Personal apparatus for balanced support of side loads in either standing or sitting position

Abstract

An apparatus which supports a pair of side loads in balanced and fully hand-accessible positions, while a person who is carrying the apparatus is walking in a substantially erect position, and also while the person is in a sitting position.

1 . A garment-like apparatus for a person to carry books or personal accessories while either walking or sitting, in order to maintain relatively correct posture and minimize back injury, comprising: 
 (a) a web structure to extend across the person's back;    (b) a pair of shoulder straps, each having a rearward end portion secured to the web structure, and a front end portion adapted to face forwardly;    (c) a pair of side bags adapted to be positioned at the respective sides of the person, each side bag having a rearward end secured to the web structure and a forward end secured to the forwardly facing front end portion of the corresponding shoulder strap, so that the weight of the contents of the side bags will be transmitted to the person's shoulders through both the forward end portions of the shoulder straps and the web structure to allow the person to remain erect while supporting that weight;    (d) the securements of the side bags to the respective shoulder straps being vertically adjustable to accommodate to the person's height for convenient hand access to the side bags;    (e) an upper front strap extending horizontally and attached to the upper portions of respective ones of the forwardly facing shoulder straps for securing the upper ends of the shoulder straps a desired distance apart;    (f) a horizontally extending lower front strap attached to the respective side bags for securing the side bags a desired horizontal distance apart, the lower front strap being attached to the front ends of the respective side bags at about their vertical centers; and    (g) the securement of the front strap to the shoulder straps being selectively releasable so that the person, when in a sitting position, may release it so as to open the upper part of the garment while yet keeping the lower strap secured and the side bags in convenient hand-accessible locations.