MOBILE POCKET FOLIO FOR QUICK ACCESS WITHIN A BAG AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING SAME

Abstract

An access device for storing items within a handbag includes a flexible strap having a first end and a second end, the strap including at least one aperture adjacent the first end, and a fastener adjacent the second end, the fastener being coupleable to the at least one aperture so that the strap forms a loop, a clip coupled to the strap, and at least one compartment being closed at a lower end, and side ends and defining an upper opening, the at least one compartment having a rigid tab that is coupleable to the clip.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/545,553 entitled "A DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR QUICK ACCESS TO NECESSITIES IN A BAG", filed on Aug. 15, 2017, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to handbags. More specifically, the present disclosure related to mobile pockets and compartments for optimizing quick access to items within a handbag.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] Handbags have been utilized for centuries in cultures around the world. In the 17th century, Scottish women were taught embroidery as a necessary skill for marriage and this skill allowed them to incorporate fashion into handbags. By the late 18th century, European women preferred handbags that were not bulky and had fine fabrics like silk and velvet. These small bags were carried with wrist straps. As railway travel became popular during the Industrial Revolution, the H. J. Cave company was credited with producing the first modern set of luxury handbags--these included a clutch and a tote and were made of refined leather. Today handbags are available in an infinite array of shapes and sizes and are designed to hold everything from personal items to digital entertainment devices. As handbags become more and more crowded, manufacturers have begun looking at ways to provide easy access to necessities that need to be retrieved quickly.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,797, to Martin, et al., teaches a system for organizing articles in a purse. Specifically, a board is placed inside a purse with notches near the opening of the purse from which individual items are hung. Each item has a stop on one end of a line, the other end attaching to the item. The stop allows the item to be hung from the board. The present disclosure differs from this disclosure in that the board is attached to and requires the interior of the purse for support and structure. The individual items are hung, not hooked or looped. This disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby incorporated for reference in its entirety for all that it teaches.

[0005] WO patent application number 2003103440, to Betzer teaches a portable user-bag for carrying personal objects for everyday use designed to facilitate fast user-access to said objects. A portable bag comprises independent receptacles, or other bags, each fixed to the portable bag by a string or other fastening means. The present disclosure differs from this disclosure in that each small bag is independently attached to the bigger bag, not to a single loop. The bags can't be transferred as one to a new bag. This disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby incorporated for reference in its entirety for all that it teaches.

[0006] United States patent application number 20060070901, to Adams, et al., teaches a utility bag assembly for transporting and organizing small items. The present disclosure differs from this disclosure in that the organization method requires individual shelves and compartments. This disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby incorporated for reference in its entirety for all that it teaches.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,586, to Norman, et al., teaches a bag carousel organizer. The present disclosure differs from this disclosure in that the organization involves hanging smaller items by loops on hooks, not loops. Further, the organizer is not portable, capable of being placed in a bag. This disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby incorporated for reference in its entirety for all that it teaches.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,183, to Cooper, teaches a handbag organizer. The present disclosure differs from this disclosure in that the organization involves one bag, in multiple compartments that are integrally attached, but opened by zipper. The entire system is attached as a single unit onto a loop, not as a plurality of small compartments on a loop. This disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0009] An access device for storing items within a handbag includes a flexible strap having a first end and a second end, the strap including at least one aperture adjacent the first end, and a fastener adjacent the second end, the fastener being coupleable to the at least one aperture so that the strap forms a loop, a clip coupled to the strap, and at least one compartment being closed at a lower end, and side ends and defining an upper opening, the at least one compartment having a rigid tab that is coupleable to the clip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0010] In order that the advantages of the disclosure will be readily understood, a more particular description of the disclosure briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of an access device according to the present disclosure;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of embodiments of the present disclosure being used with traditional handbags;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a photograph showing one example of the present disclosure having a receptacle with connected compartments;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a photograph showing multiple receptacles each having connected compartments, each receptacle having a separate tab and coupled to a clip; and

[0015] FIGS. 5A and 5B are photographs of alternative embodiments of access devices according to the present disclosure.

