GB2541180A

GB2541180A - A wheeled bag suitable to attach to a buggy

Info

Publication number: GB2541180A
Application number: GB1513696.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tumbridge Natalie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-08-03
Filing date: 2015-08-03
Publication date: 2017-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 2035-08-03
Also published as: GB2541123A; GB2541180B; GB201513696D0; GB201613354D0; GB2541123B

Abstract

A wheeled bag suitable for attaching to a buggy or pushchair. The bag has a flexible bag wall 16 with an opening 18 and closure means 20, and the wall is attached to a base 10 at its perimeter 14. The base further has an upper surface and a lower surface 12 on which wheel supports 26, 28 are attached, and on which wheels 22, 24 are mounted. The wheel supports fold upwardly to the base between a first, rolling position and a second, folded position. As the wheel supports pivot, the axis of rotation 30 of the wheels changes. The folding axis around which the wheel supports pivot may be perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheels. The bag may have an extendable region formed by a slide fastener in the bag wall and a region of material behind the fastener (60, fig 4). The bag may fold down and a closure flap may fasten to the base (fig 6).

Description

A wheeled baa suitable to attach to a buggy Field of the invention

The present invention relates to wheeled bags or trolleys that may be attached to a child’s buggy or pushchair.

Background

It is a problem to carry shopping or other articles while also pushing a buggy. For example items (such as stored conveniently hanging from the buggy handlebars) can topple the buggy, with potentially grave consequences. A variety of designs of bags or trolleys that address this problem are known in the prior art. Typically they fall into three categories: bags that hang from the handles of the buggy and are supported by the handles: these have the problem of tending to overbalance the buggy backwards; self-supporting wheeled trolleys that are pulled by the buggy, that typically are positioned either to the side of the buggy or risk getting under the feet of the user; and hybrid designs, that have one or more sets of wheels on the base, but are held upright by attachments to the handles. The latter are a practical solution to the problem, but prior art designs suffer from drawbacks, high among them being that the bag is preferably large, so it is advantageous to be able to fold the bag for carrying or storage, but the presence of wheels hinders this, so prior art bags have either small wheels, that do not roll well, or the bag does not fold, or folds only partially. The present invention aims to provide an improved bag that overcomes these disadvantages.

Prior Art

Accordingly a number of patent applications have been filed in an attempt to resolve the problem or similar, including the following: GB2506941 discloses an improved shopping basket that is adapted for attachment to the rear of an infant transport vehicle such as a baby buggy, pushchair or pram. The shopping basket comprises a substantially rigid receptacle having at ieast three wheels to support the receptacle in use, and at least one flexible attachment means, such as an expandable or elastic strap, for attaching the receptacle to the rear of the vehicle. The attachment means may comprise a hook for attachment to a frame of the vehicle, and the elastic strap may comprise two separate straps or a single strap attached at both ends to the receptacle. A front wail of the receptacle may have one or two recesses which allow space for the rear wheei(s) of the vehicle, and a rear wall may be shaped to provide clearance between the receptacle and the feet of a user of the basket. The basket is intended to allow a user pushing the infant transport to shop more easily. GB2298168 discloses a collapsible, buggy holdall has a solid, wheeled base in order to carry its own weight and that of its contents when in use with a baby buggy or pushchair. It can be attached or detached by means of two lower arms fitted with grips which are situated at the rear of the base, and two further grips which are situated at the rear of the top frame. The hinged wheel chassis, and the hinged lower attachment arms, fold under the base making the holdall more compact when not in use. US7036899 discloses an accessory for strollers and wheelchairs that will carry a substantial volume of packages while the stroller or wheelchair is being utilized. The accessory includes an upright wail having a floor portion and terminating in an upper access opening. The upright wall is fabricated from cioth to provide a flexible container with the central portion being fabricated from netting to permit a viewing of the interior of the container. Veicro strips at the top and bottom portions permit a detachable connection of the container to the frame and handle grips of the stroller or wheelchair. A rigid floor support member is received within pockets formed on the exterior surface of the floor portion. The floor support member includes wheels to engage the ground and support the weight of any objects within the container. The container can be folded into a compact transport configuration for easy storage when not in use.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a wheeled bag comprising: a base having an upper surface, a lower surface and a perimeter, a flexible bag wall extending upwards from the perimeter to an opening, a closure to close the opening, a first and second wheei each mounted on a separate wheel support, the wheels being free to rotate about a first axis, wherein the wheel supports are mounted on the lower surface of the base and are configured to fold relative to the base between a rolling position in which the first axis is substantially horizontal and a folded position in which the wheel is folded upwards towards the lower surface of the base such that the first axis moves away from horizontal.

