack as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the self-supporting shell is formed of a light metal alloy.

9. A rucksack as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the shape of the shell tapers away from the centre thereof towards the ends thereof.

10. A rucksack as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the top and bottom surfaces of the shell comprise a relatively large, flat area.

11. A rucksack as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the two parts of the shell are releasably connected by means of hinges along one edge and catches along another edge.

12. A rigid rucksack substantially as hereinbefore described.

13. A rigid rucksack substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A combination of a rucksack as claimed in any preceding claim and a harness which comprises a pair of padded shoulder straps attached to a padded hip belt.

15. A rigid rucksack and harnessthereforsubsta- ntially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

New claims or amendments to claims filed on 27th Sept 1979. Superseded claims none.

16. A rigid rucksack as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein a seal is provided such that when the two parts of the shell are joined together, they form a water-tight enclosure.

17. A rigid rucksack which can be carried on the back of a person by means of a harness, wherein the rucksack comprises a rigid, frameless selfsupporting shell formed in two similarly shaped parts, at least one of the parts being provided with means for attaching a harness, and wherein (a) the top and bottom surfaces of the shell each comprise a relatively large flat area suitable for use as a seat, and (b) the shell is of sufficient strength to serve as a portable seat.

18. A rigid rucksack as claimed in claim 17, wherein a seal is provided which is such that when the two parts of the shell are joined together, the shell forms a water-right enclosure.