Abstract:
A portable carrier adapted for releasable connection to the human body and adapted to carry an auxiliary item such as keys, Mace™, pepper spray, or the like, includes a base strap having first and second parts of a hook and loop type fastener secured thereto. The strap is adapted to be wrapped around a part of the human body and secured to itself to releasably secure the strap to the human body at a desired location. The strap includes means in the form of an attachment loop, a cylindrical pocket, or a pouch adapted to releasably retain the auxiliary item in a manner for rapid-access by the user of the carrier. Alternatively, the auxiliary item may be adapted to directly attach to the base strap itself.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The instant invention is directed toward a portable carrier that permits rapid access to a carried item (e.g., keys, Mace™, pepper spray, a light, tools, a knife, whistles, electronic devices, alarms, and door openers). More specifically, it relates to a carrier that attaches to a user or something being worn by a user and permits that person to easily and rapidly access a desired item for convenience or safety reasons.  
           [0003]    2. Background Art  
           [0004]    Having rapid and easy access to a selected item has been a problem in the past. For example, for safety reasons it may be desirable to have rapid and easy access to a self-defense product like Mace™ or pepper spray. Such access would allow a person to be able to have the defensive spray in hand to use immediately when needed to deter an attacker while being carried in such a manner as not to interfere with other activities, such as jogging or walking. In the past, consumers have tried to solve the problem of ready availability by attaching such personal defense spray canisters to key chains or carrying the canisters in purses, in hand, in pockets, and in fanny packs. The disadvantages of these prior methods is that the canister is not quickly accessible when needed or the hands are not free to carry other objects.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    A flexible strap of either elastic or non-elastic material is adapted to be formed into a closed loop and passed around a human body part for securing an auxiliary item thereto. The auxiliary item might be keys, pepper spray, a light, tools, a knife, whistles or the like. The strap, in the preferred embodiments, includes releasable fasteners so that it can be independently formed into a loop of a desired size for the body part on which it is to be mounted, with those releasable fasteners possibly being in the form of hook and loop type fasteners.  
           [0006]    The means for attaching auxiliary items to the strap are disclosed in several embodiments including a closed loop cord, a hook or loop type fastener material for securement to the complimentary hook or loop type material on the strap, a pocket formed on the strap with a separate strip of material that is secured to the base strap so as to define an open space between the strip and base strap, or a cylindrical sleeve in which an auxiliary item can be releasably retained.  
           [0007]    Other aspects, features and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a first embodiment of a carrier according to the present invention;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an item to be carried on the carrier depicted, for example, in FIG. 1;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention similar to that depicted in FIG. 1;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a second alternative embodiment of a portable carrier according to the instant invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an optional pouch strip for use in combination with the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1, 3, and  4 ;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a third alternative embodiment of a carrier according to the instant invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a fourth alternative embodiment of a carrier according to the present invention depicting an optional means for attaching the carrier, and  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is an isometric view of an optional pouch strip for use in combination with the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]    Referring first to FIG. 1, a first preferred embodiment  10  of the portable carrier of the present invention is described. The first embodiment comprises a strap  12  of flexible, elastic or non-elastic material having a longitudinal dimension L 1  and a lateral dimension W 1 . The strap also includes a first end  14  and a second end  16 . A first part of a fastening system such as a hook and loop material  18  (e.g., Velcro™) having a longitudinal dimension L 2  and a lateral dimension W 2  is attached to the strap of material  12 , as shown in FIG. 1. The first part of the hook and loop material  18  may be attached to the strap  12  with glue, stitching, or any other means. In this first preferred embodiment the longitudinal dimension L 2  of the first part of the hook and loop material  18  is less than the longitudinal dimension L 1  of the strap  12 . Further, the lateral dimension W 2  of the first part of the hook and loop material  18  is less than the lateral dimension W 1  of the strap  12 . Adjacent