US2577670A - Multicompartment traveling bag - Google Patents

Description

2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Nov. 3, 1950 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 4, H251 UNITED STAT ES i PATENT Q ,,2,577,670 MULTiCOMIPARTMENT TRAVELING B'AG Edward E. Adams, Washington,-D. o.- Application November 3, ms sanmoiH3396- 6 Claims: (01. 190-48)- This invention-relates to a traveling bag,-and' more particularly to a bagwhichis designedwith the present I daytraveler and his needs inmindl I The objects oftheinvention are-toprovide a traveling bag of flexible niateriaL- saidbag-having pairs of parallel end and side walls and smallcompartment-"for receiving a brief case or-the-like, said top' wall having a pair of openin'gsextending longitudinally the entire length of the-t'op wall and extending a short distance only down eachend 'wall, one of said openings lying on each side of said-partition to provide access to each: compartment individually c10 sure means for closing each opening separately,

and end pockets which contain connection straps forthedetachable connectionof a shoulder strap.

By placing these connection straps within the endpockets, a smooth end suriace-isprovided;

and the likelihood that these straps will catch on objects which the *user" brushes against-will be eliminated.

These and otherobjects-of the invention will be apparent'from a- -reading' of'the following specification; when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is'a perspective-view of a'traveling bag constructed in accordance with a'preferred form of the invention; I

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the upperportionof the bag, showing-"the two slide fasteners in open position, and'showing a briefcase: extending out of-the small'compartment and. a 'mans shirt extending out of the large compa'rtmentf Fig. 3 is alongitudinal-section taken through the bag of Fig. l-approximately through the middle of the large compartment-as indicated "by' lines-'4 in'Fi'gi-l'; V Fig 4" is "a cross-sectional -view' taken on line 4'-'4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5"is an end elevational View of a portion of'tlie bag, showing the slide fastenersengaging retaining means-carried bythe upperedgeof one of the end fiaps,

Referring now tothe drawings in'greater detail, the figures show a baggenerally designated'byf the reference numeral and; which has a pair offside walls 1 l and {1;2', a pair, offend wallsrl 3f and? F4 a bottom wall--l5',"and a top-wall I6! in 1 ends of mm 1? partit'ie the interior of the 'bag there is a ma'in partition llwhic'li ex-tends' lorigitudirially ofthe' bag and is attached to the topwbottom'and end walls ofthe bag so that it completely separates the interior of the'bag into'a small-compartment l8 and a" largecsmpartmentise In the 1arge compartment is there are 'sverai smaller partitions" whichar'e attached to the-botteni wall I5 of the. bag an'd ar'e attached-t ii-th'eir en'd's ad'j acent he ll-of side vial-1 H of the bag: One of-- these I'n'all'ei p'a-rti'tions is shown a t- 2 E this partition e kt'e ding less than the *fllll height-"of the bagso a form a pocket 22' between partition Hand is par-titi on- H. An other smaller partition 2? a means ofst itchmgso a's srorm rwo= smuer' pockets*- which have' bee given the referne numeral-2 3; thes eeks btwe'en -parti amaze and partition 21. Another-' smallerpar tition; imme-rm size-to p rt'ition zh isshown at 25, and= this partitiorhi aZ-ttachd at itsbottorn and end portions to' si swan-- l Poi:- the 'bag sd-as-to-forii1 a 'pockt 26. Poeke't's -22snazw are" given; substa' -dpt from lef-t' to right as viewedin Fig-5 4=-by tli pr'ovision of end walls 27 and 28 for these pockets, these en ing asi tli$ nieafi f6r atachi g of partitions 2- 'nd td nfain partition 11 and side wall H of he-bagfrespectivelyf A strap- Silis attached to the upper portion of partition I E r by stitching or other 'siiitable nieans at about tlfe higfit 015 tfi 'uppi edgepa'frtitidri Y? ancl -the fre'e -er1d' of-"str 30 carries a-femzuef type of snap fasteners which -is adapted to" cooperate=with ari' on 'of thre'e' male fasteners-'- 32spaced-verticallyna th ilpfi f edgeof par tion*2 Strap- -3fl' pr'ovids -a -conVenient means for'iasteni'ngfthe 'upper cntral portionof part1 tion ZI to 'tli m in partion l-Tjso asfto prevent partition 2l 'fio'm be ged odt too greatly by' clothing 'or other "a rtic es placedthereini Y Access to the small" saw-large cornpartrnents" i8 and Hl' isprovided by'irfeansof a pair of longimamauy'extenamg opefimgs as and-*S'SIQ ated m1 top'wall [a ot thebag oneither'side-of main partition l7. These openings-extendthe-"entire length of the top wall of the bag and when distance downthe endfwalls of the' sagas isfreatdily appa'rent fror'ri' the arawifigs.- This disposi f ticn' and; formation ftheacc'eSs openings 153 very important, since wext endmg these opefxings afsh'ort'fldistancefonlydown v baggwider openings ofthei. op ofthe'ba 1s pyos sible ror' more" conifenient a'ce ss' to the interior thereof, but the determination of the access openings at the points shown, rather than extending these openings the entire distance to the bottom wall of the bag, as would be more conventional, not only prevents one from opening the bag so widely as to spill contents out of one end, but this disposition of the openings also has an important cooperation with other end structure of the bag, as will be explained.

