The present invention generally relates to tool bags or pouches and, more specifically, to a spill-resistant pouch for attachment to a belt.
Tool bags or pouches typically supported on a belt for a worker may include one or a plurality of pockets for carrying tools or other objects used by a worker for installing, repairing and/or testing operations.
Such tool bags or pouches are typically formed of high Denier textile fabrics, such as nylon and polyester, that are at least partially deformable, particularly under the weight of heavier tools, such as hammers, that at least partially extend outside the pockets of the pouches or tool bags. Such larger and heavier tools can apply forces on the pouches that tend to deform them sometimes to the point of allowing a tool to fall out of the pocket.
An attempt to solve this problem is a tool bag disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,826,819. In this patent, a main bag body has an upper opening and a space for receiving a flexible edge plate that forms an upward opening having a gap that gradually decreases from a middle portion towards two opposite ends of the middle portion. Two flexible sheets, essentially forming a funnel or one-way valve, are attached to the inner sides of the surfaces of the bag body to define an upper opening proximal to the upward opening and a lower bottom that is distal from the upward opening. The flexible edge plate defines a cross section smaller than the upper opening to prevent tools or other objects from falling out from the receiving space. The flexible sheets facilitate objects to be inserted into the bag and from falling out. The sheets, however, also make it more difficult to retrieve objects from the bag, especially smaller objects such as tape measures, small screwdrivers etc. that may be at the bottom of the bag or pouch, potentially causing injury to a user when lifting a tool past the narrow opening formed by the flexible sheets.
Other attempts have been made to prevent bags from sagging under the weight of tools and/or prevent tools from penetrating through walls of bags. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,304, for example, individual stiffening panels are mounted inside or outside walls of the bag, including the back wall and bottom wall. These individual, unconnected panels, which may be constructed of thin particle board, plywood or plastic sheeting, may prevent bulging or deformation of a particular wall but do not prevent relative movements or separation between the walls. Another approach to prevent sagging is to make the bags or pouches of high denier materials upward of 1000 D. While such heavier textiles are more rigid and help reduce the risk of wall separation and spill-out of contents such bags are heavier and more costly to manufacture.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a spill-resistant pouch that does not have the disadvantages of prior pouches or tool bags.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved pouch that is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a spill-resistant pouch that is simple and convenient to use.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a spill-resistant pouch in accordance with the previous objects that prevent potential injury to users who try to retrieve objects from the tool bag or pouch.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a spill-resistant pouch of the type under discussion that prevents tools or other objects from falling out of a pocket of a tool bag without hampering accessibility to tools or other objects contained therein.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a spill-resistant pouch that prevents deformation and separation of proximal and distal walls of a pouch or bag with textile materials having a denier of less than 1000 D.
In order to achieve the above objects, as well as others that will become evident hereinafter, a spill-resistant pouch for attachment to a belt comprises attachment means for attachment to a belt. At least one pocket is secured to the attachment means and has an upper opening for receiving objects within the pocket. The upper opening normally has a predetermined dimension along a predetermined direction extending from a wall portion of the pocket proximal to the attachment means to a wall portion distal from the attachment means. The pocket is deformable along the predetermined direction in response to forces applied by objects within the pocket on the distal wall portion. A rigidifying structure within the at least one pocket is provided for substantially maintaining the predetermined distance of the upper opening by preventing relative movements between the proximal and distal wall portions. Objects within the at least one pocket are thus prevented from falling out through the upper opening by excessive separation between the distal and proximal wall portions while providing unhindered access to items within said pouch.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring now specifically to the figures, in which the identical or similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals throughout, and first referring to
The pouch or tool bag 10 includes a first pocket 14 that includes a rear wall portion 14a and front wall portion 14b, a bottom end or wall portion 14c and an opening 14d. The wall portion 14a is the proximal wall portion relative to the user when the pouch is worn on a tool belt while the wall 14b is a distal wall portion. The distance between the proximal and distal wall portions 14a, 14b at the opening 14d is “d1”. Secured to the pocket 14 is a second pocket 16 that similarly has a proximal wall portion 16a, a distal wall portion 16b, a bottom end or wall 16c and an upper open end 16d. Here, the distance between the proximal end distal wall portion 16a, 16b is “d2”. When a hammer 18 or other heavy tool applies a force F that force tends to stretch the walls of the pockets 14, 16 and increase the distances d1 and/or d2. Such deformation or stretching of the pockets in the direction of the force F tends to re-orient the tool 18 to a position that makes it more likely to fall out of the pocket 16, especially when a worker or user leans and rotates the bag or pouch 10 in a counter-clock wise direction, as viewed in
Referring to
As long as the proximal and distal wall portions 14a, 14b are prevented from moving relative to each other any suitable rigidifying structure can be used. In the presently preferred embodiment, the rigidifying structure 20 is in the nature of a generally flat panel having a substantially uniform U-shaped cross section as shown. By providing the rigidifying structure, for example, in the proximal pocket 14 the integrity of the distance d1 is maintained and this prevents amplification or compounding of the stretching or deformation, as suggested in
While, in the prior art, as noted, walls of pouches have been provided with individual stiffening panels for different walls, these simply rigidify or stiffen individual walls of the pouch. However, the reinforcement of individual wall portions with stiffening panels does not prevent the movement of opposing wall portions resulting from the application of a force acting on one of these wall portions. With a U-shaped member or panel as shown in
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.