Patent Application
20100147855
This invention relates generally to the field of carrying bags, and in particular to bag with functionality for date tracking and securely storing medication, medical and dental devices, messages and other belongings that must be transported by children of divorced or separated parents.
Roughly 40% of U.S. marriages end in divorce. When children are involved, the norm in most legal jurisdictions to is to award primary custody to one parent, and visitation to a second parent. However, there is an increasing movement to award joint custody. Many states have passed legislation or have legislation pending which would make joint custody presumptive.
The rationale behind this legislation and the movement for joint custody is that divorce is an adversarial process in which parents are encouraged to fight it out so that “the better parent” may win. By removing primary custody as an incentive, it is argued that the best interests of the children may be better served.
Joint custody has also been documented to improve compliance with court-ordered child support arrangements. U.S. General Accounting Office statistics indicate that only 44.5% of fathers with no visitation pay the support due. In contrast, 79.1% of fathers with visitation privileges pay the support due 90.2% of fathers with joint custody pay the support due
However, critics of joint custody policy site research and report that it is difficult for a child to travel between two homes, particularly during a school week. A dual custody arrangement requires coordination of medications,. transporting clothing and belongings, scheduling of health care and other appointments, supervising home work assignments (particularly those spanning several days) and communication about matters requiring joint decision making. Some items (e.g., expensive eye glasses or a dental retainer) are not practically transported. With respect to medication, it may be impractical to remove single pills from a container, and this may result in problems with regard to tracking whether the medication is taken as prescribed as well as pose hazards in separating the labeling from the medication itself. Similarly, teacher conferences, medical and dental care all require critical coordination in parent communications.
Joint custody arrangements often require parents to assume new responsibilities that they did not have during the marriage. For example, fathers who were not the primary parents during their marriages may need to administer medication and supervise homework assignments. Parents may also have personal feelings about a former spouse, which may make communication difficult.
As used herein, the term “return item compartment” means a compartment designated for items to be returned or to remain with the child in each parent's home.
As used herein, the term “communication compartment” means a compartment designated for notes or instructions, which may have optional labeling or locking features. Examples of communication compartments include, but are not limited to, parent communication compartments, teacher communication compartments and health care communication compartments.
As used herein, the term “windowed component” means any pocket, pouch, sleeve or containment component that allows a communication to be visible. For example, a windowed component may be used to insert and view a calendar, memo, notes, checklists and/or emergency information.
As used herein, the term “closure component” means a component consisting of a strap, a zipper, a hook, a Velcro closure, a snap, or combinations thereof.
As used herein, the term “voice recording component” means any electronic device which can record an audio message and be stored and played by a user.
As used herein, the term “medical device compartment” means a pocket or pouch designated for medical and dental devices such as inhalers, EpiPens®, diabetes devices, or other small devices a child may need to treat particular medical conditions, and which may further include locking, moisture barrier or sterile features to accommodate medical and dental devices.
As used herein, the term “medication compartment” means a pocket or compartment designated for any medication in the form of pills or liquids that a child may need to treat particular medical conditions and which may further include locking, moisture barrier, or sterile features to accommodate storage and transport of medications.
As used herein, the term “dry erase surface” means any glossy surface; most commonly colored white, where non-permanent markings can be made. A dry erase surface may also include a surface for marking with a crayon, grease pencil, wax based writing material or other ink, dye or marking material known in the art.
As used herein, the term “dry erase surface protection component” means a covering that protects writing on a dry erase surface from being smeared.
As used herein, the term pen means any writing implement known in the art, including a dry erase marking pen, grease pencil or traditional pen
The invention disclosed herein is a storage device having at least one windowed component, a return item compartment, a plurality of communication compartments, at least one dry erase surface and at least one closure component. In various embodiments, there may be multiple communication compartment (e.g., a parent communication compartment and teacher communication compartment) with optional locking mechanisms. Other embodiments may include additional features such as voice recording components, a key holder, a medical device compartment and a medication compartment.
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the present invention, references are made in the text to embodiments of a storage device, only some of which are described herein. It should be understood that no limitations on the scope of the invention are intended by describing these exemplary embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that modifications such as the dimensions of a storage device, alternate but functionally similar material(s) from which the storage device is made. The inclusion of additional elements may be deemed readily apparent and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those described in the written description do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Some of these possible modifications are mentioned in the following description. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed apparatus or manner.
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In addition, in the embodiments depicted herein, like reference numerals in the various drawings refer to identical or near identical structural elements.
Moreover, the term “substantially” or “approximately” as used herein may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. For example, one embodiment of the storage device as disclosed herein may be comprised of a single multi-dimensional and/or textured component, while others may include multiple multi-dimensional and/or textured component.
Referring now to the drawings,
In various embodiments, storage device 100 may further include a dry erase surface 25, which may be incorporated in windowed component 20, so that parents can easily jot down, and change notes and appointments. In various embodiments dry erase surface 25 may include dry erase surface protection component 28 to prevent it from smearing.
In the embodiment shown in
In the exemplary embodiment in
The embodiment shown in
Also illustrated in the embodiment in
In the embodiment shown in
Further, key holder 80 is also shown in the exemplary embodiment and is capable of holding keys or key rings for consistent safekeeping. Medical device compartment 40, medication compartment 45, and key holder 80 are designed to be located in an accessible area on storage device 100.
