FOLDING CHAIR BAG WITH FUNNEL MOUTH AND SNAP CLOSURE

Abstract

A chair bag includes a tapered portion that extends along a substantial side portion of the bag from its lower portion to its upper portion. The tapered portion increases in diameter from its lower portion to its upper portion, until reaching a joint located near the upper portion of the bag. At the joint, the diameter or circumference of the bag is preferably substantially the same as the diameter or circumference at a mouth portion of the bag. Snap fasteners are preferably provided from the joint to the top portion of the bag where the mouth portion is located. When the snap fasteners are disengaged from one another, the mouth portion has a diameter or circumference greater than when the snap fasteners are engaged with one another. This structure may improve the difficulty involved with the process of placing a chair into or removing a chair from the bag.

Claims

1. A bag for storing a collapsible chair therein, the bag including: a lower portion; an upper portion including a mouth portion for receiving the collapsible chair, the upper portion having a diameter greater than the lower portion.

2. The bag of claim 1, wherein the upper portion of the bag includes snap fasteners on either side of a joint along the upper portion of the bag that are selectively fastenable with one another.

3. The bag of claim 2, wherein the snap fasteners can assume a first position where the fasteners are engaged with one another and a second position where the fasteners are disengaged from one another.

4. The bag of claim 3, wherein when the snap fasteners are in the first position, a diameter of the mouth portion of the bag is less than or equal to the lower portion of the bag.

5. The bag of claim 3, wherein when the snap fasteners are in the second position, the mouth portion of the bag has a diameter equal to or greater than the upper portion of the bag.

6. The bag of claim 1, wherein the bag includes one strap member attached to bag that may be used to carry the bag.

7. The bag of claim 1, wherein the bag includes a hook member at the upper portion of the bag that may be used to hang the bag from a surface.

8. A bag for storing a collapsible chair therein, the bag including: snap fasteners along a side portion of the bag extending along a joint along the upper portion of the bag that are selectively fastenable with one another.

9. The bag of claim 8, wherein the bag includes: a lower portion; an upper portion including a mouth portion having a diameter greater than the lower portion.

10. The bag of claim 8, wherein the snap fasteners can assume a first position where the fasteners are engaged with one another and second position where the fasteners are disengaged from one another.

11. The bag of claim 10, wherein when the snap fasteners are in the first position, a diameter of the mouth portion of the bag is less than or equal to the lower portion of the bag.

12. The bag of claim 10, wherein when the snap fasteners are in the second position, the mouth portion of the bag has a diameter equal to or greater than the upper portion of the bag.

13. The bag of claim 8, wherein the bag includes one strap member attached to bag that may be used to carry the bag.

14. The bag of claim 9, wherein the bag includes a hook member at the upper portion of the bag that may be used to hang the bag from a surface.

15. A bag for storing a collapsible chair therein, the bag including: a lower portion; an upper portion including a mouth portion having a diameter greater than the lower portion; a tapered portion between the upper portion and the lower portion, wherein the tapered portion increases in diameter from the lower portion to the upper portion until reaching a joint located near the upper portion; and snap fasteners along a side portion of the bag from the joint along the upper portion of the bag that are selectively fastenable with one another.

16. The bag of claim 15, wherein the snap fasteners can assume a first position where the fasteners are engaged with one another and second position where the fasteners are disengaged from one another.

17. The bag of claim 16, wherein when the snap fasteners are in the first position, a diameter of the mouth portion of the bag is less than or equal to the lower portion of the bag.

18. The bag of claim 16, wherein when the snap fasteners are in the second position, the mouth portion of the bag has a diameter equal to or greater than the upper portion of the bag.

19. The bag of claim 15, wherein the bag includes one strap member attached to bag that may be used to carry the bag.

20. The bag of claim 15, wherein the bag includes a hook member at the upper portion of the bag that may be used to hang the bag from a surface.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] For a better understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a prior art folding chair bag;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a folding chair bag with a funnel mouth and snap closures constructed according to the teachings of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the folding chair bag of FIG. 2 in its open configuration;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the folding chair bag of FIG. 3 having received a chair therein; and

[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the folding chair bag of FIG. 3 in its closed configuration.

[0020] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof is shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiment disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.

[0022] Referring to the drawings, FIG. 2 illustrates a folding chair bag having a funnel mouth and snap closure referred to herein as bag 25. Like the prior art bag 1, the bag 25 may be used to stow or transport a folding chair when the chair is either stored or in carriage, features a strap member 26 preferably made of a nylon-like material that can aid the user in transporting the chair during carriage, and features a hook member 27 preferably made of a nylon-like material so that the bag may be hung on a wall or another location during storage. The strap member 26 and the hook member 27 are arranged in a manner that orients the mouth of the bag away from the ground during use, preventing the chair from falling out of the bag.

