CN105077926A - expandable and swivel luggage - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a luggage case. The body portion and the inflatable body are connected to each other by a collapsible portion. The luggage case has a lid pivotally connected to the inflatable body. A first half of the zipper is secured to the inflatable body and a second half of the zipper is secured to the lid. The engagement of the first and second half zippers closes the cover to the inflatable body and thus defines a substantially enclosed space through the body portion, inflatable body and cover. The luggage case also includes a plurality of rotating wheels mounted to the main body portion and/or the inflatable body. The luggage case is supported on a plurality of rotatable wheels and is rotatable about one or more predetermined axes by the wheels.

Description

expandable and swivel luggage

Cross References to Related Applications

This application is related to, and claims the benefit of, U.S. Patent Application 13/694,191, filed November 5, 2012, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/628,725, filed November 4, 2011, the entire contents of which are adopted by References are included here.

technical field

The present disclosure relates generally to luggage, and more particularly, to such luggage having an expandable feature for allowing a user to selectively increase or decrease the capacity of the luggage, and a rotatable feature , for allowing the user to rotate the luggage about one or more predetermined axes of the luggage to freely move the luggage.

Background technique

The expandable suitcase is designed to meet the needs of the user to adjust the capacity of the suitcase. Typically, expandable luggage has an expandable section that is expanded by unzipping the section. With the expandable section being pulled apart, the user gains additional storage space within the luggage compartment. However, the zipping and unzipping operations of the zipper are troublesome, and the zipper of this part is liable to be damaged due to repeated zipping and unzipping operations. Furthermore, wheeled luggage has developed rapidly in recent decades. In particular, luggage with rollable or swivel wheels has become popular. However, a luggage case that is expandable and rotatable while standing upright has not been conceived.

Contents of the invention

As described herein, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention overcome the above and other disadvantages of one or more of the prior art. An exemplary aspect of the invention relates to luggage. A luggage case includes a main body and an expandable body. The expandable body includes a contractible portion through which the expandable body is connected to the main body portion. The luggage case also includes an expansion and locking device configured to allow free movement of the expandable body in a direction of compression towards the main body and configured to enable the expandable body to expand in a direction away from the main body Locked. A cover is pivotally connected to the expandable body. The luggage case also includes a zipper having a first zipper half connected to the expandable body and a second zipper half connected to the lid. Engagement of the first zipper half and the second zipper half closes the lid relative to the expandable body such that a substantially enclosed space is defined by the main body portion, the expandable body, and the cover. The luggage case also includes a plurality of rotating wheels mounted to at least one of the main body portion and the expandable body. The luggage case is supported on and rotatable about one or more predetermined axes by the plurality of rotating wheels.

These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to define the limits of the invention, and reference should be made to the appended claims as to the scope of the invention. Moreover, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are only used to conceptually illustrate the structures and steps described herein.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a piece of luggage according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary luggage case;

Figure 3 is a front view of an exemplary luggage case;

Figure 4 is a rear view of an exemplary luggage case;

Figure 5 is a side view of an exemplary luggage case;

Figure 6 is a top view of an exemplary luggage case;

Figure 7 is a bottom view of an exemplary luggage case;

Figure 8 is an alternative perspective view of an exemplary luggage case;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a piece of luggage according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

1-8 illustrate a piece of luggage 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The luggage case 1000 includes a main body portion 1100 , an expandable body 1200 and a collapsible or foldable portion 1300 connecting the main body portion 1100 to the expandable body 1200 . The luggage case 1000 also includes an openable lid 1400 pivotally attached to the expandable body 1200 by, for example, a piece of strong flexible plastic, fabric, or one or more hinges.

The cover 1400 can be closed in a substantially airtight manner by engaging two zip halves 1420 provided on the edges of the expandable body 1200 and the cover 1400, respectively. Once the lid 1400 is closed, the body portion 1100, expandable body 1200, retractable portion 1300, and lid 1400 collectively define a substantially enclosed space or chamber for receiving various items.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main body portion 1100 includes a frame 1120 made of a plurality of fiberglass rods or tubes that may be substantially parallel to each other. The main body part 1100 also includes a pair of opposite top brackets 1130 connected to top ends of the frame 1120, respectively. There is provided a top panel 1140 extending between the opposing top brackets 1130 and being connected to the opposing top brackets. Similarly, the main body portion 1100 includes a pair of opposing bottom brackets 1150 and bottom panels 1160 . Top brackets 1130 and bottom brackets 1150 provide corners of luggage case 1000 on which wheels may be mounted. The top bracket 1130 and/or the bottom bracket 1150 may be provided with receiving means (eg, bumps with receiving holes) corresponding to the fiberglass rods; the receiving means may be integrally molded with the bracket. In addition, top bracket 1130 and bottom bracket 1150 may have different shapes, profiles, or materials.

