WO2008155789A1

WO2008155789A1 - Anti-snatching safety device for bags and the like

Info

Publication number: WO2008155789A1
Application number: PCT/IT2008/000320
Authority: WO
Inventors: Barbara Antellini; Giulio Caroselli
Original assignee: Barbara Antellini; Giulio Caroselli
Priority date: 2007-06-18
Filing date: 2008-05-15
Publication date: 2008-12-24
Also published as: EP2170652A1; ITRM20070139U1

Abstract

Safety device (1) for an object containing goods (30), such as a bag or the like, adapted to prevent or ward off a theft or a snatching of such container object by prowlers, said device comprising: - a hook (2) adapted to be coupled in an attachment for safety belts of a vehicle and to be releasably locked in such attachment as a consequence of such coupling; and - securing means (3) having a first end portion (4) which is or can be secured to the hook (2) and a second opposite end portion (5) which can be secured to such container object (30).

Description

DESCRIPTION Λ^ΛANTI-SNATCHING SAFETY DEVICE FOR BAGS AND THE LIKE"

[0001] The present invention relates to an anti-snatching safety device for bags and the like.

[0002] The need to ward off the theft or snatching, by prowlers, of bags transported in vehicles such as automobiles, and the like, and which are often temporarily laid, while the driver is driving, on the assistant driver's seat, or laid on the footrest at the assistant driver's side or, in some cases, laid on the rear seat, is felt. Such thefts or snatσhings very often occur, particularly during stops at traffic lights, when entering or exiting a parking lot, or queuing in the city traffic.

[0003] Such thefts or snatchings more frequently involve women's bags, but also affect men's shoulder bags, PC bags, city bags, hip pouches, and the like. [0004] In the case of thefts or snatchings of the type indicated above, the prowler gets possession of the bag leaning into the car from an open window, or breaking the glass of such window, or opening the assistant driver's door wide.

[0005] It is the object of the present invention to provide an anti-snatching safety device adapted to ward off the thefts or snatchings of the type described above .

[0006] Such object is achieved by an anti-snatching safety device as generally defined in the annexed claim l.

[0007] Other preferred or advantageous embodiments of the present invention are defined in the successive claims .

[0008] The object of the present invention is also a bag as defined in the annexed claim 12.

[0009] Further characteristics and the advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood by the description set forth below of exemplary, non-limiting embodiments thereof, in which: - Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an anti-snatching safety device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged part of the safety device of Fig. 1 in greater detail; - Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a part of an anti- snatching safety device in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an anti-snatching safety device in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a handbag to which an anti-snatching safety device similar to the one shown in Fig. 1 is applied;

Fig. 6 is an example of a hook which can be employed in a safety device in accordance with the present invention;

- Fig. 7 is a plan view of a part of an anti-snatching safety device in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; - Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a part of an anti- snatching safety device in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention;

- Fig. 9 is a front view of a further example of a hook which can be employed in a safety device in accordance with the present invention, said hook being represented in a first operative configuration; and

- Figs. 10 and 11 are two plan views, from the bottom and top, respectively, of the hook in Fig. 9, said hook being shown in a second operative configuration. [0010] In the annexed Figures, equal or similar elements, or parts of elements, will be designated with the same reference numerals .

[0011] With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, an anti-snatching safety device is generally indicated with 1 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The safety device 1 is applicable, in a removable manner in the example, to an object containing goods, in order to prevent or ward off a theft or snatching of the container object by prowlers. [0012] The anti-snatching safety device 1 is, for example, applicable to a handbag, for example, intended for women, to a men's shoulder bag, a PC bag, a city bags, a hip pouch, and, generally, to objects containing goods of the type similar or analogous to the container objects indicated above. For sake of simplicity, in the present description herein below reference will be made to an anti-snatching safety device for bag, without for this introducing any limitations on the type of container object to which the device is applicable or associable.

[0013] The safety device 1 comprises a hook 2 having such dimensions and conformation as to be fastened in a standard attachment for safety belts of a vehicle, such as, for example, an automobile, in order to releasably lock, by pressing on the release button associated with the attachment, in such attachment as a consequence of such fastening. An attachment for safety belt is a device the structure and functioning of which are widely known to those skilled in the art, therefore such attachment, which will be optionally able to feature differences according to the manufacturers, will be not further detailed in the present description. [0014] The safety device 1 further comprises securing means 3, or connecting means, adapted to secure, indifferently in a removable manner or not, the hook 2 to a bag, for example, to a handbag.

