CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
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Not applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
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Not applicable
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX
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Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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1. Field of the Invention
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This invention generally relates to carrying bags such as backpacks, shoulder bags, hand-held bags and the like, that are equipped with an exterior pocket. More specifically, this invention relates to a bag with an exterior pocket whereof the left, right and bottom side walls are made of elastic material such that the thickness of the exterior pocket is expandable to accommodate articles of various thicknesses, including those of a cylindrical shape such as a drink bottle, inserted therein.
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2. Description of the Related Art
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In the prior art, an exterior pocket of a carrying bag is usually either only adapted for containing thin articles or made loose to be capable of accommodating articles with a greater thickness. It is difficult to design an exterior pocket of a carrying bag that not only looks tidy and neat but also can carry thicker articles such as a cylindrical bottle.
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A typical exterior pocket of a carrying bag, that is adapted for carrying a drink bottle, is usually constructed with a wider outer wall whereof the top hem is bound by an elastic band or string to keep the top portion of the outer wall contracted and close to the main body of the bag and the aperture of the exterior pocket tight. The outer wall of an exterior pocket of this type has many corrugations which may be harmful to the overall aesthetics of the bag, especially for one of a plain and tidy fashion.
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Therefore, it is desirable to provide a bag with an exterior pocket capable of carrying an ordinary drink bottle without the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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In accordance with this invention, an improved carrying bag is provided of the type having an exterior pocket which includes a back wall, a front wall, an elastic side wall and a zipper assembly.
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At least the lower half portion of the peripheral of said back wall is seamed with the back edge of said elastic side wall. At least the lower half portion of the peripheral of said front wall is seamed with the front edge of said elastic side wall.
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Said zipper assembly comprises a back half strip, a front half strip and a pull tab. Said back half strip encircles the peripheral of said back wall, substantially forming a closed loop, and is seamed with the peripheral of said back wall. Said front half strip encircles the peripheral of said front wall, substantially forming a closed loop, and is seamed with the peripheral of said front wall.
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When said pull tab is moved to the end portion of said zipper assembly, said zipper assembly is in a fully closed state wherein the peripheral of said back wall and the peripheral of said front wall are locked together by said zipper assembly. In this mode, the thickness of said exterior pocket (the distance between said back wall and said front wall) is minimized, roughly equaling to the width of said zipper assembly.
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When said pull tab is moved to the starting portion of said zipper assembly, said zipper assembly is in a fully opened state wherein said back wall and said front wall are linked only by said elastic side wall. In this mode, the thickness of said exterior pocket is expandable, by virtue of the elasticity of said elastic side wall, to accommodate articles of various thicknesses, including those of a cylindrical shape such as drink bottles, inserted therein. The expansion of said elastic side wall also generates a resilient force useful for holding the article inserted in said exterior pocket.
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The advantage of this invention is that the exterior pocket of the bag provided herewith protrudes from the surface of the bag's main body only to a minimum degree when the exterior pocket is empty or is loaded only with thin and flat articles such as a mobile phone, a booklet, a Personal Digital Assistant device or a pocket sized digital camera. In addition, the front wall of the exterior pocket can be of a flat shape and with a simple contour. These characteristics are beneficial for maintaining a simple, tidy and elegant overall appearance of the bag. And when there is a need to carry an article with a greater thickness such as a drink bottle, the exterior pocket can be resiliently expanded outwards to fit the thickness of that article.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
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FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bag in accordance with this invention, wherein the zipper assembly of the exterior pocket is completely opened.
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FIG. 2 is the same perspective view as FIG. 1, wherein the invisible outlines of the bag are additionally illustrated in dotted lines.
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FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the bag of FIG. 1, wherein the elements of the exterior pocket are shown separately.
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FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1, wherein the zipper assembly of the exterior pocket is completely closed.
