GB2538719A

GB2538719A - A convertible bag

Info

Publication number: GB2538719A
Application number: GB1508919.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robyn Blake Vanessa
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-05-26
Filing date: 2015-05-26
Publication date: 2016-11-30
Also published as: GB201508919D0

Abstract

A bag which is convertible into a bed suitable for a baby or infant, wherein the bag comprises a top opening and opposed front 14 and rear 16 panels joined by a side panel 18. The front 14 and rear 16 panels being releasably attachable around at least part of the side panel 18, wherein one of the front 14 and rear 16 panels has a padded part 26 and wherein a resilient reinforcing strip 24 is attached to one of the front 14 and rear 16 panels around at least a part of its circumference, the reinforcing strip 24 being sufficiently resilient to stand proud from the panel to which it is attached. The bag can further include handles 4 and a removable inner liner. The panels may be flexible and releasably attached via a zip fastener 20. The padded part 26 can be foldable.

Description

A Convertible Bag

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bag which is convertible into a bed suitable for a baby, infant or small child.

BACKGROUND ART

Bags are flexible containers with one or more handles and an opening at the top, used for carrying things. Bags which are convertible into baby changing mats (for changing a baby's nappy) are known -one such is disclosed in US6053634, for example. Such conventional bags are generally designed to unfold so as to provide a flat surface which is lightly padded (i.e. filled with a soft material) in order to make it more comfortable; however, such padding is often insufficient for extended use, such as when a baby sleeps for several hours, the unfolding of the bag often leaves the bag handles projecting where they can pose a risk of entangling the baby, and the unfolded arrangement is unsuitable as a bed because an unsupervised baby is not restrained from rolling off the padded surface.

Padding is usually provided on both sides of the bag, so as to maximise the padded area when the bag is unfolded, but this padding adversely affects the flexibility of the bag and can restrict the amount the bag can carry/contain. so Further, the use of the interior surface of the bag as the surface on which the baby is to lay can render the surface unsanitary, particularly where the bag is used to carry used/soiled nappies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is predicated on the realisation that an arrangement which relies on unfolding a bag into a single padded mattress is inherently unsatisfactory when used as a bed. Accordingly, the invention provides a bag which is convertible into a bed for a baby or infant and having a top opening with two sides and two opposite extremities, the bag comprising opposed front and rear panels joined by a side panel extending around the majority of the panels' circumference to opposite extremities of the top opening, the front and rear panels being releasably attachable around at least part of the side edge panel, wherein one of the front and rear panels is padded and wherein a resilient reinforcing strip or flat, thin band of material, is attached to one of the front and rear panels around at least a part of its circumference between opposite extremities of the top opening, the reinforcing strip being configured and resilient so as to project away, or stand proud from, the panel to which it is attached.

Such an arrangement is readily converted from a bag into a bed, simply by removing the releasable panel, which then need form no part of the bed; the reinforcing strip running around the edge of the padded panel provides an upstanding wall to provide a bassinet-type surround on at least three sides of the padded panel which makes the baby feel secure and also prevents it from rolling off the padding if left unattended. When used as a bag, the reinforcing strip reinforces the side panel, and particularly the floor, or bottom, of the bag and protects it from damage by items put into the bag, which allows the bag to be made of material (usually a cloth, fabric or other flexible material such as a plastics material, or combinations of any of these) which is lighter (and so easy to carry) and inexpensive.

The reinforcing strip may be sufficiently resilient and/or rigid to urge the circumferences of the panels, when these are attached to each other, away from each other; the strip may be releasably fastened to the front or rear panel to which it is attached, so as to be removable for cleaning. The resilience of the strip is advantageous because, when in use as a bag, it acts to hold the bag open, particularly at the bottom, so items can be easily placed in and found/retrieved from the bottom of the bag.

