Abstract:
A bag assembly includes a base member configured to be releasably coupled to a horizontal surface to maintain a position of the bag assembly with respect to the surface. The bag assembly further includes a support member attached to and extending outwardly from the base member. A bag member is disposed adjacent the support shaft and includes at least one compartment, the compartment having at least two openings for access into the compartment. The bag member rotates about the support shaft to access the at least two openings.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Disclosure 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates generally to a bag assembly, and more particularly, to a bag assembly that can be attached to a surface and/or that rotates. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Background 
         [0004]    People have been using small bags to contain their toiletries and/or other items, such as jewelry, small electronics, and/or other personal items, in the home or during travel, for years. Some of such bags include a generally planar rear wall, side walls that extend outwardly from the rear wall and curve into a slightly curved front wall. The front wall includes a zipper that extends in a U-shape beginning at an upper left side thereof, continuing to a lower central portion thereof, and terminating at an upper right side thereof. The zipper allows access to an interior of the bag, which contains a number of pockets for containment of bottles, tubes, brushes, or any other personal items. 
         [0005]    Other toiletry bags include a regular bag with a generally square-shaped, rectangular, or circular cross-sectional with a zipper on one side of the bag. Personal items are placed inside the bags and the zipper is closed to contain the items and/or prevent the personal items from moving around, for example, in a user&#39;s luggage. 
         [0006]    One of the shortfalls in current travel and toiletry bags is that it is difficult to position the bags in an upright manner to easily access items and/or prevent leakage of liquids or gelatinous items within the bags. Another shortfall is that it is oftentimes difficult to locate and/or extract items from the bags, as there is little organization to such bags. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a bag assembly includes a base member configured to be releasably coupled to a horizontal surface to maintain a position of the bag assembly with respect to the surface. The bag assembly further includes a support member attached to and extending outwardly from the base member. A bag member is disposed adjacent the support shaft and includes at least one compartment, the compartment having at least two openings for access into the compartment. The bag member rotates about the support shaft to access the at least two openings. 
         [0008]    In a different aspect of the present disclosure, a method of providing a bag assembly includes the step of providing a base member, a support shaft attached to and extending outwardly from the base member, and a bag member disposed adjacent the support shaft. The bag member has at least one compartment, the compartment having at least two openings for access into the compartment. The method further includes the steps of allowing for releasable coupling of the base member to a horizontal surface to maintain a position of the bag assembly with respect to the surface and allowing the bag member to rotate about the support shaft to access the at least two openings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a top, isometric view of a first embodiment of a bag assembly having a rotatable bag and further having a handle disposed in a first position; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a top, isometric view of the bag assembly with rotatable bag of  FIG. 1  with the handle in a second position rotated about 90 degrees from the first position; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is cross-sectional view taken generally along the lines  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1  and depicting the handle in the first position; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the lines  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1  and depicting the handle in the second position; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the handle of the rotatable bag assembly of  FIGS. 1-4 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view similar to that of  FIG. 3  and depicting a further embodiment of the bag assembly having a different mechanism by which to attach the bag assembly to a surface; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a side elevational view depicting another embodiment of a mechanism by which to attach the bag assembly to a surface. 
