Abstract:
An article of luggage, of the type having a retaining device for pressing an object against an outer wall of the article of luggage, of the type in which the retaining device includes a flexible tie that runs along a path following the return points borne by the outer wall of the backpack, and of the type in which the length of the tie path can be adjusted due to a clamp whose position on the tie is adjustable, wherein the clamp is affixed to a retaining element that is affixed to the article of luggage but which can be spaced from the outer wall, the object to be pressed being at least partially received between the outer wall and the retaining element, inside the tie path.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
         [0001]    This application is based upon French Patent Application No. 01.09958, filed Jul 20, 2001, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety, and the priority of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. §119.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The invention relates to an article of luggage.  
           [0004]    More particularly, the invention relates to luggage in the form of a backpack. However, the invention can be applied to any type of flexible bag, or to semi-rigid or rigid baggage.  
           [0005]    2. Description of Background and Relevant Information  
           [0006]    Any article of luggage has a main compartment, usually closed, that is adapted to receive the objects that one wishes to carry with such article of luggage, or bag. The main compartment forms the primary portion of the inner volume of the bag. The article could also have outer pockets that form additional closed compartments, and which are adapted to storing objects that one wishes to have immediately available. Lastly, articles of luggage also have outer retaining devices that allow one to fasten additional objects to the outside of the bag. These retaining systems can be constituted by mere straps.  
           [0007]    An outer retaining system is shown, for example, in FIG. 7 of document EP-A1-0 612 489. In this figure, one can see a backpack with a retaining device for pressing an object against an outer wall of the bag, in this case on the outer surface of the flap. The retaining device has a flexible tie that runs along a path following return points formed by loops borne by the outer wall of the flap. The length of the path of the tie is adjustable due to a clamp, whose position on the tie is adjustable in order to tighten an object, such as a helmet, a coat or yet other accessories.  
           [0008]    Thus, this type of retaining system allows attaching objects to the bag that are relatively bulky, maybe even bulkier than the bag, even if these objects are not really protected, particularly from the rain. Such a retaining device takes up no space when empty and weighs very little, and it is capable of receiving objects of various shapes and sizes.  
           [0009]    The drawback raised by this type of retaining device is that it is necessary to use both hands to close the device over the object that one wishes to press against the outer wall of the bag. As a matter of fact, one closes the device by pulling on the free end of the tie with one hand to tighten the object against the outer surface, and by sliding the clamp along the tie with the other hand up to a locking position in which it maintains the tie tensioned against the object to be pressed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    An object of the invention is to propose a system in which the user could perform the aforementioned closing operation with only one hand. To this end, the invention proposes an article of luggage, of the type having a retaining device for pressing an object against an outer wall of the article of luggage, of the type in which the retaining device has a flexible tie that runs along a path following return points borne by the outer wall of the bag, and of the type in which the length of the tie path is adjustable due to a clamp, whose position on the tie is adjustable, whereby the clamp is affixed to a retaining element which is affixed to the article of luggage but which can be spaced from the outer wall, the object to be pressed being at least partially received between the outer wall and the retaining element on the inside of the tie path. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the following detailed description, with reference to the attached drawings, and in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a backpack according to the invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a side view of the backpack of FIG. 1;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a view of the front surface of the backpack of FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view with a partial tear out of an embodiment of the attachment of the clamp to the retaining element; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic views showing, in two positions, an embodiment of a clamp that can be used within the scope of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    FIGS.  1 - 3  show a carrying bag  10  of the backpack type that has, on a rear wall  12  adapted to come in contact with the user&#39;s back, carrying means provided in the form of a pair of shoulder straps  14  allowing one to carry the backpack over the shoulders, and an abdominal belt  16  allowing one to stabilize the lower portion of the backpack, and/or to distribute a portion of the weight of the bag over the user&#39;s pelvis.  
         [0018]    For a better understanding of the description, the bag  10  hereinafter will be considered as having a main compartment  18  in the shape, substantially, of a parallelepiped, even if in actuality the shape of this compartment is more complex. Similarly, in addition to the convention according to which the rear surface is the one adapted to come into contact with the user&#39;s back, the notions of top and bottom, as they apply to a backpack when it is carried in the usual manner by a user, will be referenced. The main compartment  18  will be considered to have, opposite its rear surface  12 , a front wall  20  that is joined to the rear wall  12  by two lateral wails  22 . The main compartment  18  is therefore demarcated by walls which are preferably made from a flexible material, for example a fabric. The rear wall  12  can have a reinforcement structure (not shown in the figures). The compartment  18  is closed in its lower portion by a stationary bottom, for example, and has, at its upper portion an opening that is defined, for instance, by a zipper  24 . The backpack  10  could also have lateral pockets arranged outside the main compartment  18 , for instance on the lateral surfaces  22  thereof.  
