GB2285797A - Carrier bag for use in vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

A carrier bag (1) with a seat belt clip (24) provided thereon which enables the bag (1) to be attached to diagonal seat belt (18) and held in place on a car seat (19). The bag (1) preferably also includes means (13) on the front thereof to attach the bag to lap belt (17). The bag may be of plastics or plastics-coated material and is preferably thermally insulating. It may be used for take-away foods or bottles, in which latter case it may include an insert to receive and space the bottle necks. <IMAGE>

Description

CARRIER nAG ADAPTED FOR USE IN MOTOR VEHICLES This invention relates to a carrier bag which is particularly suitable for use in motor vehicles. The bag is primarily but not exclusively intended for use in transporting in a motor vehicle items such as take-away food or bottles from the point of purchase to the users eventual destination.

One of the problems with purchasing take-away food, particularly Oriental food, is that it is usually supplied to the purchaser by the restaurant in lidded containers themselves placed in a plastic carrier bag. The purchaser normally places this carrier bag on the floor of the vehicle or on the front passenger seat but it often happens that it falls over when the vehicle goes round a bend and the lidded food containers rupture and the liquid contents leak out onto the vehicle seat or floor thereby spoiling the meal and also, in many cases staining the seat or floor carpet.

There is a need therefore for a carrier bag which can be secured in some way to the vehicle to prevent the aforementioned difficulty arising and the present invention achieves this by providing a carrier bag with seat belt attachment means thereon for releasably securing a part thereof to at least the diagonal belt of the lap and diagonal motor vehicle seat belt. Thus, the purchaser of take-away food can place the food supplied by the restaurant into the carrier bag of the invention, which is preferably insulated, and the seat belt attachment means can then be secured to the diagonal belt and/or the lap belt of the motor vehicle seat belt assembly to retain the carrier bag in an upright position at all times.When the driver arrives at his or her eventual destination, the attachment means can simply be released from the seat belt and the carrier bag with the hot food in it carried from the vehicle to the purchasers kitchen.

Preferably the seat belt attachment means comprises a moulded plastic clip which receives and secures the diagonal seat belt therein. Conveniently the clip is in two parts and capable of being opened and closed with one hand by the user. Preferably the two parts of the clip are connected by an integral hinge, each clip half having snap-connection means thereon whereby the two clip halves may be secured together to clamp the seat belt therebetween.

In the preferred embodiment, each clip half has a lateral flange extending therefrom over half the width of the clip, the two flange halves being juxtaposed to form together a complete flange extending across the whole width of the clip. Preferably the clip includes means for displaying advertising or other promotional material thereon.

Conveniently the bag is made of a flexible foldable material so that the bag can be collapsed and folded into a compact size for storage purposes e.g. in the glove compartment or boot of the vehicle. A plastics material or a plastics coated fabric is preferred as this enables the bag to be leakproof.

Preferably the carrier bag is provided with two carrying handles, the seat belt attachment means being attached to one of said handles. The seat belt attachment means can however be provided on any other part of the bag.

The carrier bag preferably also includes secondary seat belt attachment means to enable it to be attached to the lap belt of the lap and diagonal seat belt assembly of the vehicle.

In a preferred embodiment, the secondary seat belt attachment means comprises a strap at the base of the carrier bag, the free end of the strap being attachable to the front face of the bag in any suitable way such as by CRTr; M-) means of a VelcroLconnection or a "pop" stud, to form a loop, the lap belt passing through said loop.

If the carrier bag is used to carry bottles, a bottle insert adapted to fit over the neck of each bottle can be fitted into the bag. The insert is preferably made of a rigid material e.g. plastics and may be provided with a series of holes, each adapted to engage with a bottle neck thereby keeping the bottles apart from each other and preventing them from falling over and breaking.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a carrier bag of the invention in position on the seat of a motor vehicle and attached to the seat belt therefor; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carrier bag shown in Figure 1 but with the lid open; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the carrier bag of Figures 1 and 2 in a partially collapsed condition; Figure 4 is an end view of the bag shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the bag of Figures 1-4 in its fully folded and collapsed condition; Figure 6 is a cross section through the seat belt attachment means of the carrier bag shown in Figures 1-5; Figure 7 is a plan view of the seat belt attachment means shown in Figure 6; and Figure 8 is a plan view of an insert for use with the bag of Figures 1-7 to locate bottles therein.

Referring to the drawings and particularly Figures 2-5, there is shown a carrier bag 1 made of a flexible material.

The material can be plastics but preferably is a plastic coated fabric (e.g. cotton) as this gives it both strength and renders the bag leakproof. The bag comprises a front wall 2 and a rear wall 3 connected by two end walls 4 and 5.

A lid 6 is hingedly attached to the rear wall 3 and includes a lip 7 on which Velcro pads 11 are provided. Velcro attachment pads 12 are positioned at the upper edge of the front wall 2 and are engaged in use by the Velcro pads 11 on the lip 7 of the lid 6.

A carrying handle 10 is attached to the front wall 2 and a corresponding handle (not shown in Figure 2 but visible in Figure 4) is attached to the rear wall 3. A strap 13 is attached to the bottom of the container (see Figure 4) and has front and rear portions 13a and 13b which project beyond IR;r, M) the front and rear walls 2 and 3. A VelcroLpad 14 is provided at the end of each of the strap sections 13a,13b and these pads 14 cooperate with Velcro pads 15 provided on the front and rear walls 2,3 of the container.