In contrast to the prior art therefore the present invention provides a foldable bag that in some embodiments may have buggy-sized wheels, that will roll easily over a range of surfaces, and that can be used with a buggy.

The bag may have a plurality of attachment means to the buggy, at a plurality of heights, wherein the buggy is not prone to balance issues when the bag is full as the weight is borne on the wheels, and maintained upright..

In some embodiments the wheel supports are mounted by means of hinges attached to the base. In this way by rotating the wheel supports about the hinge axis the wheels may fold upwards to approach the base.

In some embodiments the wheel supports comprise a portion that interfits with a receiving feature provided on the base, in such a way that the wheei supports may rotate with respect to the base to allow the wheels to fold up towards the base about a folding axis. For example, the wheel supports may comprise an aperture and the receiving feature provided on the base may comprise a matching aperture, a hinge pin passing through the two apertures. The wheei support may comprise a strut having a circular cross section, mounted in a cylindrical aperture through the receving feature on the base. The hinge, or the aperture in the receiving feature, may define the folding axis. The folding axis may be at a right angle to the first axis. In this way the two wheels may fold such that they approach the base with the line between their centres in remaining in alignment with the position of the first axis when in the rolling position.

The hinge, or the combination of the wheel support portion and aperture in the receiving feature, may be adapted to have a degree of friction such that the wheel support is retained at a position with respect to the base until force is applied by a user to move it. in this way the wheei support will remain either in the roiling position or the folded position until a user moves it.

The wheels may be mounted on the wheei supports by means of bali bearings on an axie as known in the art.

The bag may comprise locks to lock the wheel supports in the rolling position, and may comprise catches to retain the wheel supports in the folded position.

The base may comprise a rigid material or a semi-rigid material. The base may comprise a rigid component on which both wheel supports are mounted or may be configured to fold along a line between the hinges about which the wheel supports may rotate. For example, the base may comprise two portions hinged together that may be folded together to reduce the size of the bag for storage.

The bag preferably further comprises attachments to attach the bag to a buggy. The attachments may comprise upper attachments to attach the bag to the handles of the buggy and lower attachments to attach the bag to the legs of the buggy. The upper attachments may be mounted on the wall of the bag near or adjacent to the opening and may comprise first and second upper straps. The lower attachments may be provided on the wall near or adjacent to the base and may comprise first and second lower straps. The upper and lower straps may comprise snap-in fasteners to allow the straps to be removed from the bag. The upper and lower straps may be adjustable to control the position of the bag with respect to the buggy in use. The straps may be adjustable to allow the bag to be carried as a rucksack, with straps joining the upper and lower snap-in fasteners.

In some embodiments the bag comprises a zip extending around the circumference of the wall configured to join a lower portion of the wall below the zip to an upper portion of the wall above the zip, the wall comprising a joining portion of material joining the lower and upper portions behind the zip. In this way the zip provides a means to shorten the wali by joining the lower and upper portions while folding the joining portion.

In some embodiments the closure comprises a flap to cover the opening, or a drawstring, or a zip. in some embodiments the wall is configured to fold down onto the base and the flap is configured to zip to the base to fold the bag for storage. The flap may comprise a first zip portion at its perimeter and the base may comprise a second zip portion at its perimeter to zip to the first, such that the flap and the base may be zipped together.

In some embodiments the bag comprises a front portion having substantially the same size and shape as the flap, provided on the lower front portion of the wail, the front portion comprising a first zip portion at its perimeter, the flap having at its perimeter a second zip portion to zip to the first, such that the front portion and the flap may zip together at their perimeters. The first and second zip portions may be provided such that the front portion zips to the flap with the base folded inwards between them. In this way, when folded and zipped, the bag presents the front portion and the flap as the front and the back of a compact package with the wall and the wheels stowed away inside it.

