Abstract:
The present invention is an apparatus and method for forming a pleated pocket device having a back panel having at least one pleat, a first section, and a second section wherein the second section is capable of expanding more than the first section, and a front panel connected to the back panel to form a cavity adjacent to the second section.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a pleated pocket device. Particularly, the present invention relates to a pleated pocket device to secure loose items such as a fluid container, cell phone, and other similar items.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     In the past, individuals that engaged in sports or exercise normally had to forgo drinking water or other fluids because it was not convenient to carry bottles filled with fluids during the exercise. This is even more difficult when the individual has to carry other equipment such as a golf bag, camping equipment, baby carry bags, and the like.  
         [0003]     By way of example, a golfer spends many hours outside, in the open, and often during hot and sunny weather. Although many golfers ride on golf carts, many others prefer to walk, because carts are not allowed on many golf courses, and quite often out of a preference for walking, as endurance is considered by many to be an integral part of the game. Indeed, professional golfers are required to walk the course during tournament play (although a few Senior PGA tournaments allow cart play on extremely hilly courses). However, due to the effort required to carry or roll a golf bag, it is very awkward for a golfer to attempt to carry any type of beverage or sports bottle while transporting the golf bag.  
         [0004]     Golfers often walk many miles during a game (the average distance walked on a round of golf is about 5 miles), carrying their own bag and clubs in a backpack style golf bag (usually called a stand bag or a carry bag). Thus it is essential to the walking golfer to have access to fluids during a game. Most golf bags are not designed or built to accommodate the storage of beverages or fluid containers. Thus, many golfers carry a fanny-pack style drink holder; others carry an over-the-shoulder type of drink holder. These types of drink holders are simply another item to carry, remove and replace during a game.  
         [0005]     Many carry bags over the years have incorporated fluid container holders. Since a carry bag is generally carried horizontally across the golfer&#39;s back, the possible locations and configurations of integrated drink holders are limited. Integrated drink holders are generally fabricated with a foam or other covered substrate, resulting in a bulky, rigid extrusion attached to the bag, usually to a pocket, that protrudes rudely from the bag even when not in use. This results in added weight to the bag and thus, additional weight for the golfer to carry. Furthermore, all such drink holders are external, extending outward and creating instability with a large beverage container while walking. Moreover, an elegantly designed high-end golf bag is generally designed to be visually pleasing, and such drink holders can interrupt the contours and lines of a bag and/or pocket design.  
         [0006]     Thus, there is still a need for a holder that may be integrated into clothes or a sports bag, such as a golf bag, in a more streamlined fashion to reduce weight, hold a variety of small, medium, or large items with stability, and provide a visually pleasing uninterrupted surface when not occupied with the item(s).  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention is an apparatus and method for forming a pleated pocket device having a back panel having at least one pleat, a first section, and a second section wherein the second section is capable of expanding more than the first section, and a front panel connected to the back panel to form a cavity adjacent to the second section.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the invention.  
         [0009]     In the drawings:  
         [0010]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIGS. 1C and 1D  illustrate a cross-section of  FIG. 1B  along axis X-X and Y-Y, respectively.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates the present invention in use with a fluid container.  
         [0014]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate the present invention in use with articles such as a golf bag and a jacket, respectively.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a method of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIGS. 6A, 6B ,  6 C, and  6 D illustrate an example of the present invention in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]     Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the context of a pleated pocket device. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed description of the present invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0018]     In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer&#39;s specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.  
         [0019]     The present invention relates to a pleated pocket device to secure loose items such as a fluid container, cell phone, or other similar items. The pleated pocket device may be used as a separate device or may be integrated into an article such as a sports bag to provide for a more streamlined fashion to reduce weight, hold a variety of containers with stability, and provide a visually pleasing uninterrupted surface when not occupied with an item.  
         [0020]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. The pleated pocket device, generally numbered  10 , may have a back panel  100  and a front panel  116 . The back panel  100  may have a first portion  102 , a second portion  104 , and a third portion  106 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1A , first portion  102  may have two pleats  108   a  and  108   b,  but the number of pleats is not meant to be limiting since any number of pleats will work. The pleats  108   a,    108   b  are folds of even width made by doubling the material upon itself and stitching  110   a,    110   b  the folds in place. The pleats  108   a  and  108   b  may be stitched  110   a,    110   b  down the length of the first portion  102  through a top section  112  of the second portion  104  near the centerline Z. However, the stitch  110   a,    110   b  may extend only down the length of first portion  102 .  
         [0021]     Second portion  104  may be attached to the first portion  102  at the top section  112 . The second portion  104  may also be attached to the third portion  106  at a bottom section  114 . The third portion  106  may be circular in shape to simulate the shape of a typical sports bottle bottom. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will now realize that the third portion  106  may be any shape, such as a square, to adapt to any shape of the loose item.  
