Multi-purpose attachment device

Abstract: An attachment device for a strap, comprising a base (10), means (11-14) for attaching the base to a shoulder strap (16,17) of a backpack and a releasable catch mechanism for securing an implement holder. The invention further comprises at least one implement holder (25) adapted to be releasably secured to the base (10) via the releasable catch mechanism. The releasable catch mechanism comprises an upwardly extending side wall (19) extending up from the top surface of the base and having an overhanging lip (20). A flexible arm (21) is integrally formed with the base near the side wall and has a free end extending above the plane of the base. The implement holder (25) comprises a plate (26), a holder portion (27) attached to the top surface of the plate and an attachment portion extending from the bottom surface of the plate. The attachment portion comprises an outwardly extending flange (28). The implement holder is coupled to the base by inserting the flange (28) underneath the overhanging lip (20). The flexible arm (21) exerts upward pressure on the flange and forces it against the lip (20) to hold it in place. The implement holder is released from the base by pressing down on the flexible arm (21) and sliding the flange (28) out from the lip.

Description: This invention relates to a multi-purpose attachment device for use on backpacks. In particular, this invention relates to a sliding device for attachment to backpacks and which can be coupled to several different attachment pieces for holding a variety of implements. A similar device is known from the DE 296 05 906 U which discloses an attachment device having a base plate with means suitable for releasably securing an implement holder. The releasable catch mechanism shows overhanging lips and a flexible arm. The implement holder is secured to the base by inserting a flange of the implement holder underneath the overhanging lips. The flexible arm extends toward the overhanging lips, whereby the implement holder is released by pressing some mechanically complicated pegs which causes various elements to move the implement holder out of the base. Hikers and bicyclists often have the need to attach various implements to the outside of their backpacks. Articles such as flashlights, keys, hydration tubes, etc. are more conveniently carried in an easily accessible place on the backpack's shoulder traps than inside the backpack. This enables the user to reach the implements without having to remove the backpack. This is especially important with hydration tubes, which may must be accessible while a cyclist is riding his other bicycle. There are several devices that clip to the shoulder straps of backpacks for holding hydration tubes or other implements, depending on the shape and configuration of the device. An adjustable portable illumination device removably attachable to a user's shoe or garment has been shown in US 5,738,432 enabling hands-free operation and allowing the user to see and be seen. The device has a light housing a light assembly having an illumination member encapsulated in the light housing a power source for providing power to the illumination member a movable plate attached to the light housing and a light housing attaching member for removably attaching the light housing to the top frontal area of a user's shoe. The movable plate has a swivel member attached to the movable plate for vertical positioning of the light housing at an adjustable angle. The movable plate is releasably affixed to the base plate with a sliding motion. When the light is needed the movable plate is inserted at the frontal end of the base plate between two side ridges one on each side of the base plate and slid all the way until a movable plate recess is latched to the back wall protrusion at the base plate. Therefore, the disadvantage of this device is that the handling is rather complicated and costly in manufacturing. Thus, the user may have the need for different devices on different days, depending on the activity planned. Attaching several different devices to the shoulder strap would be inconvenient and unwieldy. Therefore, it would be desirable to have an attachment device for use on a backpack shoulder strap that can accommodate a variety of different implements. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an attachment device for a backpack shoulder strap that can be used to hold a variety of different implements, and that is simple an inexpensive to manufacture. An attachment device for a strap, comprising: a base with a top surface, a rear surface and four edges and an implement holder having a plate releasable secured to said base, means disposed for attaching said base to a shoulder strap of a backpack; a releasable catch mechanism for releasably securing said implement holder to said base, characterized in that said releasable catch mechanism comprises side walls on at least three sides of said base extending up from the top surface of said base and having an overhanging lip and a flexible arm integrally formed with said base adjacent to the overhanging lip and extending away from the overhanging lips and above the top surface plane of said base, the flexible arm extending upward pressure on the implement holder to secure the implement holder to the base, wherein the implement holder is released from the base by pressing on a free end of the flexible arm to slide the implement holder out from underneath the overhanging lips. The means for attaching the base to a backpack comprises two bars