US1895018A - Hand bag - Google Patents

Description

C. WOLF HAND BAG Jan. 24, 1933.

Filed Nov, 11, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Chares Wolf Y M ATTORNEYS C. WOLF Jan. 24, 1933.

HAND BAG Filed Nov. 11, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Chafles Wolf BY M u ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 24, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES WOLF, OF NEW YORK, Y., ASSIGNOR TO SCHOENFELD & WOLF, ING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK HAND BAG Application filed November 11, 1932. Serial No. 642,259.

This invention relates to hand bags, and more particularly to a novel form of ladies hand bag provided with a book compartment.

Ladies ordinarily carry a novel or other book when traveling, and this is true of a working girl commuting to and from work, as well as a woman traveling for rest or pleasure. Inasmuch as ladies also customarily carry with them at all times a hand bag for a purse, mirror, cosmetics, and the like, considerable inconvenience is occasioned in carrying and managing both articles. The primary and general object of the present invention resides in the provision of a novel form of ladies hand bag the storage pockets or compartments of which are combined with an appropriate book cover or book compartment, so that a single, conveniently handled article, presenting a neat, attractive, and integral appearance, is all that need be carried. Further and more particular objects of my invention are: to design the book-carrying portion of the hand bag to open widely, making it possible to open and read the book without removing the same from the bag; to provide the book compartment with appropriate retaining means for holding the book in place, so that the book is opened when the book compartment is opened, and the book may be read while holding the assembly in one hand, this making for extreme convenience in the case of commuters in large cities who ordinarily have to stand while traveling; to fully enclose the side edges as Well as the cover boards of the book, if desired, for complete protection and complete concealment of the book; to provide separate and independently operable closure means for the book compartment and the remaining parts of the hand bag, thus keeping the hand bag safely closed While opening and reading the book; and to so relate the hand bag and book compartment that the openable edges of each will be located at the same edge of the hand bag, thus tending to minimize disarray of articles in the hand bag and preventing loss of the same when opening the book compartment to read the book carried thereby.

Further objects of the present invention center about certain structural features of the hand bag, and are: first, the provision of a hand bag which is partially of the envelope type and partially of the frame type; secondly, to so relate the envel-ope'bag portion and frame bag portion that the latter will stiffen and support the former; thirdly, to appropriately dimension the partitions and gussets of the envelope bag portion relative to the frame, and to so secure the closure flap of the envelope bag portion to the frame, that the stiffening caused by the frame will insure accurate and tight closing of the various pockets of the envelope portion of the hand bag, thus effectually proventing escape of any of the articles carried thereby; fourthly, to so combine the aforesaid bag portions that a common wall or partition may be used for the adjacent sides of both the envelope and frame bag portions; and fifthly, to thus improve the hand bag and increase its utility and value irrespective of Whether or not it is used as a book cover, the book compartment then being available for small articles acquired when shopping, or the like.

Still further objects of the present invention center about a preferred form of frame construction for the bag. Considered in this aspect, objects of my invention are: to provide a bag frame suitable for a hand bag such as has simple in form, low in cost, andv light in Weight; which may be appropriately plated or finished to provide a relatively wide band of contrasting color which enhances the attractive appearance of the bag; which will provide a book compartment of substantial width, making it possible to accommodate an ordinary novel or like book without substan tial or unsightly bulging of the hand bag; which will help support the book when the compartment is opened to read the book; to provide the same with appropriate hinge means so located that the book may be opened in flat condition when reading the same; and, finally, to provide lock means for the frame which will be operable independently of closure means for the ordinary pockets in the hand bag.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter apalready been described, which will be pear, my invention consists in the hand bag or/and book cover elements, and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hand bag embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hand bag with the book compartment opened;

ig. 3 shows the hand bag with the book compartment closed and the pockets opened;

Fig. 4 is a section taken in the plane of the line 44 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the book compartment fully opened, with the book removed.

Referring to the drawings, the hand bag of my invention comprises a hand bag portion H and a book compartment or book cover portion B. The hand bag is preferably stiffened by 'a relatively rigid metallic frame F which in the present case is associated with and forms a part of the book compartment B. The hand bag portion H is in the pres-. ent case devoid of frame elements, and instead structurally resembles an envelope bag,

in contrast with the book compartment B which structurally resembles a frame bag. As will later be shown, however, the envelope portion H is itself stiffened and strengthened by the frame F even though the latter is more directly associated with the book compartment B.

