Patent Application
20150342318
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to luggage, specifically for wheeled assembly for luggage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Luggage, including suitcases and the like, is often heavy, bulky, and generally unwieldy. Travelers, in particular, often have multiple articles of luggage, which are not easily simultaneously transported by a single person. Although suitcases are frequently provided with wheels, the user must wither hunch over, or otherwise lower his or her arms, in order to grasp the handle of the suitcase while the wheels contact the floor, or stand erect and carry the suitcase, and often project the suitcase. Further, wheel assemblies project from suitcases and may be damaged during handling by the airlines. Also, such may present difficulties when the user wishes to have the suitcase stably positioned on the floor.
A separate luggage carrier with wheels and an extendible handles may be utilized to overcome these problems. However, such carriers have open frames that leave the wheel assemblies of the luggage carriers exposed to damage during handling by the airlines.
Retractable wheels and/or handles are known in the art and are generally provided to help reduce exposure of the wheels to the exterior. Different retraction mechanisms are used to provide different operational characteristics to varying degrees of success.
Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below in their own words, and the supporting teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,262, issued to Rekuc et al., discloses an article of luggage has a handle received in a frame disposed along the interior rear wall of a flexible case to allow the article to be pulled along the ground or floor on wheels mounted in a wheel assembly affixed to the bottom of an article. The bottom plate has a pull-out ledge on which other luggage can be mounted and held in place by an elastic strap which is affixed to the case and can encircle the additional article or be buckled out of the way along the outer rear wall of the case.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,661, issued to Miyoshi, discloses a bag mounted with casters has a bag body attached to a base frame mounted with the casters at four corners of a bottom surface thereof. The base frame includes a loading table, and vertically extensible rods with a grip mounted at upper ends thereof. The extensible rods are fixed on one side of the loading table so as to stand on their own. Further, when the grip is raised, the extensible rods are curved or tilted so that the grip moves toward the middle of the loading table. The extensible rods are secured at a position in a retracted state by stoppers so that the grip is positioned at an upper portion of the bag body or above the bag body, and are secured at a position by the stoppers in an extended state so that a height of the grip from the bottoms of the casters is in a range of 60 to 100 cm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,873, issued to Chen, discloses a handle of a push cart includes two rods slidably engaged in two tubes and each having a number of teeth. Two sleeves are secured on top of the tubes and each has a pair of lugs. Two pins are secured between the lugs. A resilient arm has two ends slidably engaged with the pins, the ends each includes a tooth for engaging with the teeth of the rods so as to secure the rods to the tubes. The teeth of the resilient arm are disengaged from the teeth of the rods when the resilient arm is depressed. A fence is secured to the sleeves for preventing the resilient arm from being depressed inadvertently.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,737, issued to Wang, discloses a retractable handle and wheel assembly includes a flat handle mounting frame and a circularly arched wheel mounting frame joined together and mounted on the back and bottom panel of a collapsible travel bag. Two wheel holders are respectively fastened to the wheel mounting frame each wheel holder having a wheel coupling portion fitted over a respective recessed hole on the wheel mounting frame to hold a respective wheel by a bearing and a channel bar bearing block fixedly fastened to the handle mounting frame to hold a respective channel bar, with a retractable handle sliding in an out of the channel bars, the retractable handle having two rubber blocks at two adjacent ends for positioning the handle at either end of each channel bar to hold the handle in the collapsed or extended out position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,047, issued to Schuster, discloses a collapsible vehicle for the transportation of tools, suitcases, shopping bags, sport equipment, etc., which includes a frame of isosceles trapezoidal configuration defined by hingedly interconnected member cooperating with a support and a releasable latch, the front and rear members having a total length equal to the combined length of the size of the trapezoid, which is swingable so that the members can lie substantially parallel to one another.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include being limited in use, being limited in adaptability, being limited in application, being unable to fully close and secure the wheel therein, being bulky, being difficult to adapt to existing luggage, being expensive, being less durable, being subject to damage during use or storage, causing damage to surrounding materials during use or storage, failing to protect a user's investment in their luggage, failing to increase a perceived value of the luggage, causing frustration to users when trying to store luggage in overhead bins, failing to permit refitting of existing containers, causing damage during unintentional deployment, permitting unintentional deployment, failing to prevent intrusion by foreign objects into a retraction mechanism, being heavy, taking up too much interior luggage space, taking up too much exterior luggage space, failing to provide a smooth function/deployment/retraction, not being durable, not being reliable, taking up too much storage space within a luggage system, being likely to break during normal travel conditions, and not permitting independent wheel deployment and the like and combinations thereof.
What is needed is a wheeled assembly that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.
The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available wheel pack. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an efficient and functional wheeled assembly for luggage.
