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The present invention pertains generally to devices for holding and/or covering personal items, and more particularly to a support strap and a protective cover for purses and other fashion articles.
Purses and handbags are a convenient method for people to carry and transport personal items. Purses can range in style and in value. Often, individuals have a collection of purses each serving a different purpose or having a specific style to match an outfit or occasion. Many purses can be expensive and/or may be made of delicate material, thus, keeping them in pristine condition is very important for both aesthetic purposes and resale purposes.
Purses made of delicate materials, such as velvet, may be damaged if the purse is stored laying down. It is therefore desirable to store a purse by hanging it from a purse hook or similar device. Conventional purse hooks pose several problems. Purse hooks are often configured so that the purse hangs perpendicular to the hook. When these hooks are used on a garment hanging bar, such as in a closet, the purse hangs orthogonal to the direction of the garments and takes up a significant amount of space. Further, conventional purse hooks often have a thin dowel-shaped or rectangular-shaped surface that makes contact with the handles of the purse. The thin profile of such a hook may cause the purse handles to bend over the hook in a narrow arc, which can cause the handles to break and/or stretch, thereby becoming deformed.
Protective covers for purses and other fashion articles often require that the covered article be removed from a storage system before taking the cover off, making it challenging for a user to remember where to replace the article within an organized storage system. Conventional covers and storage systems also often hide their contents from view, requiring the user to remove and open multiple covers to find a desired article.
Therefore, a need exists for a purse support that provides proper support to purse handles and orients the purse in a direction that takes as little space as possible while being stored. There is also a need for a protective cover that allows a covered item to be removed from a storage system without displacing the cover.
Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a support system for a fashion article which cooperates with a clothing hanger and may be used to store purses or handbags, jewelry, garments, or the like in a compact and organized manner, thereby reducing the storage space commonly required for such articles. The support system may allow multiple coordinated fashion articles to be stored together on a single hanger (e.g., shoes, a handbag, jewelry, a belt, and hosiery that a user desires to wear together may be stored using one or more support straps on a single hanger). The support system may include one or more protective covers, such as a flexible bag. The protective cover may be supported on a support strap, and may protect the fashion articles contained therein from light (e.g., UV light) and dust, which can be particularly detrimental to leather and fabric purses. The protective cover provides an alternative way to store a purse with the support system, and supports the body of the purse rather than hanging the purse by its handles. The system is easy to use and portable for traveling.
According to one or more embodiments, a support system for a fashion article cooperates with a hanger having a crossbar. The support system includes:
a support strap including:
a flexible bag having an access opening shaped to receive the fashion article, a closure substantially surrounding the access opening, and an aperture adjacent the closure; and
wherein the support strap is attachable to the flexible bag by passing the support strap body through the aperture so that the inner surface of the support strap body is in contact with the bag, and engaging the third fastener piece with the fourth fastener piece so that the support strap encircles the closure.
According to one or more embodiments, the flexible bag is structurally configured to conceal the fashion article while being attached to the support strap. In some embodiments, the flexible bag includes an identification tag for marking with names of the stored articles.
According to one or more embodiments, the flexible bag is structurally configured for removal or insertion of the fashion article through the access opening while the flexible bag is attached to the support strap. This feature allows the user to access articles contained within the flexible bag without removing the support strap from the hanger, thereby maintaining the organization of the system.
According to one or more embodiments, the aperture is shaped and dimensioned to receive the support strap therethrough.
According to one or more embodiments, the support strap is attachable to the hanger so that both the third fastener piece and the fourth fastener piece are positioned below the crossbar.
According to one or more embodiments, the support strap body is structurally configured to support the flexible bag and distribute pressure along a predetermined length of the aperture.
According to one or more embodiments, a support strap for a purse having a handle cooperates with a hanger having a crossbar. The support strap includes:
a substantially rectangular-shaped support strap body having an outer surface, an inner surface, a top edge, a bottom edge, a right side edge and a left side edge;
a first fastener located on the support strap body and including a first fastener piece and a second fastener piece configured for engagement with the first fastener piece;
wherein the support strap is attachable to the hanger by folding the support strap body over the crossbar so that the inner surface of the support strap body is in contact with the crossbar, and engaging the first fastener piece with the second fastener piece with the support strap extending downward from the crossbar;
a second fastener located on the support strap body and including a third fastener piece and a fourth fastener piece configured for engagement with the third fastener piece; and
wherein the support strap is attachable to the handle of the purse by folding the support strap body over the handle so that the inner surface of the support strap body is in contact with the handle, and engaging the third fastener piece with the fourth fastener piece.
According to one or more embodiments, the first fastener extends substantially orthogonal to a major dimension of the support strap body.
According to one or more embodiments, both of the first fastener piece and the second fastener piece are located on the inner surface of the support strap body.
According to one or more embodiments, the first fastener piece is spaced apart from the second fastener piece and both the first fastener piece and the second fastener piece are offset from both the top edge and the bottom edge.
According to one or more embodiments, the support strap is attachable to the hanger so that both the third fastener piece and the fourth fastener piece are positioned below the crossbar.
According to one or more embodiments, the support strap body is structurally configured to support the purse handle and distribute pressure along a predetermined length of the purse handle. This feature provides gentle treatment of the purse handles and resists damage from supporting the weight of the purse over an extended time.
