Patent Publication Number: US-2006011690-A1

Title: Pocketed front pack

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/585,586, filed Jul. 7, 2004. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to carrying packs, and more particularly to a pocketed front pack for carrying items.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Individuals often use backpacks and vests with pockets to hold and carry items easily. Backpacks generally allow the user free movement of the arms, while holding cumbersome items within a compartment situated against the user&#39;s back. However, backpacks require the user to go through the steps of taking off the pack, unzipping the back compartment, and retrieving the items from within the compartment. Backpacks therefore do not provide an easy and convenient way to access stored items. Pocketed vests, on the other hand, allow users to hold smaller items within pockets on the front surface of the vest. The pockets provide the individual with easier access to the items without having to go to the trouble of taking off the vest.  
      As skiers and snowboarders ski and snowboard for hours on end, they often have need for immediate access to various personal items, such as water, food, music players, tools or the like. While a pocketed vest may work in holding some of these items, the small pockets of a vest do not allow much space to hold a number of items or large items. Many skiers and snowboarders instead use backpacks to carry their belongings. Numerous problems arise for skiers and snowboarders when using backpacks. When they are riding on the ski lift, the backpacks may be too bulky to comfortably and safely sit in the lift chair. Backpacks require the skier or snowboarder to take off the packs to retrieve their possessions, which may prove unwieldy when attempting to hold ski poles or balance on a snowboard. Necessitating the removal of the backpack involves extra time and unnecessary effort for the skier or snowboarder.  
      Additionally, backpacks do not offer back support for the skier for crashes that may occur in the course of skiing. The backpacks do not generally provide a spine protector to aid in preventing injuries to the spinal column.  
      Accordingly, what is needed is a pack with a large accessible compartment for larger or more numerous items and additional smaller pockets for smaller items, where the compartment and pockets are located on a front portion of the pack. What is further needed is a pack that provides back support and a spine protector to protect against injury.  
      U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0040493, published on Apr. 11, 2002, describes a pocketed vest and backpack combination. The vest comprises a back portion joined to two front portions with the front portions being releasably connected to each other. Large pockets are disposed on the front and back; the combined volume of the front pockets equals the volume of the rear pocket.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,127, issued Jun. 2, 1987 to R. Swanson, describes a vest for carrying loads. The vest has front and back compartments disposed on the garment to carry the loads. The vest has two front portions releasably joined to each other with a zipper.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,187, issued to C. Yang on Mar. 23, 1993, describes a garment having front and back pieces with large pockets disposed on both the front and the back. The front piece has two portions, the portions being releasably connected to one another.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,391, issued Jan. 13, 2004 to G. Morrison describes a vest for holding a plurality of small, cylindrical weights. A front portion and a back portion of the vest are strapped together. The front portion and back portion both have pockets with chambers to hold the weights.  
      Other patents showing carrying packs or vests include U.S. Des. Pat. No. 316,172, issued Apr. 16, 1991 to J. Hanson (combined vest and backpack); U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,706, issued Oct. 3, 1989 to K. Ketcham et al. (sports protection garment); U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,359, issued May 14, 1991 to J. Hanson (vest and backpack combination); U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,998, issued Jan. 18, 1994 to S. Book (combination garment and tote bag); U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,447, issued Jul. 12, 1994 to F. Kapounek et al. (spine protector); U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,614, issued Nov. 22, 1994 to D. Perkins (sports vest); U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,802, issued Jun. 8, 1999 to A. Puco (vest backpack); U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,739, issued May 22, 2001 to A. Spence (vest for a golfer); U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,579, issued Nov. 13, 2001 to P. Marcon (personal survival vestpac); U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,273, issued Sep. 10, 2002 to S. Gillen et al. (protective body vest); U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,814, issued Sep. 30, 2003 to P. Veh (protective vest); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,543, issued Apr. 20, 2004 to K. Fitzgerald (backpack with adjustable lumbar support belt).  
