Traveling-receptacle.

Application filed August 23,1905. Serial No. 275,494.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Malnob, A. Shumard, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of 5 Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Traveling-Receptacles, of which the following is a specification.

My mvention relates to traveling-bags of the frameless folding type, made, preferably, io from a single piece of leather or other similar flexible material, and has for its obj ect to produce a receptacle of this kind whereby articles of clothing and the like may be conveniently carried with an entire absence of bun15 dling, rolling, and creasing, a receptacle which is economical of manufacture, which, dispensing with breakable parts, is immune to the ordinary hard-service perils of travel, and which because of its construction and man20 ner of folding will contain more articles in less space than the various valises, &c., now in use. Provision is also made for carrying in the same receptacle brushes, combs, or. other toilet articles in such manner that they 25 shall be separated from each other. Special pockets are provided also for the reception of papers and the like.

A further and special object is to make the traveling-bag expansible within wide limits, 30 so that it may be made to receive a large or small quantity of articles, as desired. A novel and adjustable handle for the bag is provided and means for maintaining the complete closure of the bag within the limits of its 35 expansibility.

Further objects and aims will appear in the course of the following description of the invention, which is to be taken in connection with the acompanying drawings, and the in40 vention will be specifically defined in the annexed claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective of a form of embodiment of my invention strapped and ready for transportation. Fig. 45 2 is a plan view of the outside of the blank from which the receptacle shown in Fig. 1 may be developed, showing the securingstraps, handles, and fold-guards. Fig.'S is a plan view of the reverse side of the blank 50 shownin Fig. 2. Figs. 4,5,6, and 7 are views similar to Fig. 3 of modified forms of blanks which may be employed in the development of my invention, the securing-straps and ’ handles being omitted. Fig. 8 is an end 55 view of a form of my invention made in accordance with the blanks shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 7. Fig. 9 is an inside plan view of a modified form of blank. Fig. 10 is an outside plan view of the blank shown in Fig. 9, and Fig. 11 is a view of a receptacle made 60 from blanks shown in Figs. 9 and 10 partially folded and showing a modified form of handle.

It should be premised that my invention comprises, essentially, a unitary sheet of some 65 flexible material provided with certain creases and folds, whereby said sheet may be folded up into the complete receptacle, and having means for maintaining the closure of the complete organization and novel means for car- 70 rying it. It will be necessary, first, therefore, to describe the blanks from which receptacles made in accordance with my invention are developed and in which some of the essentials of the invention are found. It 75 will be understood, of course, that the relative sizes of the various parts of these blanks are totally immaterial and that wherever a fold is referred to the two parts of the fold may be distinct pieces of material united 80 along the line of the,fold, or they may be integral.

Referring to the numerals on the drawings, wherein similar parts are indicated by like reference characters in the various fig- 85 ures, 1 indicates the preferably substantially rectangular main sheet of which my device primarily consists, of leather, leatherette, paper, cloth, or other suitable flexible material. Sheet 1 is provided medially with an 90 incipient fold or crease 2, so that the two parts of the sheet may be doubled upon each other to form the outside of the bag. As shown in Figs. 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11,1 may provide a pair of such medial creases in par- 95 allel arrangement, (indicated in said figures, for the sake of distinction, by the numerals 3.) Since said creases are intended to be at the bottom of the complete device, it is evident that where only one crease is provided the 100 bottom will be more or less angular, Fig. 1. Where two creases are provided, the bottom will be flat, Fig. 8, as in the ordinary suitcase, which construction has some advantages. For the sake of clearness the parts 105 of edges of the main sheet parallel to the medial fold 2 will be called the “ends” of the sheet, while the parts or edges perpendicular thereto will be designated as its “sides.”

Preferably substantially equidistant from no and parallel with the medial creases 2 or 3 3, as the case may be, are two creases 4, which

841,902 define the inner ends of flaps 5, adapted to 1 fold in toward the medial crease or creases . 2 3 3. Said flaps 5 might be separate pieces sewed to the rest of the sheet along the lines of the creases 4; but I prefer to make them' integral, as shown. They are shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 7 as equal in width to the· main sheet 1, upon which they fold, and they may, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, be wider than the io main sheet, in which case the excess width on each side is adapted to be folded in upon the main part of the flap 5. Upon these flaps 5 I preferably provide pockets 7 for the reception of papers and documents, com15 prising an attached or integral fold of material bent upon the flap 5 and secured so as to form a pocket opening inwardly of the sheet. In Fig. 3 I have shown the pocketflap as a separate piece attached to the end 20 flap 5, while in the other figures it is^; integral with the end flap.