[0015] In the example of Pig. 1, such securing means comprise a band 3 (or a web) , for example made of leather, imitation leather, or any natural or synthetic material which has tear strength characteristics consistent with the application and the safety aims to be achieved. Preferably, such band 3 has structural characteristics which make it resistant to a tear, also of a violent type. [0016] Preferably, the securing means 3 extend by such a length as to allow, when the device 1 is applied to the bag, when the latter is arranged within the interior compartment of a vehicle, and when the hook 2 is fitted in the attachment of the safety belt associated with the assistant driver's seat, arranging the bag indifferently on the seat plane of the assistant driver's seat, or on the footrest of the interior compartment of the vehicle arranged in front of the assistant driver's seat or behind that. Therefore, it shall be appreciated that the band 3 length may vary as a function of the particular bag to which the device is intended to be applied. [0017] The securing means 3 comprise a first end portion 4 which is or can be secured to the hook 2, and a second opposite end portion 5 which is or can be secured to the bag.

[0018] In the particular embodiment as represented in Fig. 1, the securing means 3 comprise, essentially in the proximity of the second end portion 5, a ring 6 through which the hook 2 can be made to pass, and the first end portion 4 in order to secure the second end portion 5 in the form of a loop around a handle or a gripping portion of the bag. As may be appreciated in Fig. 5, a safety device 1 of a type similar to the one described above with reference to the Fig. 1, can be thereby applied, for example, to a handbag 30 handle 31.

[0019] With reference back to Fig. 1, it shall be appreciated that the ring 6 can be manufactured by folding the second end portion 5 on itself, and by providing, for example, in the case in which the securing means comprise a band 3, a firm seam 7 to secure the folded end portion 5 to the band 3. [0020] The band 3 first end portion 4 is shown in more detail in Fig. 2. As may be appreciated in such Figure, it is possible to provide in the hook 2 a special through opening 10, preferably with eyelet, adapted to be passed through by the band 3 , to from a further ring 8 adapted to secure the band 3 to the hook 2, for example, to_t make the assembly integral through a firm seam 9. In an alternative embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3 , the first end portion 4 can be connected to the hook 2 (not shown in Pig. 3) by a clip 17 applicable to said band 3 end portion 4. In the particular example represented, the clip 17 is provided with holes 12 which allow the securing of said clip 17 to the band 3 , also provided with corresponding holes 13. The securing can, for example, occur by means of rivets which allow defining a ring adapted to hold the hook 2 in a manner which is totally analogous to what has been represented and described above with reference to Fig. 2. [0021] In a further embodiment variation, not shown in the Figures , the securing means 3 are connected to the hook 2 by means of a carabiner cooperating with a suitably sized opening provided in the hook 2. [0022] With reference to the Fig. 2, the hook 2 is preferably made of metal, for example, of steel, and comprises a portion engageable in an attachment for safety belts in order to cooperate with such attachment . Said engageable portion is preferably plate-like, and comprises two parallel or approximately parallel arms 14 and 15 rigidly mutually connected, for example, by at least one spacing member 16. In the particular embodiment represented in Fig. 2, the hook 2 comprises a further spacing member 18, or crosspiece 18, thereby the hook 2 takes a plate shape in which a through hole 19 having an essentially quadrangular shape is defined.

[0023] In Pig. 4 a further embodiment variation is shown, which differs from the examples described above in that the securing means comprise - in this case - a metal cable 3 to replace the band or web. The metal cable 3 has two opposite end portions 4 and 5 folded on themselves so as to form, through a respective throttlable securing sleeve 22, 23 a respective ring 6, 8. One of such rings, i.e. the ring 6, has higher dimensions that the other one, so as to be able to be passed through by the hook 2 to form a loop around a handle or gripping portion of the bag, as already explained with reference to Fig. 5. The other ring 8 allows securing the little metal cable 3 to the hook 2. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the metal cable 3 can be coated with decorative materials, such as, for example, leather, imitation leather, or rubber. In a further embodiment variation, it is possible to employ a metallic chain substituting for the metal cable 3.

