Patent ID: 6070628
Filing Date: 2000-06-06
Classification: A45C,Y10S

Abstract:
A handbag comprising:a front wall;a rear wall;a bottom wall connected between the front and rear walls to partially define a bag interior, upper ends of the front and rear walls bounding an upper opening into the interior;a pair of arcuate flexible side walls connected to and between opposite sides of the front and rear walls for further defining the bag interior, the side walls being shaped so that when the upper ends of the front and rear walls are spread apart to an open position for the handbag, the side walls change shape to enlarge the bag interior and to enlarge the upper opening, and when the upper ends of the front and rear walls are moved toward each other to a closed position for the handbag, the side walls change shape to reduce the bag interior and to reduce the upper opening;a flap arrangement extending over the opening of the bag to close the opening when the front and rear walls are moved toward each other into the closed position and to cover at least part of the opening in the open position of the handbag, the flap arrangement being flexible so that it can be pushed aside to expand the opening and allow items in or for the interior to be inserted, removed and seen more easily; andlatch means connected to the flap arrangement for latching the opening closed in the closed position of the handbag;the flap arrangement comprising a pair of flaps extending respectively from the front and rear walls, toward the bag opening, each flap having an un-flexed, rest position with one flap lower than the other flap so that when the front and rear walls are moved toward each other into the closed position, the flaps at least partly overlap, the latch means comprising a magnet connected to one of the flaps and a magnetically attractable member connected to the other flap to hold the flaps in a selected overlapping position to latch the opening closed.