[0016] Other aspects of the present disclosure shall be more readily understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the following detailed description, neither of which should be considered limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0017] In this description, the directional prepositions of up, upwardly, down, downwardly, front, back, top, upper, bottom, lower, left, right and other such terms refer to the device as it is oriented and appears in the drawings and are used for convenience only; they are not intended to be limiting or to imply that the device has to be used or positioned in any particular orientation. It will be readily understood that the components of the present disclosure, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of certain examples of presently contemplated embodiments in accordance with the disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of an access device 100 having a generally rectangular-shaped, planar strap 105 capable of folding over itself to form a loop 110 as shown by dashed lines in FIG. 1 (FIG. 2), the strap being made of a flexible material such as, but not limited to leather, faux leather, rubber, plastic, nylon and the like. In some examples, a chain is used instead of a strap, and it will be understood that the instant disclosure anticipates the use of a chain in a similar manner to the strap illustrated herein. Strap 105 may include a plurality of apertures 111 formed therein adjacent a first end 102. Strap 105 may further include one or more fasteners 112 such as, but not limited to buttons, hooks, Velcro.TM. and the like, the fasteners being disposed on or adjacent a second end 104 opposite the first end 102, and being mateable with one or more of the apertures 111. Each fastener 112 may be selectively engaged with one or more of the apertures 111 at varying distances so that the strap is folded over itself to create loops 110 of varying lengths by the user. In some examples, the strap 105 is between 5.0 and 10.0 inches in length. If the strap 105 were folded to form a loop end-to-end the resulting loop would have a perimeter equal to the length of the strap. Instead, portions of the first end 102 of the strap may overlap with a second end 104 of the strap when the fasteners 112 are coupled to the apertures 111 such that the perimeter of the resulting loop 110 is smaller than the length of the strap 105. For example, the loop may include an overlap of between 0.5 and 2.0 inches between the first end 102 and the second end 104. Thus, due to the overlapped portions, in some examples, the loop may have a perimeter of between 3.0 and 9.5 inches. If the perimeter of the loop is less than 3.0 inches, it may be too short to properly secure it around a handle of a handbag without tipping the compartments out of the bag. Alternatively, a loop perimeter that is larger than 9.5 inches may make the access device unnecessarily bulky and prevent the access device of being quickly located in a position adjacent the bag handle by the user. Loops having a perimeter of between 3.0 and 9.5 inches will allow the access device to dangle from the handbag strap to which it is attached by a suspension distance of between 1.5 and 5 inches, which is sufficient to maintain the access device in a reachable position that is still secured within the handbag. The loop may be opened for securing it around a bag handle and for sliding compartments with various attachment mechanisms onto the loop.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, loop 110 may terminate in a clip 113. In some examples, clip 113 may include, but is not limited to, a lobster claw clip, buckle, button, snap clip, an openable ring and the like and made of a rigid material such as, metal, wood, plastic, and the like. Clip 113 may have a diameter of approximately 0.5 and 1.0 inches, and the size of the clip will be considered when selecting the size of the strap discussed above. For example, if the device is to be suspended 4.0 inches from the handbag strap, a clip of 1.0 inches may be used with a strap having a perimeter of approximately 6.0 inches (which when folded over spaces the access device from the handbag strap by an additional 3.0 inches). Clip 113 may be used to secure a number of necessity compartments 114 comprised of various-sized, square-shaped, planar compartments with slots to hold personal items such as a driver's license, credit cards, glasses, cell phones, headphones, membership cards, and other similar items. Additional necessities that may be stored in the compartments may include keys, pens, pencils, ear buds, glasses, makeup, electronic cords, medications, lotion, and other common items. It may also include small items the owner reaches for multiple times a day that would have normally gotten lost at the bottom of the bag or placed in one of the many built-in pockets, resulting in the owner having to dig around for the item they need.

[0020] Each compartment may comprise varying materials for appearance or to keep contents in place. For example, suede may be utilized to help keep keys in place, and satin or satin-type materials may be utilized to make contained necessities slide out easily. Other materials for the compartment(s) may include canvas, nylon, leather, clear plastic, or combinations thereof. Types of leather are varied, and one or more leather types may be used. Additionally, the compartments may be of varying sizes, from small to large, but still smaller than the handbag in which it will be placed.

[0021] Each compartment may also have a closure mechanism to keep contents therewithin, such closure mechanisms including zippers, buttons, magnets, Velcro.TM. and the like. Such closure mechanisms are optional as the compartments are kept upright at all times, and the items properly secured within the compartments. Each compartment 114 may be coupled to clip 113. For example, each compartment may include a tab 115 and a generally circular grommet 117 at one end thereof, the grommet being capable of receiving a portion of the clip 113 to secure the two portions together. Clip 113 may be formed as an openable circular element. In some other alternative, clip 113 is D-shaped to provide additional stability of the compartments and limit its range of motion within the grommets 117. As shown, each compartment includes a designated tab and grommet and each compartment is separately coupled to the clip 113. The compartments may instead be attached to the loop by hooks, buttons, magnets, small loops, or combinations thereof.