According to one embodiment of the invention, there is a wheeled assembly. The wheeled assembly may include a handle. The handle may be telescoping. The wheeled assembly includes a travel shuttle that may be selectably coupled to the handle and may include a travel track that may be shaped and positioned to allow the handle to travel a predefined distance without causing the travel shuttle to move, yet the travel track may engage with the handle during travel greater than the predefined distance and thereby causing the travel shuttle to move. The travel shuttle may include a vertical slide that may be disposed through a vertical centerline thereof.
The wheeled assembly may include a pair of linkage arms that each may be pivotally coupled to the travel shuttle. The travel shuttle may include a shuttle plate that may be coupled between the travel shuttle and the pair of linkage arms. The linkage arms may have a pair of hingedly coupled elongated members that may be functionally coupled to the travel shuttle.
The wheeled assembly may include a base that may be functionally coupled to the handle. The base may include a lateral track and hinge protrusion that may engage therewith and may protrude from the pair of linkage arms. The lateral track may be integral to a cover body that may cover the travel shuttle. The wheeled assembly may include a pair of wheel packs and each may include a pair of wheels that may be functionally coupled together by an axle. The pair of wheel packs may include an off-set axle protrusion that may be pivotally coupled to one of the linkage arms. The axle may be rotatable coupled to the base. The pair of wheels may be mounted to a swivel frame. The wheeled assembly may include a container body that may be functionally coupled to the pair of wheel pack.
Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.
These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In order for the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawing(s). It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. The drawings are mere schematics representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. Understanding that these drawing(s) depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not, therefore, to be considered to be limiting its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawing(s), in which:
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing(s), and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
Reference throughout this specification to an “embodiment,” an “example” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or combinations thereof described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases an “embodiment,” an “example,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, to different embodiments, or to one or more of the figures. Additionally, reference to the wording “embodiment,” “example” or the like, for two or more features, elements, etc. does not mean that the features are necessarily related, dissimilar, the same, etc.
Each statement of an embodiment, or example, is to be considered independent of any other statement of an embodiment despite any use of similar or identical language characterizing each embodiment. Therefore, where one embodiment is identified as “another embodiment,” the identified embodiment is independent of any other embodiments characterized by the language “another embodiment.” The features, functions, and the like described herein are considered to be able to be combined in whole or in part one with another as the claims and/or art may direct, either directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly.
As used herein, “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “is,” “are,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional unrecited elements or method steps. “Comprising” is to be interpreted as including the more restrictive terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.”
Looking to the figures there is shown a wheeled assembly 10 including a handle 12 functionally coupled to a travel shuttle 14 through a shuttle plate 28, wherein both the travel shuttle 14 and the shuttle plate are encased within a cover body 15. The illustrated travel shuttle is functionally coupled to a base 18 by a set of linkage arms 16 and 30 that are hingedly coupled to each other at a hinged protrusion 19 that is trapped in a lateral track 17 of the cover body 15. There is shown an opening 32 for the set of linkage arms 16 and 30 to be disposed therethrough and couple to a two wheel pack 40. The base 18 has two wheel pack 40 having two wheels each on which rest a container body 20. The illustrated wheeled assembly may be in the form of a wheeled carry-on luggage for personal use during travel, wherein the container body is fixedly coupled to the base and handle.
The illustrated wheeled assembly 10 provides a retractable wheel set of four wheels protruding from a bottom thereof in combination with a container body 20, thereby providing a convenient deployable wheeled travel mode while also providing a mode in which the wheels are retracted, thus taking up less space and being safer from accidental damage.
The illustrated wheeled assembly 10 includes a handle 12. The illustrated handle 12 is telescoping in that it includes a plurality of coupled elongated hollow members shaped and sized to fit within each other and to slide in relation to each other. The handle 12 may include a retractable handle assembly, such as but not limited to an actuator/button configured to lock/unlock the telescoping handle portions in relation to each other. The retractable handle assembly may include a primary tube set (outer tube) telescopically nested with a secondary tube set (inner tube) (the illustrated secondary tube set is nested within the illustrated primary tube set). The secondary tube set may be coupled to a grip that may grasped by a user during the operation thereof. The handle 12 is configured to retract into the container body 20, thereby being in a stowed mode 50.
The illustrated primary tube is functionally coupled to a travel shuttle 14 such that sliding the primary tube in relation to the container body and/or the cover body along at least a portion of the travel path of the primary tube may cause sliding of the travel shuttle. In particular, each illustrated primary tube includes a shuttle catch 21 protruding therefrom that engages with a vertical slot 22 of the shuttle plate 28 such that as the primary tube slides upward, the catch eventually reaches the end/top of the vertical slot and then catches against the top thereof and further upward travel of the primary tube causes the shuttle plate to also rise. Similarly, downward motion of the primary tube causes the shuttle catch 21 to slide downwardly along the vertical slot 22 until it catches against a bottom thereof and then further downward motion of the primary tube causes the shuttle plate to also move downwardly.
