AU783781B2 - Fruit picking bag - Google Patents

Description

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P/00/001I1 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

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Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service in Australia: Invention Title: BUSH'S BLINDS PTY LTD Glenn Bush Freehills Carter Smith Beadle 101 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia FRUIT PICKING BAG Details of Associated Provisional Application: PQ6244 filed 15 March 2000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 00oo4717508 2 FRUIT PICKING BAG This invention relates to a carry bag suitable for holding a number of individual articles loaded manually into the bag by an operator or user. In particular, the invention relates to a carry bag worn by fruit pickers during manual picking of fruit.

In a number of industries and in particular the fruit picking industry, there is a need to provide carry bags which are loaded manually in order to move produce or other goods from one location to another. In the fruit picking industry, fruit pickers often use a bag which is provided with shoulder straps to hold the picked fruit. Once the bag is full, the bag is taken and emptied into a transport bin or hopper for sorting and/or storage.

While there are varying designs of carry bags, most bags are adapted to be worn on the front of the user and having an opening in the top to allow manual loading of the bag by the operator. However, so as not to bruise or damage the fruit or produce and for the comfort of the user, it is preferable the sides of the bags are soft and pliable. While a soft and compliant bag is comfortable for the user to wear, such a bag has the disadvantage of being difficult to load through the soft and compliant opening. Furthermore all of the weight of the carry bag is S supported by the shoulders and upper back of the user causing some discomfort on the user.

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a carry bag which is easier to load than other soft and compliant carry bags.

A carry bag to be worn by a user including shoulder straps for supporting a pliable bag oe•,e 2~ 0 body having an upper rigid frame member supporting an opening in said bag for receiving *0 objects to be carried by said bag, the upper frame member being substantially D-shaped with the S shape of the side of the frame to be in the proximity to the user being curved to receive the body of the user; a lower rigid frame member to maintain a carry space within the bag body, the lower frame member being shaped to conform to the contour of the body of the user and being spaced from the upper frame member to enable the lower rigid frame member to rest on the hips of the user, as a result, to allow the hips to partially support the bag; and a lower bag outlet through which object in said bag body are removed, said bag outlet having a closure means for retaining objects within the said bag body. The lower frame member 004707946 3 a lower bag outlet through which object in said bag body are removed, said bag outlet having a closure means for retaining objects within the said bag body. The lower frame member may be substantially D-shaped with the shape of the side of the frame to be in proximity to and partially supported by the hips of the user.

It is thought that by providing a lower frame member to partially support the carry bag against the hips of the user, the load of the bag can be spread over a larger range of muscle in the body of the wearer reducing the strain on individual muscle groups thus further increasing the comfort of the user.

It is also preferable that the bag outlet of the bag body is positioned to allow objects to be removed from the bag body under the action of gravity. The closure means may include a flap preferably positioned below the lower frame member. The flap preferably provides a chute through which the lower gravity feed of objects from the bag body can be facilitated.

Thus in order to unload the bag the user simply detaches the closure means and lowers the flap to below the level of the bag body. The goods within the bag body then flow under the action of gravity from the bag across or through the flap which may be supported by the user.

Further features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment and accompanying drawings in which: o Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, 20 Figure 2 is the embodiment of Figure 1 in which one side of the closure means has been disconnected, e •gee Figure 3 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a side view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

While the invention will now be described with reference to a carry bag for fruit picking, this preferred use of the bag is not intended to be limiting on the articles which can be collected and carried in the bag or the use of the bag.

Referring the drawings the carry bag 1 of the invention including a bag body 2 and straps 3, 4 attached to the bag body 2. The bag body 2 is produced from a compliant material which is preferably a textile material such as canvas or a soft polymeric material to provide a pliable side wall 5 and bottom 6 to the bag body 2.

The bag body 2 includes a rigid upper frame member 7 which maintains an opening in the top of the bag body to enable fruit or like articles to be readily manually loaded into the bag 1.

The bag of the invention is generally intended to be worn against the body of the wearer with straps 3, 4 supporting the bag 1 over the shoulders of the wearer.

The upper frame member 7 as shown in Figure 2 is preferably substantially D-shaped with the side of the upper frame member 7 which is intended to be against the wearer shaped to conform to their body. The upper frame member 7 is preferably formed from a substantially rigid tubing or bar material such as aluminium tubing or even a polymeric rod material.