The base may be made from plastic, such as hard shell polymer material as known for suitcases, or a semi-flexible or fully rigid polymer sheet, from wood or from metal. The wall of the bag may comprise a fabric such as a woven polymer fabric, a waterproof polymer-coated woven fabric, a cotton fabric, or a sheet polymer material, as known in the art for bags and sacks. The wheels may comprise elastomeric tyres on rigid polymer or metal wheels, mounted by ball races on a metal axle. The wheel supports may comprise metal components to support the axle, such as sheet metal components or wire components. The wheel supports may be formed from moulded polymer. The hinges supporting the wheel supports on the base may be metal components to which the wheel supports are fixed and may be fixed to the lower surface of the base. The bag may be provided in a range of sizes and colours. A typical size for the bag is such that the base is around the same width as the width of a buggy or of a shopping cart, and has a depth at a right angle to the width between 50% and 100% of the width, and the wail is sized such that the opening is around the same height from the floor as the handles of a typical buggy or shopping cart, or may be lower. For example, the width of the base may be in the range 30cm to 80cm, typically 45cm to 55cm, and the depth may be 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 100% of the width. The height may be in the range 45cm to 100cm, typically in the range 55cm to 80cm, such as around 75cm. The buggy may be a toy buggy, and the bag may be correspondingly smaller.

In some embodiments a charger point may be incorporated, for example under the flap, for charging batteries of mobile devices whilst shopping or out of doors. The charger may comprise a rechargeable energy source, which energy source may be displaceable. For example in some embodiments the energy source may include wiring for connection of a mobile device.

In some embodiments the bag may include insulation, for example a cooler in the front portion, for bottles or lunch.

Brief Description of Figures

Figure 1 shows a front view of an embodiment of a bag according to the invention with the wheels partially folded between the roiling position and the folded position. The wall of the bag is zipped down to reduce its size.

Figure 2 shows side view of the bag as shown in figure 1 with the wheels folded. Figure 3 shows a rear view of the bag as shown in figure 1 with the wheels in the rolling position. The wail of the bag is unzipped to extend its height.

Figure 4 shows a front three-quarter view of the bag as shown in figure 1 with the wheels in the rolling position.

Figure 5 shows a rear view of the bag as shown in figure 1 with the wheels in the rolling position.

Figure 6 shows the bag as shown in figure 1 folded and zipped between the front pocket and the flap.

Figure 7 shows how the embodiment is used in relation to a buggy.

Detailed Description of Figures

Referring to figures 1 to 6, an embodiment of a bag according to the invention comprises: A base 10 having an upper surface, a lower surface 12 and a perimeter 14, A flexible bag wall 18 extending upwards from the perimeter to an opening 18, A closure 20 to close the opening, A first 22 and second 24 wheel each mounted on a wheel support 26, 28 and free to rotate about a first axis 30,

Wherein the wheel supports 26, 28 are mounted on the lower surface of the base and are free to fold relative to the base between a rolling position in which the first axis 30 is substantially horizontal and a folded position in which the wheel is folded upwards towards the lower surface 12 of the base 10 such that the first axis moves away from horizontal.

The bag is thereby used as visualised in Figure 7, wherein the user attaches the bag to the buggy handle, unzips theand allows the bag to drop down, pulls the wheels out, unzips further to extend the bag, attaches bottom straps to the base bar of the buggy, attaches centre straps to the side bars of the buggy. In this way the buggy is not liable to topple when the user transports shopping.

The bag is arranged for transport or storage when not In use, wherein it may advantageously therefore fold away and for example be stored on the back of a buggy or go into a backpack.

In this embodiment the wheel supports are mounted by means of hinges on the base, such that the axis of the hinge is at a right angle to the first axis, as seen most cieariy in figure 1. in this way by rotating the wheel supports about the hinge axis the wheels may fold upwards to approach the base as shown in figure 1.

In this embodiment the wheel supports 26, 28 comprise a portion that interfits with a receiving feature 34 provided on the base, in such a way that the wheel supports may rotate with respect to the base to allow the wheels to fold up towards the base about a folding axis. The wheel support comprises a strut having a circular cross section, mounted in a cylindrical aperture through the feature 34 on the base. The aperture in a feature on the base defines the folding axis, which is aligned front to back, at a right angle to the first axis when the wheels are in the roiling position, in variants of this embodiment the wheel supports may be mounted by means of hinges on mounting pieces attached to the base.

The said portion of the wheel support and the aperture in feature 34 are adapted to have a degree of friction such that the wheel support is retained at a position with respect to the base until force is applied by a user to move it. In this way the wheel support will remain either in the rolling position or the folded position until a user moves it.

The wheels are mounted on the wheel supports by means of ball bearings on an axle as known in the art.

