EP3082502A1

EP3082502A1 - A rucksack for connecting to electrical devices

Info

Publication number: EP3082502A1
Application number: EP14812782.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Simon John HOLDEN; James Leonard Monks
Original assignee: UK Secretary of State for Defence
Current assignee: UK Secretary of State for Defence
Priority date: 2013-12-19
Filing date: 2014-12-13
Publication date: 2016-10-26
Also published as: GB201322484D0; WO2015092346A1

Abstract

There is provided a rucksack (5) comprising shoulder straps (12, 13) for holding the rucksack upon a person's back, and a rigid framework (21, 22, 23) for maintaining an overall shape of the rucksack. The rigid framework comprises electrical connectors (21, 22) for connecting to electrical devices (38, 50); and electrical conductors spanning between the electrical connectors for transferring power or data between the electrical devices.

Description

A RUCKSACK FOR CONNECTING TO ELECTRICAL DEVICES

Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a rucksack, and in particular to a rucksack for connecting to electrical devices.

Background to the Invention

Rucksacks are commonly used to assist persons in carrying around physical items, . and a rucksack is generally defined as a storage device with shoulder straps which allow the storage device to be carried on a person's back.

When a rucksack is used to carry electrical devices, the electrical devices may be out- of-reach of the person carrying the rucksack. Furthermore, the electrical devices may be limited by their internal power supplies and recharging of the electrical devices may be problematic.

There may be a particular desire to use an electrical device whilst it is inside of a rucksack, since rucksacks are typically used for manual transportation of items with the user being present. Other types of storage devices may be intended for mechanical transportation or for simple storage of items, where persons are not present to use the items in the storage devices^'.

A known rucksack comprises a solar panel that is built into the rucksack and that provides a source of electrical power for a device inside of the rucksack. However, this can add significant weight to the rucksack, and it may be difficult to make use of the device whilst the device is inside the rucksack. WO 2013/126459 describes a backpack having an interior compartment for holding one or more portable wireless communication components. The compartment has a panel that is adapted to electrically connect the wireless

communication component to an exterior device, but a shroud arrangement is required to protect the electrical connectors. Wiring harnesses for military applications are known (for example WO 97/27442) but tend to be specialised and unsuitable .for use as, a rucksack. It is therefore an aim of the invention to provide an improved rucksack.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a rucksack comprising shoulder straps for holding the rucksack upon a person's back, and a rigid framework for maintaining an overall shape of the rucksack. The rigid framework comprises electrical connectors for connecting to electrical devices; and electrical conductors spanning between the electrical connectors for transferring power or data between the electrical devices.

The integration of electrical connectors and electrical conductors into the framework of the rucksack provides an electrical network within the rucksack without adding too much weight to the rucksack. The rigid framework provides structural support to the rucksack and helps maintain the shape of the rucksack.

The rucksack may comprise a flexible material that is supported by the rigid framework, and which forms a storage cavity. The rigid framework may for example be predominantly formed of aluminium, and the flexible material may for example be a fabric canvas material. The storage cavity may be used to store items to be carried within the rucksack. The rucksack may alternatively be referred to as a backpack.

Preferably, the rucksack comprises one or more storage compartments which form storage cavities for electrical devices. The storage compartments may be formed of flexible canvas material. The storage compartments may be mounted by clips or other suitable attachment means, preferably re-usable attachment means. In this way, storage compartments can be mounted and then removed and/or interchanged. This modular approach enables logistical flexibility, rapid deployment and ease of use, which can be particularly beneficial for disaster relief operations and so on.

Advantageously, at least one of the electrical connectors may be within the storage cavity, so that an electrical device can be stored and operated within the rucksack via the electrical connector, for example if the electrical device is a communications device. One or more of the electrical connectors may be outside of the storage cavity, for example for mounting lighting device(s) to the electrical connector(s). The electrical connectors and the electrical conductors connected therebetween may enable two or more electrical devices to share power and/or data between themselves.

The rigid framework may be formed of a plurality of structural members, for example two of the structural members may be spaced apart from one another and configured to run substantially parallel to the spine of a person when the rucksack is worn by the person. Then an electrical device may be mounted to the two structural members in an orientation perpendicular to the two structural members, normally horizontal when the person wearing the rucksack is standing upright. The two structural members may be present at opposite sides of the person's spine to help balance the weight of the electrical device about the person's spine.

