Patent Application
20070215427
The present invention relates to a piece of luggage. More particularly this invention concerns a side panel for a wheeled suitcase.
A typical suitcase has a plurality of side walls, one of which can be opened, and that together define a closable space adapted to hold the personal effects of the user. So-called hard luggage normally has at least two opposite walls formed of a rigid material so as to better protect the contents, and rigid side panels are essential on a wheeled suitcase to provide enough stability to roll it.
Thus a wheeled suitcase typically has two rigid side panels at the bottom of each of which in one corner there is a wheel on a fixed axle. At the top of such a suitcase there is a handle that is also typically connected by rigid structure to the two side panels so that the user can roll the suitcase behind him or herself.
In designing the side panels there is a tradeoff between strength and rigidity on the one hand and manufacturing cost and weight on the other. The normal solution is therefore to compromise and provide a side panel formed as a single piece of molded plastic, typically formed with rigidifying ribs. The plastic is normally something easy to mold and relatively inexpensive, like polyethylene or propylene. Such a side panel is moderately strong and does not excessively add to the fabrication costs for the suitcase. Use of stronger resins, e.g. polyurethane or Kevlar would make the suitcase unmarketably expensive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved piece of luggage.
Another object is the provision of such an improved piece of luggage that overcomes the above-given disadvantages, in particular that is particularly strong and durable, but still inexpensive to manufacture.
A further object is to provide an improved wheeled suitcase.
A suitcase has according to the invention a plurality of walls at least one of which is rigid. The walls defining a storage space. The one wall is formed of a side panel of relatively soft moldable plastic and a plurality of fiber-glass rods imbedded in the panel and rigidifying it. Such a system is normally used where the suitcase has two such similar side panels extending parallel to and spaced from each other.
With this arrangement the side panels, which take a severe beating as the suitcase is dropped on its lower end, are very strong, but still of fairly inexpensive construction. The panels are formed of an inexpensive and relative soft plastic like polypropylene or polyethylene, while the reinforcing rods are made of a much harder normally thermosetting resin, e.g. a polyamide, reinforced with very strong glass fibers.
In addition this reinforcement system has the considerable advantage that it also offers significant protection against damage from the side to the suitcase. Thus if something impacts the suitcase from the side, the panel will not simply cave in. This is particularly important in a rolling suitcase having a telescoping handle arrangement, as it is fairly common for a side impact to damage the handle guides and make it impossible to extend the handle.
The suitcase according to the invention also has a rigid top panel bridging upper ends of the side panels and a rigid bottom panel bridging lower ends of the side panels. Wheels are secured at the lower ends of the side panels.
The side panels according to the invention are formed with integral ridges. The fiber-glass rods are imbedded in the ridges. This can be done by molding the ridges around the rods, or by molding the ridges with throughgoing passages into which the rods are fitted after curing of the side-panel resin.
The rods can be of rectangular section with the long dimension oriented perpendicular to the plane of the panel so the panel is more resistant to bending in the critical direction perpendicular to its plane. This feature, as mentioned, above, offers particular protection for the suitcase's handle guides.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:
A rolling suitcase 10 according to the invention has a generally parallelepipedal body comprised of a pair of normally upright side panels 12, an L-section top panel 14, and a profiled bottom panel 16 formed with cutouts 18 adapted to hold wheels 17. These parts 12, 14, 16 are covered with a textile having a slide fastener so that one side can be opened. A handle assembly 20 is connected between the top panel 14 and bottom panel 16 and can telescope upward as is well known in the art.
The side panels 12 are spectrally identical, one of them being shown in
According to the invention at least some of the ridges 24 and some of the ridges 26 are fitted with or molded around rectangular- or square-section fiber glass rods 28 or 30. As mentioned, these rods can be molded into the thermoplastic of the respective ridges 24 or 26. Alternately, these ridges 24 and 26 can be formed with throughgoing passages into which the rods 28 and 30 are fitted after molding and curing of the sheet 22 with the integral ridges 24 and 26.
Thus these side panels 12, which take a considerable beating in use of the suitcase 10, are solidly reinforced but can be made at very low cost. Most of each side panel is formed by a very inexpensive resin while the rods 28 and 30 can also be made separately at relatively low cost even though they are very strong. The result is an assembly having considerable strength and a low construction cost.
