Luggage

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6357567
  • Patent Number
    6,357,567
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, December 7, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 19, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Cronin; Stephen K.
    • Mai; Tri M.
    Agents
    • Browdy and Neimark P.L.L.C.
Abstract
A luggage includes a frame body defining a holding space, the frame body having a main frame unit and a side frame unit pivoted to the main frame unit with an angle; a bag body, having at least one part installed in the holding space in the frame body; a handle for holding by the user; two wheel assemblies bilaterally mounted on a bottom side of the frame body, a main locating member and two upper locating members and two bottom locating members adapted to secure the bag body to the frame body, the locating members each having an interior piece attached to the inside of the bag body and an exterior piece attached to the outside of the bag body and fixedly fastened to the interior piece to secure the bag body to the frame body.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to luggage and, more particularly, to an innovative design of luggage.





FIG. 1

shows a conventional luggage case. This design of luggage case cart comprises a rectangular frame body


70


, which supports the luggage in shape, a flexible fabric covering covered on the frame body


70


to form outside walls


71


and


72


of the luggage. The flexible fabric covering defines a storage space


73


for holding goods, clothes, and etc. One outside wall


72


has a zipper


721


, which controls the entrance of the storage space


73


. The luggage comprises two wheel assemblies


74


at the bottom side, a carrying handle


75


at the center of the top side, and a retractable handle


76


near the back side. This structure of luggage case cart is heavy. Further, the monotonous design of this structure of luggage case is boring the consumer.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The primary objective of the present invention is therefore to provide an innovative design of luggage, which attract consumers' attention.




In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the luggage of the present invention comprises a frame body defining a holding space, the frame body having a main frame unit and a side frame unit which with one end connected to the main frame unit at an predetermined angle; a bag body, having at least one part installed in the holding space in the frame body; a handle, for holding by the user; two wheel assemblies bilaterally mounted on a bottom side of the frame body, and locating means adapted to secure the bag body to the frame body.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

illustrates a luggage case cart according to the prior art.





FIG. 2

is an exploded view of a frame body for luggage according to the present invention.





FIG. 3

is a perspective assembly view of the frame body for luggage according to the present invention.





FIG. 4

shows the installation of the bag body in the frame body according to the present invention.





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of the luggage according to the present invention.





FIG. 6

is a side view of the luggage according to the present invention.





FIG. 7

is a top view of the luggage according to the present invention.





FIG. 8

is another perspective view of the present invention, showing the retractable handlebar in the extended position.





FIG. 9

is a side view of the present invention, showing the luggage collapsed.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to FIGS. from


2


through


7


, a luggage in accordance with the present invention comprises a frame body


10


, a main locating member


21


, two upper locating members


22


, two bottom locating members


23


, a handgrip


30


, two wheel assemblies


40


, and a flexible bag body


50


.




The frame body


10


comprises a main frame unit


11


, and a side frame unit


14


connected to the main frame unit


11


at an angle (α). The main frame unit


11


comprises a first frame


12


and a second frame


13


. The first frame


12


comprises a transverse top frame bar


121


and two parallel side frame bars


122


and


123


. The second frame


13


comprises a transverse bottom frame bar


131


and two parallel side walls


132


and


133


. The side frame unit


14


comprises a transverse bottom frame bar


141


, and two parallel side frame bars


142


and


143


. Two coupling members


15


and


16


are provided to connect the side frame bars


122


and


123


of the first frame


12


to the side frame bars


132


and


133


of the second frame


13


and the side frame bars


142


and


143


of the side frame unit


14


. The coupling members


15


and


16


each comprise an exterior piece


152


or


162


coupled between the bottom end of one side frame bar


122


or


123


of the first frame


12


and the top end of one side frame bar


142


or


143


of the side frame unit


14


, and an interior piece


151


or


161


fixedly mounted on the top end of one side frame bar


132


or


133


of the second frame


13


and fastened to the corresponding exterior piece


152


or


162


by screws


61


. When assembled, the side frame bars


122


and


132


of the first frame


12


, and the side frame bars


132


and


133


of the second frame


13


define a contained angle (β), and the side frame unit


14


is pivoted to the main frame unit


11


to turn related to the main frame unit


11


within an predetermined angle.




The main locating member


21


, the upper locating members


22


and the bottom locating members


23


each are comprised of an interior piece


211


,


221


or


231


, and an exterior piece


212


,


222


or


232


. The main locating member


21


is fastened to the transverse top frame bar


121


of the first frame


12


. The upper locating members


22


are respectively fastened to the curved portions of the first frame


12


and connected between the two distal ends of the transverse top frame bar


121


and the two side frame bars


122


and


123


. The bottom locating members


23


are respectively fastened to the side frame unit


14


and connected between the two distal ends of the transverse bottom frame bar


141


and the two side frame bars


142


and


143


. The function of the main locating member


21


, the upper locating members


22


and the bottom locating members


23


will be described further.




The wheel assemblies


40


each comprise a wheel frame


41


, a wheel


42


pivoted to the wheel frame


41


and a wheel holder


43


respectively. The wheel frames


41


are connected to one side frame bar


132


or


133


and the ends of the transverse bottom frame bar


131


of the second frame


13


at an outer side respectively, and the wheel holder


43


is connected to the second frame


13


at an inner side. The wheel frame


41


is fixedly fastened to the respective wheel holder


43


by four screws


61


. After installation of the wheel assemblies


40


in the second frame


13


, the wheel assemblies


40


positively secure the side frame bars


132


and


133


to the transverse bottom frame bar


131


.




Referring to

FIGS. 4

to


7


, the flexible bag body


50


is mounted in the holding space


100


in the frame body


10


, and adapted to hold goods or clothes. After installation of the flexible bag body


50


in the frame body


10


, the first frame


12


and the side frame unit


14


are disposed at the outer side of the flexible bag body


50


, and the second frame


13


is disposed at the inner side of the flexible bag body


50


. The flexible bag body


50


further comprises two coupling members


51


disposed at two sides and respectively secured to the side frame bars


142


and


143


of the side frame unit


14


. The interior pieces


211


,


221


,


231


and


151


and the wheel holders


43


are disposed inside the flexible bag body


50


and respectively fixedly fastened to the respective exterior pieces


212


,


222


,


232


and


152


and the respective wheel frames


41


by screws


61


, keeping the flexible bag body


50


positively secured to the frame body


10


. By means of the wheel assemblies


40


and the transverse bottom frame bar


141


of the side frame unit


14


, the luggage stands stably on a flat surface.




Referring to

FIG. 8

, when in use, the control button


301


is depressed to unlock the retractable handlebar


31


, and then the handgrip


30


is turned outwards from the recessed portion


213


of the main locating member


21


and pulled to extend out the retractable handlebar


31


. When not in use, the control button


301


is depressed to unlock the retractable handlebar


31


, enabling the retractable handlebar


31


to be moved from the extended position to the received position. When collapsed, the handgrip


30


is received in the recessed portion


213


of the main locating member


21


again.




Referring to

FIGS. 1 and 7

, because the second frame


13


is connected to the first frame


12


at an angle (β), the retractable handle


31


can be installed in a position close to the center of gravity of the luggage (See FIG.


7


). Therefore, the user can hold the handgrip


30


to carry the luggage by hand with less effort. This design eliminates the requirement for an additional carrying handle as required in prior art designs.




Further, the aforesaid design enables the user to detach the flexible bag body


50


from the frame body


10


for washing (the bag body of a conventional luggage is not detachable).




While only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various modifications and changes could be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed. For example, the side frame unit


14


can be pivoted to the main frame unit


11


and locked in one of a series of angles by lock means.



Claims
  • 1. A luggage comprising:a frame body defining a holding space, said frame body comprising a main frame unit and a side frame unit rotatably engaged to said mainframe unit so as to permit rotation of the side frame unit relative to the main frame unit within a predetermined angle; said main frame unit having a first frame and a second frame fixed to said first frame at a predetermined angle; a bag body, said bag body being installed in the holding space in said frame body, wherein said second frame is engaged to an inside wall of the bag body and said first frame and said side frame are engaged to an outside wall of the bag body; a handle for holding by the user; two wheel assemblies respectively mounted on a bottom side of said second frame, said wheel assemblies each comprising a wheel frame and a wheel pivoted to said wheel frame; and means for securing said bag body to said frame body.
  • 2. The luggage of claim 1 further comprising two coupling members that engage said first frame and said second frame to said side frame unit.
  • 3. The luggage of claim 2, wherein said coupling members each comprise an exterior piece disposed outside said bag body and coupled between said first frame and said side frame unit, and an interior piece disposed inside said bag body and fixedly mounted on said second frame and fastened to said exterior piece.
  • 4. The luggage of claim 1, wherein said wheel assemblies each further comprise a wheel holder attached to said frame body at an inner side, and the wheel frame of each of said wheel assemblies is attached to said frame body at an outer side and fixed to the corresponding wheel holder.
  • 5. The luggage of claim 4, wherein the wheel holders of said wheel assemblies are respectively attached to the inside wall of said bag body, and the wheel frames of said wheel assemblies are respectively attached to the outside wall of said bag body and respectively fixed to the wheel holders of said wheel assemblies to secure said bag body to said frame body.
  • 6. The luggage of claim 1, wherein a main locating member, which comprises an interior piece attached to the inside wall of said bag body, and an exterior piece disposed outside said bag body and mounted on said frame body and fixed to the interior piece of said main locating member for securing said bag body to said frame body.
  • 7. The luggage of claim 6, further comprising at least one auxiliary locating member, each of which comprises an interior piece attached to the inside wall of said bag body, and an exterior piece disposed outside said bag body and mounted on said frame body and fixed to the interior piece of said main locating member for securing said bag body to said frame body.
  • 8. The luggage of claim 1, wherein said handle is a retractable handle comprising a retractable handlebar and a handgrip rotatably engaged to one end of said retractable handlebar for the holding of the hand to move said retractable handlebar between a received position and an extended position.
  • 9. The luggage of claim 8, wherein said handgrip comprises a control button which controls the movement of said retractable handlebar between said received position and said extended position.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
4822070 Korona et al. Apr 1989 A
5353900 Stilley Oct 1994 A
5782325 O'Shea et al. Jul 1998 A
5873439 Liang Feb 1999 A
5884362 Tsai Mar 1999 A
6179101 Lin Jan 2001 B1
6182981 Kuo Feb 2001 B1