The two structural members that are configured to run substantially parallel to the spine of a person when the rucksack is worn by the person may be referred to as upright members, and the plurality of structural members may further comprise at least one cross member, the cross member being connected to and spanning between the upright members. Optionally, the cross member(s) may be perpendicular to the upright members, or alternatively could extend therebetween non-perpendicularly. The cross members(s) help provide rigidity to the rigid framework, to fix the relative physical positions of the two upright members.

One or more of the structural members may be a rail mount that has the electrical connectors and electrical conductors. The rail mount may provide multiple electrical connectors spaced equidistantly along the rail mount. Furthermore, the rail mount may be shaped to provide a standardised mount to which electrical devices can be mounted. For example, the rail mount may be compliant with STANAG 2324 or 4694 standards. Such rail mounts are commonly referred to as Rail Integration Systems or Rail Accessory Systems, and one example of a rail mount is described in US 7,627,975.

The electrical connectors may all be of the same type as one another so that multiple electrical devices having a common connector type can be interchanged with one another.

The electrical conductors may form a bus to which the electrical connectors are connected, and the bus may be used for transferring power or data between electrical devices connected to the electrical connectors. For example, the bus may provide power lines and data lines, the power lines may be used to distribute power between the electrical devices and the data lines may be used to distribute data between the electrical devices. The electrical connectors may be inductively coupled to the electrical conductors.

The rucksack may have a control device connected to the bus, the control device for sending control data to electrical devices connected to the bus via the electrical connectors. A user interface device may be connected to the control device so that a user can control the electrical devices that are connected to the electrical connections through a single interface. The user interface may for example be a microphone connected to the control device so that the user can issue verbal commands to the control device to control the electrical devices. The control device may include voice recognition software for interpreting vocal commands.

The control device may for example be mounted on one of the cross members. The cross members may not be rail mounts themselves, although the electrical conductors may extend along or through the cross members for connection to the control device.

Furthermore, the control device may include speaker recognition software for authenticating vocal commands. For example, vocal commands may only be acted upon if they are issued by a speaker that has been registered with the speaker recognition software as being a genuine speaker.

According to. a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a rucksack according to the first aspect, and an electrical device. The electrical device has an electrical connector for connecting to one of the electrical connectors of the rigid framework, and may be configured to mount to the rigid framework. Accordingly, the mounting of the electrical device to the rigid framework may secure the electrical device in place on or within the rucksack.

The electrical device may be a battery device for supplying electrical power to other electrical devices connected to other ones of the electrical connectors of the rigid framework. Then, the other electrical devices do not need to rely on their own internal power sources in order to function, and can all be powered from a single type of battery device that fits the electrical connectors of the rigid framework. Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a rucksack according to a first embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a rucksack according to a second embodiment of the invention.

The drawings are purely illustrative and are not to scale. Same or similar reference signs denote same or similar features.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the schematic diagram of Fig. 1, which shows a person 1 wearing a rucksack 5. The rucksack 5 comprises a left shoulder strap 12 which passes over the person's left shoulder and a right shoulder strap 13 which passes over the person's right shoulder to secure the rucksack to the person's back. The left shoulder strap 12 and the right shoulder strap 13 are connected together at the person's chest (not shown in Figs) to improve the retention of the rucksack upon the person's back.

The left and right shoulder straps 12 and 13 are both connected, at both ends of each shoulder strap, to a flexible material layer 11. The flexible material layer 11 is a canvas material, for example woven cotton and/or nylon. The left and right shoulder straps 12 and 13 are formed of the same canvas material, and are provided with padding at the regions where the left and right shoulder straps bear upon the person's shoulders.

The rucksack 5 further comprises a rigid framework formed by five structural members, including two upright members 21 and 22, and three cross members 23 which are connected to and span between the upright members 21 and 22 perpendicular to the upright members 21 and 22. The structural members are primarily formed of lightweight composite materials, for example carbon/graphite composites, although other lightweight metals such as aluminium could alternatively be used.

The upright members 21 and 22 are connected to the flexible material layer 11 and maintain the overall shape of the rucksack. For example, if the structural members 21 and 22 were not present then the rucksack 5 could simply collapse via deformation of the flexible material layer 11. The flexible material layer 11 is connected to the upright members 21 and 22 by rivets. The cross members 23 are not directly connected to the flexible material layer 11, although could be if desired.

