Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention generally relates to purses, and more specifically to both shoulder bags and clutch purses.
Purses are commonly used to carry articles throughout the day and evening. There are many different kinds of purses, including those worn over the shoulder, and those carried by hand. Purse users may carry varying amounts of articles, depending on the occasion and circumstances. This requires purses of various sizes. Also, purse users frequently desire numerous different styles of purse to match different clothing. All of these desires lead many consumers to own numerous different purses. Therefore, there is a significant motivation to create a purse that is as versatile as possible. Because many purses are taken on travel, there is also motivation to make a purse that is portable and lightweight as well.
The present invention is a purse comprising:
The present invention can exist in two major modes: a shoulder bag and a clutch purse. In the shoulder bag mode, the two loose ends of the elongated strip of fabric may be tied together in a knot, and the bag may be worn with the arm going through the tied strip of fabric. In the second mode, the purse acts as a clutch purse. In this mode, the bag may be folded over in different embodiments of a clutch purse, and the elongated strip of fabric may be tied into a bow on one of the outward faces of the purse. The bag may be folded over to show the grommets or keep them hidden. The bag may also be reversed or partially reversed, and folded over in clutch embodiments that show the lining or a portion of the lining. The lining on the interior of the bag may be made up of two panels of lighter fabric of similar dimensions as the two panels of heavy fabric. The clutch embodiments of the present invention may show the heavy fabric, the lighter fabric, or both.
The elongated strip of fabric is optional in the clutch mode and can be left off entirely. The elongated strip of fabric may alternatively be removed from the grommets and tied around the bag. The elongated strip of fabric can also be hidden in clutch modes. The elongated strip of fabric may be a scarf made of a relatively sturdy fabric that is capable of carrying the weight of the typical contents of the purse. After the elongated strip of fabric is woven through the grommets, the wearer may leave extra length for aesthetic effect.
The purse may optionally comprise one or more additional pockets on the exterior and/or interior of the bag and the pockets may optionally be lined.
As used herein, a “panel” of fabric is a vertical piece of fabric.
As used herein, a “face” is either an interior planar surface of fabric or an exterior planar surface of fabric with respect to the interior or exterior of a bag.
As used herein, a “side” of a panel of fabric is a line forming a border of the panel of fabric.
Reference will now be made in detail to various exemplary embodiments of the invention. The following detailed description is presented for the purpose of describing certain embodiments in detail. The present invention may be further illustrated in the following figures, attention being called to the fact, however, that the embodiments described in the description and shown in the figures are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and that changes may be made in the specific constructions described in this specification and accompanying drawings that a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize are within the scope and spirit of the invention. The true scope of the invention is defined by the claims. Further, any features of any embodiment described herein are equally applicable to any other embodiment described herein or envisioned by one of ordinary skill in the art. The detailed description and figures provided herein should not be construed to exclude features otherwise described with respect to another embodiment.
One of the many advantages of the purse of the present invention, only some of which are discussed herein, is that it is extremely versatile. The features of the invention allow it to be able to convert into two modes, clutch mode and shoulder bag mode, through simple adjustments of the features. The ability to interchange the purse of the present invention into two modes allows it to be used on a variety of different occasions. For example, shoulder bag mode may be used for occasions in which the utility of carrying large items is most important, such as a notebook computer being carried from home to office and back. Further, clutch purse mode may be used for more formal occasions in which the appearance of the purse is most important, such as a dinner event where one may be carrying smaller items. In clutch mode, the features of the invention allow further versatility in that they allow the wearer to present a variety of different looks to the purse, including the presentation of different shapes and fabrics, depending on the mood of the wearer and the setting. In shoulder bag mode, the features of the invention allow for ideal distribution of the weight of the contents of the purse. These features and advantages will become readily apparent in the following description and figures.
In one embodiment (Embodiment 1), the invention is a purse comprising:
Examples of variations of this embodiment will be shown in the following figures and description.
Referring now to the figures,
The heavy fabric may be any suitable fabric for forming the bag of the purse. Non-limiting examples of heavy fabrics that may be used include burlap, canvas, natural leather, synthetic leather, and vinyl plastics. The two panels of heavy fabric may be coupled together through any suitable method known in the art, including sewing, stitching, weaving, stapling, and gluing. In a preferred embodiment, the two panels of heavy fabric are coupled together by sewing along the sides of the fabric.