         [0022]     Second portion  104  may be a trapezoidal shape to allow for expansion in the pleated pocket device. Top section  112  may be longer than bottom section  114  which expands the bottom of the pleated pocket device  10 . The extra length at bottom section  114  further forms the inverted “V” shape of pleats  108   a,    108   b.  It was also found that without second portion  104 , the item, such as a fluid container, would not be stable within the pleated pocket device  10 . The container would not touch the bottom of the device  10 , would not be positioned securely within the device  10 , and in fact, would be pushed out of the device  10 .  
         [0023]      FIGS. 1C and 1D  illustrate a cross-section of  FIG. 1B  along axis X-X and Y-Y, respectively. FIG. IC is a cross-section of  FIG. 1B  along axis X-X illustrating pleats  108   a,    108   b.  Pleat  108   b  is formed from folding the material at  150  and  152  and rigidly fixed in place with stitches  110   b.  Pleat  108   a  is formed from folding the material at  154  and  156  and rigidly fixed in place with stitches  110   a.  FIG. ID is a cross-section of  FIG. 1B  along axis Y-Y. Pleats  108   b  is formed from folding the material at  150  and  152 . Pleat  108   a  is formed from folding the material at  154  and  156 . As described above, pleats  108   a,    108   b  from an inverted V shape. Thus, distance d 1  is longer in length than d 2 .  
         [0024]     The device further has a front panel  116 . The front panel  116  has a bottom  120  that may be attached to the back panel  100  at the third portion  106 . Bottom  120  may be rigidly fixed to the outer edges of third portion  106 . The front panel  116  may also have a first side  122  opposite a second side  124 . The first side  122  and second side  124  may be rigidly fixed to the back panel  100  second portion  104  and the bottom end  140  of first portion  102  as illustrated in  FIG. 1A . First side  112  may be rigidly fixed to the first and second portion first outer edge  142  and second side  124  may be rigidly fixed to the first and second portion second outer edge  144 . When front panel  116  is rigidly fixed to back panel  100 , a cavity  132  is formed to hold any item, such as a fluid container. Front panel  116  may be rigidly fixed to back panel  100  by stitching, gluing, or any other similar means.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. The pleated pocket device, generally numbered  202 , may have a back panel  204  and a front panel  206 , both may be formed form a single sheet of material. The back panel  204  has a top edge  208  and a bottom edge  210 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , back panel may have two pleats  212   a  and  212   b,  but the number of pleats is not meant to be limiting since any number of pleats will work. The pleats  212   a,    212   b  are folds of even width made by doubling the material upon itself and stitching  214   a,    214   b  the folds in place as is further illustrated and described above with reference to  FIGS. 1C and 1D . The pleats  212   a,    212   b  may be stitched  214   a,    214   b  near the centerline Z and down the length of the back panel  204  as far as necessary to securely hold an item in the pleated pocket device  202 .  
         [0026]     Top edge  208  may be longer in length than bottom edge  210  such that the back panel forms a trapezoidal shape. This allows for expansion, in width and depth, of the pleated pocket device  202  near the bottom edge. Moreover, the extra length at bottom section  114  further forms the inverted “V” shape of pleats  212   a,    212   b.  It was also found that the items remained positioned securely within the pleated pocket device  202 .  
         [0027]     The back panel  204  may also be attached to a bottom panel  216  at bottom edge  210 . A bottom panel  216  may be circular in shape to simulate the shape of a typical sports bottle bottom. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will now realize that the bottom panel  216  may be any shape, such as a square, to adapt to any shape of the loose item.  
         [0028]     Front panel  206  may be fixedly attached to back panel  204 . Front panel  206  has a bottom  218  that may be rigidly fixed to the outer edges of bottom panel  216 . The front panel  206  may also have a first side  220  opposite a second side  222 . The first side  220  and second side  222  may be rigidly fixed to the back panel  216  as illustrated in  FIG. 1A . First side  220  may be rigidly fixed to the first outer edge  224  and second side  222  may be rigidly fixed to the second outer edge  226 . When front panel  206  is rigidly fixed to back panel  202 , a cavity is formed to hold any item, such as a fluid container. Front panel  206  may be rigidly fixed to back panel  204  by stitching, gluing, or any other similar means.  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates the use of an embodiment of the present invention as an integral part of an article. Pleats  108   a,    108   b  form an inverted V shape  138  that allow for the internal expansion, in width and depth, of back panel  100  when a fluid container (shown in phantom)  200  is put into the pleated pocket device  10 . Pleats  108   a,    108   b  also provide for less expansion at the top end  134  than at the bottom section  114  to create an envelope or pouch to provide stability while the beverage container  200  is in the pleated pocket device  10 . When an item is not in the pleated pocket device  10 , pleats  108   a,    108   b  allow for the device  10  to lay flat or flush against the article.  