The access openings 35 and 36 are most conveniently closed by means of individually operable slide fasteners, the sliding elements of which are shown at 38 and 39. As is obvious from Figs. 2 and 5, sliding elements 38 and 39 lie at one end of the access openings 35 and 36 when these openings are wide open, and they lie at the other end of these openings when in the fully closed position.

Centrally of the top wall 16 of the bag and between the two access openings there may be conveniently located a frame 40 for receiving an identification card. This frame is of the usual type with a transparent window. Such a frame is shown in Fig. -1. 7

Along each end wall I3, I 4, of the bag there is disposed an upwardly extending end fiap 42 which is attached to the bag along its side and bottom edges, but is free of attachement on its upper edge, thus forming with the end walls of the bag a pair of end pockets. The end flaps 42 are considerably smaller in the vertical dimension than the end walls of the bag, and the upper edges of the end flaps 42 lie slightly below the ends of the access openings 35 and 36. By placing the upper edges of the end flaps at this location, the end flaps do not interfere with the opening and spreading apart of the upper portions of the bag for convenient access to the interior, and one of the end fiaps then provides a most convenient means for carrying locks 44 along its upper edge for engagement by the sliding elements 38, 39, when in their completely closed position.

The upper end portions of flaps 42 and the adjacent portions of the end walls I3, [4, of the .bag also carry cooperating snap fastener means 46 for closing the upper portion of the pocket when desired.

Within each of the pockets formed by end flaps 42 is a connection strap 48 which is attached to the end walls l3 and I4 of the bag. At the upper end of each connection strap is an attachment ring 49, these rings lying below the upper edges of the end flaps 42, as shown most accurately in Fig. 3. Rings 49 serve as a means for attaching to the bag a shoulder strap 5| which is adjustable in length, and which carries at its ends conventional, readily disengageable fastening means 52, which, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, comprise hooks with a resilient tongue which assures against accidental disengagement of the hooks from the rings 49.

It will be seen from the drawings that the edges of the bag are reinforced by a binding of leather or other appropriate material as shown at 55. Reinforcements 56 are provided at each corner, and the bottom of the bag is provided with suitable protecting buttons 51, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

A pair of reinforcing straps 51 pass around the side and bottom walls of the bag. These straps are sewn to the bag walls continuously except at their upper end portions on each side of the bag, where they are free of attachment so as to receive loose leaf rings 58 to which are attached a pair of hand grips 59. When not in use, these hand grips fall loosely along the outer surfaces of the side walls of the bag, as shown in Fig. 4, and when in use, they may be held together by means of a short strap 60 which is sewn to one of the hand grips, and has strap fastener means 61 by which the ends of strap 60 can be held together after fastening the strap around the other hand grip. Fig. 1 shows the hand grips in carrying position, held together by the small strap 69.

