Abstract:
A combination carrying bag includes two bags for joining together by attachment means, such as a zipper and by placement of strap-slot guides for positioning the shoulder strap of each of the bags in such a way that after joining the bags to form the combination bag, it can be worn as a back pack, while in a another carrying mode, the shoulder straps of the two bags are being crossed and the bags are carried front and back by the person and the bags are connected to each other through connecting means to stabilize the bags on the person.

Description:
[0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of prior pending application Ser. No. 10/430,164 filed on May 6, 2003. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a carrying or luggage bag and in particular to a combination carrying bag that can be carried or worn also on the back of a person.  
         [0003]     A variety of carrying or luggage bags of all types are already known. Everyone has at one time or another been in the position to transport clothing and personal belongings from one place to another place without the benefit of transporting these belongings by a car where items can be transported without formally packing them in a carrying bag.  
         [0004]     Especially in urban settings, transporting items on the person who is either traveling by foot or by public transportation is oftentimes done by carrying bags. In general, carrying bags are of the type that are so-called shoulder bags, whereby the bag is provided with a shoulder strap and the weight of the carrying bag is on one shoulder. Also known in the prior art are backpacks that are provided either with one strap or two straps so that the pack can be worn on the back of a person with even distribution of the weight.  
         [0005]     The afore-described bags suffer from certain drawbacks. In some instances it is necessary to carry a smaller load and in other instances a larger load needs to be transported, so that either too large a bag is carried around, or too small a bag is carried around when the loads are of variable size.  
         [0006]     In addition, carrying a heavy shoulder bag of the conventional type on one shoulder can be put stress on the carrying person, but especially when carrying a heavy shoulder bag on each shoulder can cause undue strain due to the distribution of weight of the load on one&#39;s side. Uneven placement of the weight from carrying two bags can place undue strain to the arms and shoulders.  
         [0007]     It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved carrying bag to obviate prior art shortcomings and to provide a combination bag that makes it possible to carry a smaller load and/or a larger load depending on necessity.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     According to one aspect of the present invention, a combination luggage bag for carrying on the back of a person includes two individual bags, each individual bag having at least one detachable shoulder strap attached to the bag for carrying the individual bag on a shoulder of the person, each said bags including a bottom panel and front-end panels, and a strap-slot slot guide for guiding the shoulder strap therethrough, and means for joining the bags and attaching them to each other to combine into the combination bag, wherein the individual bags are attached to each other bottom panel to bottom panel and wherein the strap slot guide is located near a side edge of each of the front end panels so that the shoulder strap is received in the strap-slot guide and extends parallel to a lower edge of the front end panel for carrying the combination bag in backpack type manner on the shoulder of the person.  
         [0009]     In another embodiment of the invention, the two bags can be carried in back and front. There are then first and second bags, each bag having a front end panel at each end of the bag and at least one detachable strap attached to the bag for carrying the bag on a shoulder of the person, the strap of each bag being provided with a strap slot guide and each of the front end panels of the bag provided with connecting means for connecting the bags to each other, wherein in a carrying mode, the strap of the first bag is guided through the strap slot guide of the shoulder strap of the second bag to form a crossed portion, wherein the crossed portion of the straps is placed in back of the person such that the first bag is placed in front of the person and the second bag is placed in back of the carrier and wherein the connecting means at each front end panel of the two bags are connected to each other so as to retain each bag close to the person and to thereby stabilize the bags for carrying.  
         [0010]     When carrying the combination bag back and front, each bag is provided with male and female connecting means. These can be snap closures, buttons, hook and loop type fasteners or any other fastening means. For example, a male part of a snap closure is attached to one side of the side panel of the bags and the female part of the snap closure is attached to the other side of the same side panel of the bag. Both male and female parts are located in a horizontal plane near the short end of the top panel of each bag.  
         [0011]     The present invention resolves prior art problems by providing a combination bag that permits carrying for example a large laundry load, such as for example is needed when city dwellers must walk to the Laundromat. With the aid of the combination bag of the present invention, such a load can be carried conveniently on the back rather than carrying a separate bag on each shoulder.  
         [0012]     In another embodiment the bags are carried front and back to distribute the heavy load more evenly still.  
         [0013]     When carrying a separate full conventional carrying bag on each shoulder, a certain amount of balancing is required, which does not allow for free motion, for example, when bending down. Upon a bending down movement of the wearer, each of the bags are moving forward following gravity thereby not only obstructing any manual transaction carried out by the wearer but also unbalancing the wearer unfavorably.  