Integral with the main sheet 1 or sewed to it and adapted to fold inward along creases 8 I provide side flaps 9,intended to be folded 25 down upon the articles of clothing laid flat along sheet 1 and end flaps 5 before the latter are folded in.

I may provide a single flap 9 011 each side of sheet 1, extending the entire length there30 of and having creases 10, alined with the medial crease 2 and end-flap crease 4 of the sheet to allow of folding in accordance with the, folding of' main sheet and end flaps,. Fig. 6. or a pair of side flaps may be provided on 35 each side corresponding to the two divisions of the main sheet and cut away on their adjacent edges to prevent buckling when folded, as in Figs. 2 and 3, or, as in Figs. 4, 5<, and 7, a pair of side flaps may be provided on each 40 side of the main sheet and another side flap 9' intermediate the pair and adapted to fold upon the bottom or middle section, of the main sheet, the adjacent edges of the side flaps being cut away, as in Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated a form having a plurality of side flaps greater than two, three being, shown, and the adjacent edges of the side flaps are not cut away, as in Figs. 2, 3, 4,. 5, and 7, but there is simply a cleft 9^a50 between them. Here the intermediate¹ side flap 9' is relatively wider than in. Figs. 4, 5, and. 7, corresponding, with a wide bottom or middle section of the main sheet, so that the bottom of the receptacle will be widely 55 curved. The clefts or slits 9^a do not extend inwardly quite to the creases 8, but stop short of them, so that when the side flaps are turned over on the main sheet an unbroken folded edge is exposed, which when the re60 ceptacle is closed prevents the entrance of dust at the slits or clefts, while the latter permit the flaps 9 to bend easily without buckling when the bag is closed.

In the flaps 9 may be cut or applied strips 65 11 of suitable size and arrangement, under which toilet or other small articles may be slipped.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3,14 indicates fold-guards attached to and connecting the main sheet, end flaps, and side flaps. These 70 are preferably a square piece of material having as its center the point of junction of the parts just enumerated and with one side extending from end flap to side flap to form a triangular portion. 15, which when the parts 75 are folded, as hereinafter described, serves to prevent the entrance of dust, &c., and toperfeet the closure of the receptacle at the points of folding. An additional function is to prevent the wearing out of material at the fold- 80 ing-points, where it is applied.

In the construction of Fig. 4 the foldguards 14 are not employed; but a piece 15' extends from end flap to side flap, as and for the purpose of part 15 in Figs. 2 and 3. 85 Parts 15 and 15' may be either integral or attached. In Figs. 5 and 6 again the same purpose is served by extending the side flaps 9 flush with the end flaps 5.

The blank for the receptacle having been 90 made, as set forth, it is completed into the article shown in Figs. 1 and 8, as follows: Assuming that the blank is laid flat—as shown in Fig. 3, for instance—articles of clothing may be laid along the main sheet 1 95 and end flaps 5. Side flaps 9 are then folded inward over the garments, being held in place, as by straps 16 and buckles connecting opposite flaps. Then the end flaps 5 are folded, inward and the main sheet folded to- 10c gether along the creases 2 or 3 3. To maintain this final folded condition, securingstraps 18, having buckles on one end, are provided, passing around the bag through strips 19, attached to or cut in the outside of the 105 main sheet, the main sheet, as before stated, forming the outside of the receptacle.

It will be evident that the quantity of clothing or articles to be carried in this bag may vary greatly and that as the quantity no is increased the upper ends of outside or main sheet 1 will be forced farther apart. With this in mind, the necessity for providing handles of an adjustable character will be understood. I have shown, Fig. 1, a form of 115 handle especially well adapted to this end.. It consists of a U-shaped hand-grip 20, having strap ends 21, adapted to be adjustably secured in buckles 22, fast to the side of the bag. One of these handles being provided on 120 each side of the bag, it.is evident that when the bag being full, the upper ends of the outside sheet 1 are forced apart the handles may be adjusted in their buckles to enable the grips 20 to be brought conveniently to- 125 gether..

In Figs. 10 and 111 show a modified form of handle. Here the hand-grips 20 are provided on each side of the receptacle, but their mode of attachment is different. The 130

841,902 strap ends 21 of each are extended to pass around the receptacle under strips 23 in or , upon the outside of the main sheet of the receptacle. The ends of one of the hand-grips 5 are provided with buckles 24, with which the ends of the other hand-grip are adapted to engage. When buckled together, the straps of the hand-grips will loosely encircle the receptacle, doing away with one pair of buckles io and with the riveting necessary for the rigidly-attached buckles shown in Fig. 1.

If desired, handles such as described may be dispensed with aiid the securing-straps 18 passed through an ordinary shawl - strap 15 handle at the upper side of the bag. Also, if desired, the upper ends of the bag might be positively locked together.