Safety purse

Abstract

A method and apparatus for deterring the theft of a fashionable evening handbag or its contents without detracting from its attractive design. The safety purse described herein provides a unique method of combining a durable yet decorative chain carrying means with a soft sided fabric purse by means of a hidden stiffener rib. The combination allows a simple and convenient way of securing valuables within the purse and also locking the purse itself to a less mobile fixture or object. The hidden stiffener rib enables the locking method in spite of the inherent flexibility of the fashion fabrics used in the purse's manufacture. The safety purse also provides a means for preventing children from accessing medications or other hazardous items that may be conveniently locked inside the inventive purse.

1 . A safety purse comprised of:
 a soft sided bag for containing and carrying valuable items, said soft sided bag being made by the seaming of one or more fabric panels wherein the top edges of said one or more fabric panels form a closeable mouth portion;   a casing formed in said top edges of said one or more fabric panels essentially surrounding said closeable mouth portion of said soft sided bag at or near the seam joining said closeable mouth portion to the sides of a zipper closure means; wherein
 said zipper closure means runs essentially the full length of said mouth portion, having a first end and a second end and further having a zipper slider, said zipper slider having an aperture and being movable between said first end and said second end, wherein access to said valuable items is allowed when said zipper slider is moved to said first end of said zipper closure means and inhibited when said zipper slider is moved to said second end of said zipper closure means; 
   a hidden stiffener rib captured within said casing of said mouth portion of said soft sided bag, said hidden stiffener rib extending essentially around the mouth portion of said soft sided bag to provide stiffness to said zipper closure means; and   a linked chain carrying means comprised of a decorative metallic chain, wherein said linked chain carrying means is anchored to said hidden stiffener rib and thereby attached to said soft sided bag.   
   
   
       2 . The safety purse of  claim 1  wherein said hidden stiffener rib is comprised of a plurality of segments to simplify assembly. 
   
   
       3 . The safety purse of  claim 2  wherein said hidden stiffener rib is comprised of a metallic material. 
   
   
       4 . The safety purse of  claim 3  wherein said linked carrying means is anchored to said hidden stiffener rib by coupling said hidden stiffener rib to an end link of said linked carrying means. 
   
   
       5 . The safety purse of  claim 4  wherein said linked carrying means is anchored to said hidden stiffener rib by coupling said hidden stiffener rib to an end link of said linked carrying means with a closeable link. 
   
   
       6 . The safety purse of  claim 5  wherein said closeable link passes through each of said end link of said linked carrying means, and holes formed in the ends of said hidden stiffener rib. 
   
   
       7 . The safety purse of  claim 2  wherein said hidden stiffener rib is comprised of a resilient plastic formulation. 
   
   
       8 . The safety purse of  claim 7  wherein said plurality of segments of said hidden stiffener rib are anchored directly to the bag material in the casing by secondary stitches. 
   
   
       9 . A safety purse comprised of:
 a soft sided bag for containing and carrying valuable items, said soft sided bag being made by the seaming of one or more fabric panels wherein the top edges of said one or more fabric panels form a closeable mouth portion;   a casing formed in said top edges of said one or more fabric panels essentially surrounding said closeable mouth portion of said soft sided bag at or near the seam joining said closeable mouth portion to the sides of a zipper closure means; wherein
 said zipper closure means runs essentially the full length of said mouth portion, having a first end and a second end and further having a zipper slider, said zipper slider having an aperture and being movable between said first end and said second end, wherein access to said valuable items is allowed when said zipper slider is moved to said first end of said zipper closure means and inhibited when said zipper slider is moved to said second end of said zipper closure means; 
   a hidden stiffener rib comprised of a plurality of metallic segments captured within said casing of said mouth portion of said soft sided bag, said hidden stiffener rib segments extending essentially around the mouth portion of said soft sided bag to provide stiffness to said zipper closure means; and   a linked chain carrying means comprised of a decorative metallic chain, wherein a link on each end of said linked chain carrying means is coupled to one of said hidden stiffener rib segments captured within said casing of said mouth portion of said soft sided bag.