Claims
- 1. A portable carrying case comprising:opposed front and back walls, opposed top and bottom walls and opposed first and second end walls to collectively define an enclosed volume; means for manually operably accessing said enclosed volume, said means extending along one side of said walls to provide access to said enclosed volume for the insertion and removal of contents from within said enclosed volume; a removable and telescopically retractable handle assembly extending into and through said enclosed volume, substantially between said opposed top and bottom walls; said removable handle assembly having a first section removably secured within said enclosed volume, and a free end; said removable handle assembly having a removed condition in which said removable handle assembly is separated from said case, and an operative condition in which said first section is secured within the enclosed volume of said case and said free end extends upwardly beyond said top wall, and manually operable release means for moving said retractable handle assembly between said operative and removed conditions; first releasable means for securing said first section of the handle assembly to a wall of the case, said first releasable means including a bracket member permanently secured to said case and a manually actuated member, said first section including an attachment portion for selective cooperative engagement with said manually actuated member; said bottom wall being of a generally rectangular shape, including opposed first and second long edges and opposed first and second short edges; an elongated cylindrical roller mounted in juxtaposition to one of said long edges, at its intersection with one of said back or front walls; said removable handle assembly in its operative position telescoped upwardly substantially beyond said top wall and adapted to translate said elongated roller along a floor surface for rolling said case along the floor surface.
- 2. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, wherein said removable handle assembly in its operative condition telescoped upwardly of said top wall by a length exceeding the distance between said top and bottom walls.
- 3. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 2, wherein said removable handle assembly includes a plurality of telescoping sections, each section of a length generally corresponding to the distance between said top and bottom walls.
- 4. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, further including a manually defeatable securing means for the securement of said first section of said removable retractable handle assembly to said case.
- 5. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elongated roller is a unitary assembly having opposed first and second ends and extends at least along the major extent of said long edge between said first and second end walls, said case further comprising roller support means for supporting said elongated cylindrical roller in depending relationship to said bottom wall, said support means including end supports for said first and second ends and an intermediate support for supporting said elongated cylindrical roller at an intermediate region between its first and second ends.
- 6. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, wherein said enclosed volume is configured to compactly contain a laptop computer.
- 7. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elongated roller is a unitary assembly extending along an edge of said bottom wall, between first and second end wall.
- 8. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, wherein said removable handle assembly is confined within said enclosed volume in a retracted position.
- 9. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elongated cylindrical roller has an outer diameter of about one-half to three-quarters of an inch.
- 10. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, wherein said case is about 16 inches wide and about 12 inches high and is configured to contain a laptop computer.
- 11. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, including a second releasable means for removably securing said elongated cylindrical roller to said case, said second releasable means being manually movable between a first condition wherein said elongated cylindrical roller is engaged and fixedly secured to said case, and a second condition wherein said elongated cylindrical roller is removable from said case.
- 12. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 11, wherein said second releasable means includes a biasing spring.
- 13. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1 wherein said manually actuated member includes a biasing spring.
- 14. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1 wherein said manually actuated member includes a threaded shaft, said attachment portion includes an aperture for said threaded shaft, and further including a rotatable closure nut for maintaining the engagement of said threaded shaft through said aperture.
- 15. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, further including a handle storage compartment along said back wall and extending between said top and bottom walls, said handle storage compartment including a manually operable closure means at said top wall, and said first end of said retractable handle is secured to said case at the bottom wall end of said handle storage compartment.
- 16. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 1, further comprising manually releasable means for selectively securing or removing said elongated roller from the case.
- 17. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 16, wherein said manually releasable means includes a second releasable means for securing said elongated cylindrical roller to said case, said second releasable means being manually movable between a first condition wherein said elongated cylindrical roller is engaged and fixedly secured to said case, and a second condition wherein said elongated cylindrical roller may be removed from said case.
- 18. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 17, wherein said second releasable means includes a biasing spring.
- 19. A portable carrying case as set forth in claim 16, wherein said support means includes a bracket support, said bracket support including first and second downwardly turned ears at said first and second ends of said elongated cylindrical roller and at least one intermediate downwardly turned ear between said first and second ends of said elongated cylindrical roller.
- 20. A portable carrying case as set forth in claims 16, wherein said elongated cylindrical roller includes first and second ends and a bracket support; said bracket support including a plurality of downwardly turned ears, including ears at said first and second ends and at least one intermediate ear between said first and second ends;a roller axis supported by said ears, said roller axis extending through said ears to rotate said elongated cylindrical roller as the case is moved along the floor surface, with said intermediate ear supporting the intermediate region of said elongated cylindrical roller.
RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 09/140,964 filed on Aug. 27, 1998 and is being abandoned in conjunction with the filing of this application.
US Referenced Citations (36)
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2005520 |
Sep 1971 |
DE |
587630 |
May 1977 |
DE |
3636064A |
Apr 1988 |
DE |
0005879 |
Dec 1979 |
EP |
1292341 |
Mar 1961 |
FR |
2409720 |
Jun 1979 |
FR |
693373 |
Jul 1953 |
GB |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/140964 |
Aug 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/362984 |
|
US |