       
    
    
       [0016]    Other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, wherein similar structures have like or similar reference numerals. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    The present disclosure is directed to a bag assembly. While the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, several specific embodiments are discussed herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered only as an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure, and it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the embodiments illustrated. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , a bag assembly  20  includes a base member  22  including a planar support plate  24  having a downwardly extending cylindrical member  26  with an outwardly extending annular flange  28 . An annular groove  30  is formed between a lower surface  32  of the support plate  24  and the annular flange  28 . The base member  22  further includes a suction cup member  34  having a central suction cup  36  with a thickened central section  38 . A cylindrical wall  40  extends upwardly from an outer annular edge  42  of an upper surface  44  of the suction cup  36  and an annular projection  46  extends inwardly from an end  48  of the cylindrical wall  40 . During assembly, the suction cup member  34  is attached to the base member  22  by inserting the annular projection  46  of the suction cup member  34  into the annular groove  30  of base member  22 . While the base member  22  is preferably made of plastic, the base member  22  may be made of any material known in the art. The suction cup  36  may alternatively be attached to the base member  22  in any manner known in the art. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the bag assembly  20  further includes a support shaft  60  connected to the upper surface  44  of the suction cup member  34  at the thickened central section  38 . A lower end  61  of the support shaft  60  and suction cup member  34  may be connected in any manner known in the art, including, but not limited to, a threaded connection, adhesive, one or more fasteners, a friction fit, an interference fit, and the like and combinations thereof. Optionally, the support shaft  60  may be integral with the suction cup member  34 . The bag assembly  20  further includes a tubular member  62  disposed around the support shaft  60 . A lower end  64  of the tubular member  62  is disposed adjacent a top surface of the support plate  24 . The tubular member  62  and support plate  24  may be permanently or removably connected or may not be connected. The tubular member  62  and support plate  24 , if connected, may be connected in any manner known in the art, including, but not limited to, adhesive, one or more fasteners, a friction fit, an interference fit, and the like, and combinations thereof. Still optionally, the tubular member  62  and the support plate  24  may be a single integral piece. As seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , an annular flange  68  extends outwardly from an upper end  66  of the tubular member  62 . The support shaft  60  and tubular member  62  are preferably plastic, although, any material known the art may be utilized. 
         [0020]    The support shaft  60 , as seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , includes an upper end  70  that supports a rotatable handle member  72 . The upper end  70  end of the support shaft  60  further includes a cylindrical channel  73  through the support shaft  60 , as will be discussed in greater detail below. Referring to  FIGS. 3-5 , the handle member  72  includes a generally oval-shaped handle  74  with an aperture  76  extending through the handle  74 . The handle  74  provides a grasping surface  78 , which can be grasped by a user to rotate the handle  74 , as discussed in greater detail hereinafter. The handle member  72  further includes two downwardly extending U-shaped members  80  having cylindrical channels  82  through the members  80 , as best seen in  FIG. 5 . When the handle member  72  is attached to the support shaft  60 , the U-shaped members  80  straddle the upper end  70  of the support shaft  60  such that a pin  84  can be inserted through the channels  82  through the U-shaped members  80  and the channel  73  through the support shaft  60  to retain the handle  72  on the upper end  70  of the support shaft  60 . When assembled, curved lower ends  90  of the U-shaped members  80  abut an upper surface  92  of the annular flange  68  at the upper end  66  of the tubular member  62 . In addition, a gap  94  is formed between the upper end  70  of the support shaft  60  and a lower surface  96  of the handle  74  between the U-shaped members  80 . 
         [0021]    During use, the handle member  72  may be rotated from a first, upright position, as seen in  FIG. 3 , to a second position, as seen in  FIG. 4 , that is about 90 degrees from the first position. Although the handle member  72  is shown as being rotated 90 degrees to one side, the arrows in  FIGS. 3 and 4  indicate that the handle member  72  may be rotated 90 degrees in either direction in order to function in the manner described below. In particular, when the handle member  72  is rotated to either side, the upper surface  92  of the annular flange  68  provides a camming surface for the curved lower ends  90  of the U-shaped members  80 . More specifically, camming action between the upper surface  92  and the lower ends  90  allows the handle member  72  to be rotated along the upper surface  92  until a side surface  98  of the handle member  72  is disposed adjacent the upper surface  92 . During this movement, the support shaft  60  is moved upwardly along a longitudinal axis  26  of the bag assembly  20  (away from the support plate  24 ) (see  FIG. 4 ), thereby moving the suction cup member  34  upwardly along the longitudinal axis  26  (away from the support plate  24 ) and allowing the suction cup member  34  to be attached to a surface  100 . When the handle member  72  is rotated back to the first position ( FIG. 3 ), the support shaft  60  is moved downwardly along the longitudinal axis  26  of the bag assembly  20  (toward the support plate  24 ), thereby releasing the suction cup member  34  from attachment to the surface  100 . 
         [0022]    In another embodiment, the support shaft  60  (with or without a handle member  72 ) may be twisted to move the support shaft along the longitudinal axis  26  away from the support plate  24 . For example, the support shaft  60  and the tubular member  62  could be threaded or the support shaft  60  and support plate  24  could be threaded in any manner known in the art. Still optionally, the support shaft  60  may be moved along the longitudinal axis  26  in any manner known in the art. 
