PROTECTIVE TRAVEL BAG

Abstract

A travel bag is provided with an upper end including an opening, a base, and a main body section connecting the upper end to the base. At least one ring member is provided to be attached to the main body section. The ring member forms a complete, uninterrupted ring corresponding to a cross-sectional geometry of the main body section and provides impact protection to contents placed within the main body of the container. The ring member is composed of an at least semi-rigid material.

Description

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates in general to the field of bags and travel cases, and more specifically, to a collapsible bag providing impact resistance.

People often travel with long, fragile items such as golf clubs, skis, fishing poles, and other recreational equipment. When packed, these items are often stacked under other luggage on airplanes, loaded into vans, thrown onto carts by baggage handlers, or other situations that may cause damaging impact to the contents. Accordingly, travel bags and cases have been developed to transport various recreational equipment during travel with varying levels of protection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a collapsible travel bag with protective rings and an end access point in accordance with at least some embodiments;

FIG. 2 shows the example collapsing of a collapsible travel bag with protective rings in accordance with at least some embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows a collapsible travel bag utilizing an example support pole in accordance with at least some embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows an example travel bag with protective rings utilizing a zippered opening running laterally along the length of the bag in accordance with at least some embodiments; and

FIG. 5 shows an example travel bag with an opening that divides the bag into an upper and lower section, with at least one of the sections incorporating protective rings in accordance with at least some embodiments

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Traditionally, travel bags and cases that are for use in transporting recreational equipment are typically composed of covers made of soft, flexible fabric materials, which offer collapsibility for efficient storage when not in use but offer little to no impact resistance. Some fabric bags and cases attempt to add foam padding, but still do not offer acceptable impact and crush resistance, particularly from bending, falling, or stacking of heavy items such as other luggage being dropped on top of them. Other protective travel bags and cases are constructed of a solid, rigid plastic shell, which while providing good impact resistance, do not offer the ability to be folded, shrunk or compressed when stored, thus taking up considerable space. Additionally, solid-shell cases add considerable weight and bulk. In addition to these shortcomings, traditional soft travel bags may be difficult to load with sometimes large and awkwardly shaped recreational equipment. For instance, some golf travel bags and cases may require large heavy items such as golf clubs to be laid down when placing them into the bag, requiring bending and extra lifting effort.

In some implementations, an example travel bag is provided which realizes significant impact and crush resistance while still being able to be reduced in size when stored and not in use. Furthermore, a need exists for such a bag that can be raised and lowered in an accordion-like fashion so that heavy items such as golf clubs can be easily placed into the bag in a vertical, upright manner through an opening at the top or bottom of the bag. As shown in FIG. 1, a protective travel bag 9 is shown, which may address the example issues discussed above. For instance, the travel bag 9 may include a set of rigid rings 11, which are adjacent to a flexible material 27 embodying the longitudinal walls or the “main body” of the bag 9. One or more of the rings 11 may be attached to or embedded within the flexible material 27 to provide structure and impact resistance to the bag 9. Each of the rings may be a complete, unbroken ring element composed of a rigid or semi-rigid material. The bag may include an opening 13, such as a lid formed of a rigid material or semi-rigid material, the opening allowing a user to insert contents in a “top-down” manner. In some cases, the bag 9 may include a base (e.g., 15) positioned at the bottom of the bag, which may be formed, at least partially, from a rigid or semi-rigid material (e.g., similar to the material of the bag's opening or lid (e.g., 13)). In some implementations, the base 15 may be a wheeled base 15, with wheel attached to allow the entire bag to be conveniently wheeled (i.e., rather than exclusively carried). In some implementations, the interior surface of one or both of the base 15 and lid 13 may be cushioned or padded using an elastomeric, foam, or other material, as the interior surface of the base and lid may be in direct contact with the contents of the bag.

