US2637424A - Clothing bag - Google Patents

Description

y 1953 M. 1.. DUSKIN 2,637,424

CLOTHING BAG Filed July 10, 1951 [T175271 47P MorgzBL.Dwslgan Z75; WHLL ZE Patented May 5, 1953 UN I T ED S TAT ES i-" Ail"EN T O FF'I CE CLOTHING BAG Morris L. Duskint Chicago, Ill.

App'licationtfuly I0, 1951, Serial No. 236,013

4 Claims.

The present invention relates-teen improved garment bag for carrying garment-sduring traveling, and for supporting garments in an extended position.

The main difliculty with flexible garment bags, such as the canvas bags in wide use today, is their bulkiness. Such bags are ordinarily arranged to be folded about their middle and are provided with handle members at each end, so that upon folding of the bag, the handles provide a suitable grip for carrying the garment bag. However, in makinga garmentbag ofsufiioient size to accommodate several mens suits, the bag must be made with a substantial thickness at the upper" end which supports the garment hangers therein with thethickerpad'ded shoulders of the suit carried thereby. It is common practice to provide such garment bags with a substantially uniform cross sectional area, sothat as the bag is folded about its middle, a relatively bulky package is produced.

With the foregoing in mind, an object of the present invention is to provide agarment bag of sufficient thickness to accommodate several 'mens suits, while being sufliciently thin at its central and lower end portions to be folded conveniently about its middle into a non-bulky carryi'ng case.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible garment bag of canvas, or similar material in which clothingcan be packed in a much neater manner than heretofore possible with garment bags in commercial use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved garment bag including a pair of tapered gusset members which'provide the garment bag with an enlarged. upper supporting end and relatively thin central and lower end portions. thus facilitating folding of the bag about its middle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a garment bag which can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

A further description of the present invention will be made in connection with the attached sheet of drawings which, by way of preferred embodiment, illustrate a form of garment bag embodying the features of the present invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the garment bag of the present invention in its folded position;

Figure 2 is an end view, with parts in elevation of the garment bag in its folded position;

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of the garment panels, panel It, forms the front surface of the bag in its extended position-with portions thereor broken away to illustrate the construction of the interior of the bag; and

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the'garment bag of the: present invention in its extended 7 position.

As shown on'the drawings: a The garment bag of the present invention includes a pair of flexible panels I 0 and H of suitable flexible material, such as canvas. One of the garment bag, and the o'ther'paneI, panel I l, forms the rear surface thereof. If desired, each of these panels may be made of different types of i flexible materials. Forexample, the front panel lflcould be made of canvas, while therearpanel may be made of leather or" synthetic leather. The two panels ID- and are similarl'y'shaped, and both include substantially rounded upper corners l2" and [3, on panel f0, and lower corners Hand 15 of a substantially less rounded configuration than the upper corners Hand [3.

The purpose of providing the corner portions with difierent curvatures is to provide more spaceat the bottom end of the container to accommodate relatively wide garments. 'mens trousers are supported by hanging the same by: the cuffs from the upper endof the garment In garment bags Of this nature,

bag, leaving the waist portion in the lower end of the garment bag. Similarly, womens skirts are ordinarily supported from the waist end at the top of 'the'garment bag, and leaving the flared hem-portion extending into the base ofthe bag. 'In the 'garment bag or the present invention, the base of the bag is effectively widened by providing the slightly rounded corners I4 and I5 rather than making the panels l0 and H symmetrical. In

this'way, as the garment bag is folded into its folded position illustrated in Figure 1, the bottom corners Ht and f 5 of the bag assembly pro- =vide sufiicient space for receiving garments of this type without substantial wrinkling.

important feature of the present invention resides in the means employed for definingthe upper supporting end of the garment bag. As best illustrated Figures 2' and 4*, these means inelude-a continuous strip of material Hi' having opthese two seams merging near the central portion of the bag, the panels being joined directly together below the junction by means of a single reinforcing seam 20.