As will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 3, the envelope portion of the bag is made up of end walls 12 and 14 and intermediate partition walls 16, 18, and 20, the walls 12 and 16 and the walls 18 and 20 being stitched by peripheral lines of stitching 22, while the walls 16 and 18 and the walls 20 and 14 are stitched to ether by lines of stitching 24 located a su stantial distance within the periphery of the hand bag, and thus forming accordion-type gussets which permit the several compartments and pockets of the bag to spread or expand apart as may be necessar to accommodate articles carried thereby. f the two large and two small pockets thus formed, the outer small pocket may, if desired, be provided with a change purse 26. The bag is closed by a closure flap 28 which may, if desired, be weighted and stiffened by an auxiliary flap 30 nearly coextensive with the closure flap, thus forming a flat pocket 32 therebetween. This at the same time conceals the holding means for snap fastener element 34 and also for any desired metallic decorations, such as the initials 36 shown'in Fig. 1. When flap 28 is folded over'the open or upper edges of the bag compartments, snap fastener 34 may be pressed into and engaged in a mating fastener element 38 secured to wall 12. The bag will then be in the condition shown in Fig. 1,

which figure incidentally shows the possibility of employing appropriate pieces of contrasting decorative material 40 on the outer wall of flap 28.

The book compartment B comprises side walls 14 and 42 which are joined at the bottom edge 44, as by being made of a single piece of material, but which are separable along the side and upper edges, these edges preferably being defined by the frame F. The latter consists of a pair of U-shaped frame members 50 and 52 the lower or open ends or extremities of which are hinged together by appropriate rivets 54. Each frame member 50 and 52 is itself preferably U-shaped or channeled in cross-section, as is most clearly shown in Fig. 4, theresulting channels 56 permitting the edges of the material of the bag to be inserted in the frame and locked in place, as by compressing the walls of the frame channel together. It should be noted that, contrary to usual practice, the channels 56 are arranged at right angles to the plane of the frame members, instead of lying in the plane thereof, so that the frame members when brought into abutting relation, as shown in Flgs. 1 and 3, for example, themselves possess considerable width and thus create a book compartment which is of substantial width and consequently is not bulged to an unsightly extent when carrying a book of normal dimension.

It will be appreciated that the frame members 50 and 52 are equal in size and meet in edge to edge or abutting relation. The closed edges of the channel members preferably face toward one another, thereby exposing the metallic frame members to view. By appro priately plating these members in nickel, or

gold, or other finish, a contrast may be set up on the bag between the material of the bag and the metal, which enhances the attractiveness and appearance of the hand bag, besides the neatness and definitive outlinewhich the frame gives to the bag solely by reason of its rigidity and support. The frame members are dimensioned to readily accommodate books in a range of sizes ordinarily met with and may, for example, be 8% inches long and 6 inches high. In a specific case the frame members were each made of an inch in width, giving a total width of of an inch; and while this width is not equal to the thickness of an ordinary novel, it is sufiicient so that the added thickness or width of compartment-caused by an ordinary novel actually improves the appearance of the bag by causing a slight tapering or rounding at the edges of the book compartment, and by exposing some of the wall material to view in the bag profile.

The boo-k compartment is preferably provided with a pair of flaps 58 and 60, best shown in Fig. 5, which form pockets adapted to" receive the cover boards 62 and 64 of a book 66 being carried in the bag, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 4. It will be noted that the pocket is preferably made wider than the pocket 58, this facilitating insertion of 2, book in the compartment, for the cover board 62 is first slipped in pocket 60, and cover board 64 is subsequently inserted in the narrower pocket 58. The wide, full-area pocket 60 may in turn be used to conceal papers, letters, passport, or the like, these being carried in back of the book cover 62. It will be evident that the pockets 58 and 60 hold the book in place and cause the book to open when the Qbook compartment is opened. It will further be evident that with this arrangement the hand bag and book may be supported in one hand, as is shown in Fig. 2, when reading the book, thus making it possible to read the book while standing in a crowded train, bus, or the like. This is a great convenience to the user because the other hand may hold a strap or other support. At the same time, the combination is convenient for any traveler, because both the hand bag and book are together and accessible and not easily mislaid or lost as is the case when they are separate from one another. W'hen a frame such as the frame F is employed, the book is supported by the frame itself as well as by the pockets, so that it cannot slide out of the book compartment. Cons dering the book compartment simply as a book cover, it should be noted that it protects the book, conceals the book, and completely houses the same when the book is not being read.

