Backpack with torso length adjustment mechanism

Abstract

A backpack with a torso length adjustment mechanism is provided. The backpack includes a holder fixedly connected to a bag, a mesh back support having a back mesh contactable to the back of the user and a supporting element for spacedly supporting the back mesh on the holder. The backpack includes a shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism having a force transmitting element for transmitting a force from the holder to the shoulder straps of the backpack. The force transmitting element is lockably movable on the holder between a first position in which a size of the shoulder straps is the largest and a second position in which the size of the shoulder straps is the smallest. The shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism includes a locking mechanism at the holder for releasably locking a movement of the force transmitting element.

Claims

1. A backpack with a torso length adjustment mechanism, comprising: a holder fixedly connected to a bag; a mesh back support comprising a back mesh contactable to the back of a user and a supporting element for spacedly supporting said back mesh on said holder; a shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism comprising a force transmitting element for transmitting a force from said holder to shoulder straps of said backpack, said force transmitting element being arranged lockably movable on said holder between a first position in which a size of said shoulder straps is the largest and a second position in which the size of said shoulder straps is the smallest; and a locking mechanism at said holder for releasably locking a movement of said force transmitting element, wherein said locking mechanism comprises an operating section for releasing said locking mechanism, said operating section being accessible through a space provided between said back mesh and said holder when the backpack is worn by said user, wherein said locking mechanism comprises a latching portion engageable with an engagement portion of said force transmitting element, and a gripping portion for pulling or holding said engagement portion, wherein said engagement portion comprises a strip with a toothed locking profile, and said latching portion comprises a locking latch releasable engageable with said locking profile, wherein said locking latch is operable from a lock condition to a release condition, wherein when said locking latch is in said lock condition, a movability of said force transmitting element is restricted at least towards said first position.

2. The backpack according to claim 1, wherein said gripping portion is a loop fixed on said engagement portion.

3. The backpack according to claim 1, wherein said force transmitting element comprises a shoulder strap attachment means for attaching end portions of said shoulder straps directly on said force transmitting element, said backpack further comprising a connecting portion fixedly connecting said end portions at least at a predetermined distance from said shoulder strap attachment means.

4. The backpack according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined distance substantially corresponds to a movement distance of the force transmitting member between said first position and said second position.

5. The backpack according to claim 3, wherein said connecting portion extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the movement direction of said force transmitting element and comprises a handle portion.

6. The backpack according to claim 5, wherein said connecting portion comprises a fabric sewn to said shoulder straps or wherein said connecting portion is integrally formed with said first and second shoulder straps.

7. The backpack according to claim 1, wherein said holder comprises a plate made of hard plastic and sewn onto a rear portion of said bag.

8. The backpack according to claim 7, wherein the plate is movable with respect to the engagement portion in an upward direction and restricted in a downward direction.

9. The backpack according to claim 1, wherein the locking latch and the engagement portion are configured to form a ratchet type locking system.

10. The backpack according to claim 9, wherein the ratchet type locking system allows movement of the holder with respect to the engagement portion in a first direction and restricts movement of the holder with respect to the engagement portion in an opposite direction.

11. The backpack according to claim 1, wherein the locking latch comprises a spring element configured to pretension the locking latch.

12. The backpack according to claim 11, wherein the spring element is configured to move the locking latch towards the lock condition.

13. The backpack according to claim 1, wherein the first position is achieved by releasing the locking mechanism using the operating section and allowing the backpack to move in a downward direction, and wherein the second position is achieved by pulling the gripping and pushing the backpack in an upward direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows a rear view of a backpack according to the present invention with the shoulder straps adjusted to small size.

(2) FIG. 2 shows a rear view of the backpack shown in FIG. 1 with the shoulder straps being set at large size.

(3) FIG. 3 shows a side view of the backpack, and

(4) FIG. 4 shows a shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) In the following, an embodiment of the present subject matter will be explained based on the drawings. It is noticed that the drawings show a specific embodiment as explained below and further alternative modifications as specified in the description are at least in part not illustrated therein. Furthermore, same reference signs used in the figures denote same components.

(6) FIG. 1 shows a backpack B with a torso length adjustment mechanism. The backpack B comprises a holder 2 fixedly connected to a bag 14. In the present embodiment, the holder 2 is sewn to the rear portion of the bag 14 and extends substantially over the entire width of the backpack B.

(7) As it is further shown in FIG. 1, the backpack comprises two shoulder straps 9, 10 and a hip belt 21. The load carried in the bag 14 is transferred to the shoulder straps 9, 10 and the hip belt 21 in order to distribute the load on the shoulders and the hips of a user. The backpack B further comprises a back mesh 5 forming a supporting area for the user's back. The back mesh 5 extends in a longitudinal direction of the backpack B from a lower side of the backpack B where the hip belt 21 is provided to an upper side of the backpack where the upper ends of the shoulder straps 9, 10 are provided.