      Additional patents showing carrying packs or vests include U.K. Patent No. 2,110,542, published Jun. 22, 1983 (spine board system); German Patent No. 3,323,701, published Jan. 5, 1984 (protective vest for motorcyclists and their passengers); Japanese Patent No. 7-313,309, published Dec. 5, 1995 (seat cover which also serves as vest); Japanese Patent No. 2000-336,506, published Dec. 5, 2000 (supporter); and Japanese Patent No. 2001-224,423, published Aug. 21, 2001 (handbag with vest).  
      None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a pocketed front pack solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The pocketed front pack is a pack used by a skier or snowboarder to hold items while skiing, snowboarding, or for any other outdoor uses. The pack is preferably made with a lightweight, waterproof material. The pocketed front pack has a body of unitary construction having a front cover, shoulder harnesses, and a back cover. The front pack additionally includes a waist band. The front cover has a large compartment built into it. The shoulder harnesses are attached to the waist band, which wraps about a user&#39;s waist. The back cover is attached to the harnesses and may extend to the waist band.  
      The pocketed front pack is slipped over a user&#39;s head, with the front cover resting against the user&#39;s chest. The shoulder harnesses are integrally connected to the front cover and extend from the front cover and connect to the waist band. The shoulder harnesses rest over a user&#39;s shoulders. Adjustable straps are disposed on the shoulder harnesses and attach to the waist band, allowing for the pack to the adjusted. The ends of the waist band are wrapped about the user&#39;s waist and fastened to one another using hook and loop fasteners. Then the front cover, which has a hook and loop fastener on its underside, is secured to an additional hook and loop fastener located on the outside of the waist band. The front cover is thus held in place against the waist band.  
      The front cover has a large compartment built into it and a number of small pockets situated both on the large compartment and on the front cover itself. The small pockets may be used for holding music players, tools, food and the like. A fluid pouch is attached to the front cover. A tube extends from the pouch to a spout that allows a user to drink fluids held within the pouch. Additionally the underside of the front cover has hand-warming compartments built into it.  
      The waist band may include a tailbone pad integrally connected to the waist band. The tailbone pad allows a user to sit on a ski lift more comfortably, as it protects the tailbone. The back cover is made with padding and may include a spine protector to support the user&#39;s back if crashes occur in the course of skiing or snowboarding.  
      One aspect of the invention is to allow skiers and snowboarders to sit in a lift chair more comfortably than if their items were stored in a compartment in the back of the pack. Another aspect of the invention is that the uniform construction allows a user to easily slip the pack over the user&#39;s head and quickly attach the pack about the individual&#39;s torso using the waist band fasteners. The front pack is also waterproof, allowing a user to fall onto the snow without the snow soaking through the pack.  
      A further aspect of the invention is that the padded back support protects against crashes that may occur. An additional aspect is that the spine protector aids in preventing injuries to the spinal column.  
      These and other aspects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a pocketed front pack according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the pocketed front pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the pocketed front pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the pocketed front pack according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a bottom plan view of the pocketed front pack according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is an environmental rear view of the pocketed front pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  
    
    
      Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention is a pocketed front pack, designated generally as  10  in the drawings. The pocketed pack  10  has a body  12  of unitary construction, which may be made with a waterproof material, connected to a waist band  22 . The body  12  has a front cover  14 , a plurality of shoulder harnesses  16 , and a back cover  18 . The front cover  14  has a large compartment  20  built into the front cover  14 . The shoulder harnesses  16  are attached to the waist band  22 .  
      Referring first to  FIG. 1 , the pocketed front pack  10  is shown being worn by a user. The pack  10  is slipped over a user&#39;s head, with the front cover  14  resting against the user&#39;s chest. The front cover  14  has a top end  24  and a bottom end  26 . The shoulder harnesses  16  are integrally connected to the front cover  14  and extend off of the top end  24  of the front cover  14 . The shoulder harnesses  16  rest over a user&#39;s shoulders. The shoulder harnesses  16  are attached to a waist band  22 , which is situated about a user&#39;s waist. The waist band  22  has a first end  28  and a second end  30  opposed to the first end  28 . The first end  28  and the second end  30  of the waist band  22  are wrapped about the user&#39;s waist and fastened to one other.  
      The front cover  14  has a large compartment  20  built into the front cover  14 . The large compartment  20  includes a zipper  32  to provide access to the inside of the compartment  20 . The zipper  32  may be disposed vertically down the middle of the compartment  20  or alternatively be disposed in a horseshoe configuration about the compartment  20 , as seen in  FIG. 5 . The zipper  32  may be substituted for a variety of fasteners, such as hook and loop fasteners, buttons, snaps and the like. A plurality of small pockets  34  is situated on the front cover  14 . The pockets  34  may be situated either on the large compartment  20  or disposed directly on the front cover  14 . A fluid pouch  40  is attached to the front cover  14 . A tube  42  is extended from the fluid pouch  40  up to a spout  44 , allowing a user to drink fluids held within the fluid pouch  40 . A clip  48  is attached to the front cover  14  for attaching to miscellaneous items.  
       FIG. 2  shows the outer face of the pocketed front pack  10 .  FIG. 3  shows the inner face of the pocketed front pack  10 . The shoulder harnesses  16  are integrally connected to the front cover  14  of the pack  10 . Adjustable straps  46  are disposed on the shoulder harnesses  16  and attach to the waist band  22 . The back cover  18  is attached to the shoulder harnesses  16 . The back cover  18  may additionally be extended, stretching to the waist band  22 . The back cover  18  may be omitted entirely. The waist band  22  includes a tailbone pad  70  integrally connected to the waist band  22  for protecting the user&#39;s tailbone.  
      The first end  28  of the waist band  22  has a first hook and loop fastening strip  50  on the outward-facing surface  52  of the first end  28 . The first end  28  of the waist band  22  has a second hook and loop fastening strip  54  on the inward-facing surface  56  of the first end  28 . The second end  30  of the waist band  22  has a third hook and loop fastening strip  58  on the outward-facing surface  60  of the second end  30 . The inward-facing surface  62  of the second end  30  of the waist band  22  lacks a hook and loop fastening strip. The front cover  14  has a front side  72  and an underside  74 . The underside  74  of the bottom end  26  of the cover  14  has a fourth hook and loop fastening strip  76 .  
      After the user slips the pack  10  over his head, he first wraps the second end  30  of the waist band  22  about his waist, then wraps the first end  28  of the waist band  22  about his waist. The second hook and loop fastening strip  54  secures to the third hook and loop fastening strip  58 , attaching the first end  28  of the waist band  22  to the second end  30 . Then the front cover  14  is pulled down, and the fourth hook and loop fastening strip  76  secures to the first hook and loop fastening strip  50 . The front cover  14  is thus held in place against the waist band  22 . Although the first end  28  of the waist band  22  is shown having hook and loop fastening strips on both sides, it does not matter whether the first end  28  or the second end  30  of the waist band  22  has hook and loop fastening strips on both sides.  
      The fluid pouch  40  may be permanently attached to the front pack  10  or detachable from the front pack  10 . It may be held to the pack  10  by uniting a first pouch hook and loop fastener  90  disposed on the front cover  14  of the pack  10  with a second pouch hook and loop fastener  92  disposed on the underside of the fluid pouch  40 .  
      Additionally the underside  74  of the front cover  14  has a plurality of hand-warming compartments  80  built into the cover  14 . Alternative fasteners may be used in place of the hook and loop fastening strips, such as buckles, zippers, snaps, buttons and the like.  
      Turning now to  FIG. 4 , the pocketed front pack  10  is shown with the addition of a spine protector  82 . The spine protector  82  is built into the back cover  18 . The spine protector  82  may be made with a padding material. The spine protector  82  may use spinal links  84  and is designed with a protective material, such as polyethylene or polyurethane. The spine protector  82  may be ridged or may include a gel insert.  
       FIG. 6  shows a rear view of the pocketed front pack  10  being worn by a user. The pack  10  is slipped over the user&#39;s head, and the waist band  22  is attached about the user&#39;s waist. The straps  46  are adjustable so that the user may raise or lower the waist band  22  according to the user&#39;s needs. The straps  46  are lowered, allowing the tailbone pad  70  to be situated against the user&#39;s tailbone to provide it protection.  
      The pocketed front pack  10  is preferably made from a lightweight, waterproof material.  
      It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.