Patent Publication Number: US-6209769-B1

Title: Side pack

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates to a side pack to be worn by a user to provide secure, comfortable and ergonomic access to the contents of the side pack. In particular, the invention provides a small side pack for objects, such as a cellular telephone or camera, which affords ready and ergonomic access to the object at the side of the user&#39;s torso. The invention is further adapted to include a shoulder strap and to retain the shoulder strap on the user&#39;s shoulder with an auxiliary strap extending transversely across the upper torso and beneath the user&#39;s distal arm. The invention includes retention straps for connecting the compartment portion of the side pack to the shoulder strap and which are also adapted to allow the compartment portion to be attached directly to a waist belt. The compartment portion thus can be placed at the user&#39;s side or waist or on the user&#39;s hips either by using the shoulder strap or by suspending it directly from a belt. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     The most essential and routinely accessed objects by a person while away from home may be a wallet, checkbook, a pen or pencil, and the increasingly ubiquitous cellular telephone. The necessities for more extended travel or touring may include a wallet, traveler&#39;s checks, passport, map, a pen or pencil, and a camera. When traveling lightly, carrying only the bare essentials such as these, it is cumbersome to use a large pack such as a briefcase or sizeable purse. Smaller bags, while conveniently sized and easier to carry, merely provide compact retention of their contents. 
     Common object holders, be they hand bags, clutches, or brief cases, pose further problems. They can easily become separated from the user because the user frequently removes the pack when slitting, and must remember to retrieve it when moving on. A variation of this problem is presented by cellular telephone cases which protect the cellular telephone, but do not encourage the user to return the telephone to a pack worn on the user&#39;s body. There is no generally accepted convenient place to keep a cellular telephone on one&#39;s person. The telephone generally is put in a shirt or coat pocket not designed for such a bulky item, or on an adjacent table or chair. Sometimes the cellular telephone is forgotten and left behind. Many cellular telephone cases provide a loop on the back of the case for carrying the case on the user&#39;s waist belt. This requires the user to thread the waist belt through the loop—a tedious task usually skipped. Simply put, cases provided for enclosing cellular telephones do not encourage the user to keep the telephone on the user&#39;s person. 
     Access to essential objects is an issue of convenience and efficiency. Virtually instant access becomes important for the cellular telephone user who has just been called. Unnecessary effort spent opening a briefcase, unzipping a purse, or loosening snaps reduces efficiency and lowers convenience of use of the object being retrieved. 
     Packs or purses hung loosely from a shoulder strap must be constantly monitored and adjusted to keep them in place, thus diverting use of the hands from other tasks. Shoulder straps are normally worn over the shoulder on the same side of the body on which the pack or purse is suspended. The movement of walking causes a pack hung from the shoulder to swing away from the body, pulling the shoulder strap in the direction of the swing and gradually working the strap off the shoulder. The lighter the pack, the more likely the shoulder strap is to slip off the shoulder. Further, with each outward swing comes a return collision with the user thus diverting attention to controlling the position of the pack on the user&#39;s body. Monitoring of the strap and the suspended pack diverts attention, reduces freedom of the hands, and hampers walking. The continual collisions with the pack and constant hiking of the shoulder strap back up on the shoulder are annoyances. Finally, after extended wear, many shoulder straps cut into the user&#39;s neck and shoulder and become uncomfortable to wear. 
     Most packs used for carrying personal items are worn over outer layers of clothing, and must be taken off whenever the outer layer of clothing is removed, such as when taking off a coat. The user must later remember where the pack is and retrieve it. Especially for more extended traveling or while touring, failure to retrieve one&#39;s pack containing personal belongings or leaving it exposed to theft can lead to difficulties and significant distress. 
