US20070235490A1

US20070235490A1 - Carrying case for a blender

Info

Publication number: US20070235490A1
Application number: US11/391,959
Authority: US
Inventors: Jonathan Katz; Laura Manson
Original assignee: Vita-Mix Corp
Current assignee: Vita-Mix Corp
Priority date: 2006-03-30
Filing date: 2006-03-30
Publication date: 2007-10-11

Abstract

A case (10) is provided with a compartment (20) that has a shelf (28) pivotally carried therein. When the shelf (28) is in a stowed position, the compartment (20) is full-sized for larger objects, and when the shelf (28) is in the extended position, the compartment (20) is effectively divided and sized specifically to receive blender components. The case (10) can be transported in three different manners. It can be carried by a handle (43), it can be moved on wheels (44) and controlled by a telescoping handle (45), or it can be carried as a backpack by straps (51) which can be stored in a pocket (52) when not in use.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a carrying case. More particularly, this invention relates to such a case which is specifically designed to carry a blender and related accessories.

BACKGROUND ART

Persons, such as food connoisseurs, who travel extensively and are away from home for long periods of time, often desire to take small appliances, such as a blender or food processor, with them for use during their extended stays. In the past, such would require carefully boxing or packing the blender so that its components would not be damaged during travel, for example, on an airplane. Alternatively, the food processing components could be carried in a conventional piece of luggage, but again, care would have to be taken so that the components do not move about with the luggage during transit. To date, there is no known case specifically designed to conveniently carry a blender and its accessories, and thus, the need exists for such a device.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a carrying case which can conveniently hold the components of, and the accessories for, a blender or the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrying case, as above, which can optionally be moved on wheels by the user, carried by hand, or carried on the back of the user.
These and other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, a case made in accordance with one aspect of the present invention includes opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and opposed top and bottom surfaces. An internal compartment is formed within the case, and a shelf is pivotally carried in the compartment.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a case includes opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and opposed top and bottom surfaces. A handle is positioned on the top surface and a second handle is telescopically received within the case. Wheels are carried by the bottom surface and a pocket is formed on the rear wall. Straps have one end attached in the pocket and are positionable adjacent to the rear wall.
A preferred exemplary carrying case according to the concepts of the present invention is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the top, front and one side of a carrying case made in accordance with the concepts of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the carrying case showing the main compartment open.
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a shelf positioned in place in the compartment.
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing some blender components positioned and secured in the compartment.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the carrying case.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A carrying case made in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The majority of the components of case 10 are preferably made of a sturdy fabric or fabric-like material, such as ballistic nylon. Thus, case 10 includes a main fabric outer wall which includes opposed side walls 11 interconnected by a top wall 12, a rear wall 13 and a bottom surface 14 which can be reinforced by a stiffening board or the like. The main fabric outer wall extends from side walls 11 to form a front frame wall 15 positioned at the top and opposed sides of the front of case 10. A front flap 16 extends from bottom surface 14 and is attached to front frame wall 15 by a zipper assembly 17. A small pocket may be formed in the bottom of flap 16 with access being gained thereto through a zipper which is shown in FIG. 1 as being protected by a strip of fabric 18. Flap 16 forms a door which, when opened, exposes a compartment generally indicated by the numeral 20 and best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Compartment 20 is likewise formed of a fabric material and includes opposed side walls 21 extending upwardly from the inside of case bottom surface 14. As shown in FIG. 5, compartment side walls 21 are spaced slightly inwardly from case side walls 11, thereby in effect providing a double wall fabric thickness on the sides of case 10. Compartment 20 also includes a back wall 22 and a top wall 23 interconnecting side walls 21.
Several holding straps can be positioned in compartment 20, and two such straps are shown in the drawings as being representative. Thus, an upper strap 24 can be stitched to back wall 22 of compartment 20, strap 24 including a buckle or latch 25. Similarly, a lower strap 26 can be stitched to back wall 22 and includes a buckle or latch 27.
A shelf 28 is shown as being pivotally attached to back wall 22 between upper strap 24 and lower strap 26 on an end 29 thereof. Thus, shelf 28 can be pivoted on end 29 from an upper stowed position shown in FIG. 2, to an extended shelf position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. To maintain shelf 28 in the stowed position, a patch of fastening material 30 (FIG. 5), such as Velcro®, may be provided near the end 31 of shelf 28 to engage a mating patch of fastening material 32 carried by compartment back wall 22. To maintain shelf 28 in the extended position, the opposed side edges 33 of shelf 28 may be provided with flaps 34 (one shown) of fastening material, such as Velcro®), which are adapted to be attached to mating fastening strips 35 carried by compartment side walls 21.
Compartment 20 is thus capable of carrying various sized components, and in the preferred form, is particularly adapted to house a wide variety of blending components. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, with shelf 28 in the extended or down position, one or more blender containers or pitchers P can be carried on the shelf 28, and at least one of them can be held in place by strap 24. In addition, the handle of one of the pitchers P can be threaded, for support, through a loop 36 which is best shown in FIG. 3 as being formed on one of compartment side walls 21. Base B of the blender, which houses the motor and other controls, can be placed on bottom surface 14 below shelf 28 and held in place by strap 26. As shown, in this configuration, there is even room for a case C which might be utilized to carry blender accessories, drinking glasses or the like. The items can be securely held in place in that the buckles 25 and 27 can adjust to the length of the straps 24 and 26, respectively, in a conventional fashion.
At times, the blender pitcher P is positioned on the blender base B and provided in a blender housing such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. D427,016. When it is desired to utilize case 10 to transport such a housing with the base B and pitcher P inside of it, or any other large item of equivalent size, shelf 28 can be placed in the stowed position as shown in FIG. 2, and at least belt 26 can be used to hold the items in the now full-sized compartment 20.
Case 10 is also adapted to readily carry other items such as papers, recipes or the like. To that end, a compartment 40 may be formed on one or both sides of case 10 by attaching a fabric pocket 41 to the outside of side walls 11. A zipper assembly 42 may be utilized along the sides and top of pocket 41 to open and close each pocket 41 to gain access to and to seal each compartment 40.
Case 10 is provided with means to enable the transportation thereof in three different manners. In a first mode, case 10 may be carried by hand. To that end, a handle 43 may be sewn or otherwise attached to the outside of top wall 12. Alternatively, in a second mode, case 10 may be rolled along on wheels 44 rotatably carried on the outside of bottom surface 14 proximate to rear wall 13. For that purpose, a conventional telescoping handle 45 may be provided. As best shown in FIG. 5, handle 45 is received in a socket 46 positioned in an internal chamber 47 formed between the back wall 22 of compartment 20 and an internal fabric wall 48 extending between side walls 11 of case 10. A stiffening board 49 may be attached to wall 48 to provide rigidity to the back of case 10.
As a third mode of transportation, case 10 may be carried as a backpack as shown by the system generally indicated by the numeral 50 and shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Backpack system 50 includes a pair of spaced straps 51 which are normally carried stored in a pocket 52 formed between wall 48 and rear wall 13. Pocket 52 may be closed by a zipper assembly 53 to maintain straps 51 stored therein when the backpack option is not being employed. But when the backpack option is to be employed, straps 51 are removed from pocket 52, as shown in FIG. 6. One end of each strap 51 is connected to case 10 within pocket 52, and the other end of each strap 51 is provided with a connecting strap 54 of adjustable length and having a clip 55 at its end. Each clip 55 is adapted to be attached to a D-ring 56 carried by case rear walls 13 or sidewalls 11. Once so connected, system 50 will thus allow case 10 to be carried on one's back in a conventional manner. For the comfort of the user, system 50 also includes padding on the rear wall 13 in the form of foam pads 57 (FIG. 5) carried in pockets formed by an extension 58 of fabric pocket 41 around the back of case 10. Extension 58 is attached to the rear wall, at 59, as by stitching or the like. Thus, pads 57, which extend the majority of the height of case 10, provide comfort to the back of the user.
In view of the foregoing, it should be evident that a carrying case constructed as described herein accomplishes the objects of the present invention and otherwise substantially improved the art.

