Abstract:
A portable bag assembly having a bag portion and a removable and collapsible carriage subassembly. The carriage subassembly has a plurality of legs having upper portions which are removably received and held by the bag portion. The portable bag assembly can be used for transporting a plurality of large balls and holding the plurality of balls at a comfortable height during practice. The portable bag assembly may also be used as a portable laundry hamper.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/271,183 filed Jul. 17, 2009. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a portable bag with a removable and collapsible carriage stand. 
     The present invention can be used as a portable ball cart for transporting large balls and providing a rolling cart for holding practice balls. It can also be used as a laundry hamper and for other uses where a removable stand would be desirable. 
     In games using large balls, such as basketballs and volleyballs, much time is spent in practice where a large number of readily available balls is desirable. 
     Wheeled carts are often used to hold a large number of such balls. The cart can be easily moved about the practice court to where the balls are needed. One such cart is described in U.S. Design Pat. D522,207. 
     Such carts are large and cannot be easily transported beyond the practice facility. When a team travels from its own facility to another for a game it has been difficult to transport balls that can be used for pre-game practice, and the availability of a wheeled cart at the facility being visited for holding practice balls is at the mercy of the home team. 
     Laundry hampers are typically placed in or near bathrooms to hold soiled clothing, towels, etc. When it is time to wash the items contained within the hamper they must be removed from the hamper, which is typically not portable, and carried by hand to the laundry room. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable bag having a removable and collapsible carriage stand. When the bag is removed from the carriage stand it can be easily moved from one location to another. 
     The portable bag assembly of the present invention has a bag portion and a collapsible carriage subassembly. 
     The carriage subassembly has a plurality of legs having upper portions which are removably received and held by leg holders attached to or contained within the bag portion. 
     Upon removal of the bag from the carriage subassembly the carriage subassembly can be collapsed by bringing the legs towards each other. The collapsed carriage can be attached to the bag portion by attachment means for easy transport. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the portable bag assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the portable bag assembly; 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the portable bag assembly; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial left front elevation view of the bag portion of the portable bag assembly with a leg of the carriage subassembly shown in cross-section; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4  of one of the carriage legs shown inserted into a leg holder located within the bag portion; 
         FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of the carriage subassembly of the portable bag assembly shown in its erected configuration; 
         FIG. 7  is a view of the carriage subassembly of the portable bag assembly shown in its collapsed configuration; and 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the portable bag assembly shown with its collapsed carriage subassembly attached thereto for transport. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The portable ball cart  10  is comprised of a bag portion  20  and a carriage portion  50 . 
     Bag portion  20  has a front wall  22 , a rear wall  24 , a top  26 , a bottom  28 , a left side wall  30 , and a right side wall  32 . Bag portion  20  is preferably made of a flexible cloth which can be folded up. 
     Top  26  of bag portion  20  has a sealable flap  34  removably attached along three sides thereof to top  26  by a fastener such as zipper  36 , which allows flap to be closed or opened to gain access to the interior of bag portion  20 . 
     A shoulder strap  38  is removably attached by snaps  39 ,  39 ′ to left and right side walls  30 ,  32  by left and right D-rings  40  and  40 ′, respectively. 
     As best seen in  FIG. 1 , left and right carriage attachment straps  42  and  42 ′ have center portions that are attached to front wall  22  by any suitable means, such as sewing. The free ends of attachment straps  42 ,  42 ′ are of a hook and loop construction, such as VELCRO®, which allows them to be wrapped around collapsed carriage  50  and removably attached to each other in a manner well known in the hook and loop art. Preferably straps  42 ,  42 ′ are formed of a stretchable material to allow a tight fit around collapsed carriage  50 , as seen in  FIG. 8 . Straps  42 ,  42 ′ could be located on a panel other than front wall  22 . 
     If portable bag assembly  10  is to be used as a laundry hamper, it may not be necessary to transport the carriage subassembly  50  while carrying the bag portion  20  to the laundry room, in which case straps  42  and  42 ′ can be omitted. When used as a laundry hamper, the bag portion  20  of portable bag assembly  10  may have all or portions of side walls  30 ,  32 , front wall  22 , rear wall  24 , flap  34  and/or bottom  28  formed of a breathable fabric, such as netting. 
     Vertically disposed tubular leg holders  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c , and  44   d  ( FIG. 8 ) are located in the corners of bag portion  20  and are inserted into pockets  45  (only one of which is shown in  FIG. 4 ) with the upper ends thereof abutting against the top  26 . Leg holders  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c , and  44   d  are each attached to the adjacent wall of bag portion  20  by a fastener that acts as stop member  47  (only one of which is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 ), which fastener can be a rivet or threaded fastener. 
     As seen in  FIG. 5 , stop member  47  prevents leg  52  from movement upwardly within leg holder  44   a  beyond the location thereof. 
     Although it is preferred to use leg holders  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c , and  44   d  when portable bag assembly  10  is being used to transport balls, they can be omitted when it is being used as a laundry hamper, and legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  inserted directly into pockets  45  in which case it is preferred that pockets  45  be narrower at the top than at the bottom to provide a better fit. 
     When used for transporting balls, bag  20  is of a size that, when filled with balls, can be easily carried by an individual. Typically the size is selected to be able to transport the equivalent of 10-12 volleyballs. 