Preferably, the strip [6 is composed of flexible material such as canvas, leather and the like, but it is also within the scope of the present invention to make the strip l6 of a substantially rigid material. With the construction of the upper supporting end as illustrated, the garment bag will provide suflicient thickness at the upper supporting end to receive several mens suits, as the major thickness of the suits, occurring in the shoulders thereof which are frequently padded is received within the enlarged upper supporting end. At the same time, the bottoms of the suit jackets are contained within the reduced thickness central portion without bagging of that central portion.

Each end of the garment bag of the present invention is provided with handle members 21 and 22, respectively, so that upon folding of the bag about its center, as illustrated in Figure 2, a convenient gripping means is provided.

The central portion of the bag is reinforced as by means of a pair of reinforcing strips 23 and 24 of leather, or other wear resistant material to-prevent the edges of the bag from becoming unduly scuffed and worn when the garment bag is in its folded position. To hold the bag in its folded position, the rear panel ll of The rear panel ll also includes a plurality of slide fastener elements including separable slide fastener sections 21, 28 and their associated slides 29 and 30. Another slide fastener section 3| and its slide 32 provides access to a pocket formed in the base of the garment bag assembly by providing a dual thickness of the material of the garment bag in this area.

The interior of the bag, at the enlarged upper supporting end, includes a clothes hanger rack 34 secured to the front panel [0. The rack 34 is provided with-suitable slots or apertures to receive a plurality of conventional wire clothes hangers 35. The rack 34 also supports a depending wire brace 36 shaped to conform generally with the periphery of the enlarged supporting end of the bag, the brace 36 extending to a point short of the middle of the garment bag, so that the presence of the brace 36 will not interfere with the folding of the bag about its central portion.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the garment bags of the present invention are particularly designed to receive a number of articles of clothing such as mens suits without wrinkling. By providing the tapered gussets in the manner described, the garment bag can be folded about its central portion, to provide a carrying case substantially thinner than the garment bags previously employed for carrying the same type of articles. At the same time, the bulkiness of the garment bag, particularly in the central and lower portions of the bag has been considerably reduced to facilitate folding.

It will be appreciated that various modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A garment bag comprising a pair of panels of flexible material defining the front and rear surfaces of said bag, a pair of downwardly tapered gusset members separating said panels at one end of said bag, said gusset members extending from the top of said bag and terminating at a central portion thereof to provide an enlarged upper supporting end and tapered side wall portions between said panels terminating at a central portion of said bag, and a hanger rack in said enlarged upper supporting end.

2. A garment bag comprising a pair of panels of flexible material defining the front and rear surfaces of said bag, a continuous strip of flexible material having downwardly tapered gussetlike ends securing said panels together to provide an enlarged upper supporting end and tapered wall portions between panels, said tapered wall portions terminating at a central portion of said bag, and a hanger rack in said enlarged upper supporting end.

3. A garment bag comprising a pair of panels of flexible material defining the front and rear sufaces of said bag, a pair of flexible, downwardly tapered gusset members separating said panels at one end of said bag to provide an enlarged upper supporting end and tapered side wall por tions between said panels, said tapered side wall portions terminating at a central portion of said bag, means securing said panels directly together below said tapered side wall portions, and a hanger rack in said enlarged supporting end.

4. A garment bag comprising a pair of panels of flexible material defining the front and rear surfaces of said bag, said panels having substantially rounded upper corner portions and less rounded lower corner portions, a pair of flexible, downwardly tapered gusset members separating said panels at the upper corner portions to provide an enlarged upper supporting end and tapered side wall'portions between said panels, said tapered side wall portions terminating at a central portion of said bag, means securing said panels directly together below said tapered side wall portions, and a hanger rack in said enlarged supporting end. I 1

MORRIS L. DUSKIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,040,559 Luttrell May 12, 1936 2,261,291 Salansky Nov. 4, 1941 2,325,806 Simmons Aug. 3, 1943 2,561,841 Cart July 24, 1951 FOREIGN. PATENTS Number Country Date 781,765 France Mar. 4, 1935

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