Abstract:
A removable insert for bags holds and organizes personal articles. A first insert module comprises a closed base, an open top, side walls and pocket walls extending between the side walls. The pocket walls and side walls of the first insert module define a plurality of vertical pockets. A second insert module is separable from the first insert module. The second insert module comprises a closed base, an open top, side walls and pocket walls extending between the side walls. The pocket walls and side walls of the second insert module define a plurality of vertical pockets. An attachment mechanism selectively attaches and detaches the first and second insert modules to one another, wherein when attached the first and second insert modules are adjacent one another and the bases of the first and second insert modules are coplanar.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to carrying bags, and will be illustrated in the context of a removable insert for carrying and organizing personal articles. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An ongoing challenge in our modern “on the go” society is organizing one&#39;s personal articles. This is especially true in the case of organizing articles that are placed in carrying bags. Consider for instance the multitude of personal articles that are typically carried in a woman&#39;s purse. It is not unusual for any given woman to have a dozen or more discrete personal articles placed in a purse. Unfortunately, most purses are little more than unorganized “black holes” in which the articles are thrown helter-skelter, making the task of locating an article a time consuming and often frustrating affair. Moreover, in situations where one needs to change carrying bags, the personal articles must be individually transferred between bags. The present invention offers a novel and unique solution to organize articles in carrying bags. While a variety of organizational products are available none do so in the same manner as or offer the benefits of the present invention. 
     SUMMARY 
     One example of the invention is a removable insert for a carrying bag. A first portion has a top, a bottom and side walls, with one or more vertical pockets between the side walls that are open at the top and closed at the bottom. A second portion has a top, a bottom and side walls, with one or more vertical pockets between the side walls that are open at the top and closed at the bottom. The second portion is adjacent the first portion, the bottoms of the first and second portions are aligned, and the side walls of the second portion are lower than the side walls of the first portion. An attachment mechanism, such as a zipper, connects the first and second portions and is configured to selectively attach and detach the first and second portions. 
     In another example, a removable insert for carrying bags holds and organizes personal articles. A first insert module comprises a closed base, an open top, side walls and one or more pocket walls extending between the side walls. The pocket walls and side walls of the first insert module define two or more vertical pockets, and the side walls are sufficiently stiff to bias the pockets open at the top. A second insert module is separable from the first insert module. The second insert module comprises a closed base, an open top, side walls and one or more pocket walls extending between the side walls. The pocket walls and side walls of the second insert module define two or more vertical pockets, the side walls being sufficiently stiff to bias the pockets open at the top and the side walls being shorter in height than the side walls of the first insert module. An attachment mechanism selectively attaches and detaches the first and second insert modules to one another, wherein when attached the first and second insert modules are adjacent one another and the bases of the first and second insert modules are coplanar. 
     In yet another example, a removable insert holds and organizes personal articles in carrying bags. A first insert module comprises a closed base, an open top, stiff side walls, and means for defining a plurality of pockets within the side walls. A second insert module is separable from and shorter than the first insert module. The second insert module comprises a closed base, an open top, stiff side walls, and means for defining a plurality of pockets within the side walls. A means selectively attaches and detaches the first and second insert modules to one another. 
     Still other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, which is by way of illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a bag insert placed in a purse; 
     FIG. 2 is an oblique view of an example of a bag insert; 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of an example of a bag insert; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of an example of a bag insert; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of an example of a bag insert; 
     FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative pocket arrangement for a bag insert; 
     FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative pocket arrangement for a bag insert; 
     FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative pocket arrangement for a bag insert; and 
     FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative pocket arrangement for a bag insert. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a removable insert  10  for a carrying bag  15 . Various articles can be placed and organized in the insert  10 . The number and type of articles that can be placed in the insert are virtually unlimited. Some examples of typical articles include wallets, glasses, cell phones, pens, cards (e.g. credit cards, security cards, driver&#39;s licenses), keys, paper pads, passports, make-up, key cards, pagers, personal electronic assistants (PDA&#39;s), MP3 players and the like. As shown in this example, the carrying bag  15  is a purse, however, the insert  10  can be used a numerous other bags, including brief cases, back packs, fanny packs, diaper bags, sports bags, travel totes, beach bags, flight bags and the like. The insert  10  is readily removable from the bag  15 , so one could simply remove the insert along with its contents and place it into another bag. As such, the same insert  10  could be used with a number of different bags. For instance, the various personal articles that a woman generally carries in a purse could be organized in the insert  10 . On the occasions when the woman decides to change purses, she could simply move the insert  10  to the new purse. Alternatively, the same woman could move the insert from her purse to her briefcase, thus eliminating the need to carry two bags. Accordingly, transitioning between bags is very simple and the personal articles will remain organized and in a familiar pattern. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an insert  10 . The insert  10  comprises two modules  20 ,  30 . The first module  20  has an open top  22 , a closed bottom  21  and side walls  23 . Similarly, the second module  30  has an open top  32 , a closed bottom  31  and side walls  33 . While the insert  10  of the present example has two modules each with open tops, it is contemplated that a closeable flap could be added to cover one or both of the tops of the modules. An open top, however, provides the benefit of ease of access to articles placed in the insert  10  when positioned in a bag. In the present example, the insert  10  is made from a synthetic microfiber fabric, however, the insert  10  can be constructed from numerous materials, such as leather, hard or soft plastic, various fabrics and the like. In the present example, the side walls  33  of the second module  30  are lower than the side walls  23  of the first module  20 , however, it is contemplative that the height of the two modules can be the same. Further, the present example illustrates only two modules, but three or more modules could also be used. 