Claims

1. A case comprising opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and opposed top and bottom surfaces; an internal compartment; and a shelf pivotally carried in said compartment.

2. The case of claim 1 further comprising a flap in one of said walls, said flap permitting access to said compartment.

3. The case of claim 2 wherein said compartment includes a wall opposite to said flap, said shelf being pivotally connected to said compartment wall.

4. The case of claim 3 further comprising a connecting member on said shelf, and a connecting member on said compartment wall, said connecting members being adapted to be joined to maintain said shelf against said compartment wall.

5. The case of claim 3 wherein said compartment includes opposed side walls each having a connecting member thereon, said shelf having flaps with a connecting member thereon, said connecting members being adapted to be joined to maintain said shelf away from said compartment wall in a position to hold articles thereon and to divide said compartment into two compartments.

6. The case of claim 5 wherein each of said two compartments is sized so as to be adapted to receive different components of a blender.

7. The case of claim 6 further comprising a loop formed on at least one of said side walls, said loop being adapted to engage at least a portion of a component of a blender.

8. The case of claim 3 further comprising at least one strap carried by said compartment wall, said strap being adapted to hold items within said compartment.

9. The case of claim 1 further comprising a compartment formed on each side wall.

10. The case of claim 1 further comprising a handle on said top surface.

11. The case of claim 1 further comprising wheels carried by said bottom surface, and a telescoping handle accessible through said top surface.

12. The case of claim 11 further comprising a chamber formed between said rear wall and said compartment, said chamber being adapted to receive said handle.

13. The case of claim 1 further comprising a backpack system allowing the case to be adapted to be carried as a backpack.

14. The case of claim 13 wherein said backpack system includes a pocket, and a pair of straps being positionable in said pocket when not in use.

15. The case of claim 14 wherein said straps have first ends and second ends, the first ends being attached to and within said pocket, the second ends each having a connecting strap.

16. The case of claim 15 wherein said backpack system further includes a clip on each said connecting strap and rings carried by said rear wall, each said ring being adapted to receive a said clip.

17. The case of claim 13 further comprising pockets formed in said rear wall and carrying foam pads.

18. A case comprising opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and opposed top and bottom surfaces; a handle positioned on said top surface; a second handle telescopically received within the case; wheels carried by said bottom surface; a pocket formed on said rear wall; and straps having one end attached in said pocket and being positionable adjacent to said rear wall.

19. The case of claim 18 further comprising an internal compartment and a flap in one of said walls, said flap permitting access to said compartment.

20. The case of claim 14 wherein said compartment includes a wall opposite to said flap, and further comprising a shelf pivotally connected to said compartment wall.

21. The case of claim 20 further comprising a connecting member on said shelf, and a connecting member on said compartment wall, said connecting members being adapted to be joined together to maintain said shelf against said compartment wall.

22. The case of claim 20 wherein said compartment includes opposed side walls each having a connecting member thereon, said shelf having flaps with a connecting member thereon, said connecting members being adapted to be joined together to maintain said shelf away from said compartment wall in a position to hold articles thereon and to divide said compartment into two compartments.

23. A case comprising opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and opposed top and bottom surfaces; an internal compartment; a shelf pivotally carried in said compartment; a handle positioned on said top surface; a second handle telescopically received with the case; wheels carried by said bottom surface; a pocket formed on said rear wall; and straps having one end attached in said pocket and being positionable adjacent to said rear wall.