Backpack

#Backpacks in the prior art typically have shoulder straps which extend from the rear of the pack to allow the user to carry the pack. The weight is mostly borne from the top part of the backpack with the bulk of the weight in the backpack falling to the bottom, and outwards from the user's body at an offset distance from the body. If the weight in the backpack is heavy, the backpack can pull the user backwardly and become uncomfortable. The user usually has to lean forward to maintain balance and compensate for the load while walking.

#The present invention can provide a backpack which can distribute and carry weight better then prior backpacks, and therefore can carry more weight more comfortably. The backpack can include a pack portion having a top, a bottom, a front, a rear and two sides. A strap arrangement can also be included for carrying the pack portion as a backpack. The strap arrangement can have a pair of carrying straps. Each carrying strap can be secured to the pack portion at about the bottom and extend upwardly along respective sides of the pack portion, and redirected at about the top of said respective sides to extend around to the rear of the pack portion, and being redirected at about the top of the rear to extend downwardly for securement at about the bottom of the pack portion at the rear. The strap arrangement can redirect forces to support a load in the pack portion from the sides of the pack portion.

#In particular embodiments, the pair of carrying straps can extend from a strap extending along the bottom of the pack portion and sewn to each side of the pack portion near the bottom to support the load from the bottom. Strap redirecting members can be secured to the pack portion at about the top of the pack portion on the two sides and at the rear, for redirecting each pack strap while allowing the carrying strap to slide through the redirecting members. A side ring can be secured to each side of the pack portion near the top through which a respective carrying strap passes and is slidably redirected. Two rear rings can be secured to the rear of the pack portion near the top, each through which a respective carrying strap passes and is slidably redirected. The side rings and the rear rings can be generally positioned on a common level. The rear rings can be positioned close to each other on opposite sides of a vertical center line, and the two carrying straps can be secured at about the bottom of the pack portion at the rear, and close to each other on opposite sides of the vertical center line. A stiffening member can be included for stiffening at least an upper portion of the rear of the pack portion. Each carrying strap can be secured to the rear of the pack portion, at about the bottom with a releasable connector. Each rear ring can be secured to the rear of the pack portion near the top by a releasable connector. The strap arrangement can be disconnected from the backpack configuration and reconnected in a shoulder strap configuration. Each carrying strap can include at least one strap adjuster for adjusting the strap. The strap arrangement can include piezoelectric material for generating electricity. A solar cell system can be included on the pack portion.

#The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the present invention.

#FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of a backpack in the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the backpack.

#Referring to FIGS. 1-8, backpack 10 is one embodiment of a backpack in the present invention and can include a pack portion 11, and a strap arrangement or assembly 22 for carrying the pack portion 11 as a backpack. The pack portion 11 can be made of flexible material suitable for a backpack, for example, nylon, denim, canvass, etc. The pack portion 11 can be generally square or rectangular and can have a top 12, a bottom 14, a front 16, a rear 20 and two sides 18 formed from the flexible material.

#Referring to FIGS. 2 and 8, at least the upper portion of the rear 20 of the pack portion 11 can be stiffened or braced by a stiffening member 66. The stiffening member 66 can be a lateral or horizontally placed member of stiff material composition which can extend laterally across the width of the rear 20, a substantial portion or the majority of the width, or at least a portion of the width. The stiffening member 66 can be a metallic bar, such as steel, aluminum, titanium, etc, which can be secured by fasteners 68 to the interior of the rear 20, for example, by screws, bolts or rivets, as shown. The bar can be solid, perforated with holes, or can be hollow tubing. Alternatively, the stiffening member 66 can be held in place by adhesives, or sewn or held in a pocket, and can be on the exterior of the rear 20. In some embodiments, the stiffening member 66 can be made of other suitable materials and can be plastic, wood, paperboard, or composites, such as fiberglass or carbon fiber, and can be a plate or a board having a shape extending both laterally and vertically. A handle or ring 64 can be secured to stiffening member 66 and can extend from the rear 20 on the exterior side (FIG. 4).

#The strap arrangement 22 can include a right shoulder strap 22a and a left shoulder strap 22b, and each can consist of a length of strap 24 which can be formed of one or more strap segments. Referring to FIGS. 1-3, each strap 24 can extend upwardly from the sides 18 of the pack portion 11 from a strap segment 24a. The strap segment 24a can extend along the bottom 14 of the pack portion 11 (FIGS. 5 and 6) and can be sewn or stitched with stitching 26 on the bottom 20 and on the sides 18 near the bottom 20. Each strap 24 can extend along the central axis C (FIG. 9) up the sides 18 and through a side strap redirecting or pulley member 50 such as a ring, which can be secured near the top of the sides 18 along the central axis C by a mount 52. The mount 52 can rotatably support the ring 50 through a hole 52a on a horizontal axis X which allow the ring to pivot about axis X up and down, in a pivoting or rotational degree of freedom with the opening of the ring facing generally vertically for accepting the strap 24.