         [0019]    According to the invention, the backpack  10  has a retaining device  26  allowing one to press and attach objects against the front wall  20  of the backpack. This retaining device has five return points  27 ,  28 ,  29  through which a tie  30  can slide. The return points  27 ,  28 ,  29  are constituted of small loops made from a strip of fabric sewn on the edges of the front surface. One of the return points  27  is located at the center of a lower horizontal edge of the front wall  20 , and each of the two lateral vertical edges of the front wall is provided with two return points, one  28  in the lower portion and the other  29  in the upper portion. The return points  28 ,  29  of the two lateral edges are located vertically opposite one another.  
         [0020]    Between the two upper lateral return points  29 , the tie passes through a clamp  38  which, according to the teaching of the invention, is maintained by a retaining element  32 . In the example shown, the retaining element has a textile panel  34  that covers the lower two-thirds of the front wall  20  of the backpack, and a reinforcement strap  36  that extends vertically along the external side of the textile panel  34 , from the lower return point  27  up to the highest point of the textile panel.  
         [0021]    More specifically, the textile panel  34  is sewn at a lower edge to the lower edge of the front wall  20  of the backpack, and the bottom portion  40  of its lateral edges is also sewn to the corresponding bottom portion of the front surface. The upper portions  42  of the two lateral edges of the textile panel are free with respect to the front wall  20  of the backpack and meet at a top point that is substantially at the height of the two upper return points  29 . The textile panel  34  thus has a free edge that is constituted of the upper portions  42  of the two lateral edges and that can be spaced from the outer wall of the backpack. The free edge of the panel  34  thus demarcates an opening for the space comprised between the panel  34  and the outer surface of the backpack, inside the path of the tie  30 ; it is an opening through which the objects to be retained are at least partially introduced into this space. The upper portions  42  of the lateral edges are advantageously provided with elastic straps.  
         [0022]    The textile panel can be a panel of fabric or constituted of a net which, due to its deforming ability, can better adapt to the shape of any object that is inserted into the space between the panel  34  and the front surface  20 . In this case especially, the reinforcement strap  36  is particularly important. The reinforcement strap can be an elastic strap having a predetermined stretching capacity, or on the contrary a substantially inextensible strap, i.e., not stretching more than 5% in a traction force of several tens of kilos. In the example shown, the reinforcement strap  36  is a flexible textile strap that is substantially inextensible. The strap  36  is fixed to the backpack at the edge of its lower end, and the edge of its upper end is free to be spaced from the outer wall  20 , like the free edge of the panel  34  with which it coincides.  
         [0023]    If the textile panel  34  is obtained in the form of a net, it will then be advantageous to attach the clamp  28  to the reinforcement strap  36 , as shown in the figures, especially if the reinforcement strap is substantially inextensible. Indeed, the reinforcement strap can retain the clamp without being deformed, and it will allow closing the retaining device with one hand.  
         [0024]    The path of the tie  30  between the return points is an 8-shaped crisscrossed-loop path, i.e., the tie passes directly from one lateral return point  28  located in the bottom portion of one of the lateral edges up to the return point  29  located in the top portion of the other lateral edge of the front surface. Thus, the tie encounters a crossing point in its path. This crossing occurs on the inside of a keeper  35  sewn on the reinforcement strap  36 .  
         [0025]    In the example shown, the tie includes a section affixed to the backpack. In this case, the tie  30  is constituted of a single tie whose two ends are sewn to the backpack in the area of the lower return point  27 . As such, the tie  30  does not slide in the area of the lower return point  27 , but it can slide in the area of the four other return points  28 ,  29 .  
         [0026]    The clamp  38 , for instance, is a slide clamp like the one shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This clamp  38  has a main tubular body  44  that is substantially cylindrical and rotatable, closed at an upper end and open at a lower end (the terms upper and lower are used based on the orientation according to which the clamp is affixed to the backpack in the example shown). A slide  46  can slide vertically in the main body  44 , and it is biased downwardly by a spring  48  that is inserted, inside of the main body, between the upper end of the slide and the upper closed end of the main body. The lower end of the slide  46  extends past the exterior of the main body  44  so as to form a push button allowing one to retract the slide  46  into the main body by compressing the spring  48 . The main body and the slide each have a transverse bore  50 ,  52 , and the two bores can be aligned with one another (until they are substantially coaxial) when the slide  46  is retracted by compressing the spring  48 .  