The upper frame member 7 is received within a sleeve formed in the upper i 15 edge region of the bag body 2. Additional padding may be provided around the region of the upper frame member 7 to reduce damage to fruit or the like objects Sbeing placed in the bag 1.

The bag is also provided with an outlet preferably in the lower regions of the Sbag body 2. The outlet is provided with a closure means which is preferably a flap which may be folded against the bag body and secured to close the bag body. By folding the closure means against the bag body, the bottom 6 of the bag body is formed.

When the closure means is released, as partially shown in Figure 2 and the outlet lowered, the bottom of the bag body also is unfolded and the contents within the bag body are able to flow out of the outlet. In the embodiment shown, the flap 8 acts as a dispensing chute through which the contents pass to the desired location such as a handling bin or hopper.

The illustrated and most convenient form of securement is a lanyard attaching at one end to eyelets in the flap 8 and at the other end to a hook 9 in the bag body 2. The lanyard 10 is fastened tightly to hold the flap 8 to the bag body. The lanyard 10 is preferably provided with a securement device such as a knot 11 to lock RNM:DL 40432043.CAP 15 March 2001 the lanyard in position on the hook 9. In order to further maintain a carry space within the bag body 2, a lower rigid frame member 12 may be provided. As with the upper frame member 7, the lower frame member 12 may be substantially D-shaped with the side of the lower frame member 12 which is intended to be against the wearer shaped to conform to their body. The lower frame member 12 is preferably formed from rod or tubing formed from a suitably rigid material such as aluminium or even a polymeric rod material such as polypropylene. The lower frame member 12 is received within a sleeve formed in the bottom of the carry space of the bag body 2 with additional padding preferably provided around the region of the lower frame member 12 to reduce damage to fruit or the like contents in the bag.

The lower frame member 12 is spaced vertically from the upper frame member 7 to maintain and define the carry space within the bag body 2.

The shoulder straps 3, 4 may be attached to the bag body in proximity to the upper frame member and are adjustable by buckles or a similar alternative adjustment 15 means. By adjusting the length of the straps 3, 4, the position of the bag body 2 e° relative to the wearer can be adjusted for ease of wearing and comfort.

It is believed that by correctly positioning at least the upper frame member 7 and preferably the lower frame member 12, relative to the body of the wearer and particularly the lower frame member relative to the hips of the wearer, that a cantilever arrangement with the lower frame member 12 can be established thereby spreading the load of the bag and its contents over a larger number of muscles in the body of the wearer. This reduces the strain on individual muscle groups particularly in the back of the wearer and may possibly lead to a reduction of back strain in the wearer.

Since modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may be readily effected by persons skilled in the art, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described, by way of example, hereinabove.

RNM:DL 40432043.CAP 15 March 2001

Claims (8)

1. A carry bag to be worn by a user including shoulder straps for supporting a pliable bag body having an upper rigid frame member supporting an opening in said bag for receiving objects to be carried by said bag, the upper frame member being substantially D-shaped with the shape of the side of the frame to be in the proximity to the user being curved to receive the body of the user; a lower rigid frame member to maintain a carry space within the bag body, the lower frame member being shaped to conform to the contour of the body of the user and being spaced from the upper frame member to enable the lower rigid frame member to rest on the hips of the user and, as a result, to allow the hips to partially support the bag; and a lower bag outlet through which object in said bag body are removed, said bag outlet having a closure means for retaining objects within the said bag body.

2. A carry bag according to claim 1, wherein the upper rigid frame member is shaped to e conform to the contour of the body of the user. 15

3. A carry bag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lower frame member is substantially D-shaped with the shape of the side of the frame to be in proximity to and partially supported by the hips of the user.

4. A carry bag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lower frame member partially supports the carry bag against the hips of the user.

5. A carry bag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag outlet of the bag body is positioned to allow objects to be removed from the bag body under the action of gravity.

6. A carry bag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the closure means includes a flap positioned below the lower frame member. 004706487 7

7. A carry bag according to claim 6, wherein the flap provides a chute through which the gravity feed of objects from the bag body can be facilitated.

8. A carry bag substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated 8 September 2005 Freehills Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: Bush's Blinds Pty Ltd *g*