[0023] Unlike the prior art bag 1, however, the bag 25 includes a tapered portion 30 located between a lower portion 35 and an upper portion 40 of the bag 25. The tapered portion 30 is preferably a portion of the bag 25 that has an increasing diameter from a lower portion 35 of the bag 25 toward an upper portion 40. The tapered portion 30 is preferably substantially closed, meaning that it includes a stitched seam or other attachment causing the tapered portion 30 to be uniformly closed and inaccessible around its circumference.

[0024] At the upper portion 40, a mouth portion 45 similar to the mouth portion 15 of the bag 1 is provided. However, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 2, the mouth portion 45 of the bag 25 preferably has a diameter or circumference greater than the diameter or circumference of the bag 25 near its lower portion 35 in order to facilitate putting a chair into the bag 25 or removing a chair from the bag 25.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the tapered portion 30 preferably increases in diameter or circumference until it reaches a joint 50 of the bag 25 where the bag 25 preferably is no longer substantially closed around its circumference, as described below. At the joint 50, the tapered portion 30 preferably stops increasing in diameter or circumference, and the bag 25 has a diameter or circumference at the joint 50 that is substantially similar to the mouth portion 45. Moreover, at the joint 50, snap attachments 55, 60 (illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4) are provided that are placed along the upper portion 40 of the bag 25 continuously upwards up to the mouth portion 45. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, two snap fasteners 55, 60 are illustrated.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, the bag 25 may include a first pair of fasteners, 55A and 60A, attached along the vertical seam of the mouth portion 45. In addition, there are preferably two more sets of fasteners, 55B, 55C, 60B, and 60C, attached along the horizontal seam of the mouth portion 45. In alternative embodiments, more or fewer fasteners such as the fasteners 55, 60 may be provided above the joint 50.

[0027] As known and understood in the art, the snap fasteners 55 are preferably female members that may selectively receive the male snap fasteners 60 when the snap fasteners 55 are placed on top of the snap fasteners 60 and pushed downwardly. As such, with sufficient force, the snap fasteners 55, 60 may be selectively engageable with one another.

[0028] When the snap fasteners 55, 60 are disengaged from one another, a first portion 65 of the bag 25 may be disengageable from a second portion 70 of the bag member 25, wherein the first portion 65 may include the male snap fastener 60, while the second portion 70 may include the female snap fasteners 55. When the first portion 65 is disengaged and pulled away from the second portion 70, a gap 75 is preferably provided between the first and second portions 65, 70.

[0029] When the first and second portions 65, 70 are pulled outwardly and away from one another, the mouth portion 45 preferably has an increased circumference, as shown in FIG. 4. With the mouth portion 45 having a greater circumference as a result of the first portion 65 being pulled outwardly and away from the second portion 70, it is preferably substantially easier to insert a chair 80 into the bag 25, or remove a chair like the chair 80 therefrom. Moreover, the snap attachments 55, 60 (which preferably have a much lower profile than the draw string system 20) are unlikely to snag either the chair 80 or surrounding structures as the chair 80 is placed into or removed from the bag 25.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 5, when a user wishes to store or carry the bag 25 including the chair or another chair 80 there within, he or she must simply snap the snap fasteners 55, 60 to one another in a known manner, preferably with snap fastener 55A attaching to snap fastener 60A, snap fastener 55B attaching to snap fastener 60B, and snap fastener 55C attaching to 60C. As illustrated in FIG. 5, engaging the snap fasteners 55, 60 to one another in this manner constricts the mouth portion 45 of the bag 25 to a diameter of less than the chair 80 to prevent the chair 80 from falling out of the bag during storage or carriage.

[0031] To remove the chair 80 from within the bag 25, the user may simply unsnap the fasteners 55, 60 from one another and pull the chair out of the bag 25. As shown in FIG. 5 in this configuration, the snap fasteners 55, 60 have a lower profile and are less obstructive that a drawstring system such as the drawstring system 20. This preferably makes removal and storage of a chair such as the chair 80 easier.

[0032] From the foregoing, it will be seen that the various embodiments of the present invention are well adapted to attain all the objectives and advantages hereinabove set forth together with still other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the present structures. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations of the present embodiments are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Since many possible embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, it is also to be understood that all disclosures herein set forth or illustrated in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. The various constructions described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts, principles and scope of the present invention.

[0033] As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms having and including and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of optional or may include and not as required.

[0034] Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present constructions will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.