US20190000198A1

US20190000198A1 - Luggage

Info

Publication number: US20190000198A1
Application number: US15/635,206
Authority: US
Inventors: Yi-Ming Wu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-06-28
Filing date: 2017-06-28
Publication date: 2019-01-03

Abstract

A luggage includes a case and a handle. The handle is connected to the case through two telescopic rods which are provided for stretching or withdrawing the handle with respect to the case, and the bottom of the case has two wheels. The wheels are disposed in the case, and the luggage has a wheel moving means for moving the wheels outwardly from the case or inwardly towards the case when the handle is moved. When the handle is pulled to stretch towards the outside of the case, the wheels are moved outwardly from the case. When the handle is withdrawn towards the case, the wheels are withdrawn inwardly towards the case. With the wheel moving means, the wheels can be moved and stretched or withdrawn to reduce the height of the luggage, so as to facilitate storage.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of luggage, in particular to a luggage with wheels that can be stretched out or withdrawn freely.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Description of the Related Art

Luggage is an indispensible tool in our daily life, and personal belongings can be put into the luggage, and the luggage can be carried easily on board of various transportation means such as cars, trains, cruise, or airplanes for the purpose of travelling or business in order to go to various locations on a trip. In the early days, the luggage just comes with a handle provided for users to carry. Since lifting a luggage while walking is very laborious and inconvenient, therefore wheels are added and installed to the bottom of the luggage to allow the users to drag the luggage, so as to save the laborious effort of carrying the luggage.
In addition, the wheels installed at the bottom of the conventional luggage are fixed. Regardless of whether the luggage is still or situated at a moving state, each wheel remains at the same position. However, the wheels at the bottom of the luggage have to support the weight of the whole luggage, but the wheels are fixed at positions and cannot be stored. After a long time of use, the wheels may be worn out or damaged easily due to the heavy load, and the function of the luggage is reduced greatly. In addition, if the wheels are exposed all the time, the luggage will occupy a much larger footprint and makes the storage inconvenient.
In view of the aforementioned drawbacks of the conventional luggage, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive research and development, and finally provided a luggage in accordance with the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

