Patent Publication Number: US-8123009-B2

Title: Small bag connector assembly

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority from a provisional patent application, filed May 28, 2008, Ser. No. 61/056,567, of common title, inventorship and ownership with the present application. This provisional application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus and method increasing the utility, functionality and convenience of a flight bag having small detachable side bags that are normally attached to the larger flight bag. This type of flight bag is used by pilots in general and commercial aviation. The invention allows a pilot the ability to reconnect these small bags together with a shoulder strap so that they may easily be carried together without having to bring along the main flight bag at the same time. Hence the functionality and size of the assemblage of bags may be changed to suit the user&#39;s needs. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Pilots may not always fly the same plane and consequently carry equipment, air charts, airport directories, and landing information books as well as an emergency radio, portable GPS unit and a radio headset. During a stopover the pilot may not want to leave their headsets, GPS unit or emergency radio in a plane while it is parked at an airport. 
     This invention allows a pilot to take his expensive equipment with him by reconfiguring his flight bag into a smaller unit that can go with him while the main part of the flight bag stays with the plane. Therefore, this invention gives a pilot the flexibility to change the size of his flight bag while keeping the ability to conveniently carry it around with him. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides this flexibility and other advantages with a connector assembly and method having the ability to convert into one carrying unit; one or more of the smaller detachable bags. Usually the shoulder strap from the main flight bag or a handle is attached to the connector assembly. 
     In preferred embodiment the connector assembly is a thin rectangular (herein, rectangular includes square) structure of several forms, for example: a rigid rectangular frame with top and bottom rails and side supports; a flexible frame with top and bottom rails and a flexible sheet connecting the two rails; a flexible rectangular sheet; two flexible rectangular sheets sewn or bonded together to form a two ply sheet; or a rectangular frame incorporating a combination of the other embodiments. In each of these embodiments, a handle or shoulder strap may be attached, and slots are arranged within the rigid or flexible rectangular frame or the rails that accommodate mounting tags that secure bags to the connector. 
     The flexible sheets may be of canvas or fabrics, including cloth, nylon, woven metallic-type fabrics or other man-made materials or composites. 
     In other combinations additional intermediate cross rails may be arranged between the top and bottom of the connector. 
     The top rail or edge may includes loops, eyelets or hooks or the like to which a handle or shoulder strap may be attached for ease of carrying. Vertical supports, when employed, extend from the top rail to the bottom rail and may be attached at the distal ends of the corresponding top and bottom rails. Additional rails similar to the top and bottom rails may be located between the top and bottom rails. In this embodiment the rails may have through slots through which mounting tabs may be threaded that secure bags to the connector. 
     In the embodiment that includes one or two flexible sheets the top, bottom and the vertical edges of the sheet may be doubled and sewn to impart form to the connector. Through slots may be formed in the sheet material to accommodate the mounting tabs for bags. In other embodiments the top and bottom edges may be opened allowing a mounting tab from one or more bags to be threaded through the open top, out the open bottom, and joined back to the bag securing it to the connector. 