the second end  16  of the strap  12  is a margin  20 . A second part of the hook and loop material  22  is attached to the strap  12  in this margin  20  on the opposite side of the strap  12  from the side on which the first part of the hook and loop material  18  is attached. In this manner, when the first end  14  of the strap is placed in overlapping configuration with the second end  16  of the strap so as to form the strap into a ring or loop (not shown), the second part of the hook and loop material  22  may be mated to the first part of the hook and loop material  18  at a position which holds the carrier as desired. This first preferred embodiment  10  also includes an attachment loop  24  of a cord or the like. The attachment loop  24  is a cord of material that is stitched adjacent one end of the first part of the hook and loop material  18 . An item to be carried (e.g., a key, whistle, electronic device, alarm, door opener, or personal defense spray) maybe attached to this attachment loop  24 . Although this attachment loop  24  is not depicted in the remaining figures, it could be used in conjunction with any of the embodiments of the invention described herein. The longitudinal dimension L 1  of the strap  12  is defined by the intended use of the portable carrier. For example, the portable carrier could be designed to be worn around a person&#39;s waist, arm, leg, or finger. Alternatively, the personal carrier could form the belt of a “fanny pack.” If, for example, the user desires to wear the portable carrier around his or her waist, the resulting longitudinal dimension L 1  of the strap will be greater than if the user desires to wear the portable carrier around his or her arm.  
         [0017]    Referring next to FIG. 2, an example of how an item to be carried could be attached to the carrier shown in FIG. 1. Shown in FIG. 2 is a container  26  of defense spray, in this case pepper spray. A piece  28  of the second part of the hook and loop material is associated with the pepper spray. As depicted in FIG. 2, this piece  28  of the second part of the hook and loop material is actually attached to a band of elastic  30 , which is then slid over the pepper spray canister. Alternatively, the piece  28  of the second part of the hook and loop material could be affixed directly to the side of the pepper spray canister  26 . Subsequently, since the piece  28  of the second part of the hook and loop material is now combined with the pepper spray canister  26 , that canister  26  may be subsequently mated to the first part of the hook and loop material  18  attached to the strap  12  at any desired location along the longitudinal dimension L 2  of the first part of the hook and loop material  18 .  
         [0018]    Referring now to FIG. 3, a first alternative embodiment  32  of the portable carrier is shown. In this embodiment, a flexible, elastic or non-elastic strap  34  has a longitudinal dimension L 3  and a width dimension W 3 . Similar to what is shown and described with reference to FIG. 1, in FIG. 3 the strap  34  has a second end  36  with a margin  38  adjacent thereto. A piece of a second part of hook and loop material  40  of approximately the same width W 3  is attached in the margin  38  adjacent the second end  36  of the strap  34 . On the opposite face of the strap  34  is a piece of the first part of hook and loop material  42  which also has a width W 3  and a length L 4  that is preferably slightly greater than one half of L 3 . The embodiment  32  provides a more secure means for attaching the portable carrier to a user since the amount of hook and loop material being mated is correspondingly larger.  
         [0019]    Referring now to FIG. 4, a second alternative embodiment  44  of the portable carrier of the present invention is described. This embodiment is most similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 with a piece of the first part of the hook and loop material  46  secured on a first face to the strap  48 . In this case, however, the strap  48  is attached to the user in a slightly different manner. In particular, a draw loop  50  is attached to the strap adjacent a first end  52  of the strap  48 . This draw loop  50  may be attached, for example, by sewing or hemming a portion of the strap  48  over a portion of the draw loop  50 . As was the case with the previous embodiments, a margin  53  is located adjacent to a second end  54  of the strap  48 . In this second alternative embodiment, however, a piece of the second part of the hook and loop material  56  is attached to each side of the strap material in the margin  53 . In this manner, the strap  48  maybe removably attached to the user in at least two different ways. First, the second end  54  of the strap  48  may be inserted through the draw loop  50  and doubled back onto itself entrapping a portion of the draw loop  50  before the second part of the hook and loop material  56  is mated with the first part of the hook and loop material  46 . Second, using the portion of the second part of the hook and loop material  56  on the opposite side of the strap, the second end  54  of the strap may be inserted through the draw loop and mated to the first part of the hook and loop material  46  without doubling back the second end of the strap material onto itself to entrap a portion of the draw loop  50 .  