Reinforcing members 8 and 9, preferably plastic coated, are hingedly attached to the rear wall 3 as indicated. These reinforcing members 8,9 are rigid and lie flat against the rear wall 3 when the bag is in its folded condition but are folded forwardly as indicated in Figure 2 to lie against the side walls 4 and 5 thereby rendering the upper region of the normally flexible bag rigid and defining a rectangular opening at the top of the bag into which the food or other material to be transported can be inserted.

The bag includes seat belt attachment means 24 (see Figure 1) which preferably is a two-part moulded plastic clip which can be opened to receive the diagonal seat belt 18 therein.

The clip 24 comprises an upper clip part 25 and a lower clip part 26 connected together by an integral hinge 27. Each clip half is provided with a laterally extending flange 31,32 which together form a complete flange extending across the whole width of the clip.

Each clip half has a series of projections 28 formed on the inside surface thereof which face each other and are arranged to grasp the seat belt 18 when inserted therebetween. Each end of the clip halves 25,26 include a lip 29 which engages with edge 30 of the clip half immediately adjacent to it to secure the two clip halves together. With the arrangement illustrated, it will be appreciated that a user can open the clip 24 one handed by applying pressure with one finger to one clip half and holding the other clip half with the other finger, the relative movement between the two clip halves 25,26 resulting in the clip opening.

The clip 24 preferably includes a boss 23 with a hole 23a in it to receive a string 33 to attach it to one of the handles 10 but other forms of attachment are possible. For instance the string or strap 33 could be connected directly to a part of the bag 1.

Instead of using the clip 24 as the means for attaching the bag 1 to the lap belt 18, it is possible to provide alternative means such as a separate loop attached to the bag 1 or the handle 10, the loop having a Velcro connection so that it can be looped around to temporarily secure the bag to the diagonal seat belt 18. However, the clip 24 is preferred as it can include means such as recesses 35 to receive advertising material therein or an identification tab.

Figure 1 shows the insulated carrier bag of the present invention in position on a vehicle seat 19, the clip 24 being attached to the diagonal belt 18 and the front strap 13 being looped around the lap belt 17. The carrier bag 1 is therefore firmly secured in position.

As the carrier bag of the invention is primarily designed to transport take-away food, it preferably includes a thermal insulating layer (not shown), However,it can also be used to transport bottles in which case insert 40 would be used (see Figure 8). The insert 40 comprises a rigid plastic sheet with a series of holes 41 formed therein, each hole having a plurality of resilient fingers 42 arranged around its perimeter. It will be appreciated therefore that the insert 40 can be fitted over the necks of any bottles in the bag 1, with the resilient fingers 42 engaging the bottle necks and retaining them in position. The outside perimeter 43 of the insert will engage with the front, rear and side walls 2,3,4,5 of the bag and thereby keep the bottles apart and preventing them from falling over or breaking during transit.

Claims (18)

1. A carrier bag with seat belt attachment means thereon for releasably attaching said bag to at least the diagonal belt of a lap and diagonal motor vehicle seat belt.

2. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 1 wherein the seat belt attachment means comprises a moulded plastic clip which receives and secures the diagonal seat belt therein.

3. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 2 wherein the clip is formed in two parts and capable of being opened and closed with one hand by the user.

4. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 3 wherein the two parts of the clip are connected by an integral hinge, each clip half having snap-connection means thereon whereby the two clip halves may be secured together to clamp the seat belt therebetween.

5. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 wherein each clip half has a lateral flange extending therefrom over half the width of the clip, the two flange halves being juxtaposed to form together a complete flange extending across the whole width of the clip.

6. A carrier bag as claimed in any of claims 2-5 wherein the clip includes means for displaying advertising or other promotional material thereon.

7. A carrier bag as claimed in any preceding claim made of a flexible foldable material so that the bag can be collapsed and folded into a compact size for storage purposes.

8. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 7 wherein the bag is made of a leakproof plastics or plastics coated fabric.

9. A carrier bag as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the bag is provided with two carrying handles, the seat belt attachment means being mounted on one of said handles.

10. A carrier bag as claimed in any of claims 1-8 wherein the seat belt attachment means are provided on a part of the bag other than its carrying handles.

11. A carrier bag as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the carrier bag also includes secondary seat belt attachment means to enable the bag to be attached to the lap belt of a lap and diagonal seat belt assembly of the vehicle.

12. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 11 wherein the secondary seat belt attachment means comprises a strap at the base of the carrier bag, the free end of the strap having means thereon to releasably attach the strap to the bag.

13. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 12 wherein the (R, s releasable attachment means comprises a Velcro connection or a "pop" stud, said strap forming a loop when attached to the bag through which the lap belt passes.

14. A carrier bag as claimed in any preceding claim including a bottle insert adapted to fit over the neck of one or more bottles when positioned in the bag.

15. A carrier bag as claimed in claim 14 wherein the insert is made of a rigid material and includes a plurality of holes, each hole being adapted to engage with and fit over a bottle neck thereby keeping the bottles apart from each other.

16. A carrier bag as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the bag is made of an insulating material.

17. A carrier bag as claimed in any of claims 1-15 wherein the bag has a thermal insulating liner therein.

18. A carrier bag substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.