US2276087A - Fruit picker's bag - Google Patents

Description

March 10, 1942. -T. P. PETERSEN FRUIT PICKERS BAG Filed June 28, 1959 IN YEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 10, 1942 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRUIT PICKERS BAG Thomas P. Petersen, Lake Wales, Fla.

Application June 28, 1939, Serial No. 281,724

. 1 Claim.

This invention relates to .a bag for use by fruit pickers and it is designed more especially as an improvement upon the structure disclosed in my co-pending application filed May 19, 1939, Serial No. 274,657, now Pat. No. 2,236,199, dated March 25, 1941.

An object of the invention is to improve upon the means employed for closing the bottom of the bag during the filling operation whereby leakage of contents of the bag either at the corners or at the center of the closure isavoided.

It has been found in practice that where a bag is provided with a bottom flap or closure which is supported in closed position solely at the sides of the flap, the tendency of the flap, when in closed position, is to buckle transversely, thereby forming a small spout through which fruit or the like can escape. It has also been found that should the flap be held closed at its center and not at its sides, there is a tendency of the fruit to escape from the sides or corner portion of the bag bottom.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bag having means whereby these objections are overcome, the closure flap being supported at 1 points adjacent to the center of the transverse edge thereof and also adjacent to the sides so that leakage of fruit or the like is positively prevented.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred forms of the invention have been shown.

In said drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation of the bag with its bottom closed, a portion being broken away.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the bottom portion of the bag, the same being shown open.

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the stiffening means provided at the upper or open end of the bag.

Figure 4 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of the means employed for supporting the bottom closure in raised position.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the bottom portion of a modified form of bag, the same being shown open.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, I designates the side rods and 2 the cross or connecting rod ofa stiffening frame and this frame carries an arcuate rod 3 which extends outwardly therefrom for engagement with the upper edge of the outwardly bowed front portion of the top of a bag 4. A web 5 can be used for joining the side rods I and to this web-is secured a protecting cushion or pad 6 located above and longitudinally along the rod 2 so as to prevent fruit from being bruised by the rod when dropped into the bag. To the arcuate rod 3 are secured rigid yokes I or the like located adjacent to the ends of said rod and adapted to be engaged by the ends of a supporting strap .placed over the shoulders of the user. is attached to the middle portion of the rod 3 outside of the bag by means of an integral eye 9 which is clamped about the rod. The hook is adapted to be inserted into a loop I0 which in cludes a flat cross-bar II so proportioned that it can be inserted into the hook only when the loop is swung outwardly relative to the hook. Likewise the loop must be brought to this outwardly extended position before it can be disengaged from the hook. It is to be understood of course that the bill of the hook is spaced from the opposed portion thereof a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the bar I I. This will be apparent by referring to Figure 4.

The bag 4, which can be of canvas or any other suitable durable material is open at the bottom and has a closure flap I2 extending from the .back thereof throughout the width of the bag. This closure flap has a straight intermediate edge portion I3 from which diverge side edge portions I 4. These edge portions can be stiffened by means of a coiled spring I5 housed therein. Webs I6 connect the sides of the bag 4 to the adjacent side edges I 4 of the flap I2 and cooperate with said flap, when open, to form a spout whereby fruit can flow from the open bag to a suitable con tainer to which the spout is extende Grommets I! are provided in the flap I2 adjacent to the webs I6 and additional grommets I8 are located in the flap adjacent to the ends of the intermediate edge I3. A third set of.

grommets I9 is located in the front of the bag 4 adjacent to the webs I6 where they will substantially register with the grommets II when the flap I2 is closed.

The ends of a rope 20 are held in the grommets I9 by knots 2| at the ends of the rope and this rope is threaded through the grommets I1 and thence back through the grommets [8, the middle portion of the rope being attached to the loop I heretofore described. The rope is provided with knots 22 between the grommets l1 and I8 and are so located that when the flap I2 is closed against the front of the bag 4 as shown in Figure 1, these knots will engage the grommets l8 so that the rope will not be pulled further through the grommets l8 and cause the bottom portion of the bag as well as the flap I2 to be gathered along the sides. In other words the load to which the upper edge portion of flap 12 is subjected will be transmitted through the knots 22 to the rope 20 while the load to which the bottom portion of the bag is subjected at the flap side thereof, will be carried by those portions of the rope between knots 22 and the end knots 2 I.

The pad 6 heretofore referred to can be constructed and located in the same manner as 'disclosed in my application hereinbefore stated, the same being located on the web and, if preferred, having a depending apron 23 extending downwardly in front of the web.

In practice the bag is supported by a shoulder strap 23 connected to the yoke I so that the frame made up of rods l and 2 and the back side of the bag will cause to rest against the body of the user while yokes 1 will aid in supporting the arcuate rod 3 in an outwardly extended position. Thus the top end of the bag is held open and the fruit can readily be dropped thereinto. The pad 6 prevents the fruit from being bruised by coming into contact with rod 2. It is of course to be understood that loop I0 is in engagement with hook 8 while the bag is being filled and at this time the rope 20 exerts a spreading action upon the straight edge portion of the flap and at the same time holds the lower portion of the strap tightly against the adjacent'portion of the bag. Spring 15 serves to stiffen the edges of the flap so there is no tendency to buckle. Obviously, however, such tendency is practically overcome due to the fact that the grommets I8 in the flap 12 when closed are out of line with the loop l0 and the grommets I! so that when the rope is subjected to a load its tendency is to straighten out and pull in opposite directions upon the straight edge portion l3 of the flap. The knot 22 also serves to pull upwardly on the side edge portions of the flap so as to hold them taut as well as the edge portion l3, and as the webs I6 have been folded between the flap and bag when the flap is closed, all danger of leakage of fruit, even though the fruit is quite small, is eliminated.

When it is desired to deliver the contents of the bag it is merely necessary to swing the lower end of loop I0 upwardly until the fiat bar II can be withdrawn from the hook 8. The rope 20 is then released and the flap I2 will swing downwardly and assume a spout-like form, as shown in Figure 2, thereby guiding the fruit into any container positioned to receive it.

Instead of providing the bag with a flap forming a spout, as heretofore described, the back edge of the bag can be extended a short distance beyond the front edge to form a comparatively short apron 24 as shown in Figure 5. Corner webs 25 like'the webs [6 can be used and a row of grommets 26, preferably four in number, can be provided in the front of the bag along the lower edge thereof, two of these grommets being located close to the webs 25 while the remaining grommets can be equally spaced from each other and from the end grommets. Additional grommets similarly arranged are located in the projecting flap 24, as indicated at 21.

Ropes 28 are threaded at their terminals forwardly through the end grommets 21 and 26 and are provided with terminal knots 29 located in front of the bag. Branch ropes 30 which are attached to ropes 28 are alsothreaded forwardly through the remaining grommets 21 and 26 and have knots 3| at their terminals. Rope 28 is adapted to be fastened to a hook 8 such as shown in Figure 1 for the purpose ,of holding the bottom portion of the bag folded substantially along the line indicated at 32 and when the bottom is thus folded, grommets 21 will be pulled toward and held tightly against the grommets 26, thereby closing together opposed portions of the open end of the bag before said bag is folded along the line 32. Consequently leakage of the contents of the bag is prevented. When the rope 28 is released, the weight of the contents of the bag will force apart the opposed portions at the open end so that the fruit can thus flow into a suitable container and between those portions of the ropes connecting the grommets.

While it is preferred to use a rope for the purpose of holding the bottom of the bag closed, it is to be understood that any suitable flexible means can be employed and the term rope is to be construed as applying to all such devices.

What is claimed is:

A device of the class described including a bag open at the top and bottom, a flap constituting an extension of the back of the bag at the bottom, said flap having converging side edges and a straight intermediate free edge, spaced grommets in the front of the bag and spaced grommets in the flap adjacent to the back of the bag, whereby, when the flap is folded against the front of the bag, said grommets in the flap will register with the grommets in the front, spaced grommets in the flap adjacent to the ends of its straight free edge and spaced apart a distance less than those adjacent the back, a rope providing a loop having side portions extending outwardly through the grommets adjacent the free edge of the flap, inwardly through the grommets in the flap adjacent the back of the bag and inwardly through the grommets in the front of the bag, those grommets adjacent to the free edge of the flap being positioned to hold the sides of the looped rope offset toward each other at the locality of said grommets whereby, when the rope is drawn taut, it operates to hold the free end of the flap taut in a transverse direction and, when gradually released, it lowers the flap to provide a delivery spout, and spaced means on each rope end and on each side portion of the looped rope between the flap grommets for holding the rope against withdrawal from the grommets in the front and against withdrawal through the grommets in the flap respectively, and means on the upper portion of the bag for engaging and supporting the looped rope, with the flap in upwardly extending position against the front of the bag.

THOMAS P. PETERSEN.

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