I wish' to point out that, while I have referred in the above description to side, end, top and bottom walls of the bag, these terms do not mean that each of the various walls is made of a separate piece of material. On the other hand, it is preferable in commercial production of the bag to make the two side walls and the bottom walls of one continuous piece of material, preferably cloth or leather, and to make the top and end walls of one continuouspiece of material. Therefore, the reference in the specification and the claims to various walls is for the purpose of indicating the shape of the bag and the disposition of the various parts, rather than indicating that each wall is a separate piece from the other walls, although the bag could be made with the various walls of separate pieces of material without departing from the scope of the invention.

From the above description and the drawings, it will be clear that I have at least provided a bag which meets substantially all of the requirements of the modern day business man for short, unexpected trips, as well as other types of traveling. The small compartment of the bag, as shown at I8, is particularly intended and dimensioned for receiving a standard size briefcase which can be placed in the bag and removed therefrom without requiring access to the large compartment l9 of the bag, and without exposing the contents of the large compartment. In Fig. 2 I have shown a briefcase 10 being placed in the bag, and in this same figure I have shown a mans shirt H partly removed from the bag.

The pockets in the large compartment l9 make it convenient to carry various articles of clothing and personal effects in this compartment, and these articles may be reached without exposing the contents of the small compartment l8.

The end pockets provided by the end flaps 42 are a most convenient and readily accessible place for carrying elongated articles such as newspapers, timetables and the like, and these flaps also cover the connecting strap and ring arrangement 46, 49, thus improving the appearance of the bag and decreasing the possibility that the ring might become caught on some article which the user brushes against while carrying the bag. In this connection, the entire bag is singularly free of external structure which would be likely to be caught in such a manner, with the resulting delay to a hurrying traveler, and the possibility that the bag might be damaged. A great convenience and novelty is the fact that the upper edge of one of the flaps 42 carries the locking means 44 which are engageable by the sliding elements 39 of the slide fastener.

The use of slide fasteners with this bag provides a more complete and secure closing of the access openings 35 and 36, and, as is well known, such fasteners are highly convenient to use.

The bag can be carried either by hand, using the hand grips 59, or over the shoulder, using shoulder strap 5| attached to the rings 49. The shoulder strap and hand grips are not ordinarily both in the operative position at the same time, as shown in Fig. 1, although if there is a pOSSlmight be lost byfallingout, it e pocket. When the hand grips '59' are iiot heedd, they may be dropped to the sides Qf; the bag after unfasteni ihgstrap.fidlasshowninEigi' l. 7 7 i T .TThelnatefialout ofi which the bag is mad'eican be heavy cloth, although it may be convenient to make the bag out of synthetic plastic materials or leather, as long as the material is flexible.

In an embodiment of the invention which has been found to be highly useful, the bag was made with an overall length of about 18 inches, a thickness of about 6 inches, and a height of about 13 inches. The main partition 11 in this bag is positioned about 2 inches from side wall l2. Partitions 2| and 25 extend upwardly a distance of about inches from the bottom of the bag, and the small partition 23 extends upwardly a distance of about 6 inches from the bottom of the bag. The smaller compartment thus provided readily receives a standard briefcase which can carry legal size papers.