As illustrated in the example of FIG. 1, an improved travel bag may utilize the set of (one or more) rings (e.g., 11), which surround and or encircle the case, at periodic intervals along the case, to provide rigidity and impact and/or crush protection for the contents of the case 9. Further, the rings may allow for the bag to be collapsed in an accordion-like manner for easy storage and carry when the bag is not used to contain recreational equipment contents. As used herein, a “ring” refers to a ring-like structure, which may be contoured in any suitable shape (e.g., circular, oval, rectangular, oblong, etc.) and in some cases having a shape contoured to the dimensions or shape of the anticipated contents (e.g., a golf bag, a set of skis, a snowboard, etc. In some implementations, a set of rings can be implemented as a single piece, such as a helix or coil forming the equivalent of a series of rings along the length of a bag. As used herein, a “bag” refers to a bag, case, or other vessel for the purpose of containing objects.

FIG. 2, in some implementations, an improved, ring-enforced bag may be constructed with an opening at one or both ends, allowing for contents to be placed into the bag vertically. The bag or case can then be lifted upwards to cover the contents, allowing a user to insert the contents into the bag without considerably lifting of the contents up and into the bag. Instead, a user may only need to lift the bag to the height of the bag when in its collapsed state (e.g., when the opening is provided at the top of the bag) or lift the collapsed bag to the top of the contents (e.g., when the opening is provided at the base of the bag). Referring to FIG. 2, a protective travel bag 9 that includes rigid rings 11 adjacent to a flexible material 27 may be freely raised and lowered in an accordion-like manner 17. This allows the bag to not only be collapsed for convenient carriage and storage, but also to easily raise/lower the bag to extend the bag to cover the contents inserted into an opening of the bag 9. In some implementations, the base 15 of the bag may be dimensioned to allow the bag to be nearly completed collapsed (e.g., to 10% or more of its maximum extended length). A lock or fastener may be integrated into the cover and/or base to allow the bag to be secured in its collapsed position when not in use.

When the bag is in use to cover contents, the dimensions of the contents may “set” the extended length of the bag. In some implementations, the flexible material 27 of the bag's wall, or main body, may possess elastic properties to encourage the bag to “shrink”, when extended, to a size corresponding to the length of the contents enclosed within the bag. In other instances, the rings may be formed from a helix, which also provide a spring-like force to naturally cause the bag to retract to fit the length of its contents. For instance, the bag may be extended to one size to cover a set of golf clubs and another longer size to cover a set of skis, etc. In some implementations, a telescoping or fixed-length pole or other structural member (e.g., 19) separate from or integrated into the bag (e.g., attached at the base 15 of the bag) may be utilized to optionally “set” the height of the bag and provide structural stability orthogonal to the support provided through the set of rings 11. Such a support 19, in some instances, may brace the top or lid 13 of the bag and extend to also contact (or even be connected to) the base 15 of the bag. In some instances, such a pole support 19 may incorporate a rigid cap or flange 21 which offers addition impact protection to the top of the bag, among other example implementations. Other additional features may be incorporated in the bag, in addition to an integrated or removable support rod 19, such as various supplemental storage compartments or pockets (e.g., 23) internal or external to the bag 9. For instance, an internal pocket 23 may be provided at or near the upper opening of the bag 9 for easy access when the lid 13 is opened, among other examples.

In some implementations, the bags' protective rings or bands may be rigid or semi-rigid. For instance, the material of the rings may be constructed of such materials as plastic, wire, polymers, alloy, metal, molded rubber, fiberglass, carbon, etc. In some implementations, protective rings may be positioned on the internal side of the bag, while in other alternative implementations at least some (or all) of the rings may be positioned on the external side of the bag. The rings may be affixed to surfaces of the bag's main body (internally or externally) using glue, bonding, sewing, Velcro, riveting, taping, through co-molding, and other suitable techniques. Indeed, in some implementations, the protective rings may be fixed, removable or be a combination of fixed and removable. For instance, the protective rings (e.g., 11) may be placed either partially or completely within channels or pockets formed in the bag material 27 inside and/or outside of the bag 9. In some implementations, to assist in collapsing and expanding of the bag 9, tracks, channels, tubes or other mechanisms or a combination of mechanisms may be provided within or outside the bag to assist in the movement of the rings, facilitating guided movement of the rings. In some instances, the protective rings may incorporate a ratchet or locking mechanism to assist in locking the ring's (or rings') position in an extended or collapsed state, among other example features.