disposed along opposite edges of the base. Each bar has a transverse slit there through for threading the base onto a strap. Preferably, the slits are offset from the centre of each bar so that removal and attachment of the base to a strap is made easier. There can also be two additional arms disposed on the other opposite edges of the base, so that all four edges of the base have an arm. All of the arms have a transverse slit therethrough, so that the base is securable on two perpendicular straps. This feature is particularly important if the backpack has both shoulder straps and a chest strap. This way, the attachment device can be secured on both the chest strap and shoulder strap and cannot slide around at all. The releasable catch mechanism comprises an upwardly extending side wall extending up from the top surface of the base and having an overhanging lip. A flexible arm is integrally formed with the base near the side wall and has a free end extending above the plane of the base. The implement holder comprises a plate, a holder portion attached to the top surface of the plate and an attachment portion extending from the bottom surface of the plate. The attachment portion comprises an outwardly extending flange. The implement holder is coupled to the base by inserting the flange underneath the overhanging lip. The flexible arm exerts upward pressure on the flange and forces it against the lip to hold it in place. The implement holder is released from the base by pressing down on the flexible arm and sliding the flange out from the lip. To keep the implement holder from sliding out from the lip, the side wall and overhanging lip are preferably U-shaped. The implement holder can take many forms and can have an infinite number of variations, depending on the function for which it is used. One variation is a hydration tube holder comprising a plate and a flexible S-shaped arm attached at one end to the plate. A hydration tube is held in place by sliding the tube between the plate and the arm. The curve of the S on the arm prevents the tube from escaping. Another variation is a flashlight holder comprised of a plate and a flexible C-shaped holder element attached at its center to the plate. A flashlight can be snapped into the C-shaped holder element and held there by the friction of the holder element. Another possibility is a D-ring pivotally attached to a plate. Preferably, the base is supplied with several implement holders so that a user can choose which implement holder to use each day. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the base of the attachment device according to the invention; FIG. 2 shows the base as attached to shoulder and chest straps of a backpack; FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a hydration tube holder for use with the base; FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the hydration tube holder and the base along lines IV - IV of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the hydration tube holder inserted into the base; FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the flashlight holder for use with the base according to the invention; FIG. 7 shows a side view of the flashlight holder; FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a D-ring for use with the base; FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the base along lines IX - IX of FIG. 1; FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of the base of FIG. 9 in a release position; FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of an alternative example of a base which is not part of the invention; FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of an alternative example of a hydration tube holder for use with the base shown in FIG. 11 which is also not part of the invention; and FIG. 13 shows a side cross-sectional view of the hydration tube holder of FIG. 12 inserted in the base of FIG. 11. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings and, in particular, FIG. 1, there is shown the base 10 according to the invention, to which a variety of implement holders can be attached. Base 10 is an integrally molded one-piece design having four bars 11, 12, 13 and 14 for attaching base 10 to one or more straps. Each of bars 11, 12, 13, 14 has a transverse slit 15 therein to allow straps 16, 17 of a backpack 18 or other item to be easily threaded through base 10, as shown in FIG. 2. The mechanism for attaching an implement to base 10 comprises a semicircular wall 19 having an overhanging lip 20, and a flexible arm 21, which has a free end extending away from wall 19. The free end of flexible arm 21 extends slightly above the top surface of base 10 to place upward pressure on an implement holder mounted within base 10, as explained below. Arm 21 has a transverse bar 22 extending across the free end of arm 21, and a protrusion 23 at the free end of arm 21. Transverse bar 21 and protrusion 23 serve to keep an implement holder in place once it is inserted underneath lip 20, to lock the implement holder within base 10. They also provide a convenient location for the user to press down on bar 21 to release implement holder as explained below. One example of a suitable implement holder is a hydration tube clip 25, which is shown in FIG. 3. Tube clip 25 comprises a plate 26 with a resilient S-shaped arm 27 mounted above plate 26. A hydration tube (not shown) is slid in between plate 26 and arm 27. The tube is preferably wider than the lower end of arm 27 so that it cannot escape once it is mounted between plate 26 and arm 27. Clip 25 is secured to base 10 via a hexagonal flange 28, which extends outwardly beneath plate 26. