Convertible carrier bag
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 436,737 filed Oct. 26, 1982, now abandoned which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 202,745, filed Oct. 31, 1980, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 177,366, filed Aug. 11, 1980, now abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention relates to convertible carrier bags. In particular, this invention relates to a carrier bag which may be converted from a handbag configuration to a garment supported configuration. 
     PRIOR ART 
     Money belts or the like have been used for many years for carrying valuables on the person to guard against theft and robbery. Money belts have the advantage that they can be hidden beneath the clothing of the wearer so as to be inconspicuous and they can be securely fastened so that they cannot be removed without the cooperation of the wearer. The conventional money belt does, however, have only limited use and it is not conveniently constructed for everyday use by shoppers or the like. 
     Handbags are a preferred form of carrier bag used, particularly by women, for carrying numerous small valuable items such as cash, credit cards, passports, personal identification papers, cosmetics and jewellery and the like. Handbags are, however, very easily stolen by purse snatchers because they can be wrenched from the hand of a robbery victim with relative ease. This is particularly true where the victim is elderly. 
     The carrier bag of the present invention overcomes the difficulties described above in that it can be readily converted to a garment supported configuration in which it has many of the advantages of a money belt and to a handbag configuration in which it may be used with the facility of a handbag. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a carrier bag which is convertible between a garment supported configuration and a hand supported configuration comprises a pouch having a storage compartment, a vest adapted to fit a human torso, said vest being secured to said pouch such that the pouch is supported by the vest in close proximity to the torso of the wearer in use and being adapted to fit within the storage compartment so that the pouch may assume its hand supported configuration. 
     According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a carrier bag which is convertible between a garment supported configuration and a hand supported configuration comprises a pair of pouches, means for releasably securing said pouches in a face-to-face relationship defining a vest storage compartment therebetween, a vent adapted to fit a human torso, said vest being secured to said pouches such that each pouch may be suspended from the vest in close proximity to the torso of the wearer in use when said means for releasably securing the pouches is released, said vest being adapted to fit within said vest storage compartment so that the pouches may assume a handbag configuration when in said face-to-face relationship. 
    
    
     PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention will be more clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawings, wherein 
     FIG. 1 is a pictorial front view of the carrier bag in a garment support configuration; 
     FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of the carrier bag in a hand support configuration; 
     FIG. 3 is a view of the carrier bag illustrating the manner in which the vest portion is housed in a vest storage compartment located between two pouch sections; 
     FIG. 4 is a pictorial view of a carrier bag constructed in accordance with a further embodiment; and 
     FIG. 5 is a view of the inner face of one pouch of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4. 
    
    
     With reference to the drawings, reference numeral 11 refers generally to two generally rectangular shaped pouches which are preferably constructed from soft flexible material such as leather, plastic or the like and have a configuration of a conventional handbag with the thickness of each pouch being about half the thickness of the required handbag configuration. The two pouch sections 11 are preferably connected to one another along juxtaposed edges by means of a flexible connector hinge 18. The hinge 18 maybe releasable so that the two pouches can be disconnected or it may be a fabric hinge which permanently secures the juxtaposed edges along the line 18. By reason of the flexible connection, the pouches 11 may be moved between the position shown in FIG. 1 in which they are arranged in side-by-side relationship in the position shown in FIG. 2 in which they are arranged in a face-to-face relationship. Each of the storage compartments of the pouches 11 is closed by means of a zip fastener 16 and a further zip fastener 17 extends around the periphery of the free edges of the pouches 11 so as to be operable to retain the pouches in the handbag configuration shown in FIG. 2. A vest storage compartment is formed between the pouches 11 when they are located in the handbag configuration illustrated in FIG. 2. The vest consists of a pair of shoulder straps 19 and fastening straps 15. The shoulder straps 19 are secured at one edge to the pouches 11 inwardly of the vest storage compartment. Shoulder straps 19 are proportioned so that when the carrier bag is in the garment support configuration, the shoulder straps support the pouches 11 against the abdomen of the wearer so that they are relatively inconspicuous and are inobtrusive in that they do not restrict body movement. The tie straps 15 extend from opposite ends of each pouch to the back edge of the adjacent shoulder strap and thereafter extend around the front of the wearer to be connected by means of a buckle fastener 13 or the like. Carrying handles 14 are secured to the pouches 11 for use when the carrier bag is in the handbag configuration as illustrated in FIG. 2. 
     From the foregoing it will be apparent that when the carrier bag is to be used in a handbag configuration, the vest including the shoulder straps 19 and fastening straps 15 are folded into a compact configuration and stored within the storage compartment formed between the two pouch sections 11. The bag is retained in the handbag configuration by operation of the zip fastener 17. To convert from the handbag configuration to the garment support configuration, the zip fastener 17 is released and the vest is removed from its storage compartment and fitted around the wearer as shown in FIG. 1. 
     Various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a pocket may be provided on the inner surface of each pouch so that the shoulder straps 19 and securing straps 15 may be securely retained within the vest storage compartment. Furthermore, the pouch may be formed as a single pouch unit with the entire vest being located within a storage compartment of the unitary pouch. Similarly, the carrier bag may be made from three or more pouches with the compartment for storing the vest being located in one or in each pouch. 
     It will also be apparent that the zip fasteners 16 and 17 may be replaced by any other convenient fastening mechanism. Furthermore, the zip fastener 17 may extend around the entire periphery of each pouch so that it forms the releasable hinge 18 along the peripheral edges as aforesaid.