Patent Publication Number: US-10779634-B1

Title: Bucket backpack

Description:
This is a division of and claims benefits under pending prior application Ser. No. 29/663,081 filed 12 Sep. 2018, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to covers for utility buckets and more particularly relates to backpacks suited for use with utility buckets and the like that reduce uncomfortable bucket movement while walking and running. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
     Covers for utility buckets have existed for some time. One traditional use of a utility bucket cover is to allow a handyman to store and access tools more readily. Most traditional utility bucket covers are secured over the outside wall of the utility bucket so that tools and other implements can be stored inside the bucket, while various pockets and other receptacles provided on the cover will hold additional tools and implements on the outside of the bucket. 
     Sportsmen have been known to use utility buckets. For example, ice fishermen and hunters often carried their equipment and gear inside of the utility bucket. When a fisherman arrives at his or her preferred fishing destination, the fisherman often empties the contents of the bucket, inverts the bucket, and sits on top of the bucket while he or she fishes. Others, including sportsmen, construction workers, gardeners, etc., will use the utility bucket in a similar fashion. Thus, the bucket serves the dual purpose of carrying equipment and providing a seat once in the field. 
     There are problems associated with utilizing traditional utility bucket covers on utility buckets to carry implements and to use as a seat while fishing. If items are placed inside of the pockets of a traditional utility bucket cover, as soon as the bucket is inverted for seating purposes, the contents of the pockets will fall out. Another problem associated with traditional utility bucket covers is that there is no padding or protection when the bucket is used as a seat. When inverting a traditional bucket for seating purposes, only the hard plastic bottom surface of the bucket is available for the sportsman to sit on. Yet another problem associated with traditional sportsmen utility buckets relates to the difficulty in carrying the bucket. While carrying a utility bucket by the bucket handle is certainly manageable for short periods, extended trips are more difficult. Furthermore, carrying the bucket by the handle requires use of at least one arm and hand, often leading to hand and arm fatigue. Further still, the handle conventionally associated with the typical bucket wears out and breaks down over time due to repeated use, eventually breaking and requiring replacement. 
     The foregoing problems associated with traditional utility bucket covers gave rise to the development of an improved utility bucket cover for use by sportsmen. Such improvements included the addition of shoulder straps to the bucket cover so that the bucket could be carried like a backpack, and the addition of a padded lid for the bucket to provide a more comfortable seating surface. 
     While these improvements provided many benefits to the prior bucket covers, the addition of straps in particular created a new set of problems. In particular, the prior art backpack style bucket covers had poor weight distribution for the loaded bucket. The poor weight distribution created a tendency for the bucket, when worn, to pivot outwardly away from the shoulders of the user, applying pressure to the lower back and causing the lower edge of the bucket to frictionally engage with the user&#39;s back. In addition, the straps were positioned close to the centerline of the cover, which resulted in excessive movement of the bucket in the vertical and/or horizontal direction, such as when the user was walking with a full bucket. The excessive vertical and/or horizontal movement can result in discomfort or injury to the user. All of the aforementioned problems result from the reduced total surface area of the bucket in contact with the user&#39;s back, leading to discomfort. 
     Thus, there is a need to develop a utility bucket cover that can be worn like a backpack, but which reduces or eliminates the tendency of prior art covers to pull away from the user and reduces or eliminates the vertical and/or horizontal movement while in use. 
     It is another objective of the present invention to provide a cover for a utility bucket that can be worn like a backpack that has improved weight distribution. 
     It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a cover for a utility bucket that can be worn like a backpack that has minimal vertical and/or horizontal movement when being worn and used. 
     Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes a backpack comprising a generally cylindrical body sized for positioning around the outside cylindrical wall of a standard utility bucket. The body has a plurality of pockets positioned about the outer circumferential surface thereof. A pair of padded shoulder straps are ergonomically positioned more outboard of the configuration typical in the prior art and is affixed to the body to facilitate carrying the cover on the back of a user. The shoulder straps are affixed at one end to the top of the cover and at a second end to the bottom of the cover. Ideally, the distal or outermost points of attachment of the straps to the cover are spaced apart at an angle of about eighty (80) degrees relative to the midline of the cover. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is as front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a bucket backpack according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a left side elevational view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a left side perspective of the preferred embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a right side perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND OPERATION OF THE INVENTION 
     Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. Use of the term “exemplary” means illustrative or by way of example only, and any reference herein to “the invention” is not intended to restrict or limit the invention to exact features or step of any one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present specification. References to “exemplary embodiment”, “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “various embodiments”, and the like may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment”, “in an exemplary embodiment”, or “in an alternative embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may. 