The padded panel, or mattress, may be double thickness and configured so as to be unfoldable along a fold line (there could be three or more thicknesses, with appropriate fold lines). In this way, it is the mattress part of the bag which is unfolded to form the bed, rather than the bag being unfolded as in many conventional arrangements; unfolding the mattress means that the unfolded part covers the bag handle, thus removing any entanglement hazard, and also means that the bed surface can be inside the fold when the bag is in use as a bag, so protecting the sleeping surface from dirt, germs and/or damage by the bag contents. Preferably the fold line is adjacent to and/or substantially parallel to the side of the top opening, which maximises the size of the sleeping surface for any given size of bag (or rather the front and rear panels of the bag). Folding the padded part puts the folded padded panel to one side of the bag only, which therefore does not limit the amount the bag can contain as much as the prior art. Also, the location of the fold, at the top edge of the bag, means that any dirt or small objects which gravitate towards the bottom of the bag and would, in a conventional arrangement, contaminate and/or affect the centre of the padding on which the baby would lie, instead in the bag in accordance with the invention remain at the extreme edge of the mattress thus providing a more sanitary bed arrangement.

The front and rear panels may be releasably attachable by way of a zip fastener, which may extend around the circumference of the padded panel to one edge of the side panel and between opposite extremities of the top opening. This allows a simple attach/release arrangement so that the panel which is not padded can be easily and completely removed when in use as a bed. The zip fastener at the bottom of the bag and running along the edge of the side panel is protected and reinforced by the reinforcing strip.

A handle is preferably attached to each of the front and rear panels adjacent the respective side of the top opening for easy portability of the bag. The bag may further comprise an inner liner, which may be releasably attachable to the bag, with the attachments being inside and/or outside the bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which; Figures la to lc are schematic drawings of a bag in accordance with the invention and showing a detachable inner liner in situ, in the process of being removed and separated from the bag, respectively" and Figures 2a to 2? are schematic drawings of the bag of Figure lc illustrating the steps by which it is converted into a bed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Figure la shows a bag 2 in accordance with the invention; as with conventional bags, it has handles 4 and an open top 6. Bag 2 has a compartment separate from the main carrying compartment of the bag (defined by the top opening 6), which is closed by a zip fastener 10 and contains a detachable liner 8, which is in the form of a separate bag 8, shown with a conventional drawstring closure 9. Liner 8 is detachably connected to the bag 2 by complementary attachment 12, such as a two-part "pop stud" fastener in which one part 12a is integral with the liner and the other part 12b is integral with the bag. Attachment 12 is located near the top opening of the bag, so that operation of the drawstring closure 9 does not dislodge the liner from the bag. Additional complementary detachable fastenings (not shown), such as hook and loop fastenings, may be provided on the outside of the liner and on the inside of the bag, preferably towards the bottom of the bag so as to hold the liner in place (which is particularly useful when removing items from the liner 8 inside the bag).

Figures lb and lc show how the liner 8 is removed from the bag 2. First, the fasteners 12 are unfastened, as are any fastenings inside the bag, and the liner is withdrawn from the top opening. Once the liner 8 has been removed, it can be used separately from the bag, being opened and closed with the drawstring arrangement 9, whilst the bag can also be used, either as a bag or as a bed, as will be described below. Liner 8 is particularly useful for containing dirty or contaminated items, such as used nappies, it prevents any soiling or germs being transferred to the inside of the bag.

Referring now to Figure 2a, the bag 2 (shown with liner 8 removed) is defined by a front face 14, a rear face 16 (the face on which the bag is resting in Figure 2, and not visible in the drawings) and a side panel 18. The side panel extends around both sides of the bag, and defines the bottom of the bag and sides which allow the faces 14, 16 to be located parallel to and spaced from each other. At least side panel 18 is made of a flexible material (it is preferable but not strictly necessary that front and rear faces 14, 16 are also made of flexible material) as shown by the concertina-like folds in panel 18 in Figures 2a and 2h; this allows the bag to expand (the faces 14, 16 moving apart from each other) so as to increase its carrying capacity. Around one edge of the side panel 18 extends one side of a zip fastener 20; the other side of zip fastener 20 extends around the edge of the rear face 16.

The other edge of the side panel 18 is fixedly attached to the front face 14, so that when zip fastener 20 is unfastened (by pulling on handle 22 in the direction of the big arrow in Figure 2c), the side panel 18 and front face 14 can be pulled away from bottom face 16, and either folded back (as shown in Figure 2c, in the direction of the arrow) or removed completely from it (as shown in Figure 2d).