     Carriage subassembly  50  has four tubular legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  which are vertically disposed in the erected configuration shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6 . Where the portable bag assembly  10  is to be used for transporting balls, the lower ends of legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  are preferably attached to swivel wheels  53 ,  55 ,  57 , and  59 , respectively, in a manner well known in the art. Where the portable bag assembly  10  is to be used as a laundry hamper, swivel wheels  53 ,  55 ,  57 , and  59  may be omitted. 
     A first tubular front cross member  60  extends between a lower portion of left front leg  52  and an upper portion of right front leg  58 . A second tubular front cross member  62  extends between an upper portion of left front leg  52  and a lower portion of right front leg  58 . The lower ends of cross members  60  and  62  are pivotally attached to the lower portions of legs  52  and  58  by pivot members  64  and  65 , respectively. The upper ends of cross members  60  and  62  are attached to sliding members  66  and  67 , respectively. Sliding members  66  and  67  are adapted to slide up and down legs  52  and  58 , respectively. The mid portions of cross members  60  and  62  are pivotally connected by a pivot pin  68  which allows legs  52  and  54  to move from a first, erected position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6  to a second, collapsed position shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     A first tubular rear cross member  70  extends between a lower portion of left rear leg  54  and an upper portion of right rear leg  56 . A second tubular rear cross member  72  extends between an upper portion of left rear leg  54  and a lower portion of right rear leg  56 . The lower ends of cross members  70  and  72  are pivotally attached to the lower portions of legs  54  and  56  by pivot members  74  and  75 , respectively. The upper ends of cross members  70  and  72  are attached to sliding members  76  and  77 , respectively. Sliding members  76  and  77  are adapted to slide up and down legs  52  and  58 , respectively. The mid portions of cross members  70  and  72  are pivotally connected by a pivot pin  78  which allows legs  54  and  56  to move from a first, erected position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6  to a second, collapsed position shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     A stop member  166  is attached to right rear leg  56  at a mid-portion thereof and prevents sliding member  76  from descending below its mid-portion location, which, in turn, prevents the other sliding members  66 ,  67 , and  77 , from descending below the mid-portions of their respective associated legs. Stop member  166  could be located on any one or more of legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , or  58 . 
     A first tubular left side cross member  80  extends between a lower portion of left front leg  52  and an upper portion of left rear leg  54 . A second tubular left side cross member  82  extends between an upper portion of left front leg  52  and a lower portion of left rear leg  54 . The lower ends of cross members  80  and  82  are pivotally attached to the lower portions of legs  52  and  54  by pivot members  64  and  74 , respectively. The upper ends of cross members  80  and  82  are attached to sliding members  77  and  67 , respectively. Sliding members  86  and  87  are adapted to slide up and down legs  52  and  55 , respectively. The mid portions of cross members  80  and  82  are pivotally connected by a pivot pin  88  which allows legs  52  and  54  to move from a first, erected position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6  to a second, collapsed position shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     A first tubular right side cross member  90  extends between a lower portion of right front leg  58  and an upper portion of right rear leg  56 . A second tubular right side cross member  92  extends between an upper portion of right front leg  58  and a lower portion of right rear leg  56 . The lower ends of cross members  90  and  92  are pivotally attached to the lower portions of legs  58  and  56  by pivot members  65  and  75 , respectively. The upper ends of cross members  90  and  92  are attached to sliding members  76  and  66 , respectively. Sliding members  76  and  66  are adapted to slide up and down legs  58  and  56 , respectively. The mid portions of cross members  90  and  92  are pivotally connected by a Pivot pin  98  which allows legs  58  and  56  to move from a first, erected position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6  to a second, collapsed position shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     Legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  are, preferably, substantially equally spaced apart in the erected configuration of carriage subassembly  50  so that when carriage subassembly  50  is converted into its collapsed configuration, sliding members  66 ,  67 ,  76 , and  77  are located at substantially the same height on legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58 , respectively ( FIG. 7 ). 
     In its erected configuration, the upper portions of tubular legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  of the carriage subassembly  50  are removably inserted into vertically disposed tubular leg holders  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c , and  44   d , as best seen in  FIGS. 4, 6, and 8 . 
     To transport balls, portable bag assembly  10  is converted from the erected configuration shown in  FIG. 1  where tubular legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  are spaced apart to the collapsed, portable configuration where legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  are in substantial abutment, as shown in  FIG. 8 . This is accomplished by removing tubular legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  from tubular leg holders  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c , and  44   d , leaving the carriage subassembly  50  in its erected, bag-free configuration shown in  FIG. 6 . The legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  are then collapsed towards each other into the collapsed configuration shown in  FIG. 7 . The collapsed carriage subassembly  50  is then attached to bag portion  20  by means of attachment straps  42 ,  42 ′. The bag  20  and attached carriage  50  can then be carried by placing shoulder strap  38  over the shoulder of the person transporting the portable ball cart  10 . 
     When it is desired to merely store portable bag assembly  10 , bag portion  20  can be left on carriage  50  (with all balls removed) and, since bag portion  20  is formed of a flexible cloth material, it will collapse inwardly together with legs  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58 . 
     It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments of this invention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.