In some implementations, the rings may be structured with cross-sections to enable the rings to nest or rest on adjacent rings in the bag and maximize collapsibility of the bag. For instance, rings may have a semicircular or open rectangular cross-section, with the dimensions of each successive ring graduating in size so as to nest within the neighboring ring. Other cross-sections may be used to encourage nesting or compact storage of the rings when the bag is collapsed.

Turning to FIG. 4, an alternative implementation is shown utilizing an alternative opening. For instance, rather than an opening limited to or substantially located at the bottom or top of the bag, an opening may be provided at least partially along the side of the bag 9. For instance, a zippered opening 25 may be provided, which runs longitudinally along the bag. In such instances, rather than having continuous ring members, the rings corresponding to a longitudinal opening may be “broken” and include an opening to pass content through the opening in the ring. When the opening 25 is closed, the break, or opening, in each ring may be closed, have its open ends overlap, or otherwise reconnect to form a closed ring shape. In some implementations, closing of the longitudinal opening 25 may reconnect the broken or segmented rings by causing the ends of the broken rings to latch to an adjacent article, component or portion of the bag and cause the rings to return to a closed ring shape. Accordingly, in some implementations, protective rings may be segmented or in one continuous piece. In some cases, protective rings may fully or partially encase the bag, or a combination of both. Further, to facilitate a longitudinal opening, in some implementations, protective rings may be hinged. Hinges may also be provided to enable rings of adjustable perimeters, such as to allow for more expansion and or hinged in such a manner to alter the rings ability to compress.

Turning to FIG. 5, another example implementation is shown, of a bag 9 reinforced with one or more rings. In this example, an upper (or alternatively lower) opening may be provided to load contents into the bag, similar to the examples of FIGS. 1-3. However, in the example of FIG. 5, the opening may be between the top and bottom of the bag and incorporate at least a portion of the protective rings 11. In such implementations, a portion (e.g., 30) of the bag 9 may “flip” open separate from another portion (e.g., 32) of the bag 9. In this example, portion 30 incorporates a set of protective rings (e.g., 11) to reinforce the upper portion of the bag 9. In other cases, both the upper and lower portions (e.g., 30, 32) of the bag 9 may incorporate protective rings 11. In some instances, only a portion (e.g., 30) of the bag 9 may include rings, so as to strategically place additional protective structure within the bag 9 based on the anticipated contents of the bag. For instance, a golf travel bag may be designed to encase a golf bag including golf clubs, which extend from a top opening of the golf bag. As the golf bag itself may possess some protective properties, reinforcing the section (e.g., 32) of the travel bag with protective rings may be redundant. In such an example, protective rings may be omitted from this portion of the bag, and instead provided to correspond to where the golf bag ends and the unprotected golf club heads begin (e.g., corresponding to section 30), among other examples (including examples where the travel bag 9 is designed to contain and protect contents other than golf bag, golf clubs, and other equipment (e.g., ski equipment)).

In some implementations, a travel bag 9 reinforced with one or more protective rings, may be raised manually or may include one or more extension poles, supports, rods, glides, tracks, extension handles to assist in raising the bag. Such additional features may also provide additional support and structure when the bag is extended. For instance, a telescoping pole or handle may be provided that, when extended, extends partially or the entirety of the bag. Further, in some implementations, a bag provided with or using extension poles, supports, or handles, may additionally incorporate rigid cap(s) or flange(s), which serve to protect the end of the bag against impacting forces. These protective caps or flanges may be affixed to the extension handles or poles and may pivot or tilt. In some cases, such caps or flanges may be incorporated in a lid corresponding to an upper opening of the bag. Indeed, such lids may be composed of a rigid or semi-rigid lid that protect contents from impacting forces. Such a rigid end may contact the bags contents (e.g., a golf bag's top rim or divider grid, etc.), or alternatively (when provided) the case's extension poles or supports when extended to offer further protected against impacting forces. Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention should be apparent with reference to the drawings and detailed description herein.

The following examples pertain to embodiments in accordance with this Specification. In some implementations, container may be provided with an upper end including an opening, a base, and a main body section connecting the upper end to the base. At least one ring member may be provided to be attached to the main body section. The ring member may form a complete, uninterrupted ring corresponding to a cross-sectional geometry of the main body section and provide impact protection to contents placed within the main body of the container. The ring member may composed of an at least semi-rigid material.