Figures 2c, 2d, 2e and 2f show the strip 24 which extends around the inside of the bag; it is fixed to rear face 16 along its edge, in the vicinity of the zip fastener 20. Strip 24 is made of a resilient material, and is configured and adapted so that when the front face 14 and side panel 18 are folded back or removed the strip 24 stands upright so as to form an upstanding, wall-like structure around the edge of rear face 16. When the zip fastener is fastened, and the side face 18 and front panel 14 are fixed to the rear face 16, the resilience of the strip urges the front face 14 away from the rear face 16, tautening the flexible material of side panel 18 and urging the bag into an open configuration so that it is made easy to put items into, or remove them from, the top opening of the bag. The height of the strip 24 (as shown in Figure 2d) may be the same or less than the extent of the side panel 18 between the two faces 14, 16.

The rear face 16 of the bag is padded, as shown at 26 in Figure 2d so that, when the side panel 18 and front face 14 are either folded back or removed from bottom face 16, padded part 26 can form a soft bed or mattress for a baby. Preferably the padded part 26 is double thickness and folded along fold line 28 which runs close to and roughly parallel with the top opening 6 of the bag so that padded part 26a remains surrounded by the strip 24, whilst openable padded part 26b can be unfolded in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2e so as to form a flat, padded bed or mattress 26 as shown in Figure 2f which is larger in area than the faces of the bag, with the padded part 26b also covering the handle 4 attached to rear face 16, preventing this from presenting an entanglement hazard to a baby resting on the mattress 26, whilst the padding means that the covered handle is not uncomfortable to a baby resting on the mattress The upstanding strip 24 provides an enclosure which is comforting to a baby resting on the mattress 26, and also functions to prevent the baby from rolling off the bed 26. Strip 24 is preferably of a semi-rigid plastics material, and can be in the form of a meshed material so that it is partially "see through" (the material of the bag itself is preferably opaque).

It will of course be understood that many variations may be made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, any type and number of fasteners may be used for any of the releasably detachable parts of the bag; for example, the zip fastener could be replaced or augmented by strips or discrete blocks of complementary hook and loop fastener. The zip fastener is described as running along an edge of a face of the bag, but it could instead be provided so as to run along the side panel between its edges, or it could run along the edge of the other face, so that the side panel and the strip remain upstanding when the front face is removed/folded back. The padded, bed portion of the bag could have any number of unfoldable parts, though it is preferred that there is at least one fold line adjacent the top edge of the bag opening. The resilient strip could be of substantially constant height, as shown in the drawings, or it could vary in height -so as to taper or diminish towards the opening 6, for example. Where different variations or alternative arrangements are described above, it should be understood that embodiments of the invention may incorporate such variations and/or alternatives in any suitable combination.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A bag which is convertible into a bed for a baby or infant and having a top opening with two edges and two opposite extremities, the bag comprising opposed front and rear panels joined by a side panel extending around the majority of the panels' circumference to opposite extremities of the top opening, the front and rear panels being releasably attachable around at least part of the side panel, wherein one of the front and rear panels is padded and wherein a resilient reinforcing strip is attached to one of the front and rear panels around at least a part of its circumference between opposite extremities of the top opening, the reinforcing strip being configured and resilient so as to stand proud from the panel to which it is attached.
2. A bag according to Claim 1 wherein the reinforcing strip is sufficiently resilient to urge the circumferences of the panels, when attached, away from each other.
3. A bag according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the padded panel is double thickness and can be unfolded along a fold line.
4. A bag according to Claim 3 wherein the fold line is substantially parallel to an edge of the top opening.
5. A bag according to any preceding claim wherein the front and rear panels are releasably attachable by way of a zip fastener.
6. A bag according to Claim 5 wherein the zip fastener extends around the circumference of the panel which is padded, to one edge of the side panel and between opposite extremities of the top opening.
7. A bag according to any preceding claim comprising a handle attached to each of the front and rear panels adjacent the respective side of the top opening.
8. A bag according to any preceding claim further comprising an inner liner.
9. A bag according to Claim 8 wherein the inner liner is releasably attachable inside the bag.
10. A bag according to any preceding claim wherein the front, rear and side panels are formed of a fabric or other flexible material.
11. A bag which is convertible into a bed for a baby or infant substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.