of openingsexten'ding longitud ally'the entire length of th e top, wall and extending a short distance only down each end wall; one of said openings lying on each side.of said partition, to

provide access tofeachwcomp antment individually,

closure means for closing each opening separately, said closure means comprisingv slide fastener means having a sliding element for each opening I wish it to be understood that I have described above only a preferred embodiment of the invention, this embodiment being described for illustrative purposes, and not with the idea of limiting the invention thereto. It should be understood that it is my intention to cover by my patent all variations of the above embodiment which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A traveling bag for use with a carrying strap, said bag being made of flexible material and having pairs of parallel end and side walls and parallel top and bottom walls, a fixed internal partition extending from the bottom wall to the top wall, said partition being parallel with said side walls and positioned nearer one side wall than the other to divide the interior of the bag longitudinally into a large compartment and a small compartment, said top wall having a pair of openings extending longitudinally the entire length of the top wall and extending a short distance only down each end wall, one of said openings lying on each side of said partition to provide access to each compartment individually, closure means for closing each opening separately, outer end flaps lying along each end wall of the bag, with their upper edge lying below the ends of said openings, said end flaps having bottom and side edges attached to the bag and having upper edges free of attachment to the bag, thereby providing end pockets, and means attached to the end walls of said bag positioned in each pocket thus formed for detachable connection 'to a carrying strap for the bag.

2. A traveling bag according to claim 1, and said last named means comprising a pair of connection straps, one of which extends upwardly along and is attached to each end wall within said end pockets, and ring means at the upper end of each connection strap, said connection straps and end means lying entirely below the upper edges of said end flaps, so that said end flaps cover the connection straps and rings.

,3. A traveling bag for use with a carrying strap,

which elements, in the completely closed position, are disposed at one end of each opening, at least one outer, end flap lying along an end wall of the bag and forming with the end wall a pocket open at the top, said end flap having an upper edge positioned below the lower ends of said openings, and means carried by said end flap for engaging said sliding elements and retaining said elements in said completely closed positions.

4. A traveling bag according to claim 3, for use with a carrying strap, there being one of said end flaps at each end of the bag, and means attached to the bag and lying wholly within each pocket thus formed for detachable connection to a carrying strap for the bag.

5. A traveling bag according to claim 4, and cooperating fastener means on the end walls of the bag and near the upper edges of said end flaps for closing'said pockets by fastening the upper edges of the end flaps to the bag end walls.

6. A traveling bag of flexible material, said bag having pairs of parallel end and side walls and parallel top and bottom walls, a fixed, internal main partition extending from the bottom wall to the top wall, said partition being parallel with said side walls and positioned nearer one side wall than the other to divide the interior of the bag into a large compartment principally intended for clothing and personal effects and a smaller compartment for receiving a standard size briefcase, at least one additional partition in said large compartment extending only part way from the bottom wall to the top wall and forming a pocket in said large compartment, said top wall having a pair of openings extending longitudinally the entire length of the top wall and extending a short distance only down each end wall, one of said openings lying on each side of said main partition to provide access to each compartment individually, slide fastener closure means for each opening and including sliding elements which lie at one end of said openings when in completely closed position, an external flap extending upwardly along each-end wall of the bag from the lower edges of the end walls to points adjacent the ends of said openings, the side and bottom edges of said end flaps being attached to the bag and the upper edges of the flaps being free, thereby providing pockets at each end of the ba one of said flaps carrying along its upper end'portion means for engaging said sliding elements and retaining said elements in said completely closed positions, a pair of connection straps, one of which extends upwardly along and is attached to each end wall within said end pockets, ring means at the upper end of each connection strap for detachable conne 7 tion with a shoulder strap, said connection straps and ring means lying wholly within said end pockets, and snap fastener means carried by the end walls and the upper edges of said end flaps for closing said pockets.

EDWARD E. ADAMS.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Szewczyk .Mar. 9, 1926 Nnmber Number Number Name Date Halpin Dec. 24, 1935 Crotty et a1. Sept. 27, 1938 Bracken Nov. 23, 1943 Langford et a1 "Apr. 10, 1945 Fisler Dec.-2, 1947 Chodak Nov. 2, 1948 Lifton Jan. 31, 1950 Lewis May 23, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Dec. 29, 1868 Great Britain Oct. 15, 1931

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