Backpack Haul Strap Rain Cover Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing backpack designs do not incorporate a rain cover within the haul strap, leading to discomfort when carrying heavy loads and lack of protection for other gear from moisture.
Innovation Solution
A modified haul strap with a hollow interior and closure to form a storage compartment for a rain cover, which also serves as a padding-enhanced carrying handle, allowing the rain cover to be concealed and deployed from the strap, providing a discrete storage pocket for wet items.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rain cover is stored in a separate pouch or compartment, then the rain cover is protected from moisture, but the backpack structure becomes more complex and requires additional storage space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the rain cover storage function with the existing haul strap structure by creating a hollow interior space within the haul strap itself. This eliminates the need for separate storage pouches or compartments, thereby protecting gear from moisture while avoiding additional structural complexity. The haul strap serves dual purposes: as a carrying handle and as a storage compartment for the rain cover.
Solution Approach 2:
The haul strap is transformed into a multi-functional component that simultaneously serves as a carrying handle and a storage compartment for the rain cover. This universal design allows the same structure to perform multiple functions without requiring additional separate components, thus reducing overall device complexity while maintaining protection capabilities.
2Reliability
If a rain cover is stored in a separate pouch or compartment, then the rain cover is protected from moisture, but additional storage space is required
Solution Approach 1:
The rain cover is nested within the hollow interior of the haul strap, utilizing the existing space within the carrying handle structure. This nesting approach allows the rain cover to be stored without requiring additional external storage space, as the haul strap's internal volume is utilized for this purpose.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage function for the rain cover is merged with the haul strap structure, eliminating the need for separate storage compartments. This integration ensures that no additional storage space is required beyond what is already present in the backpack's haul strap design.
3Ease of operation
If the haul strap is made thicker to provide padding, then carrying comfort is improved, but the haul strap occupies more space and may be less flexible
Solution Approach 1:
The padding function is merged with the rain cover storage compartment within the haul strap. By placing the rain cover inside the hollow interior of the haul strap, the structure gains padding and comfort without requiring the haul strap itself to be made thicker. The rain cover acts as the padding material, eliminating the need to increase the haul strap's structural thickness.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A backpack comprising a body constructed of flexible fabric and having a haul strap with a hollow interior and a closure so as form a selectively openable storage compartment configured to contain a rain cover. The rain cover may be a pack cover only, a combined pack cover and hood, or a combined hood and poncho, and a portion of the cover may be secured within the storage compartment interior so as to remain affixed to the haul strap when deployed.