The grommets are of sufficient width for accepting a strip of cloth that is wide enough to support the weight of a purse with contents. The number of grommets attached to the fabric may be any number that is sufficient for evenly distributing the load of a weight of the purse with contents, and may preferably be between two and eight, and most preferably four. The grommets are preferably spaced evenly for even distribution of weight. Non-limiting examples of materials that may be used to form the grommets include metal, rubber, plastic, or plastic-coated metal. The grommets may be attached to the panels of heavy fabric by any suitable means, including but not limited to sewing and gluing.
The elongated strip of fabric is made of a material sturdy enough and wide enough to hold the weight of the contents of a purse, and may be a heavy fabric including but not limited to burlap, canvas, natural leather, synthetic leather, or vinyl plastics, or a lighter fabric including but not limited to cotton, polyester, or a blend of the two. The elongated strip of fabric may be a scarf, and can be tied into a bow as in
In the embodiment shown in
In this embodiment, the lining contains a pocket of the same dimensions as the exterior pocket. The pocket is made from a panel of lighter fabric that is preferably the same type of fabric comprising the panels of lighter fabric used to create the lining. This panel of lighter fabric is coupled to the panel of lighter fabric that makes up the lining. The pocket is the same width as the front or back panel of lighter fabric, and a portion of the length which may preferably be about 40% to 60%, and most preferably about 50% of the length of the bag. This pocket is divided into two unequal sections with stitching separating the sections. The larger pocket 60 is preferably portioned to hold an e-reader. The other, smaller pocket 70 is a preferably proportioned to hold a cell phone. The pocket in the lining may be coupled to the front or back panel of lighter fabric or both.
In other clutch purse embodiments, the bag portion of the present invention can be folded in thirds, fourths, or rolled for different looks to the bag.
The panels of heavy fabric that form the bag portion of the present invention may be of any shape suitable for forming a purse, including but not limited to rectangular, square, trapezoid, partially circular, and partially oval. The type of shape of the panels forming the bag portion may be defined by any combination of straight or curved lines as the sides of the panels, as long as the shape is suitable for forming a purse, has room for a plurality of grommets at the top, and may convert between shoulder bag and clutch modes.
Specific embodiments of the invention also include:
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein the pocket made of heavy fabric on one of the exterior faces of said bag comprises a lining made of lighter fabric.
The purse of embodiment 2, wherein the lining of the pocket made of heavy fabric on one of the exterior faces of said bag is made of the same fabric as the lining of the bag.
The purse of embodiment 1, further comprising a pocket made of lighter fabric on one of the interior faces of said bag.
The purse of embodiment 4, wherein the pocket made of lighter fabric on one of the interior faces of said bag is stitched to create two unequal sections.
The purse of embodiment 5, wherein one section of the pocket is size proportioned to hold a cell phone, and the other section of the pocket is size proportioned to hold an e-reader.
The purse of embodiment 4, wherein the pocket made of lighter fabric on one of the interior faces of said bag is made of the same fabric as the lining of said bag.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein the front panel of heavy fabric and the back panel of heavy fabric are rectangular in shape.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein the front panel of heavy fabric and the back panel of heavy fabric are horseshoe-shaped.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein the front panel of heavy fabric and the back panel of heavy fabric are trapezoidal, partially oval, partially circular, or square in shape.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein the front panel of heavy fabric and the back panel of heavy fabric each comprise four grommets.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein both the front panel of heavy fabric and the back panel of heavy fabric are burlap, canvas, natural leather, synthetic leather, or vinyl plastic.
The purse of the embodiment 1, wherein the lighter fabric is silk, satin, nylon, cotton, polyester, or polyurethane.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein the elongated strip of fabric is woven through the grommets and pulled tightly to create a bell-shaped shoulder bag.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein in one of the presentations of a clutch purse, the top half of the bag is folded over and inserted into the outside pocket.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein in one of the presentations of a clutch purse, the bag is folded with the grommets showing and the elongated strip of fabric is removed from said grommets.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein in one of the presentations of a clutch purse, the bag is folded with the grommets showing, the elongated strip of fabric is woven through the grommets, and the ends of the elongated strip of fabric are tied in a bow.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein in one of the presentations of a clutch purse, the bag is folded with the grommets hidden and only the heavy fabric showing.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein in one of the presentations of a clutch purse, the bag is folded with the elongated strip of fabric tied around the bag to present a bow-shaped clutch purse.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein in one of the presentations of a clutch purse, the bag is turned inside out and folded with the grommets hidden and only the lighter fabric showing.
The purse of embodiment 1, wherein in one of the presentations of a clutch purse, the bag is folded so that the heavy fabric, lighter fabric, and grommets are showing.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/589,234 filed on Jan. 20, 2012.