     The two modules  20 ,  30  are a generally elongated shape and adjacent one another along their lengths. As shown here the two modules  20 ,  30  are generally the same length, however, the modules with staggered lengths could also be employed. The bottoms  21 ,  31  are generally flat and aligned with one another in the same horizontal plane. By providing a flat and co-planar base, the insert  10  is self-standing (i.e. capable of supporting itself and maintaining its vertical alignment). As such, the insert  10  can, independently stand without tipping over and spilling its contents. Stiffening can be added to the base and/or side walls to further facilitate the self-standing feature. While a co-planar base is shown here, the bottoms  21 ,  31  do not necessarily need to be flat nor aligned with one another. 
     The attachment mechanism  40  is configured to selectively attach and detach the two modules  20 ,  30 . In the present example, the attachment mechanism  40  is a zipper. By pulling the slider  43  and unzipping the zipper  40 , the two modules  20 ,  30  can be totally separated from one another. Likewise, the two modules can be reattached by zipping the zipper  40 . Beyond a zipper, other attachment mechanisms could also be employed, such as Velcro, snaps, buttons, magnets, straps and the like. While a detachable feature offers numerous advantages, in some application it may be desirable that the two modules  20 ,  30  be permanently attached to one another trough stitching or other suitable means. 
     The first module  20  has one or more vertically aligned pockets positioned between the side walls  23  that are open at the top  22  and closed at the bottom  21 . Likewise, the second module has one or more vertically aligned pockets between the side walls  33  that are open at the top  32  and closed at the bottom  31 . As shown here, the vertical pockets are all open at the top and closed at the bottom, however, its is contemplated that one or more of the vertical pockets could be closed at the top, such as through a snap or flap. The second module  30  further includes side pockets  37 A-C located on the outer surface of the side walls  33 . 
     In the present example, the side walls  23 ,  33  are generally pliant but are sufficiently stiff to bias the vertical pockets to remain open at the top  22 ,  32 , respectively. This biasing feature tends to keep the vertical pockets open when the insert  10  is placed in a bag thus facilitating ease of access to the pockets. As shown here, the modules  20 ,  30  include piping  24 ,  34  positioned around the periphery of the open tops  22 ,  32  that contributes to this stiffening of the side walls. Preferably the piping  24 ,  34  is a contrasting color to that of the side walls  23 ,  33 , respectively, thus providing the benefit of visually highlighting the openings of the modules to make the pockets more visible in a low light environment. In lieu of or in addition to the piping, the biasing feature could be achieved through numerous other mechanisms such as the intrinsic stiffness of the material used to form the side walls, adding inserts in the side walls, adding wire within the side walls or piping, and the like. While pliant side walls  23 ,  33  may be desirable in many applications, the side walls  23 ,  33  could also be a relatively stiff or hard material, such as hardened leather. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates examples of vertical pocket configurations for the two modules  20 ,  30 . As will be readily appreciated by one with ordinary skill in the art, numerous alternative pocket configurations can be selected for any given application. As shown here, the first module  20  includes four pockets  26 A-D defined by the side walls  23  and pocket walls  25 A-C. Similarly, the second module  30  shown here includes four pockets  36 A-D defined by the side walls  33  and pocket walls  35 A-C. In the present example, each module  20 ,  30  includes a large pocket  26 A,  36 A, respectively, covering at least half of the module, with a plurality of smaller pockets  26 B-D,  36 B-D covering the remainder of the module. While a selection of multiple pockets may be desirable in many cases, a module could have no pocket walls and have only one large pocket entirely defined by the side walls. 
     FIG. 4 shows the modules  20 ,  30  pulled apart but still connected to one another to illustrate an additional large pocket  46  located between the first and second modules  20 ,  30  and defined by the zipper  40  and the side walls  23 ,  33 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a hook  29  upon which personal articles can be hung, which is especially well suited for key rings. Alternatively, the hook  29  could be used to fasten the insert to something so it would not be lost or for hanging the insert. FIG. 5 also illustrates the two modules  20 ,  30  detached from one another. The zipper  40  includes two mating zipper halves  41 ,  42 , with the slider  43  remaining attached to zipper half  41 . In such a configuration, the first module  20  can be considered the master module, and the second module  30  can be considered the supplemental module. The supplemental module  30  could be selected from a group of different supplemental modules each having a different configuration of pockets. FIGS. 6-9 illustrate several examples of such supplemental modules  30 . Each supplemental module  30  includes a zipper half  42  that can be attached to the other zipper half  41 , but each module  30  has a different pocket configuration. In addition, the supplemental module  30  shown in FIG. 8 includes a mesh side pocket  37 D located on the outside of the side wall. Accordingly, one could select a supplemental module  30  to fit their particular organizational requirements and connect it to the master module  20  to make a customized insert. 
     As will be readily apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art, the bag insert can be marketed in a number of ways to consumers. An insert made with premium materials and with a full range of features can be sold to an upper end market, while inserts with lower quality materials and fewer features can be sold in a more economy oriented market. Further, the insert can be marketed as an entire system for organizing personal articles. For instance, the master module  20  can be sold as a base article (with or without a basic supplemental module  30 ), and the consumer could buy one or more supplemental modules  30  based on their specific organizational preferences. In addition a number of matching accessories can also be sold as part of a line of products, such as wallets, change holders, card holders, key holders, make-up bags check book covers, accessory bags and the like. 
     Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention, further adaptations of the insert described herein can be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.