The present invention relates to the field of travel solutions, and more specifically relates to modular drawered luggage system configured to facilitate access to luggage contents via individual locked segments present as sliding drawers.
Every year, millions of individuals travel the world via airline, bus, train, or automobile. Conventionally, these individuals are prone to pack at least one suitcase or other form of luggage to facilitate the transport of their daily necessities, including clothing, shoes, toiletries, and other common goods pertinent for travel.
Many individuals unpack their suitcases into dresser drawers of a hotel upon arrival to facilitate access to their items, and to feel more settled at the travel location. Unfortunately, this process often takes a good deal of time, and must be undone once it becomes time to checkout of the hotel. If the suitcase itself was equipped with drawers, this process would not be necessary.
Additionally, conventional luggage such as suitcases and carry-ons are generally equipped with one to three compartments, generally with a single large compartment, and one or two small, zippered flap compartments. Many times, individuals have difficulty packing in an organized manner due to the way in which conventional luggage is designed. As such, nearly every packed item is disposed in the same large compartment of the suitcase, with usually nothing but a flap of fabric to form any sort of separation between categories of items. Due to this disorganization, individuals often have trouble finding specific desired items upon arrival at their destination. Additionally, since most items are positioned in the same compartment, many items may shift during transit, especially if the luggage is checked at the airport, and therefore leaves the possession of the owner for a period of time.
If there were a way in which luggage contents could be easily organized within a suitcase, such as within specific, lockable drawers such that access to specific items when needed can be expedited, more time would be saved, and less items would be shifted from their desired position within the luggage during transit.
Thus, there is a need for a new drawered luggage solution configured to provide segmented storage areas within the luggage which facilitates access to specific sections of the luggage without the need to open the entirety of the luggage. Such an apparatus and solution is preferably equipped with multiple locks which ensure that each drawer remains closed until the owner physically opens the desired drawer. Similarly, such an apparatus and solution is preferably configured with a rear access zipper which facilitates the storage of longer items such as a suit or dress, and, when the rear portion is folded down, helps to ensure adequate weight distribution of the overall payload.
The present invention is a drawered luggage apparatus and method of use thereof configured to expedite the packing and unpacking processes while facilitating access to packed items when needed via multiple sliding drawers. Cloth dividers and/or removable inserts are preferably present within each drawer. The dividers and removable inserts provide additional segmentation for the optimal organization of the user's packed items. A rear of the luggage apparatus is preferably configured to open via at least one fabric hinge to facilitate access to a vertical compartment while the luggage apparatus remains upright, or alternately, the rear may be opened via a vertical, side-mounted cloth hinge to facilitate opening of the rear compartment similar to a conventional door. The apparatus is preferably available in at least two varieties, including an embodiment suitably sized as a carry-on luggage, as well as an embodiment suitable as a large checked luggage. Each embodiment is preferably equipped with retractable wheels, a retractable handle, multiple locks, and are preferably composed of lightweight materials. If needed, a weight may be added to a bottom of the large luggage embodiment which may be extended out and away from the body to counter the weight of the drawers when they are opened.
Such an apparatus and solution is ideally suited for short term trips, or multi-destination trips by individuals or families wishing to remain organized while traveling. The primary goal of the present invention is for users to not need to unpack upon arrival at the travel destination, and to ensure that the luggage contents remains organized in an easily accessible way as if the user had actually unpacked the luggage at the destination. Similarly, the present invention affords users an easy means by which they may unpack their belongings quickly and easily within the removable inserts such that items are unpacked from the luggage without being truly unpacked from components of the luggage. If the cleanliness of the drawers in the furniture of the hotel are problematic, the user can pull out the inserts and insert them into the drawers of the furniture of the room, and the clothes will never have to come into contact with the furniture. Additionally, it should be noted that the insert of the jewelry drawer can be used for bath and hair products so that the user may remove the insert and carry it to the bathroom if needed. It should be noted that the insert amounts to a large rectangle with walls equipped with subdivided cubbies within.
The following brief and detailed descriptions of the drawings are provided to explain possible embodiments of the present invention but are not provided to limit the scope of the present invention as expressed herein this summary section.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.
The present invention will be better understood with reference to the appended drawing sheets, wherein:
The present specification discloses one or more embodiments that incorporate the features of the invention. The disclosed embodiment(s) merely exemplify the invention. The scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s).