         [0027]    The strands of the tie  30 , one originating from the right upper return point  29  and the other originating from the left upper return point  29 , pass through the clamp and are received in the two bores  50 ,  52 . When the two bores  50 ,  52  are substantially coaxial, the two strands of the tie  30  can slide freely with respect to the clamp  32 . When the push button is released, the spring  48  causes the downward displacement of the slide  46  by offsetting the bores  50 ,  52 , until the strands of the tie are wedged by shearing between the bores  50 ,  52 .  
         [0028]    In FIG. 3, it can be seen that when the retaining element lays flat, when empty, against the outer wall  20 , the clamp  38  is located on the perimeter that connects the return points  27 ,  28 ,  29 . It could also be positioned inside of this perimeter.  
         [0029]    As seen in FIG. 4, the clamp  38  is fixed to the retaining element in a position such that the bores  50 ,  52  are substantially parallel to the direction of the tie strands originating from the upper return points  29 . To this end, the upper end of the reinforcement strap  36  is folded vertically downward on itself, and the flap  54  thus formed is fixed to the strap  36  by two vertical stitches  56  made on the lateral edges of the flap  54  and the strap  36 . The stitches  56  do not extend up to the upper fold of the strap  36  so as to leave a passage  58  for the tie strands. The flap  54  thus forms a housing that is closed toward the top in which the clamp can be wedged, and the push button formed by the lower end of the slide  46  extends downwardly outside of the housing. The clamp is thus arranged in the immediate proximity of the free edge of the retaining element, at the center of the edge.  
         [0030]    It is noted that the clamp demarcates for each of the two tie strands a useful section  60 , that extends from one side of the clamp towards one of the upper return points  29  and which is taut when the retaining device is tightened on an object  43 , and a free section  62  on which the user can pull in order to tighten the retaining device.  
         [0031]    In the embodiment shown, in which the tie  30  is in one single piece and has two ends affixed, to the backpack in the area of the lower return  27 , the two free sections  62  are constituted of the central portion of the tie  30  and, therefore, are provided to be in the continuity one of the other by forming a loop. The loop can be equipped with a traction grip  64  that allows, by pulling upwardly opposite the reinforcement strap  36 , to pull simultaneously and equally on the two useful strands  60 . The tightening of the retaining device is thus always symmetrical.  
         [0032]    The orientation of the clamp with respect to the orientation of the sections  60 ,  62  of the strands of the tie  30  is particularly advantageous. Indeed, the sliding direction of the clamp slide is substantially perpendicular to the general direction connecting the two return points  29  between which the clamp  38  is located on the path of the tie  30 . As can be seen in FIG. 5, the useful sections  60  on which the tension is exerted are substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the slide  46  of the clamp, and this tension does not exert a force on the slide that could facilitate the unlocking of the clamp. On the contrary, one can see in FIG. 6 that when the user tensions the free sections  62  by pulling upwardly along a force F, these free sections exert a force on the slide  46  that tends to bring it to its unlocking position with respect to the main body. Thus, the clamp is at least partially deactivated due to the orientation of the free strands, which decreases the resistance of the retaining system during tightening.  
         [0033]    The clamp that is described here is rather simple and therefore inexpensive. Nevertheless, the invention can be embodied with other types of clamps, for instance, a clamp of the type described in the document EP-0 629 793.  
         [0034]    Due to the fact that the clamp is affixed to the retaining element  32 , the user does not need to hold or displace the clamp when it is desired that the retaining device be tightened. Furthermore, by attaching the clamp to the retaining element  32  which can be spaced from the backpack, and not directly to the backpack, the clamp does not hinder the insertion or removal of the object under the retaining device.  
         [0035]    In the context of the invention, the retaining element is constituted, in the example described, of the textile panel  34  and of the reinforcement strap  36  which are associated with one another. However, the retaining element could be constituted of only one of these two elements. In particular, if the objects to be carried are very bulky, the retaining element could be constituted only of the reinforcement strap  36  as the bulky object will be efficiently retained by the tie and the strap alone. The textile panel will be used advantageously if the objects to be carried are small objects.