Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02362616 2001-11-02
Sports Accessories Storage Bag
DESCRIPTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the storage and transport of smaller sporting
accessories and clothing.
Background of the Invention
It is the nature of most sporting activities that, to play them comfortably
and safely, accessory
equiptment and clothing is required. It follows that, to minimize the
frustration of coordinating
these smaller sporting accessories when not in use, some form of storage is
necessary. To that
end, many forms of bag-style storage are well-known and widely used. Typical
bags of this type
are described, for example, in the following patents;
In patent #2110661, the creators have provided for an inner liner of a mesh
material that may be
removed, creating a lightweight and breathable storage bag option. However,
the liner includes 'a
plurality of side panels and a bottom panel' as well as a fastener which does
not facilitate easy
personal storage of the bag when not in use.
Another sports equiptment storage bag is disclosed in patent #2231470 and
allows for airing and
storage of smaller sports accessories. It does not allow for hands-free
transport of accessories or
easy personal storage and transport of the bag itself when not in use.
Though such bags have achieved popularity and broad usage, there is an ongoing
need for
improvement.
Summary of the Invention
This invention relates to a bag for airing, storing and carrying smaller
sports equiptment and
clothing that can be fastened by a releaseable clip to the loops that come
standard on many
sports outerwear (eg. mountainbike jackets, ski suits), allowing hands-free
storage,transport and
coordination of the many smaller items associated with a particular sport. An
additional feature
of the invention is that when the releaseable clip is attached onto the top
closure drawstrings, it
creates a handle that can hang in any variety of places (eg. door knob, wrist,
chair back, coat
hook) while on break from, or finished, the designated sporting activity. The
bag is lightweight
and malleable enough to store conveniently on the person or in a small space
when not in use. It
is to be appreciated that wherever the phrase 'smaller sports equiptment and
clothing' is used, it is
understood that this covers sports equiptment and/ or clothing and can also
cover miscellaneous
toiletries such as lip balm, deodorant, etc.
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In the drawings, which form part of this specification,
Fig. l is a front view diagram of the bag according to one embodiment of the
invention, showing
the bag as empty and in a flat layout;
Fig.2 is a front view diagram of the filled bag, portrayed as unattached and
not including all
possible contents for the sake of visual simplicity;
Fig.3 is a front view diagram of the filled bag attached to a sample
represention of sports
outerwear as mentioned in one embodiment of the invention;
Fig.4 is a front view diagram of the filled bag which represents the ability
of the releaseable clip
to attach itself to the drawstrings and the resulting 'handle' for carrying or
hanging of the bag
As portrayed in Fig.2, Fig,3 and Fig.4; the representation of the lip balm,
snow mittens and
goggles, is to the scale of a men's extra large size for both pieces of the
sports equiptment.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
With reference to the preferred embodiment of the bag detailed in Figure 1,
bag 2 comprises two
pieces 4 and 5, to create a generally rectangular panel, having a top edge 6,
a bottom edge 8, and
side edges 10 and 12 respectively. Panel 4 and 5 of bag 2 is made from a
flexible, lightweight
fabric such as nylon or sport mesh.
The top edge 6 is comprised of the front panel 4 and back panel 5 separately
to create an opening.
At the top of panel 4 and 5 is a folded edge with a small opening 16 that
allow for insertion of a
drawstrings 18. The drawstrings 18 exit the small opening 16 in the folded
aspect 14, leaving the
two drawstrings 18 visible and extending a distance from the bag.
The clip 20(a and b) is attached to the drawstrings 18 and serves 3 functions;
the lower toggle
portion 20(a) attaches to the drawstrings 18 to secure them from pulling back
through the
opening 16, while also allowing for adjustment of the length of the useable
portion of
drawstrings 18 and therefore the size of the top panel 6 opening (see Fig.2),
as well as the
eventual distance the bag will hang from the releaseable clip 20(b) when it is
attached to the user
(see Fig.3).
The upper clip portion 20(b) is of a mitten-clip style that allows the user to
attach it a variety of
locations such as mitten loops on sports outerwear (Fig.3), any opening large
enough to
accomodate the clip ( eg.larger zipper holes) and also onto the drawstrings 18
(see figure 4),
which creates a loop that can be customized to hang in a variety of locations
(eg.chairbacks,
coatracks, small hooks).
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Fig.2 is a representation of said bag containing example equiptment and
showing the overall
flexibility of the material used in said bag construction as well as
illustrating how the mesh
material can allow airflow to the contents stored in the bag.
Ezample of a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention
In its prefered embodiment, this sports equiptment storage bag will provide
the option of hands-
free storage and transport of smaller sports accessories such as clothing,
smaller gear, safety
related acoutrements and personal sports-related toiletries while facilitating
the airing out of said
items based on the lightweight breathability of the hag construction.
For illustration, a skier or snowboarder, upon entering the heated lodge for a
break, is faced with
the storage on their person of numerous smaller, cold weather accessories
necessary to perform
the sport. Gloves, scarves, face protection, goggles, touques are some
examples of these smaller
sports accessories for which space must be found in pockets and sleeves or
else in the hands of
the skier/snowboarder.
With this bag, the skier/snowboarder would have a lightweight, easily stored
equiptment bag that
they would remove and fill with their various acoutrements and then either
clip on a part of their
jacket or pants or else clip onto the drawstring portion at the top panel
opening to create a handle
for carrying or hanging of the said bag.