(8) In order to adjust the length of the shoulder straps 9, 10, the backpack B comprises a shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism 7 provided between the rear side of the bag 14 and the back mesh 5. The shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism 7 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

(9) As it is shown in FIG. 1, the shoulder straps 9, 10 are connected to each other by means of a connecting portion 16 which substantially horizontally extends from one shoulder strap to the other. The connecting portion 16 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged next to a connection or fixation portion 22 provided between end portions 9a, 10a of the shoulder straps 9, 10 and fixedly connected to the rear side of the bag 14. The fixation portion 22 can function as a stop and is provided in a gap defined by the connecting portion 16, end portions 9a, 10a of the shoulder straps and force transmitting element 8 described later. The gap is indicated in FIG. 1 with dashed lines and is also shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

(10) As it is directly obvious by comparison of FIG. 1 with FIG. 2, FIG. 1 shows a state in which the connecting portion 16 is arranged next to the connection or fixation portion 22 and therefore the shoulder straps 9, 10 are at a position in which the size of the shoulder straps is set to small. By contrast, FIG. 2 shows the state in which the connecting portion 16 of the shoulder straps 9, 10 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the connection or fixation portion 22. Consequently, in this position, the shoulder straps 9, 10 are set at a large setting.

(11) FIG. 3 shows a side view of the backpack B. As it is shown in FIG. 3, the back mesh 5 is tensioned such that a certain distance is provided between the rear portion of the bag 14 and the back mesh 5. Thus, a space 13 is formed between the back mesh 5 and the bag 14. This construction enables a good air ventilation in order to prevent perspiration when carrying the backpack B. The holder 2 is fixedly mounted on the rear side of the bag 14 facing the back mesh 5. The function of the holder 2 will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

(12) FIG. 4 shows the shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism 7 as well as the holder 2 and a frame element 6 on which the back mesh 5 is mounted. The frame element 6 is fixedly connected to the holder 2. The shoulder strap length adjusting mechanism 7 comprises a force transmitting element 8 for transmitting a force from the holder 2 to the shoulder straps 9, 10 of the backpack. The force transmitting element 8 comprises an engagement portion 17 and shoulder strap attachment means 15. The engagement portion 17 comprises a strip with a locking profile which in the present case is a toothed profile. The shoulder strap attachment means 15 is a plate shaped member connected to a first end of the engagement portion 17 and extending substantially perpendicular to the extension direction of the engagement portion 17. Consequently the force transmitting element 8 comprises a T-shape. A gripping portion 18 is provided at an end of the engagement portion 17 opposite to the end where the shoulder strap attachment means 15 is connected to the engagement portion. Accordingly, with respect to the overall structure of the backpack B, the shoulder strap attachment means 15 is provided at the upper end of the engagement portion 17 and the gripping portion 18 is provided at the lower end of the engagement portion 17.

(13) The locking mechanism 11 is fixedly mounted on the holder 2, more precisely on a plate 20 of the holder. The plate 20 is preferably made of hard plastic and is sewn onto the rear portion of the bag 14. The locking mechanism 11 comprises a latching portion engageable with the toothed profile of the engagement portion 17. Although not shown in detail, the latching portion is rotatably mounted about a rotational axis which extends in parallel to the extension direction of the plate 20 at a predetermined distance from the plate 20 defining a space between the latching portion and the plate 20 through which the engagement portion 17, more precisely the strip comprising the toothed profile, is passed. The latching portion comprises a locking latch 19 which is operable from a lock condition to a release condition. In the present embodiment, the lock condition is achieved by pre-tensioning the locking latch 19 by means of a spring element (not shown) urging the locking latch towards the lock condition in which teeth formed correspondingly on the locking latch engage with the toothed profile of the strip. The locking latch is arranged in such a manner that a movement of the plate 20 with respect to the engagement portion 17 is allowed in the upward direction and is restricted in the downward direction. Accordingly, the locking latch 19 and the engagement portion 17 together form a ratchet type locking system allowing a movement of the holder with respect to the engagement portion 17 in one direction and restricting the movement in the opposite direction when the operating section 12 is not operated.

(14) In order to effect a movement of the plate 20 with respect to the engagement portion 17 in the downward direction, the user has to operate the operating section 12 thereby releasing the engagement of the locking latch 19 with the locking profile on the engagement portion 17. In order to provide an easy access for the user, the locking mechanism 11 together with the operating section 12 is provided on the plate member 20 such that the operating section 12 faces the back mesh 5 and is accessible through the space 13 provided between the back mesh 5 and the holder 2 when the backpack is worn by the user. Accordingly, the construction allows the user to easily adjust the length of the shoulder straps to his torso length while carrying the backpack. In order to do this, the user can simply operate the operating section 12 thereby releasing the locking between the engagement portion 17 and the locking latch 19 leading to a movement of the plate 20 together with the bag 14 in the downward direction corresponding to a setting of the shoulder straps 9, 10 which is the largest. Now, in order to adjust the height of the bag 14 with respect to the back of the user, the user can simply grab the gripping portion 18 with one hand in order to prevent a movement of the engagement portion 17 and push the bag 14 from below with his other hand leading to a movement of the bag 14 together with the plate 20 with respect to the engagement portion 17 in the upward direction, i.e. in the direction towards a small setting of the shoulder straps 9, 10. As soon as a proper height of the bag 14 with respect to the back of the user is reached, the user simply stops pushing the bag 14 in the upward direction and the bag 14 will rest at the desired height.

(15) Consequently, the present invention provides the advantage that the height position of the bag 14 with respect to the users back can be easily adjusted while carrying the backpack. The operating section 12 of the locking mechanism 11 is easily accessible by inserting the hand in the space 13 provided between the back mesh 5 and the holder 2 and the user does not have to unnaturally rotate his wrist in order to operate the operating section 12. Accordingly, a backpack with an enhanced torso length adjustment mechanism is provided.