Posture pack TM - posture friendly backpack

Abstract

This invention is a soft pack designed to carry less than 25 pounds and to comfortably transfer and evenly distribute weight carried in the pack from the shoulders and neck area to the gluteus maximus and hips (torso) of the user's body. Such transference and even weight distribution improves posture and prevents injuries associated with wearing backpacks. This load transfer from a weaker to a much stronger part of the body is accomplished by The Posture Friendly Backpack's major suspension elements: S-shaped shoulder straps that originate at the top seam of the pack and extend outward from each other at about a 45-degree angle; a wide, padded lumbar belt; a tub bottom formed by a relatively stiff back panel, a relatively stiff bottom panel and two triangular or trapezoidal side panels that cause the bottom to extend up at an angle of about 60 degrees relative to the back panel.

1 . A Posture Friendly Backpack adapted to be worn by a user having a neck, shoulders, front and lumbar region, said pack having a top panel, a bottom panel, back panel and side panels, said top panel and said back panel having a common seam with a joined center and a pair of straps emerging from said common seam at said center and extending away from said pack in an S-shape, with upper tips of said S-shaped straps emerging from said center point at an angle whereby when worn over the shoulder said straps diverge from a point directly behind the wearer's neck, pass around the neck and curve to near parallel as they extend over the shoulder and then diverge as they extend down the wearer's front to afford improved comfort and stability.  
     
     
         2 . The Posture Friendly Backpack as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pack further includes a wide lumbar belt extending from said back panel for securement about a wearer's waist.  
     
     
         3 . The Posture Friendly Backpack as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the pack further includes a relatively stiff back panel, a relatively stiff bottom panel and a pair of trapezoidal side panels, and wherein said back panel and said trapezoidal panels come together at two generally vertical support seams, and said relatively stiff bottom panel is stitched to a side of the trapezoidal panels so that it makes an angle of less than 90 degrees with the two vertical seams whereby a load supporting cup is formed at the bottom of said pack and load is comfortably transferred from the pack to the lumbar region of the wearer's body.  
     
     
         4 . The Posture Friendly Backpack as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the pack further includes a relatively stiff back panel, a relatively stiff bottom panel and a pair of side panels, and wherein said back panel and said side panels come together at two generally vertical support seams, and said relatively stiff bottom panel is stitched to a side of the said side panels and to said relatively stiff back panel so that it makes an angle of less than 90 degrees with the two vertical seams whereby a load supporting cup is formed at the bottom of said pack and load is comfortably transferred from the pack to the lumbar region of the wearer's body.  
     
     
         5 . A Posture Friendly Backpack adapted to be worn by a user having a neck, shoulders, front and lumbar region, said pack having: 
 a top panel, relatively stiff back panel and a seam between said top panel and said relatively stiff back panel,    a pair of shoulder straps attached at or adjacent said seam and adapted to pass over the wearer's shoulders,    a relatively stiff bottom panel,    a pair of lumbar belt sections and,    a pair of trapezoidal side panels each having: 
 i) a large base connected to the side edges of said back panel and to each of said lumbar belt sections to form two generally vertical seams and,  
 ii) a lower nonparallel side connected at a lower seam with said relatively stiff bottom panel so that the bottom panel makes an angle of less than 90 degrees with the vertical seam and forms a deformable load supporting cup at the bottom of said pack whereby load is comfortably transferred from the pack to the lumbar belt and then to the lumbar region of the wearer's body.  
   
     
     
         6 . A Posture Friendly Backpack adapted to be worn by a user having a neck, shoulders, front and a lumbar region said pack having: 
 a top panel, relatively stiff back panel and a seam between said top panel and said relatively stiff back panel,    a pair of shoulder straps attached at or adjacent said seam and adapted to pass over the wearer's shoulders,    a relatively stiff bottom panel,    a pair of lumbar belt sections and,    a pair of side panels each having: 
 i) a base connected to the side edges of said back panel and to said lumbar belt sections to form two generally vertical seams and,  
 ii) a lower side connected at a lower seam with said relatively stiff bottom panel so that the bottom panel makes an angle of less than 90 degrees with the vertical seam and forms a deformable load supporting cup at the bottom of said pack whereby load is comfortably transferred from the pack to the lumbar belt sections and then to the lumbar region of the wearer's body.  
   
     
     
         7 . A pack as in claims  5  or  6 , wherein said top panel and said back panel are stitched together at a common seam having a center point, and said pair of straps emerge from said common seam substantially at said center point and extend away from said pack in an S-shape, with upper tips of said S-shaped straps emerging from said center point at an angle whereby when worn over the shoulder said straps diverge from a point directly behind the wearer's neck, pass around the neck and curve to near parallel as they extend over the shoulder and then diverge as they extend down the wearer's front to afford improved comfort and then diverge as they extend down the wearer's front to afford improved comfort and stability.