         [0030]     Pleated pocket device  10  may be incorporated into articles such as a golf bag accessory  300  (as shown in  FIG. 3A ), a jacket  302  (as shown in phantom in  FIG. 3B ), a baby stroller, camping equipment, or any other similar articles. Pleated pocket device  10  may be made from any type of material that is sturdy, long lasting, and may be waterproof. The material may also be the same material the article is made of.  
         [0031]     Referring now to  FIG. 4A , an embodiment of the present invention incorporated into a golf bag accessory. A brief description of the golf bag accessory is provided for an understanding of the present invention. The golf bag accessory  300  may attach onto a typical golf bag through the use of any releasable locking means such as a snaps  302   a,    302   b,    302   n  (where n is an integer), Velcro, or stitching. The golf bag accessory  300  may have various pockets that are opened and closed with zippers  304   a,    304   b.  As illustrated, the pleated pocket device  10  is formed as an integral part of the golf bag accessory  300  where the pleats  108   a,    108   b  are formed from a continuous sheet of material used to form the golf bag accessory. However, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the pleated pocket device  10  may be formed from a separate sheet of material and fixedly attached to an article.  
         [0032]     In use with a fluid container  200  (shown in phantom), pleats  108   a,    108   b  provide for the expansion in width and depth of the pleated pocket device  10 . Additionally, pleats  108   a,    108   b  provide for less expansion at the top end  134  than at the bottom end  306  of the pleated pocket device  10  to create an envelope or pouch to provide stability for the fluid container  200 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a method of the present invention. A determination is made as to whether the pleated pocket device is to be integrated and formed as part of an article, such as a sports bag, at  426 . If yes, then the pleats are formed at  406  from the same material as the article. If no, then a determination is made as to whether the pleated pocket device is formed from a single sheet of material at  428 . If yes, then a back panel may be formed from a single sheet of material at  424 . If no, a first portion may be cut from a single sheet of material at  400 . A second portion may also be cut from a single sheet of material at  402 . The second portion may then be attached to first portion at  404 .  
         [0034]     The pleats may then be formed at  406  and stitched in place at  408 . The pleats may be held in place by any other means such as glued, a snap, or any other similar means. Moreover, the pleats may extend through the length of first portion and part of second portion. A third portion may be cut from a single sheet of material at  410  and attached to the second portion at  412 . A front panel may be cut from a single sheet of material at  414 . If the pleated pocket device is attached to an article, such as a sports bag, at  416 , then the first, second, and third portions are attached to the article at  420  and the front panel may be then attached to the first, second, and third portions at  422 . The pleated pocket device may be rigidly fixed directly onto the article or may be rigidly fixed as an integral part of the article. If the pleated pocket device is not attached to an article at  416 , then the front panel may be attached to the first, second, and third portions at  418 .  
         [0035]     Example 1 illustrates the method of the present invention with reference to  FIGS. 5A, 5B ,  5 C, and  5 D. Example 1 is an illustration with respect to the embodiment described in  FIGS. 1A, 1B ,  1 C, and  1 D. Example 1 is merely for illustration purposes and is not intended to be limiting. Those of ordinary skill in the art will now realize that various dimensions and ratios may be used to create the pleated pocket device.  
       EXAMPLE 1  
       [0036]     As shown in  FIG. 5A , first portion  102  may be cut from a single sheet of material. First portion may have a height, H 1  of about 12 cm, a length, L 1  of about 6 cm and L 2  of about 9 cm. A second portion  104  may also be cut from a single sheet of material having a trapezoidal shape with H 2  of about 11.5 cm and L 3  of about 21 cm and L 4  of about 22 cm. First portion  102  and second portion  104  are attached together by stitching at  502 .  
         [0037]     Pleat  108   b  may be formed by folding the material at line W-W toward centerline Z and stitched  110   b  in place as shown in  FIG. 5B . Pleat  108   a  may be formed by folding the material at line V-V toward centerline Z and stitched  110   a  in place as shown in  FIG. 5B . As illustrated in  FIG. 5B , stitch  110   a  and  110   b  are stitched into a top portion of second portion  104 . However, stitch  110   a,    110   b  need not extend into second portion  104  and may extend only through first portion  102 . Since second portion  104  is formed as a trapezoid with length L 3  greater in length than L 4 , the extra material causes the pleats  108   a,    108   b  to form an inverted V shape with a length L 5  of about 1.5 cm. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will now realize that pleats  108   a,    108   b  may be parallel to each other if L 3  is equal to L 4 .  
         [0038]     A third portion  106  may be cut from a single sheet of material and stitched  504  to second portion as illustrated in  FIG. 5C . Third portion  106  may have a height H 3  of about 12.8 cm and a diameter d of about 10.7 cm.  
         [0039]     As shown in  FIG. 5D , front panel  116  may have a height H 4  of about 13.9 cm and a length L 6  of about 12 cm. With reference to  FIG. 1A , front panel  116  may then be fixedly attached to the first, second, and third portions as described above.  
         [0040]     While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.