The structural members 21 and 22 run substantially parallel to the spine of the person 1 whilst being worn by the person 1 , and in this embodiment are rail mounts for connecting to electrical devices. The rails mounts provide both mechanical support and electrical connectivity to the devices which are connected to them, and the rail mounts each include electrical conductors that form a bus between the connected electrical devices. The rail mounts are similar to the rail mounts disclosed in US 7,627,975, although alternatively may for example be Picatinny rails, Weaver rails, NATO Accessory Rail (NAR) rails compliant with STANAG 4694, or other types of rail mount as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The use of a rail mount may allow an electrical device to be selectively connected to either a weapon fitted with the same type of rail mount, or to the rucksack, depending on user requirements.

The rail mounts are electrically connected to a control unit 26. The control unit 26 is mounted on an uppermost one of the cross members 23, and is connected to the rail mounts 21 and 22 by electrical conductors 25. A microphone 28 is placed in the left shoulder strap 12 at the shoulder of the person 1 and is connected to the control unit 26 via conductors 27. The control unit 26 comprises a speaker 29. Alternatively, the speaker 29 could be remote from the control unit 26 and electrically connected to the control unit 26, for example in a similar manner to the microphone 28.

The rucksack 5 further comprises two storage compartments 30 and 40, which are formed of flexible canvas material and which form storage cavities for electrical devices. The storage compartments 30 and 40 each comprise a base 34 or 44 and a lid 32 or 42 which can be opened to place items within the storage compartment. The storage compartments 30 and 40 further comprise mounts 36 and 46 respectively for connecting to the rigid framework, by moving the storage compartments 30 and 40 jn directions Al and A2 respectively so that the mounts 36 and 46 each clip onto the structural members 21 and 22. Accordingly, the storage compartments are supported by the rigid framework.

The storage compartments 30 and 40 are each shown as storing an electrical device; the storage compartment 30 storing a battery 38 and the storage compartment 40 storing a radio 50. The storage compartment 40 is fully filled by the radio 40, although the storage compartment 30 has surplus space within it, which the person 1 may use to carry any additional items they require.

The rail mounts 21 and 22 provide a series of electrical connectors to which the battery 38 and the radio 50 can be electrically connected, either directly connected or indirectly connected. In this embodiment, the radio 50 is directly connected to the rail mounts 21 and 22 via an aperture through the mount 46, and the battery 38 is indirectly connected to the rail mounts 21 and 22 via an electrical interface that is provided as part of the mount 36, the electrical interface being directly connected to the rails mounts 21 and 22 and to the battery 38, and providing an electrical connection therebetween.

The rail mounts 21 and 22 comprise electrical conductors forming a bus which electrically connects the control unit 26, the battery 38, and the radio 50 together. The battery 38 provides a source of electrical power for the control unit 26 and the radio 50, which may be in addition to internal power sources of the control unit 26 and the radio 50. The control unit 26 acts as a bus master of the bus, and is a central point of control of the devices connected to the bus. The control unit 26 is configured to detect, monitor, and/or control the devices that are connected to the rail mounts 21 and 22, for example to monitor the level of charge in the battery 38 and signal an alert when the charge in the battery 38 drops below a predetermined level.

The radio 50 comprises various controls 52, which can be remotely operated by signals sent to the radio 50 via the rail mounts 21 and 22. In one usage scenario, the person 1 wishes to use the radio 50 to make a radio call to another person. The person 1 speaks into the microphone 28 and issues a vocal command to make a radio call to a person X, the vocal command being picked up by the microphone 28 and interpreted by voice recognition software of the control unit 26. In this embodiment, the control unit 26 also comprises speaker recognition software, with which the person 1 has previously been registered, and the speaker recognition software checks that the vocal command has been issued by a registered speaker (person) before acting upon the vocal command.

The control unit 26 signals to the radio 50 that a radio call to person X is required, and the radio 50 initiates the radio call. The person 1 may also issue vocal commands to the control unit 26 that specify what settings should be applied for the radio call, for example what radio channel to use. The radio 50 outputs audio data to the control unit 26 via the bus, and the control unit outputs the audio data through the speaker 29, enabling the person 1 to have radio call with the person X via the microphone 28 and the speaker 29. Various radio call control protocols for vocally establishing radio calls are known in the art and could be implemented within the control unit 26, for example as currently used in "hands free" car kits for making telephone calls whilst driving.

A second embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Fig. 2. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, except for that the rucksack additionally comprises a storage compartment 80 which envelopes the rigid framework and which provides a large storage cavity in which items such as electrical devices can be held.