The illustrated shuttle plate 28 includes a travel catch 23 protruding therefrom that is trapped within a vertical slide 26 of the travel shuttle 14 in a manner similar to that of the interoperation of the shuttle catch and the vertical slot of the shuttle plate. In particular, as the shuttle plate 28 rises, the travel catch 23 travels up the vertical slide 26 until it reaches a top thereof at which point at catches against the same. Further upward motion of the shuttle plate causes the vertical shuttle to rise. Similarly, downward motion of the shuttle plate causes the travel catch 23 to slide downwardly along the vertical slide 26 until it catches against a bottom thereof and then further downward motion of the shuttle plate causes the travel shuttle to also move downwardly.
The illustrated telescoping handle, shuttle plate, travel shuttle, linkage arms, and wheel assemblies are coupled together in series in a manner that translates the large/long motion of deploying the telescoping handle into a relatively small motion of turning the axle of each wheel assembly to rotate the wheels attached thereto to deploy/retract the same. The respective lengths of the primary and secondary tubes, vertical slot, vertical slide, and lateral track are selected to make that motion conversion and there are many different lengths which would work, including many relative lengths that are functionally identical or similar. As a non-limiting example, the respective lengths of the vertical slide and the vertical slot may vary and amounts of length may be reduced in one while increased a corresponding amount in the other while still affording proper deployment of the wheels. In another example, the shuttle plate may be completely removed and a longer travel shuttle (with a longer vertical slide and a single central handle with a single set of telescoping tubes, or with two parallel longer vertical slides) may be coupled directly to the handle which may be utilized to generate a similar operation. Applicant believes that including both a travel shuttle and a shuttle plate in series with each other reduces the cost, ease of deployment, and increases the stability and/or durability of the wheeled assembly.
The illustrated wheeled assembly 10 includes a travel shuttle 14 disposed within a cover body 15 that is selectably coupled to the handle 12 by a pair of hollow channels 13 having vertical slits within which the illustrated primary tube may travel and by/through the illustrated shuttle plate. There are a pair of linkage arms 16 that are pivotally coupled to a bottom portion of the travel shuttle and that extend generally downwardly therefrom. Each of the illustrated linkage arms terminates in a hinged protrusion 19 that pivotally couples the linkage arms 16 to a second set of linkage arms 30 and also to the cover body 15.
The illustrated cover body 15 includes a pair of lateral tracks 17 through the pair of hinged protrusions 19 protrude and are thus engaged with (e.g. trapped inside) the respective lateral tracks 17, one each, so that travel of each hinged protrusion 19 is restricted to lateral motion. This converts vertical motion of the travel shuttle to a more horizontal motion which is used to deploy/retract the wheels. The travel shuttle is thereby functionally coupled to a base 18 and operates to deploy and/or retract a pair of wheel packs 40 thereof by motion of the handle 12. The illustrated wheeled assembly 10 is in a deployed mode 45, such that the wheels are facing downwardly and away from the base such that they may roll while in contact with a floor/ground surface.
The illustrated wheeled assembly 10 includes a base 18 functionally coupled to the handle 12 through the travel shuttle. The base 18 may provide an exterior wall of the container body 20, wherein the base 18 may include a rigid exterior wall. The illustrated base includes a rigid floor with a lip around the perimeter thereof which floor forms the bottom exterior wall of the illustrated container body 20. The base 18 includes a pair of wheel packs 40, wherein each wheel pack includes a pair of wheels 42 rigidly coupled to each other by an axle 44. Each wheel pack is rotatably coupled to a bottom of the rigid floor at the collars 41, such that an axle that couples the paired wheels together may rotate, thus deploying/retracting each set of paired wheels together. In particular, the axles of each illustrated wheeled assembly are mounted within pairs of collars 41 that protrude from an underside of the base 18. The illustrated linkage arms 30 pivotally couple to the wheel packs at an off-set axle protrusion 46 that protrudes from the axle and provides leverage for the linkage arms to exert lateral force which thereby causes the axle to rotate within the collars, thereby deploying/retracting the coupled wheels.
Each illustrated wheel 42 is mounted to a swivel frame 70, wherein the swivel frame 70 allows for 360 degree rotational movement thereof. Accordingly, when deployed, the wheels may face in any direction for the convenience of the user. According to one embodiment of the invention, there is a wheeled assembly. The wheeled assembly is disposed in, or otherwise coupled to, a container body, such as but not limited to being removably or fixedly coupled thereto. The wheeled assembly includes a handle assembly, a travel shuttle assembly, a base, and one or more wheel packs. The wheel packs include retractable wheels that may be disposed about a swivel frame. A swivel frame may be functionally coupled to the base and/or may allow for 360 degree rotation of the wheel about the frame. The wheels may be presented in sets of two wheels, each set including two wheels coupled to each other by an axle that may rigidly maintain an angular relationship between the joined wheels such that a change in angular positioning of one wheel forces a change in angular positioning of the joined wheel.