According to one or more embodiments, the support strap body includes a notch intermediate the second fastener piece and the fourth fastener piece. This feature may reduce bunching of the support strap material in the area the strap contacts the purse handle.
According to one or more embodiments, the first fastener piece is located on the inner surface of the support strap body, and the third fastener piece is located on the outer surface of the support strap body and substantially opposite the first fastener piece.
According to one or more embodiments, the second fastener extends substantially orthogonal to a major dimension of the support strap body.
According to one or more embodiments, the third fastener piece is located on the outer surface of the support strap body and the fourth fastener piece is located on the inner surface of the support strap body.
According to one or more embodiments, the third fastener piece is located adjacent the top edge of the support strap body.
According to one or more embodiments, the fourth fastener piece is located adjacent the bottom edge of the support strap body.
According to one or more embodiments, the first fastener is a hook and loop fastener.
According to one or more embodiments, the second fastener is a hook and loop fastener.
These and other aspects of the embodiments will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. The following description, while indicating various embodiments and details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many substitutions, modifications, additions, or rearrangements may be made within the scope of the embodiments, and the embodiments may include all such substitutions, modifications, additions, or rearrangements.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the support system for a fashion article are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments.
The detailed description describes non-limiting exemplary embodiments. Any individual features may be combined with other features as required by different applications for at least the benefits described herein. As used herein, the term “about” means plus or minus 10% of a given value unless specifically indicated otherwise. As used herein, the term “substantially the same” means that two items are at least 90% the same.
As used herein, the conjunction “or” is to be construed inclusively (e.g., “A or B” would be interpreted as “A, or B, or both A and B”; e.g., “A, B, or C” would be interpreted as “A; or B; or C; or any two of A, B, and C; or all three of A, B, and C”).
As used herein, disclosure of a singular element is also a disclosure of a plural element and vice versa unless otherwise noted.
The support system for fashion articles includes a support strap and, in some embodiments, includes a protective cover such as a flexible bag. While particular embodiments may be described with reference to purses or handbags, it will be understood that the support system may be used in a similar manner with many different types of fashion articles. For example, the support system may be used with accessories, such as jewelry or belts; garments, such as hosiery, scarves, or ties; footwear; headwear; or the like.
The support strap may be used in cooperation with a hanger, such as a conventional clothes hanger having a crossbar. The support strap may also, or instead, be used in a similar manner in cooperation with a hook, a peg, a closet bar, a door knob, a retail display, or similar device.
A flexible bag 160 provides a protective cover for a fashion article. Flexible bag 160 may be attached to a support strap 110. In this way, the system may support articles that are otherwise difficult to hang, such as shoes. Support strap 110 may support more than one flexible bag 160 (see middle support strap 110 shown supporting three of flexible bag 160). Multiple bags may be arranged in a cascading size progression (e.g., smallest bag in the front with progressively larger bags toward the rear); this arrangement requires relatively little storage space, and provides easy access and an organized visual appearance.
Support strap 310 also includes a second fastener located on support strap body 312. The second fastener includes a third fastener piece 342 and a fourth fastener piece 344. The third fastener piece and fourth fastener piece are configured for engagement with one another. The second fastener may be a fastener type substantially identical to, or similar to, the first fastener. In some embodiments, one or both of the first fastener and the second fastener are hook and loop fasteners. By folding support strap body 312 over a portion of a fashion article (such as handle 284 of purse 282 shown in
In the shown embodiment, both of first fastener piece 532 and second fastener piece 534 are located on inner surface 516 of support strap body 512. First fastener piece 532 is spaced apart from second fastener piece 534, e.g., by a spacing sufficient to allow the support strap body to be wrapped around a hanger crossbar or similar device. First fastener piece 532 may be located adjacent top edge 518, or may be offset from both the top edge and the bottom edge (see
Regarding the second fastener, third fastener piece 542 may be located on outer surface 514 of support strap body 512, and fourth fastener piece 544 may be located on inner surface 516 of support strap body 512. As shown, third fastener piece 542 may be located adjacent top edge 518 of the support strap body and fourth fastener piece 544 may be located adjacent bottom edge 520 of the support strap body.
Support strap 510 has a substantially rectangular-shaped support strap body 512. In some embodiments, support strap body 512 may include a notch 528 intermediate second fastener piece 534 and fourth fastener piece 544. Two notches 528 are shown in the embodiment of
As best seen in
Regarding the embodiments of
Further provided is a support system, wherein a support strap and/or a protective cover (e.g., a flexible bag) is packaged with a hanger.
The embodiments of the support system for a fashion article described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, combinations, variations, and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve an equivalent result, all of which are intended to be embraced within the scope of the appended claims. Further, nothing in the above-provided discussions of the support system should be construed as limiting the invention to a particular embodiment or combination of embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.
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No Sacrifice Bags Store on Amazon, “UnderCovers Dust Cover with Purseport ID Tag, Purse Protector for Designer Bags (Available in Small and Medium)”, Date first available: Jun. 21, 2018, https://www.amazon.com/UnderCovers-Purseport-Protector-Designer-Available/dp/B07DX6KHYH?ref_=ast_sto_dp. |