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FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1, wherein the zipper assembly of the exterior pocket is completely opened and a drink bottle is inserted in the exterior pocket.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bag 10 in accordance with this invention, wherein the zipper assembly 24 of the exterior pocket 20 is completely opened. FIG. 2 is the same perspective view as FIG. 1, wherein the outlines of the bag 10 that are invisible from the viewpoint are additionally illustrated in dotted lines. FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the bag 10 of FIG. 1, wherein the elements of the exterior pocket 20 are shown separately. The bag 10 includes an exterior pocket 20 which comprises a back wall 21, a front wall 22, an elastic side wall 23 and a zipper assembly 24.
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At least the lower half portion of the peripheral (i.e., the lower left edge, the bottom edge and the lower right edge) of the back wall 21 is seamed with the back edge of the elastic side wall 23. At least the lower half portion of the peripheral (i.e., the lower left edge, the bottom edge and the lower right edge) of the front wall 22 is seamed with the front edge of the elastic side wall 23.
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The zipper assembly 24 comprises a back half strip 241, a front half strip 242 and a pull tab 243. The back half strip 241 has a starting portion 241 a and an end portion 241 b. The front half strip 242 has a starting portion 242 a and an end portion 242 b. The back half strip 241, excluding the starting portion 241 a thereof, encircles the peripheral of the back wall 21, substantially forming a closed loop, and is seamed with the peripheral of the back wall 21. The end portion 241 b of the back half strip 241 laterally overlaps the starting portion 241 a thereof. The front half strip 242, excluding the starting portion 242 a thereof, encircles the peripheral of the front wall 22, substantially forming a closed loop, and is seamed with the peripheral of the front wall 22. The end portion 242 b of the front half strip 242 laterally overlaps the starting portion 242 a thereof.
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Now referring to FIG. 4, when the pull tab 243 is moved to the end portion 24 b of the zipper assembly 24 (end portion 24 b represents the combination of the end portion 241 b of the back half strip 241 and the end portion 242 b of the front half strip 242), the zipper assembly 24 is in a fully closed state wherein the peripheral of the back wall 21 and the peripheral of the front wall 22 are locked together by the zipper assembly 24. In this mode, the thickness of the exterior pocket 20 (i.e., the distance between the back wall 21 and the front wall 22) is minimized, roughly equaling to the width of the zipper assembly 24.
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Now referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, when the pull tab 243 is moved to the starting portion 24 a of the zipper assembly 24 (starting portion 24 a represents the combination of the starting portion 241 a of the back half strip 241 and the starting portion 242 a of the front half strip 242), the zipper assembly 24 is in a fully opened state wherein the back wall 21 and the front wall 22 are linked only by the elastic side wall 23. As previously mentioned, the starting portion 241 a of the back half strip 241 and the starting portion 242 a of the front half strip 242 are not seamed with the peripheral of the back wall 21 and the peripheral of the front wall 22 respectively. Therefore, when the pull tab 243 is moved to the starting portion 24 a of the zipper assembly 24, not any portion of the peripheral of the back wall 21 and of the peripheral of the front wall 22 is locked together by the zipper assembly 24. As a result, the whole of the elastic side wall 23 is now free to be (horizontally) stretched, subjected only to its elasticity.
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In this mode, the thickness of the exterior pocket 20 is expandable, by virtue of the elasticity of the elastic side wall 23, to accommodate articles of various thicknesses, including those of a cylindrical shape such as the drink bottle 1 illustrated in FIG. 5, inserted therein. The expansion of the elastic side wall 23 also generates a resilient tension (self-restoring force) useful for tightly holding the drink bottle 1 inserted in the exterior pocket 20.
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The starting portion 241 a of the back half strip 241 and the starting portion 242 a of the front half strip 242 are preferably jointly fixed on an end 231 of the elastic side wall 23 so that they may not incline freely in an undesirable manner and that the user can operate the zipper assembly 24 with only one hand.
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The back wall 21 of the exterior pocket 20 may be an integral part of the main body wall of the bag 10. The front wall 22 is preferably made of flexible but non-elastic material so as to fit articles of irregular shape and to resist deformation in the long term.