         [0023]    A bag member  122  is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  as being attached to the support shaft  60 , tubular member  62 , and/or support plate  24 . The bag member  122  includes a generally planar and flexible top wall  124 , a generally planar and flexible bottom wall  126 , and three generally planar and flexible side walls  128   a - 128   c  extending between the top and bottom walls  124 ,  126  and forming a compartment  127 . The side walls  128   a - 128   c  generally have a triangular cross-sectional shape in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis  26  of the bag assembly  20  and each includes a zipper  130   a - 130   c  for accessing contents of the bag assembly  20 . 
         [0024]    The bag member  122  may be made of any material known in the art, for example, cotton, polyester, leather, rayon, or any other generally flexible material, and combinations thereof. In addition, although the bag member  122  is shown as having a generally triangular cross-section, the bag member  122  may have any cross-sectional shape, such as rectangular, square-shaped, circular, oval, pentagonal, octagonal, and the like. Still further, although the bag member  122  is shown as having three walls  128   a - 128   c  and zippers  130   a - 130   c  and a single compartment  127 , the bag member  122  may include any number of walls, zippers, and/or compartments. For example, in one embodiment, a bag member includes upper and lower compartments having a generally square shape with four walls. The bag member includes a zipper for each compartment on each wall for a total of 8 zippers. In a further embodiment, a bag member has a circular cross-section with first and second semi-circular compartments each comprising half of a horizontal area of the bag member and extending a full height of the bag. Each compartment includes a generally U-shaped zipper similar to the zippers  130   a - 130   c  described above. As can be seen from the foregoing embodiments, numerous different embodiments are contemplated without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0025]    Although the bag member  122  is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  as being disposed above or on top of the base member  22 , the bag member  122  may extend downwardly past the base member  22  to cover the support plate  24  and suction cup member  34 . Further, as seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the annular nature of the suction cup member  34  and the wall  40  extending from the central suction cup  36 , as well as the attachment of the annular projection  46  within the annular groove  30  of the base member  22 , allow rotation of the bag member  122 . In particular, the bag member  122  rotates with the support shaft  60 , the tubular member  62 , and the support plate  24  while the suction cup member  34  remains stationary. In another embodiment, the support plate  24  and the suction cup member  34  remain stationary and the bag member  12 , the support shaft  60 , and the tubular member  62  are be rotated. In yet another embodiment, the bag member  122 , the tubular member  62 , and the support plate  24  rotate while the support shaft  60  and suction cup member  34  remain stationary. As one skilled in the art will recognize, there are other ways to allow rotation of the bag member  122 . 
         [0026]      FIGS. 6 and 7  depict further mechanisms for attaching the bag assembly  20  to the surface  100 . Similar to previous embodiments, the tubular member  62  surrounds the support shaft  60 . The support shaft  60  of  FIG. 6  includes an end  150  that can be grasped and pulled by a user. In other embodiments, the end  150  includes a handle or other means to aid in grasping the shaft  60 . An arm  152  connects an end  153  of the support shaft  60  and an outer edge  154  of the suction cup member  34 . To attach the suction cup member  34  to the surface  100 , a user pushes downwardly on the end  150 , and thus, the support shaft  60  and the suction cup member  34 . In order to detach the suction cup member  34  from the surface  100 , a user pulls upwardly on the end  150 , which pulls the support shaft  60  upwardly, thus pulling the arm  152  and the outer edge  154  of the suction cup member  34  upwardly and detaching the suction cup member  34  from the surface  100 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , the support shaft  60  extends upwardly from the base member  22  and the tubular member  62  is omitted. In addition, the suction cup member  34  is attached directly to the lower surface  32  of the base member  22 . The suction cup member  34  includes a tab  160  or other member to aid in detaching the suction cup member  34  from the surface  100 . 
         [0028]    Any of the embodiments described herein may be modified to include any of the structures or methodologies disclosed in connection with other embodiments. 
         [0029]    Further, although directional terminology, such as front, back, upper, lower, etc. may be used throughout the present specification, it should be understood that such terms are not limiting and are only utilized herein to convey the orientation of different elements with respect to one another. 
         [0030]    Numerous modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is presented for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the disclosure and to teach the best mode of carrying out same. The exclusive rights to all modifications which come within the scope of the appended claims are reserved.