In some implementations, the container may implement a travel bag to contain recreational equipment. In some instances, the main body section may be formed of flexible material and the container may be collapsible. The at least one ring member may include a plurality of rings and the container may be to collapse longitudinally by bringing the plurality of rings into proximity with each other.

In some instances, the opening may include a lid. A portion of the lid may be permanently attached to the main body section to form a hinge where the upper end and main body section meet. The lid may include a fastener to fasten the lid to the main body section and close the opening. The fastener may include one of a zipper, snap, or Velcro. The lid may be at least partially composed of an at least semi-rigid material. An interior surface of the lid may include an elastomeric padding, and the interior surface of the lid may be enclosed within the container when the lid may be closed. The interior surface may be to contact at least a portion of the contents of the container.

In some instances, the ring member may include a circular ring. In other instances, the ring member may include a rectangular ring. The ring member may include a shape corresponding to a cross-section of particular recreational equipment. For instance, the particular recreational equipment may include one of a golf bag, a snowboard, or skis. In some instances, the opening may include the only opening for placing contents within the main body of the bag. In some instances, the base may include a rigid base. The base may include a wheeled base.

In some instances, the at least one ring member may include a plurality of rings of graduating size, and the plurality of rings are configured to nest when the container may be in a collapsed state. In some instances, the container may further include a rod (separate from or integrated in one of the other elements of the container) to provide longitudinal support to the container when in an extended state, where the ring member may be not connected to the rod. In some instances, the ring member may include a plurality of ring members and each of the plurality of ring members may include a unitary ring formed from at least semi-rigid material.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results.

A detailed description has been given with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. Furthermore, the foregoing use of embodiment and other exemplarily language does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or the same example, but may refer to different and distinct embodiments, as well as potentially the same embodiment.

Claims

1. A container comprising: an upper end comprising an opening;a base; anda main body section connecting the upper end to the base; andat least one ring member attached to the main body section, wherein the ring member forms a complete, uninterrupted ring corresponding to a cross-sectional geometry of the main body section and provides impact protection to contents placed within the main body of the container, wherein the ring member is composed of an at least semi-rigid material.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the main body section is formed of flexible material and the container is collapsible.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein the at least one ring member comprises a plurality of rings and the container is to collapse longitudinally by bringing the plurality of rings into proximity with each other.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the opening comprises a lid.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein a portion of the lid is permanently attached to the main body section to form a hinge where the upper end and main body section meet.

6. The container of claim 4, wherein the lid comprises a fastener to fasten the lid to the main body section and close the opening.

7. The container of claim 6, wherein the fastener comprises one of a zipper, snap, or Velcro.

8. The container of claim 4, wherein the lid is at least partially composed of an at least semi-rigid material.

9. The container of claim 4, wherein an interior surface of the lid comprises an elastomeric padding, and the interior surface of the lid is enclosed within the container when the lid is closed.

10. The container of claim 9, wherein the interior surface is to contact at least a portion of the contents of the container.

11. The container of claim 1, wherein the ring member comprises a circular ring.

12. The container of claim 1, wherein the ring member comprises a rectangular ring.

13. The container of claim 1, wherein the ring member comprises a shape corresponding to a cross-section of particular recreational equipment.

14. The container of claim 13, wherein the particular recreational equipment comprises one of a golf bag, a snowboard, or skis.

15. The container of claim 1, wherein the opening comprises the only opening for placing contents within the main body of the bag.

16. The container of claim 1, wherein the base comprises a rigid base.

17. The container of claim 16, wherein the base comprises a wheeled base.

18. The container of claim 1, wherein the at least one ring member comprises a plurality of rings of graduating size, and the plurality of rings are configured to nest when the container is in a collapsed state.

19. The container of claim 1, further comprising a rod to provide longitudinal support to the container when in an extended state, wherein the ring member is not connected to the rod.

20. The container of claim 1, wherein the ring member comprises a plurality of ring members and each of the plurality of ring members comprises a unitary ring formed from at least semi-rigid material.