Patent Publication Number: US-2005133558-A1

Title: Multiple-use cover with see through carrying article

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This is a continuation of provisional patent application No. 06/528,328 filed Dec. 11, 2003 entitled “CONVERTIBLE MULTIPLE-USE BACKPACK COVER”. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a multiple-use cover that is used to cover a see through carrying article such as a backpack, diaper bag or tote bag. The multiple-use cover is able to convert into a fanny pack or pouch and has an easy access opening for gaining access to the inside of the see through carrying article or its pockets without having to remove the cover. The multiple-use cover can be designed with a inner lining allowing multiple-use cover to be worn inside out or on either side. The present invention helps protect the privacy of the individual user and provides a means for upgrading safety for commuters who carry a variety of clear or see through carrying articles such as backpacks, diaper bags, or tote bags in general. Also, the multiple-use cover helps complement security in public places by encouraging individuals who normally would not carry see through carrying articles due to privacy or safety reasons to carry them.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Carrying articles such as backpacks, diaper bags and tote bags have come in many shapes and sizes and have been worn throughout history and are known in prior art. Carrying articles like backpacks, diaper bags and tote bags have been used to transport items from place to place with a sense of privacy and convenience in everyday life. Recently, there have been sweeping changes in security that has caused an increased need for transparent or see through carrying articles in public places due to increased violence in public places and terrorism.  
      These see through carrying articles increase security measures and tighten security, but inconvenience the see through carrying article user by exposing the contents in their backpack or tote bag during their commute, which raises a safety concern for the user. This inefficiency gives rise to the present invention which provides a cover for see through carrying articles such as tote bags, diaper bags, backpacks and see through carrying articles in general and allow the user through the design of the cover use of the shoulder strap(s) and handgrip found on most carrying articles such as backpacks, diaper bags, garment bags, camera bags, lunch bags and tote bags in general. This invention allows user to have access to the pockets of see through carrying article and access to the inside of see through carrying article through an easy access opening or openings in multiple-use cover without having to remove the cover. Further, this invention allows a user to have a see through and a nontransparent carrying article through use of multiple-use cover. The multiple-use cover can be made with a inner lining that would allow multiple-use cover to be worn on either side allowing the user to have a choice between two designs and colors. The present invention is preferably made of breathable material for security and safety concerns and a way to store cover without placing it in a hidden compartment. In prior art, luggage covers made to shield luggage items from weather exposure covered the entire bag with no opening for shoulder strap(s) or handgrip. These baglike luggage covers are composed of plastic or non-breathable material with a drawstring that tightens around the mouth of luggage cover or made with luggage that allow it to be tucked away in a hidden compartment such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,658 B2. Luggage covers such as this and their components pose a hazard to the personal safety of the user and create a security concern because these covers could be used as a strangling or suffocation device and do not have opening or openings such as the present invention for shoulder strap(s) or handgrip or easy access opening to gain access to carrying article without having to remove entire cover. Further, a loose drawstring poses a potential hazard of getting caught in subway doors, escalator or other types of machinery.  
      Therefore, the use of luggage covers with drawstrings in prior art to complement security measures would prove to be ineffective in design and material. Also, there are patented see through carrying articles such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,833 issued in Oct. 26, 1993, which is a transparent carrier and U.S. Des. Pat. No. 421,523 issued on Mar. 14, 2000 which is a transparent backpack neither have a cover nor cover fasteners on their exterior. However, the present invention would be effective in complementing the privacy needs of the individual and effective in complementing the security measures of today without itself posing as a potential threat to security or to the safety of the individual. The different attributes and components of the present invention are further described in more detail below.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to satisfying the safety and privacy need of the individuals who are required to carry see through carrying articles such as backpacks, diaper bags and tote bags and helping them to meet and satisfy security requirements at the same time, in our quickly changing world. The present invention is quite useful in keeping others from peering into see through carrying article while user is in commute and makes it easier for a potential screener to screen carrying article by simply removing the multiple-use cover. Further, if the user needed to get something from the pockets or the inside of the see through carrying article they can unzip the easy access zipper or open easy access flap opening on the front of the cover to gain access to see through carrying article. The easy access opening can be made to open and close through use of zipper opening or flap opening that uses either zipper, Velcro® or button snaps as fasteners. The easy access flap opening can be used in the place of easy access zipper opening and easy access zipper opening can be used in the place of easy access flap opening. Another attribute is that a potential screener can quickly examine the pockets because the pocket lining on the carrying article cover can be made of see through material such as clear plastic or netting. The present invention gives the user a choice between a transparent or nontransparent carrying article through use of a cover. The cover itself is preferably made of lightweight, durable and water resistant material.  
      Further, the multiple-use cover can be made attached or unattached to see through carrying article. Also, the multiple-use cover has huge utility because it can be made to fit the structural design of any type see through carrying article such as a backpack, tote bag, diaper bag, camera bag, lunch bag, soft cooler bag, garment bag, fanny pack or duffel bag in general with or without wheels and cover can be made to be worn on either side. Moreover, the multiple-use cover allows the user to have access to shoulder strap(s) and handgrip of see through carrying article through the stretchable mouth opening in back of the multiple-use cover. Also, the stretchable mouth opening of cover can be made with flap(s) (i.e., a portion of cloth that extends from top, bottom, or side(s) of multiple-use cover or mouth opening) that can seal mouth of cover with fastener(s) located on flap(s). The flap(s) can be made detachable through use of zipper, Velcro®, or button snaps. Further, the multiple-use cover can be made with hole openings at bottom of cover for see through carrying articles with wheels and multiple-use cover can be made with some light padding or insulation in lining of cover.  
      Another use of the multiple-use cover is that it can convert into a pouch or fanny pack by simply flipping or turning pocket or pouch inside out and stuffing multiple-use cover into mouth of pouch or fanny pack. This use comes in handy when user may need to store away cover. The cover can be converted into a small pouch and stored away inside of carrying article or converted to a fanny pack or bag that can be worn around waist or shoulder. The pocket used to make fanny pack can be made with a reversible zipper, Velcro, buttons, button snaps or other fastening device. The same fastening device used to seal pocket is used to seal fanny pack. The straps with fastening device of fanny pack are sewn to the inside of the zipper pocket and are made accessible when pocket is turned into fanny pack. The entire multiple-use cover is engulfed when the zipper pocket is turned inside out and the cover is stuffed inside mouth of fanny pack. Also, the pocket can be made detachable so that fanny pack is able to separate from multiple-use cover.  
      The present invention can make a see through carrying article such as a backpack or tote bag look like a regular non-transparent backpack or tote bag with pockets, zippers, holders, key rings, webbing, netting, hooks and reflective tape through the design of the multiple-use cover. Further, the see through carrying article can be made to have a detachable shoulder strap or straps that can be detached from see through carrying article and attached to multiple-use cover to form a separate carrying article. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of see through carrying article with shoulder straps, handgrip, pockets and cover fasteners.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of multiple-use cover with zippered easy access opening and easy access flap opening, reversible zipper pocket, carrying article fasteners and pouch.  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of multiple-use cover with easy access zippered opening unzipped.  
       FIG. 4  shows reversible zipper pocket unzipped with buckle and strap exposed and pocket lining pulled outward that forms fanny pack.  
       FIG. 5  shows reversible zipper pocket flipped inside out forming fanny pack and fanny pack engulfing multiple-use cover.  
       FIG. 6  shows fanny pack fully formed.  
       FIG. 7  shows pouch engulfing multiple-use cover after being flipped inside out and multiple-use cover being stuffed into mouth of pouch.  
       FIG. 8  shows multiple-use cover fully engulfed by pouch.  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of multiple-use cover covering see through carrying article with cover fasteners and carrying article fasteners engaged to hold cover in place.  
       FIG. 10  shows back view of see through carrying article covered by multiple-use cover with back flap open exposing see through carrying article.  
       FIG. 11  shows back flap of multiple-use cover closed and hole openings for wheeled see through carrying articles. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of see through carrying article lo with shoulder strap(s)  12 , handgrip, pockets  16  and cover fasteners 18 . The see through carrying article  10  can be a backpack, tote bag, diaper bag, duffel bag, garment bag, camera bag or lunch bag. The see through carrying article  10  can be made with one or two shoulder strap(s)  12 , with or without handgrip 14 , with pockets  16  or without pockets  16  and with or without cover fasteners  18  used to hold multiple-use cover  20  in place by fastening cover fasteners  18  and carrying article fasteners  26  together through use of Velcro® or button snaps.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of multiple-use cover  20  with zippered easy access opening  22  and easy access flap opening  30  used for bag pockets, reversible zipper pocket  24 , carrying article fasteners  26  and pouch  28 . The multiple-use cover  20  is used to cover see through carrying article  10  to keep valuable and personal items out of view. The multiple-use cover  20  can be sewn in any style or design depending on the design of the see through carrying article  10  and multiple-use cover  20  can be made with a inner lining that would allow multiple-use cover  20  to be worn on either side.  FIG. 3  shows easy access zipper opening  22  slightly unzipped and easy access flap opening  30  opened. The easy access opening  22  can be made with Velcro® or zipper to seal incision opening or easy access flap  30  may be used to cover a wider opening in cover such as for pockets on carrying article  10 . The easy access zipper opening  22  or easy access flap  30  can be placed anywhere on multiple-use cover  20 . The easy access zipper opening  22  and easy access flap opening  30  with Velcro® or button snaps  32  can be made to allow user access to carrying article pockets  16  and carrying article  10  through multiple-use cover  20 .  FIG. 4  shows reversible zipper pocket  24  unzipped with buckle and strap  36  exposed that form fanny pack  34 . The reversible zipper pocket  24  is a pocket with straps and buckle  36  and lining  34  that forms fanny pack  34 . The reversible zipper allows same zipper to be used to seal fanny pack  34 .  FIG. 5  shows fanny pack  34  engulfing multiple-use cover  20 . The lining  34  which is the shell of fanny pack  34  is flipped inside out and multiple-use cover  20  is stuffed into mouth of fanny pack  34  to form fanny pack  34 . The lining  34  which is the shell of fanny pack  34  can be made of see through material such as netting, clear plastic or mesh. The straps and buckle  36  can be worn around the waist or shoulder. Also, the reversible zipper pocket  24  can be used to hold personal items or converted into fanny pack  34  to hold personal items.  FIG. 6  shows fanny pack  34  fully formed. In  FIG. 7  the multiple-use cover  20  has a pouch  28  that engulfs the entire multiple-use cover  20  by turning pouch  28  inside out and pushing multiple-use cover  20  into mouth of pouch  28 . The pouch  28  can be made of see through material such as clear plastic, netting or mesh. The pouch  28  has an elastic mouth that can be used as a pocket or holder. Once multiple-use cover  20  is engulfed by pouch  28  it can be stored away inside of see through carrying article  10 .  FIG. 8  shows pouch  28  fully converted and multiple-use cover  20  fully engulfed.  
      Moreover,  FIG. 9  is a perspective view of multiple-use cover  20  covering see through carrying article  10  with cover fasteners  18  used to hold and line up multiple-use cover  20  by attaching to carrying article fasteners  26 .  FIG. 10  shows back view of see through carrying article  10  covered by multiple-use cover  20  with back flap  38  with fasteners  40  (Velcro®, button snaps or zipper) in open position exposing back of see through carrying article  10  with shoulder strap(s)  12 , handgrip  14  and mouth opening  44 . Further, in  FIG. 10  the multiple-use cover  20  has a stretchable mouth opening  44  that is used to place multiple-use cover  20  over see through carrying article  10  and allows use of shoulder strap(s)  12  and handgrip  14 . The mouth of cover  44  can be made with flap(s)  38  (i.e., a portion of cloth that extends from top, bottom, or side(s) of multiple-use cover  20  or mouth opening  44 ) that cover mouth opening  44 . Also, the flap(s)  38  has fasteners  40  that can seal the mouth opening  44 . The flap(s)  38  can be made to fit front or back of multiple-use cover  20 . The multiple-use cover  20  can be made with or without flap(s)  38  or can be made detachable through use of Velcro®, button snaps or zipper. Further, side flap(s)  38  on the back of multiple-use cover  20  would extend from sides of mouth opening  44  across mouth opening  44  and top flap(s)  38  would extend from top of mouth opening  44  to bottom of mouth opening  44 . Also, bottom flap(s)  38  would extend from bottom of mouth opening  44  to the top of mouth opening  44 . In  FIG. 11  the back flap  38  is closed to cover back of see through carrying article  10 . The back flap  38  and multiple-use cover  20  allow enough room between top of mouth opening  44  and back flap  38  for handgrip  14  and shoulder straps  12  to protrude and enough space at bottom between bottom mouth of cover  44  and back flap  38  for lower end of shoulder strap(s)  12  to protrude. Mouth opening  44  can be made of elastic in upper and lower portions of mouth opening  44  when side flap(s)  38  are used or in sides of mouth opening  44  when top or bottom flap(s)  38  are used or elastic can be used around entire mouth opening  44  whether flap(s)  38  are used or not. Further, in  FIG. 11  the wheel hole openings  46  at bottom of multiple-use cover  20  are for see through carrying articles  10  with wheels or hole openings may be placed on bottom sides of multiple-use cover  20 . It should be understood that the foregoing pertains to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and that numerous changes may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.