The bag further comprises upper attachments in the form of upper straps 40, 42 to attach the bag to the handles of the buggy and lower attachments in the form of lower straps 44, 46 to attach the bag to the legs of the buggy. The upper and lower straps comprise snap-in fasteners 48 to allow the straps to be removed from the bag. The upper and lower straps are adjustable to control the position of the bag with respect to the buggy in use. The straps are adjustable to allow the bag to be carried as a rucksack, with straps joining the upper and lower snap-in fasteners. in this embodiment the bag comprises a zip 50 extending around the circumference of the wall having a first zip portion 52 on a lower portion 54 of the wall and a second zip portion 56, to zip to the first, on an upper portion 58 of the wall, the wall comprising a joining portion 60 of material joining the lower and upper portions behind the zip. in this way the zip provides a means to shorten the wall by joining the lower and upper portions while folding the joining portion. in this embodiment the closure 20 comprises a flap 62 to cover the opening. in this embodiment the bag comprises a front portion 64 having substantially the same size and shape as the flap 62, provided on the lower front portion of the wall, the front portion comprising a first zip portion 66 at its perimeter, the flap having at its perimeter a second zip portion 68 to zip to the first, such that the front portion and the flap may zip together at their perimeters. The first and second zip portions may be provided such that the front portion zips to the flap with the base folded inwards between them. In this way, when folded and zipped, the bag presents the front portion and the flap as the front and the back of a compact package with the wall and the wheels stowed away inside it, as shown in figure 6.

The base 10 is made from plastic, such as hard shell polymer material as known for suitcases. The wall 12 of the bag comprised a waterproof polymer-coated woven fabric, as known in the art for bags and sacks. The wheels 22, 24 comprise elastomeric tyres 70 mounted by ball races on a metal axle 72 forming part of the wheel support. The wheel supports are cylindrical metal wire-form components in which a portion of the wheel support is extended at a right angle to the major portion of the support, to provide the axle.

The bag may be provided in a range of sizes and colours. A typical size for the bag is such that the base is around the same width as the width of a buggy or of a shopping cart, and has a depth at a right angle to the width of around 50% of the width, and the wall is sized such that the opening is around the same height from the floor as the handies of a typical buggy or shopping cart. The width of the base in this embodiment may be around 45cm, and the depth may be 50% of the width. The height when the zip 60 is unzipped may be around 70cm.

The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of invention. Firstly it will be understood that any features described in relation to any particular embodiment may be featured in combinations with other embodiments.

With respect to the specification therefore, it is to be realised that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention, with variation and implementation obvious and dear on the basis of either common general knowledge or of expert knowledge in the field concerned. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, ail suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as set out in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A wheeled bag comprising: a base having an upper surface, a lower surface and a perimeter, a flexible bag wall extending upwards from the perimeter to an opening, a closure to close the opening, a first and second wheel each mounted on a separate wheel support, the wheels being free to rotate about a first axis, wherein the wheel supports are mounted on the lower surface of the base and are configured to fold relative to the base between a rolling position in which the first axis is substantially horizontal and a folded position in which the wheel is folded upwards towards the lower surface of the base such that the first axis moves away from horizontal.

2. A bag according to claim 1 wherein the wheel supports are mounted on the base in such a way that the wheel supports are rotatable with respect to the base to allow the wheels to fold up towards the base about a folding axis.

3. A bag according to claim 2 wherein the folding axis extends at a right angle to the first axis.

4. A bag according to any preceding claim wherein the wheel supports comprise a portion that interfits with a receiving feature provided on the base.

5. A bag according to any preceding claim wherein the hinge or the combination of the wheel support portion and aperture in the receiving feature is adapted to have a degree of friction such that the wheel support is retained at a position with respect to the base until force is applied by a user to move it.

6. A bag according to any preceding claim comprising a lock to lock a wheel support in the rolling position.

7. A bag according to any preceding claim further comprising upper and lower attachment straps to attach the bag to a buggy.

8. A bag according to any preceding claim comprising a zip extending around the circumference of the wail configured to join a lower portion of the wail below the zip to an upper portion of the wall above the zip, the wall comprising a joining portion of material joining the lower and upper portions behind the zip.

9. A bag according to any preceding claim wherein the wall is configured to fold down onto the base and the flap is configured to zip to the base to fold the bag for storage.

10. A bag according to claim 9 wherein the flap comprises a first zip portion at its perimeter and the base may comprise a second zip portion at its perimeter to zip to the first, such that the flap and the base may be zipped together.

11. A bag according to any preceding claim comprising a front portion having substantially the same size and shape as the flap, provided on the lower front portion of the wall, the front portion comprising a first zip portion at its perimeter, the flap having at its perimeter a second zip portion to zip to the first, such that the front portion and the flap zip together at their perimeters.