Patent Application
20070235490
This invention relates to a carrying case. More particularly, this invention relates to such a case which is specifically designed to carry a blender and related accessories.
Persons, such as food connoisseurs, who travel extensively and are away from home for long periods of time, often desire to take small appliances, such as a blender or food processor, with them for use during their extended stays. In the past, such would require carefully boxing or packing the blender so that its components would not be damaged during travel, for example, on an airplane. Alternatively, the food processing components could be carried in a conventional piece of luggage, but again, care would have to be taken so that the components do not move about with the luggage during transit. To date, there is no known case specifically designed to conveniently carry a blender and its accessories, and thus, the need exists for such a device.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a carrying case which can conveniently hold the components of, and the accessories for, a blender or the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrying case, as above, which can optionally be moved on wheels by the user, carried by hand, or carried on the back of the user.
These and other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, a case made in accordance with one aspect of the present invention includes opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and opposed top and bottom surfaces. An internal compartment is formed within the case, and a shelf is pivotally carried in the compartment.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a case includes opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and opposed top and bottom surfaces. A handle is positioned on the top surface and a second handle is telescopically received within the case. Wheels are carried by the bottom surface and a pocket is formed on the rear wall. Straps have one end attached in the pocket and are positionable adjacent to the rear wall.
A preferred exemplary carrying case according to the concepts of the present invention is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.
A carrying case made in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The majority of the components of case 10 are preferably made of a sturdy fabric or fabric-like material, such as ballistic nylon. Thus, case 10 includes a main fabric outer wall which includes opposed side walls 11 interconnected by a top wall 12, a rear wall 13 and a bottom surface 14 which can be reinforced by a stiffening board or the like. The main fabric outer wall extends from side walls 11 to form a front frame wall 15 positioned at the top and opposed sides of the front of case 10. A front flap 16 extends from bottom surface 14 and is attached to front frame wall 15 by a zipper assembly 17. A small pocket may be formed in the bottom of flap 16 with access being gained thereto through a zipper which is shown in
Compartment 20 is likewise formed of a fabric material and includes opposed side walls 21 extending upwardly from the inside of case bottom surface 14. As shown in
Several holding straps can be positioned in compartment 20, and two such straps are shown in the drawings as being representative. Thus, an upper strap 24 can be stitched to back wall 22 of compartment 20, strap 24 including a buckle or latch 25. Similarly, a lower strap 26 can be stitched to back wall 22 and includes a buckle or latch 27.
A shelf 28 is shown as being pivotally attached to back wall 22 between upper strap 24 and lower strap 26 on an end 29 thereof. Thus, shelf 28 can be pivoted on end 29 from an upper stowed position shown in
Compartment 20 is thus capable of carrying various sized components, and in the preferred form, is particularly adapted to house a wide variety of blending components. For example, as shown in
At times, the blender pitcher P is positioned on the blender base B and provided in a blender housing such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. D427,016. When it is desired to utilize case 10 to transport such a housing with the base B and pitcher P inside of it, or any other large item of equivalent size, shelf 28 can be placed in the stowed position as shown in
Case 10 is also adapted to readily carry other items such as papers, recipes or the like. To that end, a compartment 40 may be formed on one or both sides of case 10 by attaching a fabric pocket 41 to the outside of side walls 11. A zipper assembly 42 may be utilized along the sides and top of pocket 41 to open and close each pocket 41 to gain access to and to seal each compartment 40.
Case 10 is provided with means to enable the transportation thereof in three different manners. In a first mode, case 10 may be carried by hand. To that end, a handle 43 may be sewn or otherwise attached to the outside of top wall 12. Alternatively, in a second mode, case 10 may be rolled along on wheels 44 rotatably carried on the outside of bottom surface 14 proximate to rear wall 13. For that purpose, a conventional telescoping handle 45 may be provided. As best shown in
As a third mode of transportation, case 10 may be carried as a backpack as shown by the system generally indicated by the numeral 50 and shown in
In view of the foregoing, it should be evident that a carrying case constructed as described herein accomplishes the objects of the present invention and otherwise substantially improved the art.