     It is also noted that terms like “preferably”, “commonly”, and “typically” are not utilized herein to limit the scope of the invention or to imply that certain features are critical, essential, or even important to the structure or function of the invention. Rather, these teens are merely intended to highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment of the present invention. 
     The present invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which one or more exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. Like numbers used herein refer to like elements throughout. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be operative, enabling, and complete. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limited as to the scope of the invention, and any and all equivalents thereof. Moreover, many embodiments such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the instant invention. 
     Although specific term is are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purposes of limitation. Unless otherwise expressly defined herein, such terms are intended to be given their broad, ordinary, and customary meaning not inconsistent with that applicable in the relevant industry and without restriction to any specific embodiment hereinafter described. As used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended, the teams “one and only one”, “single”, or similar language is used. When used herein to join a list of items, the term “or” denotes at least one of the items, but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. 
     For exemplary methods or processes of the invention, the sequence and/or arrangement of steps described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal arrangement, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or arrangement, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and arrangements while still falling within the scope of the present invention. 
     Additionally, any references to advantages, benefits, unexpected results, or operability of the present invention are not intended as an affirmation that the invention has previously been reduced to practice or that any testing has been performed. Likewise, unless stated otherwise, use of verbs in the past tense (present perfect or preterit) is not intended to indicate or imply that the invention has previously been reduced to practice or that any testing has been performed. 
     A bucket backpack in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying FIGURES. With reference thereto, the bucket backpack designated generally at  10  comprises a body  12  having a generally cylindrical shape. The body  12  has an opening at the top  14  thereof and a plurality of pockets  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24  disposed about the outer perimeter of the body  12 . The number, size and configuration of the pockets, including whether or not the pocket is provided with a covering or closure, insulation, or one or more openings with a grommet or mesh insert for drainage, may be as desired for the particular intended application. The pockets  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24  are arranged on the front, right and left sides of the body  12 . As seen in  FIGS. 3, 6 and 7 , the back portion  26  of the body  12  is preferably free of any pockets, which can interfere with wearing the device on the back of a user. 
     In the embodiment shown, the body  12  is a rigid member defining a cylinder with an open top  14  and a closed bottom  15  (see  FIG. 7 ). In other embodiments, the body  12  can be made of a flexible, durable material such as canvas and be sized to receive and cover a typical utility bucket, such as a five-gallon, six-gallon, or seven-gallon utility bucket, or other generally cylindrical container, such as a cylindrical foam container. The bottom  15  of the body may include non-slip rubber feet  17  (see  FIG. 7 ) to frictionally engage the ground surface to provide a secured seating area during use as well as to serve as a spacer to prevent the bottom surface of bottom  15  from rubbing against the ground and causing abrasion to the same. In an exemplary embodiment body  12  of bucket backpack  10  is fully insulated. 
     The body  12  of bucket backpack  10  may further include one or more grab handles  28 , preferably positioned at the top of the body  12 , near opening  14 . In addition, various hooks  30  and/or ring loops  32  may be positioned about the body  12  as desired to facilitate attachment of various items to the bucket backpack, such as a water bottle, rope, fishing pole, etc. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 , the back portion  26  may be provided with padded sections  34  around the upper back and padded sections  36  around the lower back to improve the comfort of the user when carrying the bucket backpack. In the preferred embodiment, the lower padded sections  36  as best seen in  FIG. 7  comprise two outer, generally triangular pads and one center, substantially planar pad which are positioned towards the bottom of backpack  10  to create a generally flat surface when wrapped around the bucket, which when in use rest against the lower back to further aid in the reduction of side-to-side rolling. 
     The bucket backpack  10  includes a pair of padded straps  40 ,  40 ′, each strap having a first end  42  and a second end  44 . The first end  42  of straps  40 ,  40 ′ is rigidly affixed to the top edge of the body  12  and adjacent to opening  14 . The second end  44  of straps  40 ,  40 ′ is affixed to the bottom edge of body  12  and adjacent to bottom  15 . With particular reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the straps  40 ,  40 ′ are in spaced relationship to one another where the respective ends  42 ,  44  are affixed to body  12  and are symmetrical relative to a lateral center line  46  of the body  12 . This orientation of straps  40 ,  40 ′ relative to the lateral center line of the body  12  is no mere design choice as will be described in greater detail below. 
     Traditionally, the straps at the top of a bucket carrier were positioned very close to the lateral center line of the body and in some instances the tops of the individual straps touched one another and there was no separation at all in the straps at the top of the carrier. Applicants have discovered that such geometry creates several undesirable conditions. First, when the top of the straps are close together, the straps can rub against the neck of the user, causing discomfort. Second, having the straps too close together creates an imbalance in the weight distribution of a loaded backpack. The imbalance in the weight distribution results in a tendency of the top of the bucket to move away from the body, particularly in the shoulder area, which, in turn, causes the bottom of the bucket to push against the lower back. This results not only in discomfort of the user, but also instability in the load being carried. The imbalance in weight distribution also results in excessive longitudinal (i.e., up and down) and/or lateral (i.e. side to side) movement of the loaded pack, creating not only user discomfort, but also instability of the load being carried. 
     Accordingly, in the embodiments of the invention, the first ends  42  of straps  40 ,  40 ′ are each spaced at least about eighty to ninety degrees (80°-90°) from the lateral center line  46  of the body. Stated differently, the first ends  42  of the straps  40 ,  40 ′ are preferably spaced at least a hundred and sixty degrees (160°) apart from one another. In the preferred embodiment, the outermost portions of first ends  42  of the straps  40 ,  40 ′ are preferably spaced between a hundred and sixty and a hundred and eighty degrees (160°-180°) apart from one another. It is the outer most portions that are most important to be aligned properly in the manner described, as it is this portion that reduces lateral torque, and thus reduces the pivoting or rolling action of the bucket and its carried load. This arrangement, as discovered by Applicants, results in an improved stabilization and support of the center of gravity of a loaded bucket relative to the prior art, and a more stable load with less discomfort and virtually no longitudinal/lateral movement of the load so during use. 
     The points of attachment of the second ends  44  of straps  40 ,  40 ′ are also spaced from the lateral center line  46  of the body  12 . The attachment point of the lower ends of the straps have typically been farther apart compared to the upper attachment points for reasons of basic anatomy: the lower straps fit on either side of the hips whereas the upper straps fit on either sides of the neck, which is considerably smaller than the hips. In the embodiments of the invention, the attachment of the second ends  44  of straps  40 ,  40 ′ are spaced apart a conventional distance. In particularly preferred embodiments, the attachment points of the second ends  44  of straps  40 ,  40 ′ are likewise spaced apart by at least about ninety (90) degrees and about forty-five (45) degrees on either side of the lateral center line  46  of the body  12 . In the preferred embodiment, the second ends  44  of the straps  40 ,  40 ′ are spaced ninety (90) degrees apart from one another. 
     A chest strap  48  with buckle  50  is attached to the straps  40 ,  40 ′. Chest straps are well known and serve the function of keeping the straps  40 ,  40 ′ in place to help maintain proper weight distribution and load balance. While not illustrated, it will be understood that in some embodiments a padded lid or cover for the opening  14  may be utilized if the bucket backpack were to also serve as a seating implement. 
     An exemplary embodiment of bucket backpack  10  is fully insulated, includes three (3) separate closable pockets, two (2) insulated open side pockets, various hooks and ring loops, padded upper and lower back pads, ergonomic padded shoulder straps having an adjustable chest strap which make carrying the bucket backpack full of accessories easy and hands free. Although not shown as would be understood a drawstring may be contained within the uppermost edge of the bucket backpack such that once a bucket (not shown) is positioned therein the drawstring may be tightened under the bucket rim to prevent accidental dislodgement. 
     Materials used for construction of the bucket backpack are well known to those skilled in the art. Generally speaking, these materials are of the type used for typical backpack construction, however the preferred embodiments of bucket backpack  10  are formed from reinforced, durable 600 denier polyester reinforced with PVC coating or 12 ounce duck canvas having reinforced stitching at all stress points for a more durable, longer lasting carrier for use for example during dove, duck, deer, and turkey hunting, ice fishing, shore fishing, fur trapping, cooler, tailgating and more. 
     While this invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments and examples, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that many variations are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. The invention, as defined by the claims, is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the invention which do not depart from the spirit of the invention.