A covering material 1170, such as fabric, is applied to substantially surround the frame, the top and bottom frames, and the top and bottom panels, thereby providing a half-shell shaped container. One or more corner or edge protectors may be provided to the main body portion 1100 for protecting tubing, fabric, zippers, and the like of the luggage case. For example, rear corner guards 1180 may be attached to the outer surface of the cover material 1170 at the rear corner locations of the main body portion 1100 for preventing the rear corners from cracking or abrasion. Corner guards 1180 may be curved L-shaped, or any suitable shape or profile. Additionally, multiple corner or edge protectors may be utilized to protect different portions of the luggage, including the corners of the luggage, the edges of the luggage, the sides of the luggage, the top of the luggage, and/or the bottom of the luggage.

The luggage case 1000 also includes an extendable or retractable handle 1500 . The handle 1500 can be extended or retracted to allow the user to pull or push the luggage case 1000 . An extendable handle 1500 may be provided on the outside of the main body part 1100 . External handles offer certain advantages. For example, the handle is easily accessible from the outside to enable easy maintenance or replacement of the handle; items (such as clothing) are squeezed on the inner surface of the main body portion, which is generally flat to avoid wrinkling of items; the outer handle does not The integrity of the receiving space within the main body is affected, which allows for a more efficient use of space. As an alternative, handle 1500 may be an interior handle.

Additionally, a top handle 1520 and side handles 1530 may also be provided to facilitate lifting the luggage case 1000 . Optionally, additional handles, hooks, straps or the like may be provided at different positions of the suitcase for lifting, carrying or other operations on the suitcase.

The expandable body 1200 has a wall 1220 defining the periphery of the frame of the expandable body 1200 . The size of the wall 1220 can vary. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, wall 1220 has a height H of 2 inches and a thickness T of 6 millimeters. The expandable body 1200 also includes one or more corner or edge protectors 1230 that are the same as or similar to the corner or edge protectors of the body portion 1100 described above. The expandable body 1200 also includes a pair of bottom corner receptacles 1240 located on opposing bottom corners of the expandable body 1200 .

The luggage case 1000 also includes a plurality of rotating wheels 1600 mounted to the main body portion 1100 and/or the inflatable body 1200, respectively. The rotating wheels 1600 include a first pair of wheels 1620 mounted on the main body 1100 and a second pair of wheels 1640 mounted on the expandable body 1200 . For example, the first pair of wheels 1620 may be larger in size than the second pair of wheels 1640, or they may be the same size. Typical sizes for the swivel wheel 160 include, but are not limited to, 5" x 4" x 7" (12.7 x 10.2 x 17.8 cm) or 10" x 10" x 10" (25.4 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm); other suitable sizes are also available in within the scope of this disclosure. Optionally, at least one of the swivel wheels 1600 may have a brake mechanism so that this swivel wheel can be fixed in one direction while the other swivel wheels are free to rotate in any direction. Optionally, the swivel wheels 1600 include a single swivel wheel at each corner of the body portion that is free to rotate 360 degrees, or two, three, or four wheels at each corner of the body portion and/or expandable body .

Referring back to FIG. 1 , a three-dimensional coordinate system is defined in this figure. Within this coordinate system, the X and Y axes together define a rolling surface on which the rotating wheels 1600 roll to move the luggage case. The Z axis is perpendicular to the rolling surface.

The rotating wheels 1600 are adapted to rotate individually or collectively along an axis of rotation RA substantially parallel to the rolling surface. By rotation of the wheels 1600 on the rolling surface about the axis of rotation RA, the luggage case 1000 may roll or move in opposite directions A and B within or parallel to the rolling surface. Furthermore, the rotating wheels 1600 are adapted to rotate individually or collectively along a rotation axis SA substantially perpendicular to the rolling surface and parallel to the Z-axis. Rotation of the rotating wheel 1600 about the axis of rotation SA changes the orientation of the luggage case and also changes the orientation of the axis of rotation RA. In this way, the luggage case 1000 can move in any direction along the rolling surface.

As shown in FIG. 2 , each of the first pair of wheels 1620 includes a first mounting portion 1622 through which the wheels 1620 can be respectively fixedly mounted to the bottom bracket 1150 . For example, the first mounting portion 1622 includes a plate 1624 shaped to conform to the lower outer contour of the bottom bracket 1150 so that the first mounting portion 1622 can be snugly fitted and connected to the bottom bracket 1150 .

Similarly, the second pair of wheels 1640 each includes a second mounting portion 1642 through which the wheels 1640 can be respectively fixedly mounted to the bottom corner receivers 1240 of the expandable body 1200 . For example, the second mounting portion 1642 includes an L-shaped plate 1644 that is tightly fitted and connected to the floor corner receiver 1240 . Although not depicted in detail, wheels 1620 and 1640 may include other structures necessary for rotating wheels to work.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the luggage case 1000 also includes an expansion and locking device 1700 that is a ratchet fit. A detailed description of the expansion and locking device 1700 can be found in co-pending and co-applicant's US patent application Ser. No. 13/694,191, which is incorporated herein in its entirety for any purpose. The expansion and locking means are configured to allow free movement of the expandable body in the compression direction towards the main body portion. In this way, when the user is finished packing, the user can depress the expandable body of the luggage to retract any unused space into the luggage, which results in a tightly packed luggage. Subsequently, tightly packed items in the luggage can exert pressure on the expandable body; in this case, the expansion and locking device is configured to lock the expandable body relative to the main body, which prevents the expandable body from expanding direction away from the main body. Thus, the expandable body is locked in place.