[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates an access device 100 placed within traditional handbags 10. As shown, the loop 110 of each access device 100 wraps around a handle of handbag 10 and secures the access device to the handbag. Openings of each compartment are oriented toward the user. This enhances the speed at which a user can access necessities such as keys, credit cards, phones and the like. As shown, loop 110 is connected to necessity compartments and can be partially exposed from the top of a handbag. For example, if a user is in a long, checkout line and needs to pay for an item quickly using a credit card, they may simply reach for the loop and access them quickly rather than searching for a purse that may be buried within their bag. Alternatively, the user may pull the entire compartment out if they wish. The compartments may also provide tidiness and organization within the handbag.

[0023] Alternatively, instead of separate compartments, an access device may include a receptacle having connected compartments and additional elements such as stabilizing elements to retain the access device in a predetermined orientation within the handbag. FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of an access device 300 including a receptacle 319 having a number of connected compartments 314,324,334. It will be understood that although a receptacle having three compartments are shown, more or less than three compartments are possible (e.g., two, four, five, six or more compartments.) In this configuration, all three compartments of the receptacle 319 are bound together. Specifically, each compartment 314,324,334 is formed of pairs of walls 315,325,335 (each pair having a first wall denoted with an "a" and a second wall denotated with a "b" so that pairs of walls 315 include 315a and a second wall 315b, for example). Pairs of walls 315 are coupled together along the bottom, and the sides, but not from the top so that an open pouch is formed. In some examples, a shared wall is formed between adjacent compartments so that instead of coupling two walls together, a single wall forms a part of each of the two adjacent compartments. Additionally, second wall 315b of first compartment 314 is coupled to first wall 325a of second compartment 324, and second wall 325b of second compartment 324 is coupled to first wall 335a of third compartment 334 as shown so that all three compartments are coupled together with their openings facing in the same direction. The resulting configuration results in an accordion file-like receptacle having connected compartments.

[0024] A rigid stabilizing element, for example, in the form of a stiff tab 330 as shown, or a rigid loop or rigid clip, is further coupled between first and second compartments 314,324 and extends away from the openings of the compartments, the stiff tab 330 having a grommet for coupling to a clip as described above. In at least some examples, the tab 330 is formed of a hard plastic or other rigid material so as to prevent or reduce the twisting of the compartments within the bag.

[0025] Due to the stabilizing elements and the accordion-like shape, necessities may be clustered together, and a user can opt to have several necessity compartments (e.g., single compartments, receptacles having connected compartments, or combinations thereof) clustered together on a single ring or clip affixed to the loop. For example, if a user is walking to their car and needs to unlock the door and their cell phone rings, they may quickly access both the cell phone and car keys at once.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4, an access device 400 may include a single strap 405 having a single clip 413, the clip being coupled to multiple receptacles 419a,419b, each receptacle having connected compartments. In this case, each receptacle includes two connected compartments formed in a manner similar to that described above. Each receptacle further includes a designated rigid tab 430a,430b for coupling to the clip 413 of the device. As shown, the orientations of rigid tabs and its securement to clip 413 allows the two tabs to increase stability of the receptacles. Specifically, the rigid tabs may prevent or decrease the chance of the receptacles twisting within a handbag. Additionally, rigid tabs 430a,430b stabilize the receptacles and keep them receptacles upright within the bag so that items within the compartments are easily reachable by the user. The stabilizing of the rigid tabs also makes it less likely that contents within the compartments will be spilled into the handbag.

[0027] Different necessity compartments may be interchangeable. For example, if a user discards multiple credit card accounts, they can simply remove the necessity compartment with the cards by unclipping it from the loop.

[0028] Additionally, using the disclosed devices and techniques a user to quickly store the disclosure in various handbags quickly or transport the access devices from one bag to another bag easily. For example, if a user is going from a formal party to the beach, they can simply remove the loop from their formal handbag and throw it into a beach bag containing towels and sunscreen.

[0029] Having necessities stored in separate, easily identified compartments allows for quick access to the required necessity based on loop position. Each compartment may be designed to provide easy, one-handed opening and closing. The compartments may be closed by buttons, snaps, magnets, loops, zippers, or combinations thereof. For example, one or more compartments may be closed by zippers in order to prevent loss of small items, such as pills, hair ties, contact lens cases, coins, or combinations thereof. Some compartments may be card holders that hold cards tightly in place until opened. Additionally, the access device, through its stabilizing device allows for the pockets to maintain their upright position, making it less likely to easily move and spill the contents without the help of the owner.

[0030] The system is customizable as the number and type of compartments may be determined by the user. The loop may be attached to a bag handle or left loose in the bag. Changing of bags may be accomplished by simply removing the loop with associated compartments and moving them as one unit to the new bag. This allows for quick changes between bags for different activities, outfits, situations, or combinations thereof.