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the procedure for locking clip 25 into base 10. Flange 28 is slid underneath lip 20 and is pushed upward by arm 21 on base 10, to keep clip 25 locked within base 10. Other suitable implement holders are a flashlight holder 30 or a D-ring 31, as shown in FIGS. 6-8. Flashlight holder 30 is held in place by a flange 32, similar to flange 28 on clip 25. Flashlight holder 30 has a C-shaped holding element 38 which functionally retains a flashlight therein. D-ring 31 is locked into base 10 is locked in a similar manner via flange 32. D-ring 31 is comprised of a ring portion 36 that is pivotally attached to flange 32 via a hinge 35 mounted in side brackets 34. The various implement holders can be released from base 10 in a manner shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The user merely presses downward on flexible arm 21 to create enough room to slide the implement holder out from base 10. This way, the implement holders are easily interchanged to accommodate the user's changing needs. An alternative example which is not part of the invention is shown in FIGS. 11-13. In this example, Base 100 as shown in FIG. 11 has bars 110, 120, 130 and 140, each having a transverse slit 150 for attaching base 100 to a strap in a similar way as that shown in FIG. 2. Base 100 is also equipped with a circular vertical wall 180, which has an inwardly overhanging lip 190, for locking an implement holder within base 100. A suitable implement holder is shown in FIG. 12 in the form of a hydration tube clip 200. Tube clip 200 has two bayonet catches 220 mounted underneath clip 200. Bayonet catches 220 lock into lip 190 when clip 200 is pushed into base 100, as shown in FIG. 13. Any suitable implement holder having bayonet-type catches could be used with base 100. In addition, any alternative locking mechanism could be used to latch onto base 100 could also be used. Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims: An attachment device for a strap (16,17), comprising: a base (10) with a top surface, a rear surface and four edges and an implement holder (25,30,35) having a plate releasably securable to said base (10); means disposed on the base for attaching said base (10) to a shoulder strap (16, 17) of a backpack (18) ; a releasable catch mechanism for releasably securing said implement holder (25, 30, 31) to said base (10) comprising side walls (19) on three sides of said base (10) extending up from the top surface of said base (10) and having an overhanging lip (20) and a flexible arm (21) integrally formed with said base (10) adjacent the overhanging lip (20) and extending above the top surface plane of said base (10), the flexible arm exerting upward pressure on the implement holder to secure the implement holder to the base (10) characterized in that said flexible arm (21) extends away from the overhanging lip (20) and in that the implement holder is releasable from the base (10) by pressing on a free end of the flexible arm (21) to slide the implement holder out from underneath the overhanging lip (20). The attachment device according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for attaching the base (10) to a backpack (18) comprises two bars (12 - 14) disposed along opposite edges of said base (10), each bar having a transverse slit (15) there through. The attachment device according to claim 2, characterized in that each slit (15) offset from the centre of the bars (12 - 14). The attachment device according to claim 2, characterized in that two additional bars disposed on opposite edges of said base (10), so that all four edges of said base (10) have a bar, said two additional bars each having a transverse slit (15) therein, such that said base (10) is securable on two perpendicular straps (16, 17). The attachment device according to claim 1, characterized in that the implement holder (25, 30, 31) comprises: a plate having a top surface and a bottom surface; a holder portion attached to the top surface of the plate; and an attachment portion extending from the bottom surface of the plate, said attachment portion comprising an outwardly extending flange, wherein said implement holder (25, 30, 31) is coupled to the first base (10) by inserting the flange underneath the overhanging lip (20) and is held in place by the flexible arm, and wherein said implement holder (25, 30, 31) is released from the base by pressing on the flexible arm (21). The attachment device according to claim 1, characterized in that the side wall (19) and overhanging lip (20) are semicircular. The attachment device according to claim 1, characterized in that the implement holder (25) is a hydration tube holder comprising a plate (26) and a flexible s-shaped arm (27) attached at one end to the plate (26), wherein a hydration tube is held in place by sliding the tube between the plate (26) and the arm (27). The attachment device according to claim 1, characterized in that the implement holder (30) is a flashlight holder comprised of a plate and a flexible c-shaped holder element attached at its centre to the plate, such that a flashlight can be snapped into said c-shaped holder element (38). The attachment device according to claim 1, characterized in that the implement holder (31) is a D-ring (36).

Inventors: ANSCHER JOSEPH, ANSCHER, JOSEPH
Applicants: NAT MOLDING CORP, NATIONAL MOLDING CORPORATION
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A45F3
IPC codes: A45F3, A45C13, A44B13