The wheeled assembly may be disposed along a side and/or may be within a container body (e.g. luggage, carton, box, duffle, crate) configured to store objects for travel and/or storage. The wheeled assembly may include a handle assembly that may be telescopic. Such a handle assembly may have an outer tube and/or an inner tube that may be telescopically coupled to each other (with the handle itself possibly being telescopically inside the inner tube). It may be that the combined tubes are coupled to a coupling bracket and/or a handle. The inner tube may be coupled to a travel shuttle at a second end, distal from a first end.
A travel shuttle may support a set of linkage arms that may be rotatably coupled to the handle assembly and/or may extend through an opening of the inner or outer tube and may each couple to a base. The travel shuttle may include a sloped protective structure configured (e.g. cover body) to protect the mechanisms and also provide boundary conditions for the linkage arms (and/or the inner tube) so that that they do not extend too far when the inner tube is pulled upward.
The base may include one or more wheel packs having deployment arms and/or linkage arms fixedly coupled to opposite ends of an axle such that if one deployment arm or linkage arm of a set rotates, the axle rotates as well, thus forcing the other deployment arm or linkage arm to rotate in a similar fashion. Each deployment arm or linkage arm may include a wheel extending from a base of the deployment arm or linkage arm. One of each pair of deployment arms or linkage arms may be rotatably coupled to a coupling bracket or travel shuttle distal from an inner/outer tube at a position on the deployment arm or linkage arm that is opposite the wheel, such that the axle is between the wheel and the coupling location of the coupling bracket or travel shuttle. The shape, size and position of the deployment arm or linkage arm, coupling bracket or travel shuttle, axle and inner tube are selected such that when the inner tube is in a fully downward position, the effective length orthogonal to the inner tube of the coupling bracket or travel shuttle is greater than its effective length orthogonal to the inner tube when the inner tube is pulled upward. Thus, the movement of the inner tube causes the coupling bracket or travel shuttle to force the end of the deployment arm or linkage arm opposite the wheel to change position.
Since the wheel is opposite the axle point of the deployment arm or linkage arm, the wheel may thereby be rotated between deployed and stowed modes. Accordingly, the deployment mechanism or travel shuttle selectably rotates a set of wheels from a stowed mode to a deployed mode. The deployment mechanism or travel shuttle simultaneously deploys or stows a set of wheels, as illustrated there are four wheels, wherein each side includes two wheels and two deployment mechanisms or linkage arms coupled together by an axle and supporting bracket or base. The deployment mechanism or linkage arms are configured to selectably rotate the wheel up into the base and securely stored therein.
According to one embodiment of the invention, there is a wheeled assembly to reduce the risk of wheel damage or breakage on a piece of luggage or container body. This may be achieved through use of retractable wheels/rollers. The wheels/rollers may be deployed when the collapsible handle is pulled to a fully upright position for use. When the handle is moved to the collapsed position the wheels/rollers retract or stow into the base that is part of the container body.
The illustrated wheeled assembly may be designed specifically for personal luggage and/or such smaller containers. Such an assembly allows for use in presently existing products with minimal changes to their manufacturing processes and costs. The illustrated wheeled assembly is coupled to a container body; wherein the container body is rectangular in shape. The container body may vary in size, shape, design, length, height, depth, width, and still perform its intended function.
It is understood that the above-described embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
For example, although the illustrated wheels are swivel wheels, it is envisioned that other wheel types may be used, such as but not limited to ball-socket wheels, fixed wheels, wheel and tracks, spoked wheels, trywheels and the like and combinations thereof.
Additionally, although the figures illustrate two wheel packs of two wheels each that are substantially parallel to each other, it is understood that unless otherwise claimed there may be more or fewer than two wheel packs, that each wheel pack may include more or fewer than two wheels, that the wheel packs may be asymmetrical with respect to each other or otherwise not parallel, and that the axles may be bent/curved or otherwise not linear.
It is expected that there could be numerous variations of the design of this invention. An example is that the wheeled assembly may be in the form of a golf caddy.
Finally, it is envisioned that the components of the device may be constructed of a variety of materials, including but not limited to plastics, metals, ceramics, composites, rubbers, resins, wood, woven fibers and the like and combinations thereof.
Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims. Further, it is contemplated that an embodiment may be limited to consist of or to consist essentially of one or more of the features, functions, structures, methods described herein.
This invention claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. §120, to the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/003,946, to Joseph I. Arthur, filed on May 28, 2014, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62003946 | May 2014 | US |