References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment, Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
The present invention is a luggage system and method of use thereof configured to facilitate the organization of items for travel such that they are easily accessible and less prone to shifting during transit. The system includes two components: a large suitcase configured to be checked luggage shown in
The drawers (20) are preferably outfitted with removable liner compartments (25) as shown in
Each drawer (20) is preferably equipped with an individual lock (30) which is configured to bar the movement of the drawer (20) from out of the body (10) via latches (40) present on sides (50) of each drawer (20). The latches (40) are preferably present on at least two sides (50) of each drawer (20), and are configured to bind against sides of the body (10) to ensure adequate security, and to prevent the drawer (20) from inadvertently opening when subjected to shock, torsion, or similar stress prevalent to the transit of luggage. The lock (30) itself is preferably present on the sides of the body (10) of the apparatus, as shown in
The drawers (20) are preferably solely configured to extend from a front (60) of the body (10). Each lock (30) is preferably a combination lock, however it is envisioned that other forms of locks may be employed, including, but not limited to biometric locks, keyed locks, and other conventional locking mechanisms. The body (10) of the apparatus of the present invention is equipped with a rear (70) exhibiting a primary zippered compartment (80) which is configured to fold down about a fabric hinge (90) disposed near a bottom (90) of the body (10).
Alternately, the primary zippered compartment (80) may be configured to open horizontally about a vertically disposed fabric hinge (95) as shown in
The bottom (90) of the body (10) is preferably equipped with wheels (100) which are disposed at corners of the body (10) as shown in
The purpose of the retracting wheels (100) is to ensure that they are not damaged when the apparatus is inevitably thrown around in transit, which is especially prone to happen during air travel as it is known that in the loading and unloading process of luggage, luggage is often ‘tossed’ onto conveyor belts, carts, and trams in order to reach their destination. It should be understood that both the large embodiment shown in
A top (110) of the body (10) of all embodiments of the present invention is preferably equipped with a retractable handle (120) configured to extend up and away from the body (10) when desired. The retractable handle (120) is designed to be used as a stand to support at least one hanger to allow the user to move clothes from within the body (10) of the luggage to the retractable handle (120) if desired. The retractable handle (120) is equipped with a horizontal handle and two vertical supports (390). The vertical supports (390) of the retractable handle (120) preferably retract into the body (10) of the present invention, along sides of the body (10), at the outside of the primary zippered compartment (80) as shown in
Alternately, the vertical supports (390) of the retractable handle (120) may be configured to retract into an inaccessible void present behind a bottom of the primary zippered compartment (80).
Additionally, the top (110) of the large primary embodiment is equipped with a horizontal zippered compartment (140) shown in
At least one embodiment of the present invention is equipped with at least one power source, preferably in the form of rechargeable batteries or a conventional rechargeable battery pack which may be included separately. The power source is preferably configured to provide power to portable electronic devices such as tablets, cell phones, and similar mobile devices when connected to the power source with a charging cable. The power source is preferably housed within a battery pocket (180) of the apparatus of the present invention, and is ideally available on the carry-on embodiment of the present invention as shown in
Additionally, it should be noted that the carry-on embodiment (smaller embodiment shown in
The interior of the carry-on embodiment, as shown in
Retaining clips (115) are preferably present on the left and right sides of the apparatus in all embodiments of the present invention and are configured to facilitate the attachment of the carry-on embodiment to the large embodiment for ease of transport as a unitary luggage ensemble as shown in
The process of installation and use of the system and apparatus of the present invention, as shown in
It should be noted that the retaining clips (115) may be located in other locations rather than solely the sides of the bodies of the luggage system. For example, retaining clips (115) may be present solely on the back and/or side portions of both the carry-on embodiment and larger full-size embodiment such that they may be connected back-to-back if desired by the user. Additionally, it should be understood that both the full-size embodiment and carry-on embodiment should be seen as a luggage system, each having a body (10), at least one storage compartment preferably secured via at least one zipper, a retractable handle (120), and wheels (100). Drawers (20) are preferably solely present on the larger full-size embodiment.
Some embodiments of the present invention are preferably equipped with a retractable table (165) as shown in
The height of the retractable table (165) of the present invention, when extended, may be altered by adjusting the height of the retractable handle (120). The retractable table (165) is useful in airports, bus stops, train stations, or similar locations as it provides a place to sit next to and eat snacks, play cards, work on a laptop, or other similar lightweight activities. Similarly, the retractable table (165) may be useful to allow the user's kids to eat, draw, or play on a tablet computer. In some embodiments of the retractable table (165), an additional support member may be present which is configured to extend to the floor, further ensuring stability of the retractable table (165) when in use.
Further, it should be noted that the carry-on embodiment, as detailed in
Having illustrated the present invention, it should be understood that various adjustments and versions might be implemented without venturing away from the essence of the present invention. Further, it should be understood that the present invention is not solely limited to the invention as described in the embodiments above, but further comprises any and all embodiments within the scope of this application.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
This application is a continuation-in-part application of non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/906,904, filed on Jun. 19, 2020, and priority is claimed thereto.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20210393007 A1 | Dec 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16906904 | Jun 2020 | US |
Child | 17191635 | US |