The storage compartment 80 is formed of a flexible canvas material having a back side 85, which is similar to the flexible material layer 11 of Fig. 1, a front side 86, left and right sides 81 and 82 respectively, which each span between the back and front sides 85 and 86, and top and bottom sides 83 and 84, which also each span between the back and front sides 85 and 86.

The structural members 21 and 22 are connected to base members 71 and 72 respectively, and the base members 71 and 72 extend away from the structural members 21 and 22 perpendicular to the structural members 21 and 22 and the back side 85. The bottom side is attached to the base members 71 and 72, and the base members 71 and 72 help to support the weight of whatever items are placed within the rucksack. The cross members 23 extend slightly beyond the region between the upright members 21 and 22, and are connected to the left and right sides 81 and^~82, and the upright members 21 and 22 extend slightly beyond the regions between the cross members 23, and are connected to the top and bottom sides 83 and 84.

The top side 83 typically comprises an opening (not shown for clarity) through which items may be placed into the storage compartment 80. For example, the connection of the top side 83 with the left side 81, front side 86, and right side 82 may be formed by a zip, which can be opened to allow access into the storage compartment (cavity) 80.

The storage compartments 30 and 40 of Fig. 1 could be placed within the storage compartment 80 and affixed to the rail mounts 21 and 22, or the battery 38 and the radio 50 could be removed from the storage compartments 30 and 40 and then placed within the storage compartment 80 and affixed to the rail mounts 21 and 22.

Since the control unit 26 is inside of the storage compartment 80, in this embodiment a speaker 88 is remotely connected to the control unit 26 via a cable 89 so that the audio output by the control unit 26 can be more easily heard by the person wearing the rucksack.

Various other embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims will also be apparent to the skilled person. For example, other devices such as lamps could also be attached to the rail mounts 21 and 22 for lighting and/or recharging. The rail mounts 21 and 22 may form different parts of the structural framework, and/or the structural framework may have an alternative configuration. Furthermore, only one rail mount may be provided as part of the structural framework.

Claims

1. A rucksack, the rucksack comprising shoulder straps for holding the rucksack upon a . person's back, and a rigid framework for maintaining an overall shape of the rucksack, wherein the rigid framework comprises electrical connectors for connecting to electrical devices; and electrical conductors spanning between the electrical connectors for transferring power or data between the electrical devices.

2. The rucksack of claim 1, wherein the rucksack further comprises a flexible material that is supported by the rigid framework and which forms a storage cavity.

3. The rucksack of claim 2, wherein at least one of the electrical connectors is within the storage cavity.

4. The rucksack of claim 1 , 2 or 3, wherein the rigid framework is formed of a plurality of structural members.

5. The rucksack of claim 4, wherein the plurality of structural members comprise two structural members that are spaced apart from one another and that are configured to run substantially parallel to the spine of a person when the rucksack is worn by the person.

6. The rucksack of claim 5, wherein the plurality of structural members further comprise at least one cross member, the cross member being connected to and spanning between the two structural members that are configured to run substantially parallel to the spine of a person when the rucksack is worn by the person.

7. The rucksack of claim 4, 5, or 6, wherein at least one of the structural members is a rail mount having the electrical connectors and electrical conductors.

8. The rucksack of any preceding claim, wherein all of the electrical connectors are of the same type as one another.

9. The rucksack of any preceding claim, wherein the electrical conductors form a bus to which the electrical connectors are connected, and wherein the rucksack has a control device that is connected to the bus, the control device configured for sending control data to the electrical devices via the bus and the electrical connectors.

10. The rucksack of claim 9, wherein the rucksack has a user interface device connected to the control device.

11. The rucksack of claim 10, wherein the user interface device is a microphone and the control device comprises voice recognition software for interpreting vocal commands picked up by the microphone, and is configured to control the electrical devices according to the vocal commands.

12. The rucksack of claim 11, wherein the control device further comprises speaker recognition software for authenticating vocal commands from a user.

13. The rucksack of any preceding claim and one of the electrical devices, wherein the electrical device is configured to mount on the rigid framework and comprises an electrical connector for connecting to one of the electrical connectors of the rigid framework.

.

14. The rucksack and electrical device of claim 13, wherein the electrical device is a battery device for supplying electrical power to other electrical devices connected to other ones of the electrical connectors of the rigid framework.

15. A rucksack substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.