It should be noted that the hinges 54 of the frame are located substantially coincident with the bottom edge 44 of the book compartment, and this locat on is important and desirable in order to permit the book compartment to open out in a substantially flat condition, as is clearly shown in Fig. 5, so that there is no tendency to hold the book in a partially closed position which might interfere with comfortable reading ofthe same. Thus, referring to Fig. 4, the book binding 70, the hinges 54, and the bottom edge 44 of the compartment, are all in close relation, permitting the book, the frame, and the compartment walls to open or close as a unit. The frame is provided with closure means separate from and preferably operable independently of the closure means of the envelope portion of the bag. In the present case, frame 56 is provided with a resiliently oscillatable latch plate 72 having recesses 7 4 arranged to engage mating lugs 76 on hand bag frame 56. The latch or lock means used may be of any desired type, the only im portant feature being that the book compartment be openable while keeping the envelope portion of the bag closed, and the latter, conversely, being openable, as shown in Fig. 8, while keeping the book compartment closed.

In the example here shown, the side and top edges of the outer wall 42 of the book compartment are secured within the channel of frame 52. The flap 60 for the book cover pocket is not secured within the channel of the frame, butinstead is stitched to the outer wall 42 by a line of stitching 80, best shown in Fig. 4, which extends around the periphery of the material 60 and is located substantially coincident with the edge of the frame 52. Similarly, the layer of material 58, forming the opposite book cover pocket, is preferably not extended inside of the channel or framemember 50, but instead is terminated at the edge of the frame member and is stitched to the wall 14 by a peripheral line of stitching 82. The frame member 50 differs from the member 52, however, in that its upper edge or top channel has secured therein not only the upper edge of the wall'14, but also the upper edge of the outside or closure flap 28. This construction will, it is thought, be self-evident from an inspection of Figs. 1, 3, and 4.

The various partitions 16, 18, and 20, as well as the wall 12, are preferably made coextensive in area with the frame F, and in any case one of the features of the present invention centers about the fact that the envelope portion of the bag H is unusually securely and tightly closed by closure flap 28 because of the rigid support provided by frame F. To take greatest advantage of this posslbility, the upper edges of the partition and wall members are made to extend upwardly near to the edge of the frame, this at its maximum being most clearly shown in Fig. 4. Inasmuch as the closure flap 28 extends downwardly directly from the frame member 50, it follows that the open upper edges of the compartments of the hand bag are always securely closed by the closure flap,

there being no appreciable space therebetween to permit escape of articles from the hand bag pockets. The gussets at the ends of the hand bag pockets are likewise secure- 1y closed, even though no extra material is provided at said gussets, because regardless of any bulge which may be produced in the hand bag pockets by articles carried therein, the upper edges are invariably brought close together and are closed by the closely superjacent surface of the closure flap 28. This result follows from the fact that the envelope bag is stiffened and stretched out to shapebythe frame. Atthispoint it may also be mentioned that the open edge of the envelope portion H of the bag is preferably located at the same edge as the openable or upper edge of the book compartment B because with this arrangement the articles carried in the bag are subiected to least disarray and least likelihood of loss when the boolk compartment is opened to read the 1300i.

The hand bag may, of course, be made of any suitable material known to the hand bag art. In addition to the usual materials, such as leather and various imitations of leather, I have found it possible .and desirable to use a form of hard-surfaced well-finished felt, in which case the bag may be made and sold relatively inexpensively. The contrasting decorative material 40, shown in Fig. 1, may then be leather.

It is believed that the mode of constructing and using the hand bag of my invention, and the many advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The hand bag is provided with a book compartment, making it possible for a commuter or traveler to carry both the usual hand bag articles and a book in a single convenient receptacle. The book is so supported in the hand bag that it need not be removed therefrom to read the same, and, on the contrary, the book compartment acts as an effective book cover which supports the book, so that the assembly may be held in one hand when reading the book. The book cover provided is of a particularly beneficial kind because it encloses the edges as well as the covers of the book, and fully protects the book as well as fully conceals the book. The book compartment opens to its full width in a flat condition, and does not tend to prevent full opening of the book which therefore may be read with as much ease and comfort as though removed from the hand bag. In opening and reading the book, there is no disarray or upsetting of the articles carried in the hand bag pockets, for the latter are normally kept in upward condition. The entire bag is' a single integral article, readily and conveniently carried and handled, and as neat, smart, and attractive in appearance when closed as though no book were being carried at all.

