Air-cushion backpack and laptop sleeve

Abstract

A backpack has a front pocket containing a plate and a pair of shoulder straps for holding the plate against the back of a user. A pressurizable, flexible and elastic bladder covers the plate and has inside surfaces with an embossed pattern for preventing sticking together of facing walls of the bladder to facilitating an initial inflation of the bladder. A pair of tubular extensions extend from the bladder and into the shoulder straps, one of the tubular extensions being for inflating and deflating the bladder. A mouth-inflatable check valve connected to extension is location so as to be accessible to the user for inflating the bladder and a valve cover is detachably connected over the entire mouth engageable perimeter of the check valve for keeping it clear. Semi-rigid liners in the shoulder straps near the bladder form channels for facilitating inflating and deflating of the bladder. A pair of cushion panels in, or separate from the backpack, include pluralities of offset parallel, partially filled air tubes spaced by webs for minimizing volume when there is nothing between the cushion panels.

Description

FIELD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates in general to article carriers, and in particular to an new and useful backpack and laptop sleeve having air cushion features for increased comfort and for protection of a laptop computer carried by the backpack or sleeve.[0002]U.S. Patent Application US2007 / 0215662, published Sep. 20, 2007, on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 377,008, filed Mar. 16, 2006, that shares at least one inventor with the current application and which is incorporated here by reference, teaches a backpack with a generally rigid plate having a front face, a back face and shoulder straps for holding it against a back of a user. An inflatable, non-elastic and smooth surfaced bladder covers generally all of the front face of the plate and has a closable fill opening so that the bladder can be inflated for added comfort and load distribution.[0003]Although the backpack of the above-identified application has been extremely succ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a backpack with a front pocket for holding a plate and a shoulder straps for carrying an object. The backpack also has a bladder covering the front of the plate for inflation and a check valve for adjusting the amount of air in the bladder. The invention also includes a laptop sleeve with cushion panels made of air tubes for minimizing the space between them and cushioning a laptop computer. The check valve has a flapper that can be opened to adjust the air pressure. The technical effects of the invention include improved comfort, adjustable air pressure, and prevention of air from escaping from the bladder.

Problems solved by technology

This made it very difficult to inflate the bladder the first time since in addition to over coming the internal pressure to inflate the bladder to a comfortable level, the stuck together walls had to be separated by the blown in air pressure alone.

This proved to be very difficult.

Another perceived difficulty with the prior backpack was that since only one tube extended along the shoulder strap for inflation according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, when the backpack and its one tube were inflated it was perceived to be asymmetric because the other strap was not inflated, or even perhaps defective because of this asymmetry.

Another problem with the prior art is the protection of laptop computers which are small and easily portable but likewise, easily dropped and damaged.

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