Locking of the expandable body may be unlocked by manipulating the release mechanism (eg, by depressing a biased lever) to selectively allow increased movement of the expandable body in an expansion direction away from the body portion. In this way, the user has the option to selectively increase the capacity of the luggage to pack more items in the luggage. Once the items have been packed in the luggage, the compression and locking of the expandable body as described above can be repeated to compact the luggage.

The provision of swivel wheels 1600 allows the luggage case 1000 to move freely over surfaces through the rolling and swiveling operation of the wheels. The expansion and locking device 1700 allows the luggage case 1000 to be selectively expanded.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a luggage case 2000 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The luggage case 2000 has substantially the same or similar structure and configuration as the luggage case 1000 except for the expandable body 2200 . For the sake of brevity, the same or similar structures of the luggage case 2000 are not described again. The expandable body 2200 has a wall 2220 that defines the perimeter of the frame of the expandable body 2200 . The expandable body 2200 also includes one or more corner or edge protectors 2230 that are the same as or similar to the guard 1230 . In this embodiment, the walls 2220 are provided continuously along the periphery of the frame to reinforce the expandable body 2200 as a whole. The luggage case 2000 also includes one or more swivel wheels 2640 mounted to the expandable body 2200 . The swivel wheels 2640 are the same or similar in size and dimensions as the swivel wheels 1640 of the luggage case 1000 . Each of the rotating wheels 2640 may include a second mounting part 2642 , and the rotating wheels 2640 may be respectively fixedly mounted to bottom corners of the expandable body 2200 through the second mounting parts 2642 . For example, the second mounting portion 2642 includes an L-shaped plate 2644 that fits snugly and connects to the bottom corner of the expandable body 2200 .

As described above with respect to exemplary luggage cases 1000 and 2000 , shape mounts 1622 may be incorporated using recessed bottom brackets 1150 , L-shaped mounts 1642 may be incorporated using bottom corner receivers 1240 , or rounded bottom corners of continuous walls 2220 may be used. In conjunction with the L-shaped mounting portion 2642, the swivel wheels are mounted to the main body portion and/or expandable body of the luggage case. Combinations of the above may be selectively used depending on the periphery. For example, the main body of the luggage case may have bottom corner receivers for mounting swivel wheels with L-shaped mounting portions; and the expandable body of the luggage case may have a continuous wall with rounded bottom corners for mounting wheels with L The rotating wheel of the shaped mounting part.

The features of the invention have been shown and described as applied to various specific embodiments of the invention. It will also be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of the illustrated devices, as well as their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be appreciated that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in relation to any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may generally be incorporated into any other disclosed form or method as a matter of design choice. Or described or suggested form or embodiment. Accordingly, it is to be seen that the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims (8)

1. A luggage case comprising: main body; an expandable body comprising a contractible portion through which the expandable body is connected to the body portion; an expansion and locking device configured to allow free movement of the expandable body in a direction of compression towards the body portion and configured to enable movement of the expandable body away from the body portion is locked in the direction of expansion; a cover pivotably connected to the expandable body; a zipper having a first half zipper connected to the expandable body and a second half zipper connected to the cover, wherein the first half zipper and the second half zipper are engageable with each other to be opposite closing the lid on the expandable body such that a substantially enclosed space is defined by the body portion, the expandable body, and the lid; and a plurality of rotating wheels mounted to at least one of the main body portion and the expandable body, wherein the luggage case is supported on the plurality of rotating wheels and capable of passing through the plurality of rotating wheels The rotating wheel rotates about one or more predetermined axes. 2. The luggage case of claim 1, wherein the plurality of swivel wheels includes a first pair of swivel wheels mounted to the body portion and a second pair of swivel wheels mounted to the expandable body. 3. The luggage case of claim 2, wherein the main body portion includes a pair of bottom brackets to which the first pair of swivel wheels are respectively mounted; and the expandable body includes a pair of bottom brackets; corner receivers, the second pair of rotating wheels are respectively mounted to the pair of floor corner receivers. 4. The luggage case of claim 3, wherein each of the first pair of swivel wheels includes a plate adapted to conform to the shape of the outer bottom surface of the respective bottom bracket such that the first pair of swivel wheels The wheels are tightly connected to the bottom brackets, respectively. 5. The luggage case of claim 3, wherein each of the second pair of swivel wheels includes an L-shaped plate adapted to conform to the shape of the outer bottom surface of the respective bottom corner receptacle such that the The second pair of swivel wheels are closely connected to the bottom corner connectors, respectively. 6. The luggage case of claim 1, further comprising an extendable handle. 7. The luggage case of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a side handle and a top handle. 8. The luggage case of claim 1, further comprising at least one corner or edge protector mounted to the main body portion or the expandable body.