2. Summary of the Invention

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a luggage capable of withdrawing the wheels at the bottom of the luggage when the luggage is still, and stretching out the wheels when it is necessary to move the luggage, so as to reduce the height of the luggage and facilitate storage.
To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the present invention provides a luggage comprising a case and a handle, and the handle being coupled to the case through two telescopic rods provided for stretching or withdrawing the handle with respect to the case, and the bottom of the case having two wheels, characterized in that the wheels are disposed in the case, and the luggage has a wheel moving means for stretching the wheels outwardly from the case or withdrawing the wheels inwardly towards the case when the handle is moved.
Preferably, the case has two holes formed at the bottom of the case and configured to be corresponsive to the wheels respectively for stretching the wheels outwardly from the case.
Preferably, the case has two aprons disposed at positions corresponsive to the holes respectively, and the aprons are moved transversely with respect to the holes, such that when the wheels are situated in the case, the aprons seal the holes to hide the wheels completely into the case, and when the handle is pulled outwardly from the case, the aprons are moved transversally to open the holes. Such arrangement seals the holes to prevent foreign substances such as dust from entering into the luggage when the luggage is still and also hides the wheels completely to reduce possibility of wearing out or damaging the wheels.
Preferably, each telescopic rod has a spring installed to the bottom of the telescopic rod, such that when the handle is withdrawn towards the case, the telescopic rods compress the springs. When the user wants to pull or stretch the handle, the springs provide a resilient force to let the user pull or stretch out the handle more easily.
Preferably, the joint of each wheel and the case has a limiting portion, and two limiting slots are formed on the case and configured to be corresponsive to the limiting portions respectively, and the limiting portions move in the limiting slots respectively, such that when the wheels are fixed to the outside of the case, the limiting portions is latched to an end of the limiting slots, and when the wheels are rolled, the wheels will not be pressed back into the case by the weight of the luggage.
With the wheel moving means, the wheels can be stretched or withdrawn to reduce the height of the luggage, so as to reduce the occupied space to facilitate storage, and when the wheels are withdrawn and stored in the case, the wheels are hidden completely to reduce the possibility of wearing out or damaging the wheels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a luggage in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a part of a luggage situated at a non-moving state in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a part of a luggage situated at a moving state in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a part of a luggage situated at a moving state in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a linking member in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an external surface of a luggage situated at a non-moving state in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an internal surface of a luggage situated at a moving state in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 the schematic view of a luggage, the schematic view of a part of the luggage situated at a non-moving state, the schematic view of the wheels at a moving state, the schematic view of a luggage situated at a moving state, the schematic view of a linking member, the schematic view of an external surface of the luggage at a non-moving state, and the schematic view of an external surface of the luggage at a moving state in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the luggage 1 comprises a case 11 and a handle 12, and the handle 12 is coupled to the case 11 through two telescopic rods 13 which are provided for stretching or withdrawing the handle 12 with respect to the case 11, and the bottom of the case 11 has two wheels 14, and the wheels 14 are disposed in the case 11, and the luggage 1 has a wheel moving means for controlling the wheels 14 to stretch from the case 11 or withdraw into the case 11. With reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures specifically, these figures omit a portion of the structure of the luggage 1, and the two wheels 14 are moved in the same way, so that the structure near one of the wheels 14 is provided for describing the structural change of the wheel 14. In FIG. 2, the telescopic rod 13 and the wheel 14 are coupled to a linking member 15, and the linking member 15 is installed in the case 11. When the luggage 1 is still, the wheel 14 is situated in the case 11. When the user wants to move the luggage 1, the user may pull the handle 12 upward to apply an upward force Fa to the telescopic rod 13 a , and when the telescopic rod 13 is moved upwardly by the force, the telescopic rod 13 and the linking member 15 are coupled to each other, so that the force Fa will act on the linking member 15 as well, and the wheel 14 will be coupled to the linking member 15. Now, the linking member 15 acts a device for changing the action direction of the force and converting the force Fa into a downward force Fb which is applied to the wheel 14, so that the wheel 14 is moved downwardly by the force and protruded from the case 11 as shown in FIG. 3. When the telescopic rod 13 is stretched to a specific position, the wheel 14 will be fixed, so that the luggage 1 is situated at a movable state as shown in FIG. 4. On the other hand, if the wheel 14 is withdrawn, the user may press the handle 12 to apply a downward force to the telescopic rod 13 a , and the change of the linking member 15 drives the wheel 14 to return into the case 11 by the upward force exerted onto the wheel 14 (similar to the method described above).
In this preferred embodiment, the linking member 15 is a tubular member having a plurality of tracks 151 formed thereon and provided for coupling the telescopic rod 13 with the wheel 14. When a force is exerted onto the linking member 15, the action direction of the force is changed by the tracks 151, so that the telescopic rod 13 and the wheel 14 are moved in different directions. In addition, the linking member 15 further has a limiting slot 152 formed thereon, a limiting portion 141 formed on the wheel 14 and configured to be corresponsive to the limiting slot 152, and the limiting portions 141 are moved in the limiting slots 152 respectively. When the wheels 14 are fixed to the outside of the case 11, the limiting portions 141 are latched to an end of the limiting slots 152, so that the wheels 14 will not be pressed and returned into the case 11 by the weight of the luggage 1 when the wheels are rolled, so as to avoid the need of pulling the handle 12 all the time by the user to push the wheel 14 out from the case 11. The linking member 15 may be a gear of other forms and not limited to the aforementioned one.
In addition, the bottom of each telescopic rod 13 has a spring 16, such that when the handle 12 is withdrawn towards the case 11, the telescopic rods 13 compresses the springs 16 to provide a resilient force to the user to pull and stretch the handle 12 and allow the user to pull out the handle 12 more easily, so that the user needs not to apply a very large force to the handle 12 in order to move the telescopic rods 13 upward easily to drive the wheels 14 to move downward.
In this preferred embodiment, the present invention has two holes 111 formed at the bottom of the case 11 and configured to be corresponsive to the wheels 14, and the two holes 111 are provided for the wheels 14 to move outwardly from the case 11, and the case 11 has two aprons 17 disposed at the holes 111 respectively and controlled by the telescopic rods 13 to move transversally with respect to the holes 111. When the telescopic rods 13 are contracted downwardly to return the wheels 14 into the case 11, the aprons 17 seal the holes 111 respectively. When the telescopic rods 13 are pulled or stretched upwardly to move the wheels 14 outwardly from the case 11, the aprons 17 are moved transversally to open the holes 111 and allow the wheels 14 to enter. With the design of the aprons 17, the holes 111 are sealed to prevent foreign substances such as dust from entering into the luggage when the luggage 1 is situated at a still state. In addition, the aprons 17 can hide the wheels 14 in the case completely to prevent the wheels 14 from being worn out or damaged.
In summation of the description above, the aforementioned wheel moving means and other structure auxiliaries allow the wheels 14 of the luggage 1 to stretch out from the case 11 or withdrawing the wheels 14 into the case 11 freely, so as to reduce the total height of the luggage 1 and the space occupied by the luggage 1 and facilitate storage. In addition, when the wheels 14 are stored, the wheels 14 are hidden completely in the case 11 to reduce the possibility of wearing out or damaging the wheels 14.
While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A luggage, comprising a case and a handle, and the handle being coupled to the case through two telescopic rods provided for stretching or withdrawing the handle with respect to the case, and the bottom of the case having two wheels, characterized in that the wheels are disposed in the case, and the luggage has a wheel moving means for stretching the wheels outwardly from the case or withdrawing the wheels inwardly towards the case when the handle is moved.

2. The luggage of claim 1, wherein the case has two holes formed at the bottom of the case and configured to be corresponsive to the wheels respectively for stretching the wheels outwardly from the case.

3. The luggage of claim 2, wherein the case has two aprons disposed at positions corresponsive to the holes respectively, and the aprons are moved transversely with respect to the holes, such that when the wheels are situated in the case, the aprons seal the holes to hide the wheels completely into the case, and when the handle is pulled outwardly from the case, the aprons are moved transversally to open the holes.

4. The luggage of claim 3, wherein each telescopic rod has a spring installed to the bottom of the telescopic rod, such that when the handle is withdrawn towards the case, the telescopic rods compress the springs.

5. The luggage of claim 4, further comprising a limiting portion formed at a joint of each of the wheels and the case, two limiting slots formed on the case and configured to be corresponsive to the limiting portions respectively, and the limiting portions moving in the limiting slots respectively, such that when the wheels are fixed to outside of the case, the limiting portions is latched to an end of the limiting slots, and when the wheels are rolled, the wheels will not be pressed back into the case by the weight of the luggage.