Abstract:
A modular carrying case having a substantially rigid elongated case and a separable, flexible saddle bag for carrying necessary accouterments. The modules are separable for travel on public transportation. The case has the necessary strength for being placed in a cargo hold. The saddle bag is folded into a carrying bag of a size to be acceptable for carry-on baggage.

Description:
RELATED PATENT APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 09/711,820 filed Nov. 13, 2000, which is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 29/125,917 filed Jun. 15, 2000. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to the field of travel and in particular to carrying cases for use during transportation.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The use of specialized carrying cases provides travelers with shipping containers designed to protect valuable products. For instance, modern fishing rods may be constructed from high strength, low weight, materials and customized to meet the personal preferences of a fisherman. Modern fishing rods may also be constructed to allow for disassembly to permit ease of transportation. Because the rods and reels are somewhat delicate in construction, carrying cases are conventional for protecting the rods and for preventing injury from unsecured parts of the rods. These carrying cases may be formed of hard materials, such as plastic or light metal, or soft woven or nonwoven textile-like materials.  
           [0004]    All carrying cases suffer the wear and tear of travel, especially when subjected to the baggage handling concomitant with public transportation. The carrying cases usually can not be carried in the overhead bins used in public transports either because of the length of the rods or the bins being full. So, as a rule, the cases and their contents are consigned to the baggage holds of the vehicles. These small items of luggage suffer a high probability of being misplaced or mishandled and lost. Also, there is a high degree of damages suffered by such small light weight items.  
           [0005]    Since the events of Sep. 11, 2001, the U.S. government and the airlines have instituted rigorous inspections of carry-on baggage. These inspections subject the passengers to waiting lines and long delays. Any carry-on luggage, other than the ordinary and/or simple container, is subjected to more thorough search adding to the waiting and delays.  
           [0006]    From an organizational point of view, as well as convenience, it is also desirable to use hanging rod cases in closets, at home and while traveling. It is also desirable to pack the various accouterments used in fishing together with the rod case.  
           [0007]    There exists an unmet need to remove the fishing rods and carrying cases from the inherent dangers of damage and loss prevalent in all transportation, especially in the baggage compartments in public transportation. There is a necessity to quickly and easily reduce the carry-on luggage to simple containers quickly inspected by security personnel.  
           [0008]    There is a further need to provide a carrying case that can be unobtrusively carried while using the rod and reel for fishing.  
         DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART  
         [0009]    Design Pat. Nos. D410,333 and D332,526 illustrate examples of fishing tackle carrying cases. Each shows a case for enclosing the tackle and straps for carrying the cases. The cases appear to be closed by a flap or a drawstring, respectively. One case appears to be made of rigid material and the other of a soft textile material.  
           [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,391 to Kjose is directed to a carrier for golf equipment, including clubs and shoes. The carrier is reversible so that the clubs may be accessible for play and enclosed for transport.  
           [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,874 to Vance is directed to a fishing rod and reel carrier. The case is padded with foam and strengthened with Masonite to protect the contents. It has loop handles for hand carrying.  
           [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,194 to Miller is directed to a fishing rod case formed as a cylindrical tube. The tube has end caps with latches and a carrying handle.  
           [0013]    None of these prior art devices make any provision for a design which would facilitate transporting the case within the hang-up closet in the passenger compartment of public transportation vehicles.  
           [0014]    The prior art does not teach the use of carrying cases for storage and organization of fishing rods in clothes closets.  
           [0015]    Neither do these prior art devices have any mechanism that allows any reduction in size while not in use. Specifically, the prior art does not teach a modular fishing rod carrying case that has a detachable accouterment saddlebag allowing removal and shipping of the accouterment saddlebag separately.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0016]    Accordingly, it is an objective of the instant invention to teach the use of a modular carrying case which can be separated into components or modules for checked and carry-on luggage for use in public transportation.  
           [0017]    It is an objective of the instant invention to teach the use of a modular carrying case for such items as fishing rods and accouterments which can be separated into components or modules for checked and carry-on luggage for use in public transportation.  
           [0018]    It is another object of the invention to teach the use of the carrying case module for organizing and storing fragile items in clothes closets using a hanger.  
           [0019]    It is a further objective of the instant invention to teach the use of a saddle bag module that can be folded to a size for under-seat storage.  
           [0020]    Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0021]    [0021]FIG. 1 is a perspective of the carrying case of this invention with saddle bag mounted;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carrying case of FIG. 1 without the saddle bag;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 3 is an end view of the interior of the carrying case;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 4 is a plan view of the saddle bag from the outside;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 5 is a plan view of the inside of the saddle bag;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 6 is a top view of the folded saddle bag; and  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 7 is a side view of the folded saddle bag.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0028]    In FIG. 1, the modular combination of the carrying case  10  and the saddle bag  11  is shown in the assembled configuration. This allows the user to carry items such as musical instruments, blueprints, guns, golf clubs, fishing rods, and so forth. For ease of illustration, this specification will use fishing rods as the primary example and embodiment. The carrying case is a reinforced tubular container  12  having a closed end  13  and an open end  14 . The open end  14  has a removable cap  15  for access to the interior of the case. The cap is attached to the rod case by belt material  50 .  