         [0014]     The combination bag can be conveniently filled and carried either by back to the Laundromat or it can be carried in the front and back version. Furthermore, sometimes transportation of a larger load is required only one way. The combination bag of the present invention offers a convenient way of carrying a large load and when carrying then a smaller load only one of the bags might suffice.  
         [0015]     In accordance with one feature of the present invention, the individual bags forming the combination bag are detachably attached to each other by attachment means that are easily formed and easily disconnected. For example, the bags can be attached to each other by a zipper. They can also be attached to each other by a hook and loop attachment system, such as Velcro®. The attachment can also be made through straps. Another method of attachment can include snaps or buttons there are endless means of attaching these bags to each other for easy detachment from each other.  
         [0016]     In accordance with a further feature of the invention, each of the bags can be provided with strap-slot guides for guiding the shoulder strap therethrough. With the strap-slot guides the shoulder straps are aligned so that easy conversion of the combination bag into a back-carrying bag is realized.  
         [0017]     In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, each of the shoulder straps of the bags is provided with a strap-slot for guiding the other strap therethrough.  
         [0018]     In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the combination bag has essentially a rectangular shape; i.e. the bag includes four rectangular shaped panels of equal shape and essentially square-shaped end faces.  
         [0019]     In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, each of the bags can take on any desired shape which will permit the joining of the two bags in such a way as to create a bag wearable as a back pack. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0020]     The following figures depict certain illustrative embodiments of the invention in which like reference numerals refer to like elements. These depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way.  
         [0021]     Other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent upon reading the following description of currently preferred exemplified embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an individual shoulder bag which forms part of the combination bag according to the present invention;  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  shows the bag of  FIG. 1  in “sitting” position, with the shoulder strap in normal position;  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  shows the bag of  FIG. 1  in “standing” position, with the shoulder strap in normal position;  
         [0025]      FIG. 4  shows the bag of  FIG. 2  in standing position with the shoulder strap guided through a strap-slot guide, the broken lines indicating the how the shoulder straps are placed through the strap-slot guides;  
         [0026]      FIG. 5  shows the bag of  FIG. 4  with shoulder straps through the strap-slot guides;  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  shows the bag of  FIG. 5  in standing position, ready to be combined with the other bag;  
         [0028]      FIG. 7  shows the combination bag ready to be worn as a backpack;  
         [0029]      FIG. 8  shows the combination bag in “sitting” position;  
         [0030]      FIG. 9  shows alternative methods for joining the two bags; and  
         [0031]      FIG. 10  shows an alternate method for placing shoulder straps in position, without using strap-slot guides.  
         [0032]      FIG. 11  shows a second embodiment of one carrying bag according to the invention with male and female connecting means horizontally affixed to a side panel of the bag.  
         [0033]      FIG. 12  shows two of the bags of  FIG. 11  side by side.  
         [0034]      FIG. 13  shows an alternate method of placing shoulder straps in position, without using strap-slot guides.  
         [0035]      FIG. 14A  shows a schematic perspective front view of a carrier with the shoulder straps in position, the connecting means connected and the bags positioned in back and front of the carrier.  
         [0036]      FIG. 14B  shows a schematic perspective rear view of a carrier with the crossed shoulder straps in position, the connecting means connected and the bags positioned in front and back of the carrier.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0037]     Throughout all the Figures, same or corresponding elements are generally indicated by same reference numerals.  
         [0038]     Turning now to the drawing, and in particular to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a single bag which is part of the combination bag according to the present invention generally indicated by  1 . The bag as shown has a generally rectangular shape where the side panels  3  and the top and bottom panels  4  and  5  are seen having a generally rectangular dimension. The front-end panels  2  are shown here to be of somewhat square dimension. The top flap  4  can be either formed with the side panel  3  or is integrally connected with the side panel  3 . In the individual bag  1  as shown in  FIG. 1 , the top flap  4  of the bag is provided with a top flap zipper  12  for closing the bag, shown here to extend around three side edges of the upper part of the bag  1 . It is understood that the closure of the bag  1  can be varied and does not need to open around the entire perimeter of the upper edge of the bag. The bag as shown provides ease of packing with items especially if the content has also a somewhat geometric form. Bag  1  is provided with a shoulder strap  13 , which is attached to the bag  1  here at each of front ends  2 . The attachment of the shoulder strap  13  can also be varied depending on the need for strength, length and similar. As shown here, the shoulder strap  13  is provided at one end with permanent attachment by means of a buckle  11 . On the opposite front end  2 , the shoulder strap  13  is attached to the bag  1  by a snap buckle  9 , which is snapped into the buckle receptacle  10 . Both buckle  11  and receptacle  10  for buckle  9  are attached to the body of the bag  1  by a loop  8 , made preferably from fabric. Any other method to attach the shoulder straps to the bag  1  can also be used. Preferably, each of straps  13  is attached to the bag  1  in such a manner that it does not bunch together and the full width of the strap  13  is retained for ease and comfort of the wearer.  
         [0039]     Furthermore, the bag  1  is provided at each of front ends  2  with a strap-slot guide  7 . The strap-slot guide  7  is preferably made from the same material as the straps which is a tightly woven material, similar to the material of the strap and attached to the bag by means of stitching. It is pointed out, that any other means of attaching each of loop  8  to the bag  1  for attachment of receptacle  10  and for buckle  11  is also possible and any attachment of strap slot guide  7  and that the attachment as described here represents only one means. For example, attachment to the bag  1  of the loops  8  or strap slot guide  7  can also be by different means such as for example by rivets, sewing, gluing or welding. Likewise, the strap-slot guides  7  can also be attached by the afore-stated methods.  
         [0040]      FIG. 2  shows the shoulder strap  13  in normal position and the broken lines show how the shoulder strap  13  is converted from the normal carrying position into the back pack carrying position.  
         [0041]      FIG. 3  shows the two individual bags prior to being attached to each other bottom panel to bottom panel. Shoulder strap  13  is now guided through the strap slot guides to keep them in position for carrying the combination bag on the back of a person.  
         [0042]     As shown in  FIG. 1-8 , each one of the bags  1  is provided with part of an auxiliary zipper  6  at the edges  15  and  16  one of the front ends  2  of bag  1  in such manner that the edges  15  and  16  each bear one part of the zipper  6 , while the second bag  1  is provided with the corresponding part of the zipper  6  at the corresponding edge  15 ,  16  of the front end  2  of the other bag  1  in mirror image fashion for joining the two bags with the auxiliary zipper  6 , when the corresponding zipper parts are zipped together. To join the individual bags  1  to form the combination bag, the shoulder strap  13  of each of bags  1  is changed from the normal position into the back pack carrying position whereby the shoulder strap is guided through the respective strap-slot guide  7  attached to the bag  1  in a mirror image fashion. Then edges  15  and  16  of the first bag are joined with the corresponding edges  15 ,  16  of the other bag  1  by means of zipper parts  6  of the corresponding edge. In this manner, the two bags  1  are joined together to form the combination bag as seen in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 .  
         [0043]     Of course, the bags  1  can also be joined together by other means such as a button/buttonhole-type fastener as also shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 ; or a hook and loop type fastener or a snap-type fastener. Also, the attachment means need not be placed at the edge of the front ends and can certainly be accommodated at any location on the side panels  3  and front ends  2 .  
         [0044]      FIG. 11  shows another embodiment of one of the combination bags with additional connection means for connecting the second bag to the first bag in a different manner. In this embodiment, the shoulder strap  130  is connected to the bag in detachable manner  133 . The bag is provided with connection means shown here to be a snap-type closure having one male part  101  and one female part  102 . As seen here, each part of the snap-type closure is located near the upper edge of side panel  3 . The shoulder strap  130  is provided with a strap slot guide  103 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 12  shows two bags aligned next to each other ready to be connected and showing how the snap-type closure is lined up for connection to each other. In  FIG. 13 , the shoulder strap  130  of one of the bags is fed through strap slot guide  103  of the second bag and the shoulder straps  130  reattached to the opposite bag  133 . As is seen in  FIG. 14A , one pair of the snap-type closure  101 / 102  has been closed to connect the first bag to the second bag at one side. In this configuration the carrier is placing himself between the bags and closes the second snap-type closure  101 / 102  opposite the first snap-type closure as seen, in  FIG. 14B . In this manner, the carrier balances the front and back bags that are now stabilized by the snap-type closures at each side of the carrier. Of course, the male/female snap-type closure connecting means can be replaced by any other connecting means that is suitable for this type of connection.  
         [0046]     While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a combination carrying bag, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and practical application to thereby enable a person skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.  
         [0047]     What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims and their equivalents: