Patent Application
20180289121
Equipment bags are used by amateur and professional athletes to tote their equipment to and from workouts, practices, and games. For example, baseball players use equipment bags to carry a wide range of equipment including, but not limited to: baseball bats, gloves, batting gloves, batting helmets, pine tar, sunglasses, bat weights (or donuts), baseball cleats, and the like.
Dirt, debris, and other residue from the cleats or shoes can accumulate within a bag when large quantities of equipment are carried in that one bag. This dirt and soil can damage or dirty the other equipment that is within the bag. Moreover, athletic shoes or cleats stored within the bag tend to generate a foul-smelling odor within the bag over time. Such an odor can make the bag smell bad and can even pervade and affect other equipment within the bag. Even moreover, in the case of baseball cleats, the metal (or even plastic) spikes can scratch or otherwise damage equipment within the bag.
To avoid the aforementioned problems, athletes often try to keep their shoes or cleats stored separately from the rest of their equipment. For example, baseball players often hang their shoes from the knobs of their baseball bats or use clip-like devices to clip their shoes to an equipment bag. Some athletes even just carry their shoes separate and apart from their equipment bags at all times. However, these solutions still allow the athlete's shoes to dangle freely, and cleats on the shoes are more likely to scratch cars or other surfaces while carried.
Other athletes may carry the shoes in a shoe bag separate from the equipment bag. Those shoe bags do a good job of eliminating the dirt and debris within the main equipment bag, as well as odor issues. However, when an athlete stores shoes separately from other equipment, he or she must remember the shoes in addition to the equipment bag. Remembering to take more equipment to a game or practice can pose a challenge when an athlete is already concentrating on the game or practice. Moreover, because the product is not actually incorporated into the equipment bag, the accessory may require an additional purchase for the user, and can be unwieldly.
Some bag manufacturers include separate interior pockets intended for carrying the shoes or cleats in their equipment bags. Even with this intended solution, dirt and debris may enter the back and affect other equipment being stored in the bag. Moreover, there is no circulation system to limit the odor that is released by the shoes. Finally, with this solution, the total amount of storage volume is reduced, and an athlete has less room in his or her bag to store other equipment.
Also, in each of the solutions described above where the shoes are stored in a bag (either contained within the equipment bag or separate from the equipment bag), the bags are typically not large enough to fit the cleats of a person having large feet. A person with large feet has shoes that take up more space, and the internal pockets or separate bags are often not large enough.
A further drawback of a bag for storing shoes that is also contained within the equipment bag occurs when the bag (or built-in shoe pocket) is located at the bottom of an equipment bag. It can be very difficult to access the shoes at the bottom of the equipment bag with other objects in the bag above the shoes that must be moved aside. This is especially inconvenient when the shoes are typically the first piece of equipment that is donned by an athlete prior to beginning play.
An equipment bag with external pockets for receiving and securing shoes within the pockets is provided which aims to solve the aforementioned shortcomings in the prior art. The bag itself may include a plurality of pouches for storing equipment like gloves, batting gloves, sunglasses, and the like therein. Those pouches may be opened and closed using a traditional zipper system. The bag further may include straps such as those common to existing backpacks and bags that are worn on a user's shoulders to help a wearer carry the bag.
The bag also preferably includes sleeve members at its lower side portions for receiving and securing a baseball or softball bat barrel. An external surface of the sleeve portion that is adjacent the shoe pockets discussed below may be reinforced with extra material (e.g., nylon, screen printing). When shoes that have cleats are stored in the shoe pockets so that the cleats on the shoes abut the external surface of the sleeve portions, the extra material may reduce damage to the bag's material and/or to a bat secured within the bat sleeve. At the upper side portions of the bag, loop members may be provided that can fit around a bat handle to secure the bat against the side of the bag during transport.
The shoe pockets are preferably positioned and located at the lower side portions of the bag as well. The pockets are preferably used to hold shoes, but they may be used to hold other objects like sunflower seeds or water bottles just as easily. The pockets may be located outwardly from the sleeve portions described above that are able to receive and secure a bat barrel. The pockets preferably include an upper portion having an opening in which shoes (or other objects) may be inserted. The side portions of the pockets are preferably attached to the bag with mesh panels. The mesh panels are preferably made of an elastic material so that the size of the pocket is expanded when a user is placing shoes into the opening in the pockets. The mesh also allows dirt and debris from shoes to fall through the mesh and not accumulate in the pockets.
The pockets, which include a center panel and two outer panels are preferably formed to be shaped substantially similarly to the shape of a shoe. Thus, when a shoe is secured in the pocket, it is not substantially deformed or altered by the pocket. The pockets are also tapered toward their lower portions so that the toe of a shoe that is inserted into a pocket is securely retained in the lower, deep portion of the pocket.
An adjustment mechanism is also provided that includes a cord member running through the back of each pocket, where it attaches to either side of a pocket. The adjustment mechanism may include a poppet member that controls the tension of the cord member. When the poppet member is pulled outwardly, tension is loosened. This causes the opening in the pocket to increase size, making it easier to put a shoe in the pocket. When the poppet member is pushed inwardly, more tension is introduced in the cord member. Thus, the poppet may cause the size of the opening in the pocket to increase or decrease as tension in the cord member varies. When the opening is closed, the cord member may help to push shoes against the side of the bag and prevent them from falling out.
Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers wherein like members refer to like parts,
The bag 10 further includes shoe pockets 18, 20 positioned and located at left and right side portions 22, 24, respectively, of the bag 10. The shoe pocket 20 is further illustrated in
The bag 10 also includes adjustable straps 26 (shown in
The bag 10 further may include loop members 28 and sleeve members 30 (most clearly shown in
When a baseball and/or softball bat is received by either of the loop members 28, the barrel may be pushed barrel-end first downwardly into sleeve members 30. When a bat is inserted barrel-end first such that its barrel is received within a sleeve member 30, the corresponding loop member 28 may be used to secure a handle-end of the bat to the bag 10.
In a preferred embodiment, a loop member 28 is formed from separate straps that are releasably attachable to one another. Thus, for example, the straps of a loop member 28 may be made of a hook-and-loop material. Then, when a bat is received in a sleeve member 30, the straps may be snugly fit around the bat's handle by releasably attaching the strap members to one another. Alternatively, the loop members 28 may connect to one another via some other system that can similarly be used to secure a bat handle to a side portion 22, 24 of a bag. In yet a different embodiment, the loop members 28 may be an elastic loop stitched or otherwise attached to a side portion 22, 24 of the bag 10. In that embodiment, the elastic or other material loop should be sufficiently elastic to allow the barrel of a baseball bat to fit there through. Other materials known or foreseeable to those skilled in the art may also be used to construct the loop members 28.
As illustrated in
Turning now to
The pocket 20 further preferably includes each of a front facing side 44 and a rear facing side 46. The front facing side 44 is closer to the front of the bag 10 shown in
The pocket 20 is preferably generally comprised of a central panel 48, a front panel 50 and a rear panel 52. The front panel 50 is preferably integrally formed with (or otherwise connected to) the central panel 48, and extends from the central panel 48 toward the front of the bag 10. The rear panel 52 is also preferably integrally formed with (or otherwise connected to) the central panel 48, but it extends from the central panel 48 toward the rear of the bag 10. The lower end 40 of the central panel 48 is preferably tapered toward the front panel 50 or the rear panel 52. Thus the deepest portion 54 of the pocket 20 is preferably located at the lower end 40 of the central panel 48 toward the front panel 50. The deepest portion 54 of the pocket 20 is preferably configured to receive and snugly secure the toe of a shoe or cleat being contained therein.
Because the pocket 20 may be used to receive and secure a shoe (with or without cleats), its shape and size substantially resemble the side elevation outline of a shoe. As best shown in
In the embodiment shown in
The panel 58 is preferably made of a mesh material so that there is airflow provided for shoes stored in a pocket 20 that passes through the mesh. Moreover, the mesh material preferably allows dirt debris from shoes stored in the pocket 20 to fall through the mesh and not accumulate within the pocket 20. In addition to the mesh, other vent holes may be provided in the pockets 20 to improve airflow.
The illustrated mesh panel 58 is not shown located near the upper end 38 of the pocket 20, and instead is only located at substantially the lower end 40 of the pocket 20. In alternative embodiments, the mesh panel 58 (and other mesh panels not shown) may be located only near the upper end 38, or it may substantially cover each of the upper end 38 and the lower end 40.
An adjustment system 64 (see
A poppet member 74 is also preferably provided with the adjustment system 64 that may help to regulate tension within the cord member 68, and thus stabilize the pocket opening 42. When the poppet member 74 is pushed inwardly, a distal portion 76 of the cord member 68 may likewise be pulled outwardly. This action causes the cord member 68 to have increased tension, and thus retain the pocket 20 close to the bag 10 (not illustrated) so that the opening 42 in which shoes may be placed is smaller (see
Turning to
Turning to
While the above description of the bag 10 and shoe pockets 18, 20 focuses on the pockets 18, 20 receiving and securing shoes, other objects may be secured within the pockets 18, 20. For example, the pockets 18, 20 may be used to store objects including but not limited to water bottles or sunflower seeds.
Thus, there has been shown and described an equipment bag having shoe pockets for receiving and storing athletic shoes like cleats separate from other equipment contained within the bag. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present inventions are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications, applications, variations, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. Many such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present constructions will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses in applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present inventions are deemed to be covered by the inventions which are limited only by the claims which follow.