     In another embodiment the connector includes at least two horizontal cross members arranged vertically from each other. These two cross members may be joined to a vertical sheet. In this embodiment, the side edges of the vertical sheet may be doubled and sewn to impart some rigidity to the connector. Through slots in the top and bottom rails and in the sheet may be formed to accommodate the mounting tabs of bags. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a side view of a two cross piece skeletal connector assembly having a single mounting slot; 
         FIG. 1B  is a top view of the connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 1C  is a drawing of a cross piece for this assembly; 
         FIG. 2A  is a side view of a three cross piece skeletal connector assembly having two different sized slots for mounting bags; 
         FIG. 2B  is a top view of the three cross piece assembly; 
         FIG. 2C  is a drawing of the lower two cross pieces of the three piece connector assembly; 
         FIG. 3A  is a side view of a four cross piece skeletal connector, having four mounting slots; 
         FIG. 3B  is a drawing of the two middle cross pieces used in the connector; 
         FIG. 4A  is a side view of what a typical small mounting bag showing the mounting tab and Velcro used to keep the tab closed; 
         FIG. 4B  is a diagram of the back of a typical small bag; 
         FIG. 5A  shows two of the same sized bags attached together using a connector as shown by  FIG. 1A  through  FIG. 1C ; 
         FIG. 5B  shows two different sized bags attached together using a connector as shown in  FIG. 2A through 2C ; 
         FIG. 6A  shows a top view of a single slot connector made from a flexibly fabric or material; 
         FIG. 6B  shows a side view of the same connector as shown by  FIG. 6A ; 
         FIG. 7A  shows a top view of a two slot connector made from a thin rigid material; and 
         FIG. 7B  is a side view of the same rigid connector. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A single slot connector shown in  FIG. 1A  through  FIG. 1C  consists of two cross pieces or rails  1  spaced apart by two vertical supports  2  extending through holes  8  in rails. The rings  3  allow a shoulder strap or a handle to be attached to the assembly, and the bottom cross member may be held on by a mechanical fastener  5 . The cutout or vertical slot  6  allows for mounting tabs of one or two bags to be attached to the unit. The mounting tabs are flaps attached, usually, at the top of a bag that may be threaded through the vertical slot  6  in one of both and reattached at the bottom of the bag. The bottom attachment may be via VELCRO or snaps, hooks or other such mechanisms as are known in the art. When so attached the bag is securely held to the connector. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the cross pieces  1  are made from wood or a metal such as aluminum, and the vertical supports  2  may be wood, metal, plastic or tubing with metal reinforcements. In another embodiment the vertical supports may be flexible tubing with internal reinforcements, not shown, where they attach to the cross rails. Typically, the shoulder strap mount  3  may be a small eyebolt, and the mechanical fastener  5  may be a screw, rivet or a nut threaded onto a tapped extension from the vertical supports  2 . Other variations include making the connector assembly by injection molding of a plastic material or some combination of plastic, metal, wood or some other material. The eyebolt  3  may be formed from bent wire or rod, or it can be made from a more flexible material such as webbing, plastic, fabric or leather which is suitably attached to the vertical supports  2 . 
     The two slot connector shown in  FIG. 2A  through  FIG. 2C , consists of the same larger cutout  6 , as in  FIG. 1A  through  FIG. 1C  as well as a smaller cutout  7 . Typically small mounting bags come in two sizes. The larger bag is for aviation headsets, while the smaller bag is for a radio, GPS unit or a bottle of water. The smaller slot  7  allows the smaller bag to be attached without horizontal sliding. When a smaller radio bag is not being used, two of the larger, headset bags can still be attached through slot  6  because the backs of the bags are soft and will conform to the slight protrusion formed by the material needed to form the smaller slot  7 . Again, the shoulder strap or handle attachment is typically an eyebolt and the mechanical fastener  5  is usually a small screw, though it could also be a small rivet. In another embodiment, the mechanical fastener  5  is a small clip or nut attached onto the end of a long eyebolt. Again, the eyebolt may be formed from bent wire or rod, or it can be made from a more flexible material such as webbing, plastic, fabric or leather that is suitably attached to the vertical supports  2 A and  2 B. In this embodiment, the top cross rail  1  is shown by  FIG. 1C , while the middle and bottom cross rails are shown by  FIG. 2C .  FIG. 2B  is a top view that shows the middle cross piece jutting out slightly away from the outline of the top piece  1 . 
     The four slot connector shown in  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B , still has the main mounting slot  6  and three small slots  7 . This configuration allows two headset bags, one headset and one or two radio bags, or three radio bags to be connected together at the same time. 
     In  FIG. 3A , the vertical support  2 B is now subdivided so that the vertical assembly consists of supports  2 A,  2 B and  2 C on each side extending through holes  8  in the rails. The top and bottom cross rails are again shown by  FIG. 1C  and the two middle cross rails  4 A are shown by  FIG. 3B . 
       FIG. 4A  is a side view of a headset or radio bag consisting of the bag itself  20 , a mounting tab  21  hinged at  23  with Velcro loop and hook material  24  and  22  attached to the bag and the tab so that the bottom of the tab can be kept closed. 