[0024] With reference to Fig. 5, it shall be apparent that a safety device 1 of the type described above 2 can be advantageously manufactured in the shape of a pendant associable to the bag and intended, in use, to be associated in an essentially lasting manner to the bag, while being removable therefrom. In this case, it is possible to devise the safety device 1 as a leather, jewellery or bijouterie item, so that said device 1, concurring to the aesthetic and stylistic appearance of the bag 30, induces the user to keep the safety device 1 associated with the bag 30 during the typical use of the bag, for example, in a walk, and not only during the transport of the bag 30 in an automobile. With particular reference to Fig. 5, it shall be noted how it is possible to adorn the safety device 1, by means of a finishing plate, permanently or removably associated with the hook 2, such as to confer the device 1 an esthetical value which induces a user to keep the device

1 associated with the bag 30, in use, also outside a vehicle interior compartment .

[0025] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, it is further possible to implement the securing means (band 3) and/or the hook 2 according to stylistic characteristics which are corresponding or similar to the ones of the bag 30, so as to allow for the camouflage of the safety device 1 relative to the bag 30. To this aim it is possible, for example, to provide a little esthetical plate 32 reminding an ornamental pattern 35, or a label, provided on the bag as an integral part of the design characteristics of said bag. In addition, or as an alternative, it is possible to manufacture the band 3 for example from skins or, generally, from a material which has an appearance which is the same or similar to the bag appearance (in this case, for example, in a leather which is similar to the one of the handle 31) , or more generally matchable to the bag without aesthetically clashing with the bag. In such a manner, the safety device 1 will be able to camouflage with the bag 30, so that a prowler which intends to steal the bag when this is transported in a vehicle is not induced, being aware of the presence of the safety device, to attempt a theft already provided with implements which are adapted to cut the band 3 or handle 31.

[0026] With reference to the Figures 6, 7, 8, some particular embodiments of hook 2 are shown which can be advantageously used in a safety device 1 of the type described above. The hook 2 has a finishing esthetical plate 32 and has a part engageable in the attachment for safety belts which comprises two arms 14 , 15 engageable parallel, or essentially parallel, or at least partially parallel, and rigidly spaced one from the other. Between the engageable two arms 14, 15, a hollow region 19 is defined and interposed, which is accessible from the outside through an opening, or a cut, or an interruption 33 defined on one of the two arms 14, 15 or between two end portions of said arms .

[0027] It shall be noted that, in particular, in the embodiment of Fig. 6, the two arms 14, 15 are rigidly mutually spaced by the little plate 32 and by the crosspiece 18, and a cut 33 is provided in the arm 15 which allow accessing to the hollow region 19 from the outside .

[0028] In the particular embodiments represented in Figs. 7 and 8, the crosspiece 18 of Fig. 6 is not provided, and the hollow region 19 is accessible from the outside through an opening 33 which is defined between two end portions 36, 37 of the first and second arms, respectively. In particular, said end portions are two teeth 36, 37 which allow the coupling of the hook 2 to a safety belt attachment . [0029] Surprisingly, the interruption, or cut, or opening 33, during the use of the bag outside a vehicle interior compartment, for example, or in a crowded public place, or with another risk of theft or snatching, such as, for example, a shop, a restaurant, a stadium, or a public transport means, a crowded avenue, etc. allow a person wearing or carrying the bag 30 to couple the hook 2 to a belt wore at the waist by such person, or even in a belt loop of a garment wore by such person, or to a bracelet wore by such person, so as to prevent or hinder a theft or snatching or, more simply, so as to avoid that the person wearing or carrying the bag forgets the bag on a temporary resting plane, such as, for example, a top of a shop . The coupling of the hook 2 to the belt or a belt loop, or to a bracelet is achieved by making pass the belt, or loop, or bracelet longitudinally through the interruption, or cut, or opening 33 of the hook 2. It shall be noticed that in this mode of use, the embodiment of Fig. 6 turns out to be particularly efficient, but not necessary in absolute terms, in which the interruption 33 is provided on one of the two engageable arms 14, 15.