     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a side pack for wearing by a user which offers secure, comfortable and ergonomic access to the contents of the side pack. It is a further objective of the invention to provide a side pack sized to hold a cellular telephone or small camera and adapted to fit comfortably on the side of the torso. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a side pack to be worn on the user&#39;s body affording secure retention of and quick and ergonomic access to a cellular telephone or camera. It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a side pack having a shoulder strap which is comfortably retained in place on the shoulder by a secondary strap. It is another objective of the invention to provide a side pack suspended from a shoulder strap having a wide midportion allowing the strap to be worn comfortably over the shoulder. It is also an objective of the invention to provide a side pack to be worn suspended from a shoulder strap having a hold-down means which may be attached to a belt loop to prevent the side pack from swinging away from and back against the use while walking. It is an additional objective of the invention to provide a side pack having a strap assembly which can be adapted to allow wearing of the side pack over the shoulder, around the waist or on the hip, at the user&#39;s option. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A side pack according to the invention includes a compartment and shoulder strap assembly. The side pack is sized to fit unobtrusively and comfortably at one&#39;s side, either above the waist, or at the waist or hips. The side pack comprises a main compartment facing away from the user sized to receive a cellular telephone or other object of like dimensions, such as a small camera. A top closing flap opens and closes over the top opening of the main compartment. The end of the flap is detachably sealed over the opening using a quickly opening fastener, such as Velcro® hook-and-loop-type fastener, to provide instant and easy access to the contents of the main compartment. 
     The side pack includes a plurality of additional compartments separate from the main compartment facing towards the user sized generally to accept thinner items such as a wallet, credit cards, papers, a passport, maps, or a pen or pencil. The additional compartments are open at the top to allow the user to slip items in and out of them with ease. A key clip may depend from the outermost of the additional compartments and may be attached to a belt loop for holding the bag to the user&#39;s body, or it may be used to hold a ring of keys or other objects. The top of the side pack has two opposing waist belt retention straps having conventional fastening means, e.g., snaps, for fastening the straps into loops capable of accepting a waist belt. The side pack can thus be hung on a waist belt at the user&#39;s election. A stretchable band may also be affixed to the end of each waist belt retention strap. 
     A shoulder strap assembly is attached to the bag for hanging the side pack on a shoulder. Each end of the shoulder strap assembly is attached demountably to the waist belt retention strap or to the stretchable band at the user&#39;s option depending on the length and elasticity preferred by the user. The shoulder strap and attached waist belt retention straps form a harness which is adjustable in length. The harness may be used to wear the side pack over the shoulder or, at the user&#39;s election, around the waist. The shoulder strap is widened through its middle portion where it rests on the shoulder to distribute the weight of the bag over a larger area for increased comfort. An elastic secondary strap is attached to the middle portion of the shoulder strap and loops transversely across the upper torso and under the distal arm. The secondary strap holds the shoulder strap in placed, preventing it from slipping off the user&#39;s shoulder. The strap assembly, especially if the hold-down is attached to a belt loop, maintains the side pack comfortably at the user&#39;s side, providing virtually instant access to the objects held, and freeing the user&#39;s hands from managing the side pack and strap. The distribution of weight by the wide midportion of the shoulder strap, the comfortable placement of the side pack on the side of the body, the retention of the shoulder strap in place by the secondary strap, and the relatively small size of the side pack all work together to allow the user to wear the side pack for extended periods of time and encourage the user to return items to the pack after use. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side pack in accordance with the invention showing a cellular telephone in the side pack. 
     FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a side pack in accordance with the invention including two retention straps and a forwardly extending top closing flap. 
     FIG. 1B is a rear perspective view of a side pack in accordance with the invention showing additional compartments which face the user. 
     FIG. 2 is a frontal perspective view of a side pack in accordance with the invention showing the side pack attached to a waist belt. 
     FIG. 3 is a frontal perspective view of a side pack in accordance with the invention showing the side pack suspended at the hips. 
     FIG. 4 is a frontal perspective view showing a side pack in accordance with the invention showing the compartment portion at the user&#39;s side and the secondary strap extending across the user&#39;s torso and under the distal arm. 
     FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of a side pack in accordance with the invention showing the auxiliary strap extending across the user&#39;s back and under the distal arm. 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a side pack in accordance with the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT 
     A side pack  10  according to the invention comprises a main compartment  12  and a strap assembly  14 . The main compartment  12  includes a top opening  18 . In the preferred embodiment, the main compartment  12  is sized to hold securely a cellular telephone T. There is enough play in the compartment  12  to allow the user to easily insert the telephone T into the compartment  12  and to quickly retrieve it when needed. The compartment  12  ideally is sized to fit comfortably under the user&#39;s arm on the side of the torso. A top closing flap  20  loops over the top opening  18  of the main compartment  12  for securing the contents of the main compartment  12 . In the illustrated embodiment seen in FIG. 1A, a quickly opening sealing means  22 , such as a Velcro® hook-and-loop-type fastener, is used to demountably seal the top closing flap  20  over the top opening  18 . In other preferred embodiments, snaps, magnetic catches, or other quickly opening fasteners could be successfully used so long as quick access to the contents of the main compartment  12  is preserved. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the main compartment  12  faces away from the user to provide quick access to its contents and secondary compartments  24   a  and  24   b  are provided which face the user. The secondary compartments  24   a  and  24   b  are preferably size to accept flatter objects such as a wallet, maps, a passport, checkbook, or merely a pen or pencil. In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, the secondary compartments  24   a  and  24   b  have openings  26  which are not closable except for the force of compression of all the objects in the compartments  12 ,  24   a  and  24   b.  In another preferred embodiment, closing means  27  could easily be provided for one or all of the secondary compartments. 
     Although not illustrated, depending from the secondary compartments  24   a  and  24   b  may also be provided a hold-down, such as a key clip. In routine use the hold-down may be attached to a belt loop to restrain swinging motion of the park  10  and for additional security against theft. Alternatively, the hold-down may be used to retain a set of keys. 
     The main compartment  12  further includes integral retention straps  30 , each strap  30  including fastening means  32  allowing the retention straps  30  to be fastened into a closed loop sized to receive a waist belt. The retention straps  30  thus allow the side pack  10  optionally to be worn on the user&#39;s belt. 
     The strap assembly  14 , best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, is provided for suspending the main compartment  12  from the user&#39;s shoulder. The strap assembly  14  comprises a primary strap  34  which, when coupled with the retention straps  30 , acts as a shoulder strap or an optional waist harness. The retention straps  30  may also each include a stretchable attachment member, thereby in actual use giving the option of attaching the primary strap  34  to the stretchable attachment members of the retention straps  30  to create a more elastic connection between the main compartment  12  and the primary strap  34 . In an alternate embodiment not illustrated, a double bail system is sued to adjustably attach the primary strap  34  to the retention straps  30  to adjust the length between the main compartment  12  and the primary strap  34 . However, it can readily be appreciated that other attachment means can be employed to provide a connection between the primary strap  34  and the retention straps  30  of the main compartment  12  which allow adjustments in the length between the main compartment  12  and the primary strap  34 . 
     FIG. 4 shows that the midportion  40  of the primary strap  34  is widened to spread the load of the bag on the user&#39;s shoulder for added comfort. 
     The strap assembly  14  includes an auxiliary strap  42  demountably attached to the midportion  40  of the primary strap  34 . As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the auxiliary strap  42  extends transversely across the user&#39;s upper back and under the user&#39;s distal arm. In the preferred embodiment the auxiliary strap  42  is elastic. The attachment of the auxiliary strap  42  to the primary strap  34  maintains the position of the primary strap  34  on the user&#39;s shoulder eliminating the need for constantly hiking the primary strap  34  back up onto the shoulder. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of demountable fasteners  44 , e.g., a plurality of the catch portions of a snap are arranged lengthwise along the midportion  40  of the primary strap  34 , and the auxiliary strap  42  includes a cooperating fastener  46 , e.g., the cooperating portion of a snap, which allows the auxiliary strap  42  to connect to the midportion  40  of the primary strap  34  in a number of positions determined by the locations of the demountable fasteners  44  to best fit the user. Although wearing the side pack  10  with the auxiliary strap  42  has the significant advantage of maintaining the primary strap  34  on the user&#39;s shoulder, the auxiliary strap  42  can be detached and the side pack  10  worn without it. 
     There have thus been described certain preferred embodiments of a side pack. While preferred embodiments have been described and disclosed, it will be recognized by those with skill in the art that modifications are within the true spirit and scope of the invention. The appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications.