Abstract:
A case for carrying papers or the like includes a top closure member that is movable between a first open position, a second open position at which a top opening exists permitting access to the interior of the case and a first closed position at which the top opening does not exist. A side closure member releasably secures a sidewall portion vertically in a second closed position, and the side closure member is openable to permit movement of the sidewall portion from its second closed position to a third open position at which a side opening exists permitting access to the interior, where opening of the side closure member is independent of a position of the top closure member.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to cases for holding papers or the like, and more particularly to carrying cases, such as briefcases, for holding papers or the like to which easy access is desirable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Carrying cases for holding papers, files or the like, such as briefcases, are often sized to accommodate a large number of papers, which may be advantageously sorted into the pockets of an internal file folder for relatively easy reference. Examples of such cases are the salesman&#39;s case and the litigation bag, or “lit bag” used by lawyers to carry legal papers from one office to another or to court. Frequently such cases are constructed to open from the top, using a zipper, a buckle strap or top flaps that fold over one another, and access to the papers in the case can only be achieved by fully opening the top closure. While this construction is perfectly acceptable when the desire is to access all of the papers in the case, it is less than convenient when it is desired to obtain only one or a few papers, as, for example, during travel on an airplane or train when a particular document is to be reviewed or worked on. In such situations, it is often difficult, or even impossible, to find the space to fully open the case and sort through all the papers, especially without bothering the person in the next seat.  
           [0003]    One other difficulty in opening the case from the top closure under these circumstances is that the files and papers are held vertically in the case, making it harder to see and identify each paper or file, especially if the case is relatively full. Of course, it is possible to tip the case over on its side, but this is often unwieldy with a large case and presents the problem that the papers can spill out.  
           [0004]    Some cases have attempted to overcome this problem by adding a separate smaller side pocket on one outside wall of the case. While such a pocket will hold a smaller number of papers, these papers can only be accessed by opening the separate closure member, for example, a zipper or flap, of the pocket. Accordingly, the user may have to both open the top closure of the case and the closure of the exterior side pocket in order to get all the papers needed.  
           [0005]    The prior art has still not found a construction for such a case that provides easy access to the desired papers under all of the above circumstances.  
           [0006]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a case that avoids the above-noted difficulties of the prior art.  
           [0007]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a case for carrying papers or the like that provides access to the interior of the case without requiring that the top closure of the case be fully opened.  
           [0008]    It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a carrying case for carrying papers or the like that provides access to the interior at a side of the case as well as at the top of the case.  
           [0009]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a case for carrying papers or the like that provides access to papers in the interior of the case such that the papers are presented at an angle while the case remains upright.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The above objects, as well as additional advantages, will be realized in the practice of the invention as herein described. In a broad embodiment, the case comprises a member having a bottom, a sidewall portion extending upwardly at a first side of the bottom, and first and second endwalls extending upwardly from second and third opposite sides of the bottom. A top closure member extends along a direction of a top edge of the sidewall portion and is movable between an open position forming a top opening providing access to the interior of the case and a closed position closing the top opening. A side closure member releasably secures the sidewall portion along a direction of a first side edge of the first endwall adjacent the sidewall portion and along a direction of a second side edge of the second endwall adjacent the sidewall portion in a closed position thereof. The side closure member is movable to an open position for permitting movement of the sidewall portion from its closed position to an open position at which a side opening provides access to the interior of the case, the side closure member being movable independently of a position of the top closure member.  
           [0011]    In another embodiment, a case in accordance with the present invention has two sides, two ends, a top and a bottom, and comprises a member having a bottom, first and second sidewalls extending upwardly from first and second opposite sides of the bottom, and first and second endwalls extending upwardly from third and fourth opposite sides of the bottom, the member forming the bottom, sides and ends of the case. A first top flap extends pivotally from a top edge of the first sidewall and is movable between an open position and a closed position, and a second top flap extends pivotally from a top edge of the second sidewall and is movable between an open position and a closed position. The first and second top flaps form the top of the case, where when the first and second top flaps are in their respective open positions, a top opening at the top of the case permits access to an interior of the case, and when the first and second top flaps are in their respective closed positions, the first and second top flaps prevent access to the interior. A closure member releasably secures the first sidewall to a first side edge of the first endwall adjacent the first sidewall and to a second side edge of the second endwall adjacent the first sidewall in a closed position of the first sidewall. The closure member is movable to an open position for permitting movement of the first sidewall to an open position forming a side opening providing access to the interior of the case when the first top flap is in its open position, movement of the first sidewall being permitted independently of a position of the second top flap.  
           [0012]    Advantageously, the first sidewall (or sidewall portion) forms an outer wall of a bellows or accordion file organizer within the interior, the bellows file being accessible through both the top and side openings when their respective closure members are open. When the side wall is opened, the bottom portion of the bellow file dividers remain for the most part in their original position and the top or upper openings are spread apart. In the open position, the bellows file dividers then constitute slanted surfaces upon which papers in their interior are presented at an angle between horizontal and vertical, thereby permitting easy inspection, selection and removal.  
           [0013]    These and other objects, features and aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    The invention will be further described with reference to the drawings in which like elements are represented by the same number.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a case of the present invention with all closure members closed.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the case of FIG. 1 with both a top closure member and a side closure member open.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a top view of the case of FIG. 2 taken in the direction of arrows  3  in FIG. 2. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    With reference to FIG. 1, a case in accordance with the present invention is embodied in a carrying case  10  having a bottom  12 , a first sidewall  14 , a second sidewall  16 , a first endwall  18  and a second endwall  20  (see FIG. 3). The top of the case  10  is formed by a first top flap  22 , extending integrally from a top edge of the first sidewall  14  and a second top flap  24  extending integrally from a top edge of the second sidewall  16 . In FIG. 1, the first and second top flaps are shown in their closed position, with the second top flap  24  having been pivoted down to lie across a portion of the top surface of the case  10  and the first top flap  22  having been pivoted down to lie across the remaining portion of the top surface and to overlap part of the second top flap  24 . The second top flap  24  carries a handle  26  that extends through an opening  28  in the first top flap  22 . Clasps  30 ,  32  serve to lock the first top flap  22  to the second top flap  24  to hold them closed so that the case  10  may be secured and carried. Together, at least the first top flap  22  and the second top flap  24  form a top closure member for the case  10 .  
         [0019]    As shown in FIG. 3, when the first and second top flaps  22 ,  24  are pivoted up and back to their respective open positions, a top opening  34  is present at the top of the case  10  through which the interior of the case  10  may be accessed to reach any papers or other materials therein.  
         [0020]    Referring again to FIG. 1, there is shown attached to the outside of the first sidewall  14  is an optional side pocket  36  of conventional design that uses a complementary pair of zippers  38  to be opened and closed, and at the outside of the side pocket  34  is a further conventional side pocket  40  that is opened and closed by a zipper  42 .  
         [0021]    In accordance with an advantageous aspect of the present invention, the first sidewall  14  is not permanently attached to the first and second endwalls  18 ,  20 . Rather, running along the side edge of the first endwall  18  from the bottom  12  to the top of the case  10  is a first zipper  44  that releasably secures the first sidewall  14  to the adjacent side edge of the first endwall  18 . Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, a second zipper  46  (see FIG. 3) has the identical construction, running along the adjacent side edge of the second endwall  20  from the bottom  12  to the top of the case  10  to releasably secure the first sidewall  14  to the side edge of the second endwall  20 . Together, the first and second zippers  44 ,  46  form a side closure member for the case  10 , having a closed position when the zippers  44 ,  46  are zipped up all the way to the top, as in FIG. 1, and having an open position when the zippers  44 ,  46  are partly unzipped or are unzipped all the way to the bottom  12 , as in FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0022]    With reference now to FIG. 2, the case  10  is shown with the top flap  22  being pivoted to its open position and the zippers  44 ,  46  being unzipped to their open positions (the second top flap  24  is also in its open position). Accordingly, the sidewall  14  is free to move pivotally to an open position away from the endwalls  18 ,  20  at the top thereof. As a result, not only is there the top opening  34  providing access to the interior of the case  10 , but also a side opening  48  exists through which access to the interior may be had. The top opening  34  and the side opening  48  together form a single opening larger than the top opening  34  by itself.  
         [0023]    Advantageously, the first sidewall  14  remains connected to the first and second endwalls  18 ,  20  by expandable side gussets  50 ,  52  of a bellows or accordion file  54 . An inner end  56  of the bellows file  54  is fixed within the interior of the case  10 , while an outer end  58  of the bellows file  54  is affixed to, and is thus constituted by, the first sidewall  14 . In between the inner and outer ends  56 ,  58  are a plurality of file compartment dividers  53 ,  60 . Accordingly, when the sidewall  14  is moved to its open position, the bellows file  54  expands to enlarge the file compartments  60  and to present any papers in the file compartments  60  resting on the outwardly slanting surfaces of the dividers  53  at an angle between vertical and horizontal. The papers or folders may thus be more easily reviewed and removed from the case  10 .  
         [0024]    In accordance with an advantageous aspect of the present invention, it will be noticed that the opening of the zippers  44 ,  46  with the opening of the first top flap  22  is independent of the position of the second top flap  24 . What this means is that the second top flap  24  can remain in its closed position while the first top flap  22  is opened and then the zippers  44 ,  46  are opened to permit access to the interior.  
         [0025]    For example, suppose the user of the case  10  is on an airplane and wishes to retrieve some papers. With a conventional case, the user would have to place the case on his lap, open the top of the case and retrieve the papers through the top. If the top had flaps as in case  10 , there might not be room to easily fold back the farther flap, and the case might be high enough to impede the user&#39;s view and ability to reach into the case.  
         [0026]    In contrast, using case  10 , the user can place the case  10  on his lap with the first sidewall  14  facing him. He can then fold back the first top flap  22 , but need not fold back the second top flap  24 . Then, he can unzip zippers  44 ,  46 , either completely or only as much as needed to gain access to the upper interior of the file, and the first sidewall  14  will open towards him, presenting the papers in the bellows file  54  directly to his view and forward for his grasp. Accordingly, the case  10  provides significant advantages of use as compared with the cases of the prior art.  
         [0027]    In a further embodiment, a case in accordance with the present invention will have a sidewall portion held closed by a side closure member, where the sidewall portion is only part of one of the sidewalls. The sidewall itself would be permanently attached to the endwalls, while the sidewall portion would be movable to an open position to permit access to the interior of the case. In this embodiment, the closure member can extend not only along the two side edges of the sidewall portion, but also along the top edge thereof, in the manner of complementary zippers  38  of side pocket  36  (see FIG. 1). With this construction, it would not be necessary to open the top closure member at all in order to access the interior of the case through the side opening upon opening of the side closure member, so that the papers can be reached through either the top opening, through the side opening, or both.  
         [0028]    Many other variations in construction and arrangement of the elements are possible in accordance with the present invention. For example, the sidewall portion can be at the top of the first sidewall, so that the side opening forms a single opening with the top opening as in the first-described embodiment, but the entire first sidewall need not move. Other types of closure members, such as ties, clasps or Velcro® fasteners can be used in place of some or all of the zippers. As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, it is not necessary for the case to contain a bellows file, and side gussets can be provided, or the side gussets eliminated altogether [altogether or all together?—check]. Accessible compartments of different shapes for articles other than catalogs, file folders and papers can replace the file compartments and dividers.  
         [0029]    While the present invention has been described with reference to the foregoing embodiments, changes and variations can be made therein which fall within the scope of the appended claims.