[0031] Other variations of the access devices are also possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, instead of a rigid tab, other rigid or semi-rigid components may be used to keep the compartment(s) upright. For example, a leather, suede or other loop or piece of hardware may be used to connect the compartments to the loop as shown. Likewise, as shown in FIG. 5B, hardware or other rigid components may be used instead of, or in addition to a strap to connect to the compartments.

[0032] It is briefly noted that upon a reading this disclosure, those skilled in the art will recognize various means for carrying out these intended features of the disclosure. As such it is to be understood that other methods, applications and systems adapted to the task may be configured to carry out these features and are therefore considered to be within the scope and intent of the present disclosure, and are anticipated. With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the herein disclosed disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure herein described is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0033] As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. As used in the claims to describe the various inventive aspects and embodiments, "comprising" means including, but not limited to, whatever follows the word "comprising". Thus, use of the term "comprising" indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present. By "consisting of" is meant including, and limited to, whatever follows the phrase "consisting of". Thus, the phrase "consisting of" indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, and that no other elements may be present. By "consisting essentially of" is meant including any elements listed after the phrase, and limited to other elements that do not interfere with or contribute to the activity or action specified in the disclosure for the listed elements. Thus, the phrase "consisting essentially of" indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present depending upon whether or not they affect the activity or action of the listed elements.

[0034] The objects features, and advantages of the present disclosure, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements described in this specification and hereinafter described in the following detailed description which fully discloses the disclosure, but should not be considered as placing limitations thereon.

[0035] It is additionally noted and anticipated that although the device is shown in its most simple form, various components and aspects of the device may be differently shaped or slightly modified when forming the disclosure herein. As such those skilled in the art will appreciate the descriptions and depictions set forth in this disclosure or merely meant to portray examples of preferred modes within the overall scope and intent of the disclosure, and are not to be considered limiting in any manner. While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the disclosure have been shown and described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instances, some features of the disclosure may be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth. It should also be understood that various substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. An access device for storing items within a handbag comprising: a flexible strap having a first end and a second end, the strap including at least one aperture adjacent the first end, and a fastener adjacent the second end, the fastener being coupleable to the at least one aperture so that the strap forms a loop; a clip coupled to the strap; and at least one compartment being closed at a lower end, and side ends and defining an upper opening, the at least one compartment having a rigid tab that is coupleable to the clip.

2. The access device of claim 1, wherein the at least one compartment includes multiple compartments.

3. The access device of claim 2, wherein the multiple compartments include at least two compartments that are coupled together to form a receptacle.

4. The access device of claim 3, wherein each compartment in a receptacle includes a pair of walls, at least one of the pair of walls of each compartment being directly coupled to an adjacent compartment.

5. The access device of claim 4, wherein the at least one compartment includes multiple receptacles, each receptacle having a designated rigid tab.

6. The access device of claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture includes multiple apertures so that a perimeter of the loop is adjustable.

7. The access device of claim 1, wherein the rigid tab includes a grommet, and the clip includes an openable ring, the grommet being coupleable to the openable clip.

8. The access device of claim 1, wherein the strap has a length of between 4.2 and 6.7 inches, and the loop has an adjustable perimeter of between 4.0 and 6.5 inches.

9. The access device of claim 1, wherein the loop has an adjustable perimeter of between 4 and 6 inches.

10. The access device of claim 2, wherein at least one of the multiple compartments includes a closure mechanism to open and close the upper opening of the at least one of the multiple compartments.

11. The access device of claim 10, wherein the closure mechanism is a zipper.

12. The access device of claim 2, wherein the multiple compartments includes compartments of different sizes.

13. The access device of claim 2, wherein the multiple compartments includes compartments of a same size.

14. An access device for storing items within a handbag comprising: a flexible strap having a first end and a second end, the strap including at least one aperture adjacent the first end, and a fastener adjacent the second end, the fastener being coupleable to the at least one aperture so that the strap forms a loop; a clip coupled to the strap; a plurality of receptacles, each receptacle having multiple compartments, each compartment being closed at a lower end, and side ends and defining an upper opening; and a plurality of rigid tabs, each rigid tab being coupled to the clip at a first and, and to one of the receptacles at a second end.

15. The access device of claim 14, wherein the at least one aperture includes multiple apertures so that a perimeter of the loop is adjustable.

16. The access device of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of rigid tabs includes a grommet, and the clip includes an openable ring, the grommet being coupleable to the openable clip.

17. The access device of claim 14, wherein at least one of the compartments includes a closure mechanism to close a respective upper opening.

18. The access device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of receptacles include compartments of different sizes.

19. The access device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of receptacles include receptacles of different sizes.

20. The access device of claim 14, wherein the strap includes at least one of a leather or a faux leather.