       FIG. 4B  is the back view of one of these small bags showing the positioning of the tab on the back of the bag. 
       FIG. 5A  shows two of the same sized bags  31  being connected by a connector assembly  30  as diagramed by  FIGS. 1A through 1C . If the connector assembly is short enough and made using cross pieces shown by  FIG. 1C  or  FIG. 2C , then two of either sized bags could be used at the same time. If the connector from  FIG. 1C  is used, the smaller bag will tend to slide, which is one of the reasons for the narrower slot shown by  FIG. 2C . 
     In another embodiment, two cross rails from  FIG. 2C  are used with shorter vertical supports  2  from  FIG. 1A . When this is done the bottoms of the headset and radio bags are at different heights. If the bags are allowed to slide, then the assembly will usually not fall over when placed on the ground because the sliding of the mounting tabs and bags adjusts for the height difference. 
       FIG. 5B  shows two different height bags  31  and  32  being connected by an assembly  33  as diagrammed by  FIGS. 2A through 2C . In this illustration, the larger headset bag  31  is shown as being taller than the smaller radio bag,  32 . The middle cross piece on the connector,  FIG. 2A  top element  4 , is slightly below the top cross piece,  FIG. 2A  element  1 , so as to compensate for the height difference of the bags. This allows the bags to more easily stand up when placed on the ground without having to slide while joined. 
       FIG. 6A  is a top view of a connector made from a flexible material such as leather, urethane laminated nylon or a plastic film. The connector consists of two pieces of material  40  connected together at the side so as to form a slot in which the mounting tabs of the bags may be placed. 
       FIG. 6B  is a side diagram of this flexible material connector assembly. The two pieces are attached by sewing, RF welding, fusing or gluing. The width of the mounting slot is the area between the two dashed lines  45 . The rectangular areas  46  are optional cutouts which as previously discussed allow for the smaller bags mounting slot to be inserted in the top cutout and out the bottom cutout. In another mounting scheme, the smaller mounting tab goes in at the very top, out through the top cutout, back in through the bottom cutout and then out the bottom of the assembly. “D” rings  41  are typically used, but again, other mounting material consisting of webbing, plastic, or metal may be used to attach the shoulder strap to the assembly. The “D” rings  41  are shown being attached by pieces of material  42 . In one preferred embodiment, this material is a urethane laminated nylon fabric that is attached by RF-Welding. In another embodiment, the material  42  is a strip of aluminum folded over and riveted to the sides. In yet another embodiment, nylon or polyester webbing is used and the combination is sewn, glued or riveted together. A leather material may also be used, but care should be exercised because the leather stretches and the “D” rings may rotate in use. The side areas  44  may optionally be internally reinforced with fabric or webbing to help distribute the weight through the connector side material. 
       FIG. 7A  is a top view of another connector assembly made from a more rigid material. This material may be metal, wood or plastic and two mounting channels  50  and  52  are shown. The small channel  52  is also shown in  FIG. 7B  as element  52  and may be made by stamping or embossing the side material  51 . The resulting channel  52  allows a small radio bag to be attached through this channel. A channel is a covered path way that extends, in  FIG. 7B , from the opening at the top of channel  52  to a corresponding opening at the bottom of the channel  52 . 
     The shoulder strap is attached to the loops  53  which are riveted  54  to the connector. In another embodiment, not shown, this mounting loop is eliminated and a hole is made in the side area. This shoulder strap clip can then attach at that point. To someone skilled in the art, other means of attachment of the shoulder strap may also be used. The two sides  50  and  51  of the connector may be combined by spot welding, gluing, or if designed properly, snapping together. In yet another embodiment, an attachment for the shoulder strap consists of metal eyebolts molded into the rigid parts, where the parts may be injection molded and formed singly as  50  and  51  or as a single part which combines  50  and  51  together. In a similar manner as shown by  FIG. 3B , multiple additional mounting channels may be formed by adjusting the width of the channels  50  and  51  and stamping or embossing additional mounting channels, not shown. 
     It should be noted that even though the title and preferred embodiments of the present application are directed to smaller bags, the invention may be advantageously applied to large suitcase sized luggage and even large bags may benefit from the present invention.