In preferred construction the hand bag is a novel combined envelope bag and frame bag, a single frame being used to stiffen the entire bag. The stiffening efiect produced by the frame is incidentally used to insure tight closure of the envelope portion of the bag. The adjacent sides of the envelope and frame bag portions may be made of a single piece of material, thereby economizing in use of material at that point. If a book is not carried in the book compartment, there results a relatively commodious pocket which may shopping or the like. The frame is of simple, economical, and inexpensive type, and yet serves a number of functions: first, in stiffening the bagas aforesaid; second, in holding the edges of the book compartment rigid to prevent warping and flapping thereof when the book is opened; third, to provide a; relatively wide compartment which need not be bulged to an unsightly extent when carrying a book; fourth, to provide a metalbe used for sundry articles, as when lic band, creating a color contrast which enhances the exterior appearance of the bag; fifth, it helps support a book in the book compartment whether the compartment is opened or closed; and sixth it facilitates the provision of separate and independently operable closure means for the book compartment and the envelope portion of the bag.

It will be understood that the frame, instead of being arranged with closed edge toward closed edge, may be reversed if it is desired to conceal instead of display the metal. Also, the frame may be disposed in the plane of the hand bag, instead of normally thereof if it is not desired to provide a wide compartment. A single frame may be used for the entire hand bag, as shown, but, of course, both the book compartment and the hand bag portion may be made of frame construction, and, conversely, both the book compartment and hand bag portion may, if desired, be made without any frame. course, the book compartment is preferably widely openable, and consequently if a zipper fastener or the like is used, it is preferably extended as fully down the side as well as the upper edge of the book compartment as possible.

These and various other changes may .be made in the hand bag construction, and it will therefore be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A book compartment comprising flexibe covering material and two inverted U- shaped stiff frame members pivoted at their lower ends, the covering material being secured to and held in shape by the frame members, said frame members defining the length and width of the book compartment and being dimensioned to readily receive a book of normal size, means to lock the frame members in closed relation, said frame members serving to bring and hold the edges of the compartment together despite the flexiblity of the covering material so as to protectively house and conceal the book carried thereby, the pivoting of the frame members at the lower edge of the compartment permitting the book to be fully opened and read without removing the same from the compartment,

said compartment being further provided with means to hold the book therein.

2. A book compartment comprising covering material and two inverted U-shaped frame members pivoted at their lower ends, each of said frame members being channeled in cross-section to receive the covering material. the frame channels being arranged at right angles to the plane of the frame, thereby making the compartment of substantial Width to accommodate a book without unduly bulging the compartment,the inner walls of said compartment being provided with pockets for receiving the cover boards of a book.

3. A unitary enclosed ladies hand bag made of stiff frame members and flexible covering material and comprising a hand bag portion including a closure flap and structurally resembling an envelope bag, and a book compartment structurally resembling a frame-bag, said book compartment comprising two inverted U-shaped stifi' frame members pivoted at their lower ends and defining the length and width of the bag with dimensions selected to readily receive a book of normal size, said frame members serving to bring and hold the edges of the book compartment together despite the flexibility of the covering material so as to protectively house and conceal the book carried thereby, the pivoting of the frame members at the lower edges of the compartment permitting the'book to be opened and read without removing the same from the compartment, said compartment being further provided with means to hold the book therein, the hand bag portion being substantially coextensive in area with the book compartment and being stifl'ened and held in shape by the'frame of the book compartment, said closure'flap being secured to and'extending downwardly directly from the upper edge of the adjacent frame member.

. 4:. A unitary enclosed ladieshand bag comprising a hand bag portion including a closure flap and structurally resembling an envelope'bag, and a book compartment structurally resembling a frame bag, said book compartment including two. inverted U- shaped frame members pivoted at their lower ends, the side legs of said frame members beequal in length to the height ing substantially of the bag, each of said frame members being channeled in cross-section to receive the bag material, the frame channels being arranged at right angles to the plane of the frame and thereby making the compartment of substantial width, the hand bag portion lying at one side of the frame bag portion and being substantially coextensive in area therewith and stiffened and shaped thereby, the closure flap of said envelope bag portion being secured inand extending downwardly directly fromthe upper channeled edge of the adjacent frame member.

5. A unitary fully enclosed ladies hand bag made of stifli frame members and a flexible covering material, said hand bag comprising a hand bagportion and a book compartment substantially coextensive in area and located side by side and formlng a unitary hand bag structure, said book compart- -ment= comprising two inverted U-shaped frame members pivoted at their lowerends and defining the length and the full width of the bag with dimensions selected to readily receive a book of normal size, said frame members serving to bring and hold the edges of the book compartment together despite the flexibility of the covering material so as to protectively house and conceal the book carried thereby, the pivoting of the frame members at the lower edges of the compartment permitting the book to be opened and read

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