         [0029]    The container  12  preferably has a hard polyvinylchloride, PVC, body, in the general shape of a parallelopiped, sized to accommodate several dissembled fishing rods. The interior of the PVC body, as shown in FIG. 3, may be lined with fabric, plastic or a foam material  16  to prevent shifting of the rods. The body may be further sub-divided by partitions  17  and  18 , either of PVC or other stiff material to keep the enclosed rods from becoming entangled with each other. The outer surface of the PVC body is completely enclosed in ballistic cloth covering  19 . This construction of the carrying case  10  has the strength and durability to withstand the rigors of baggage handling and storage typical of the environment endured by baggage shipped in cargo holds of public transportation.  
         [0030]    The rod case  10  has a carrying handle  20  attached approximately midway along it&#39;s length. Two loops  21  and  22  are attached to either end portion of the case in line with the handle  20 . The loops  21  and  22  serve as fasteners for the shoulder strap  23  which has cooperating hooks  24  and  25  at each end. The shoulder strap  23  is removable by disengaging the hooks  24  and  25  from the loops  21  and  22 . The carrying handle  20  and the loops  21  and  22  may be made of a cloth, such as ballistic cloth or the like, connected to the covering  19  by sewing or other conventional fastening devices. The hooks are preferably of hard polymer but may also be made of the fabric or metal.  
         [0031]    The saddle bag  11  is preferably made of ballistic fabric or other flexible material. As shown in FIG. 1, the elongated saddle bag is draped over the rod case and held in place by openable fasteners. In use, the rod case and saddle bag could be packed and carried to the airport assembled. At the airport the saddle bag could be separated from the rod case. The rod case could then be checked for cargo baggage. The saddle bag  11  may be folded into a compact hand bag sized to fit under the airplane seat and carried through check-in.  
         [0032]    As shown in FIG. 2, the rod case can be suspended or hung by a hook-shaped element  26 . This hook may be used to store the rod case in a closet at home or in a room while traveling. The hook  26  is attached to the rod case covering  19  by a fabric belt  27 . The belt and hook are stored under a fabric flap  28  when not in use. The flap  28  is fixed along one edge to the covering  19  and the opposite edge has an openable fastener, such as Velcro, with the hook fabric  29  on the flap and the loop fabric  30  on the covering  19  or vice versa.  
         [0033]    The modules are secured together by separable fasteners, preferably hook-and-loop material, known as Velcro. Other separable fasteners such as hooks and eyes, snap fasteners, buttons and holes, zippers, and adhesive or cohesive materials, may be used. The rod case has fasteners  30  at each lower corner portion. Additional fasteners  31  are located on the top of the case laterally on each side of the carrying handle  20 .  
         [0034]    As shown in FIG. 4, the saddle bag module is generally rectangular in shape and has aligned openings along it&#39;s mid line. The opening  32  accommodates the carrying handle  20  of the rod case. The openings  33  accommodate the loops  21  and  22  that attach to the shoulder strap  23 . Pockets  34 ,  35 ,  36  and  37  are affixed near each corner of the saddle bag  11 . Each of the pockets are closed by separable fasteners  38 , preferably zippers, though other fasteners may be used. The pockets are of such size to accommodate reels, line spools, lures and other accouterments. The pockets may be lined with shock absorbent material to protect the contents. At least two of the pockets have carrying handles attached on opposite ends of the fasteners. For illustration and not limitation, carrying handles  39  and  40  are attached to pockets  34  and  35 , respectively. The carrying handles  39  and  40  also have cooperating elements of Velcro  41  and  42  or other separable fasteners (not shown) attached approximately midway of the span for temporarily securing the handles together after separation from the rod case.  
         [0035]    As shown in FIG. 5, the underside of the saddle bag  11  has cooperating separable fasteners  43  located near each corner of the module. Along the central axis of the saddle bag  11 , other separable fasteners  44  are located for stabilizing the position of the saddle bag on the rod case. The fasteners  43  cooperate with the fasteners  31  and the fasteners  43  cooperate with the fasteners  30  to secure the modules in the assembled position. As mentioned, these fasteners are preferably Velcro but other fastening devices may be used.  
         [0036]    The entire saddle bag module  11  is made of ballistic cloth or other strong durable material including, knitted, woven, non-woven or film structures. The saddle bag is flexible to such a degree that the saddle bag may be doubled upon itself in the longitudinal direction and width-wise to result in a carrying bag not much larger than the size of the individual pockets. In this configuration, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the saddle bag module  11  complies with the size requirements for airline carry-on luggage.