[0030] In Figs. 9, 10 11 a further embodiment of a hook 2 is represented which can be employed in a safety device 1 in accordance with the present invention. Such hook 2 comprises a plate 32 and an engageable portion comprising two arms 14, 15. The engageable portion is adapted to be removably housed within a space 38 defined within the plate 32. In such a manner, the engageable portion can take a first operative configuration (Fig. 11) , or back operative configuration, in which it is received within the plate, and a second operative configuration (Fig. 9) , or forward operative configuration, in which the engageable portion of the hook 2 has the two arms 14, 15 projecting out of the plate 32 in order to cooperate with an attachment for safety belts. A connecting system can be provided within the plate 12, between the plate 12 and the engageable portion of the hook 2, with elastic means adapted to push the engageable portion in the back configuration and locking means, releasable by means of a push button 39, adapted to lock the engageable portion in the back configuration in contrast with the pushing action of the elastic means . [0031] As it shall be appreciated by what has been described, a safety device in accordance with the present invention allows fully meeting the prearranged safety objects.

[0032] Those skilled in the art, to the aim of meeting specific, contingent needs, will be able to make a number of modifications and variations to the safety devices described above, all of which, anyhow, falling in the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the following claims .

[0033] For example, it is possible to provide embodiment variations in which further functionalities or accessories are associates to the hook 2, such as, for example, illuminating means which help the person wearing the _t bag, in poor lighting conditions, or in the dark, to visualize the contents of such bag or to individuate in the automobile the attachment for safety belt.

[0034] In a further embodiment variation, it is possible to provide bags which have the safety device described above provided in an integral manner, i.e. in which the connecting means 3 have the distal end relative to the hook 2 secured, for example seamed, to the bag. [0035] In a further embodiment variation, it is possible to associate a lighting system to the safety device 1, and in particular to the hook 2 or plate 32, which has the function to signal a phone call or an incoming message of a telephone data terminal contained in the bag or arranged in the proximity of the bag.

Claims

1. A safety device (1) for an object containing goods (30) , such as a bag or the like, adapted to prevent or ward off a theft or snatching of such container object by prowlers, said device comprising:

- a hook (2) adapted to be coupled in an attachment for safety belts of a vehicle and to be releasably locked in such attachment as a consequence of such coupling; and securing means (3) having a first end portion (4) which is or can be secured to the hook (2) , and a second opposite end portion (5) which can be secured to such container object (30) .

2. The safety device (1) according to claim 1, wherein said securing means (3) comprise a ring (6) which can be passed through by said hook (2) and said first end portion (4) to secure said second end portion (5) in the form of a loop around a handle (31) of said container object (30) .

3. The safety device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said device is a pendant of said container object (30) which is intended to be associated in a permanent, or essentially permanent manner, with such container object.

4. The safety device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the securing means (3) and/or the hook (2), are manufactured according to a style which is consistent with or similar to the one of the container object (30) , so as to allow the camouflage of said device (1) as a part of said container object.

5. The safety device (1) according to any of the preceding claim, wherein the hook (2) has a portion engageable in said attachment in order to cooperate with the latter, the engageable portion comprising two arms (14,15) parallel or approximately parallel between which a hollow region (19) is defined and interposed which is accessible from the outside through an opening, or cut, or interruption (33) defined on one of the two arms (14, 15) , or between two end portions of said arms. 6. The safety device (1) according to claim 5, wherein said end portions are two teeth (36, 37) which allow the coupling of the hook (2) to an attachment for safety belt. 8. Safety device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said device is removably securable to such object containing goods (30) and wherein said device is a leather, jewellery, or bijouterie item, so that said device, concurring to the esthetical and stylistic appearance of said container object, induces the user to keep said device associated with said container during the standard use of said container, and not only during the transport of the container in a vehicle . 9. The safety device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising illuminating means associated with said hook (2) .

10. The safety device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said hook (2) comprises a plate (32) and an engageable portion comprising two arms (14, 15) said engageable portion being adapted to be removably received within a space (38) defined within the plate (32) .

11. A pendant or jewel for bags comprising a safety device (1) according to any of the preceding claim.

12. A bag (30) comprising a safety device according to any of the claims 1 to 10, or comprising a pendant or jewel according to claim 11.