         [0020]    Referring now to FIG. 5, an optional pouch  58  is illustrated that may be combined with the previously described portable carriers of FIGS. 1, 3, and  4 . For illustrative purposes only, the pouch  58  will be described in connection with the second alternative embodiment  44  shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is the back side of the portable carrier shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, a small strip  60  of material may be attached to the strap  48  (FIG. 4), on the opposite side of the strap  48  from the side having the first part of the hook and loop material  46  attached to it, in a manner to create an open space between this small strip of material  60  and the strap  48 . The pouch  58  is created by affixing the small strip of material  60  to the strap  48  at locations along opposite sides  59  and  59   a  of the strip  60  thereby creating an open space between the strip  60  and the strap  48 . A third side  62  of the strip  60  can also be secured to the strap  48  thereby creating a pocket with the fourth side  64  of the pouch  58  being unsecured to the strap  48 . This fourth side  64  may then be removably attached to the strap using Velcro™, snaps, zippers, or any other closures (e.g., those used in purses). The sides  59 ,  59   a ,  62  of the strip  60  may be affixed to the strap  48  by, for example, stitching.  
         [0021]    Referring next to FIG. 6, a third embodiment  66  of a portable carrier according to the present invention is described. This embodiment is most similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 with like parts having the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, however, a cylindrical pocket or sleeve  68  has been attached to the strap  34 . There are at least two possible methods for creating the cylindrical pocket  68 . First, a separate strip of material may be formed into a cylindrical shape and then attached to the strap  34  in any secure manner. Second, a portion of the strap material may itself be gathered into a loop and then stitched or glued to itself so that the cylindrical pocket  68  takes shape. The cylindrical pocket  68  is preferably formed from an elastic-type material so that it grips and holds an item placed therein. For example, if the cylindrical pocket  68  depicted in FIG. 6 were used in combination with the pepper spray canister  26  shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical pocket would be dimensioned such that it would be slightly smaller in cross-sectional diameter than the cross-sectional diameter of the pepper spray canister  26 . Thus, the pepper spray canister  26  would be snugly held within the cylindrical pocket  68 , but a user could quickly draw the pepper spray canister  26  from the cylindrical pocket  68  in case of an emergency.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment  69  similar to the second alternative embodiment  44  with like parts having been given like reference numerals. In FIG. 7, however, a cylindrical pocket  70  such as the pocket  68  described with reference to FIG. 6 is secured to or formed on the strap  48 .  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 illustrates a strap similar to FIG. 5 with like parts having been given like reference numerals and wherein a cylindrical pocket  72  has been secured to or formed thereon as described in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7.  
         [0024]    Although several embodiments of this invention have been described above, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention. For example, the preferred materials for the strap is either nylon or elastic. One could, however, make the strap from cloth, plastic, rubber, or any other flexible material that may be shaped or formed to encircle the wrist, arm, leg, finger, or waist, for example, of the user. Similarly, a single pouch is depicted in each of FIGS. 5 and 8 even though multiple pouches could be used, and these pouches could be located on either side or both sides of the strap. Also, additional attachment loops (see FIG. 1) may be used to suit the desires of various users. It may also be desirable to use alternative means of attaching items to the carrier. For example, one half of a snap could be attached to the strap and the mating opposite half of the snap could be affixed to the item to be carried. The item could then be “snapped” to the strap, providing hands-free carrying of the item in combination with ready and convenient accessibility. An important feature of the instant invention is the ability to have an item readily accessible without having to hold the item in one&#39;s hand. A benefit of wearing the portable carrier of the present invention includes a deterrent effect. More particularly, if a stalker or potential attacker is watching someone, that stalker or potential attacker is less likely to select for a victim someone who clearly has defensive means (e.g., pepper spray or Mace™) readily available to them. It is, therefore, intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting.