U.S. patent application number 11/238989 was filed with the patent office on 2007-04-05 for expandable luggage.
Invention is credited to Joseph Liang.
Application Number | 20070074941 11/238989 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37900839 |
Filed Date | 2007-04-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070074941 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liang; Joseph |
April 5, 2007 |
Expandable luggage
Abstract
An expandable luggage includes: a main body including opposite
front and rear panels and a peripheral wall, the front panel having
two opposite first edges, and two opposite second edges; a foldable
body including two opposite first flaps, two opposite second flaps,
a flexible bridge, and two first zippers, each of the first flaps
extending from a respective one of the first edges of the front
panel, each of the second flaps extending from a respective one of
the second edges of the front panel, the flexible bridge
interconnecting the first flaps, the second flaps being detachably
connected to the flexible bridge and the first flaps through the
first zippers; a handle mounted on the main body; and a wheel unit
mounted on the main body.
Inventors: |
Liang; Joseph; (Ping-Tung
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVIDSON BERQUIST JACKSON & GOWDEY LLP
4300 WILSON BLVD., 7TH FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22203
US
|
Family ID: |
37900839 |
Appl. No.: |
11/238989 |
Filed: |
September 30, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
190/107 ;
190/18A |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 7/0022 20130101;
A45C 7/0068 20130101; A45C 2009/007 20130101; A45C 5/14
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
190/107 ;
190/018.00A |
International
Class: |
A45C 5/14 20060101
A45C005/14; A45C 7/00 20060101 A45C007/00 |
Claims
1. An expandable luggage comprising: a main body including opposite
front and rear panels and a peripheral wall disposed between and
interconnecting said front and rear panels and cooperating with
said front and rear panels to define a primary compartment
thereamong, said front panel having two opposite first edges, and
two opposite second edges, each of which interconnects said first
edges; a foldable body including two opposite first flaps, two
opposite second flaps, a flexible bridge, and a pair of first
zippers, each of said first flaps extending from and being foldable
relative to a respective one of said first edges of said front
panel, each of said second flaps extending from and being foldable
relative to a respective one of said second edges of said front
panel, said flexible bridge being disposed between and
interconnecting said first flaps, each of said second flaps being
detachably connected to said flexible bridge and said first flaps
through a respective one of said first zippers, said foldable body
being operable between a folded state, in which said second flaps
are detached from said first flaps and said flexible bridge and
said first and second flaps are stacked one above the other on said
front panel, and an extended state, in which said second flaps are
connected to said first flaps and said flexible bridge through said
first zippers and cooperate with said first flaps and said flexible
bridge to define a secondary compartment that is separated from
said primary compartment by said front panel; a handle mounted on
said main body; and a wheel unit mounted on said main body.
2. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
foldable body further includes a stretching panel that is connected
securely to said front panel, that is detachably connected to said
first flaps and said flexible bridge, and that extends in a
transverse direction relative to said front panel so as to maintain
a predetermined distance between said front panel and said flexible
bridge when said foldable body is disposed at the extended state,
said stretching panel being detached from said first flaps and said
flexible bridge and being stacked on said front panel when said
foldable body is disposed at the folded state.
3. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 2, further comprising
a fastening mechanism that is provided on a peripheral edge of said
stretching panel, said front panel, and said flexible bridge in
such a manner that said stretching panel can be connected to said
first flaps and said flexible bridge through said fastening
mechanism in a hook-and-loop engaging manner.
4. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
foldable body further includes a pair of handgrips connected to
said first flaps, respectively.
5. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
a fastening mechanism that is provided on said second flaps in such
a manner that said second flaps can be tightened through said
fastening mechanism in a hook-and-loop engaging manner when said
foldable body is disposed at the folded state.
6. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of
said first flaps is semi-circular in shape and has a radius, said
predetermined distance between said flexible bridge and said front
panel being substantially equal to said radius of each of said
first flaps.
7. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
peripheral wall of said main body is formed with an access opening
for access to said primary compartment, said main body further
including a second zipper that is provided on a periphery of said
access opening for closing and opening said access opening.
8. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
handle is secured to said rear panel and is telescopically
extendable relative to said main body.
9. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of
said first flaps is semi-circular in shape, and has a radius that
is less than the distance between said first edges of said front
panel.
10. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 1, wherein the width
of each of said second flaps is less than the distance between said
first edges of said front panel.
11. The expandable luggage as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
length of each of said second flaps is less than the distance
between said second edges of said front panel.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a luggage, more particularly to an
expandable luggage.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] At present, conventional expandable luggages are categorized
into three types:
[0005] The first type is vertically expandable in which the luggage
expands a compartment space thereof in a vertical direction.
Luggages of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,361,215,
4,733,759, and 5,060,795. All these luggages share a common
drawback in that there is no retractable handle unit mounted on the
luggage body, thereby resulting in inconvenience when moving the
luggage.
[0006] The second type is also vertically expandable but with a
retractable handle unit. A luggage of this type is disclosed in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,652. The luggage provides a retractable handle
unit that is required to be adjusted so as to permit vertical
expansion of the luggage, which only results in a rather
complicated structure, but also in inconvenience during use.
[0007] The third type is horizontally expandable. Luggages of this
type expand a compartment space thereof in a horizontal direction,
and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,671,831, 6,021,874,
6,059,078, 6,220,411, and 6,305,513. Luggages of this type share a
common drawback in that, to achieve an effect of rigid formation
after compartment space expansion, a plurality of support units are
required to be provided between a main body and an expanding frame
of the luggage, which results in a complicated structure and higher
manufacturing and assembly costs.
[0008] All the three types of the conventional expandable luggages
share a common drawback in that a hidden gusset is required to be
installed thereon and a V-type opening is required to be formed
during compartment space expansion, which result in a complicated
structure and in a difficult sewing operation for the gusset.
Furthermore, for reception and hiding of the gusset, a softer and
flexible material is required for making the gusset.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
an expandable luggage that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks
associated with the prior art.
[0010] Accordingly, an expandable luggage of the present invention
comprises: a main body including opposite front and rear panels and
a peripheral wall disposed between and interconnecting the front
and rear panels and cooperating with the front and rear panels to
define a primary compartment thereamong, the front panel having two
opposite first edges, and two opposite second edges, each of which
interconnects the first edges; a foldable body including two
opposite first flaps, two opposite second flaps, a flexible bridge,
and a pair of first zippers, each of the first flaps extending from
and being foldable relative to a respective one of the first edges
of the front panel, each of the second flaps extending from and
being foldable relative to a respective one of the second edges of
the front panel, the flexible bridge being disposed between and
interconnecting the first flaps, each of the second flaps being
detachably connected to the flexible bridge and the first flaps
through a respective one of the first zippers, the foldable body
being operable between a folded state, in which the second flaps
are detached from the first flaps and the flexible bridge and the
first and second flaps are stacked one above the other on the front
panel, and an extended state, in which the second flaps are
connected to the first flaps and the flexible bridge through the
first zippers and cooperate with the first flaps and the flexible
bridge to define a secondary compartment that is separated from the
primary compartment by the front panel; a handle mounted on the
main body; and a wheel unit mounted on the main body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of
an expandable luggage according to the present invention,
illustrating a state where a foldable body of the preferred
embodiment is disposed at an extended state with two flaps of the
foldable body being opened for showing an interior of a compartment
defined by the foldable body;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but with a
stretching panel disconnected from a bridge and two other flaps of
the foldable body for showing how the stretching panel is connected
to the bridge and the two flaps;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment
with the flaps closed;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a partly sectional view of the preferred
embodiment viewing from side;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines V-V in FIG.
4;
[0017] FIGS. 6 to 8 are perspective views to illustrate how the
foldable body is folded;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a perspective view to illustrate how the
expandable luggage can be used as a suitcase; and
[0019] FIG. 10 is a perspective view to illustrate how the
expandable luggage can be used as a carrying bag.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIGS. 6 to 8, the preferred
embodiment of an expandable luggage according to the present
invention is shown to include: a main body 10 including opposite
front and rear panels 11, 12 and a peripheral wall 13 disposed
between and interconnecting the front and rear panels 11, 12 and
cooperating with the front and rear panels 11, 12 to define a
primary compartment (I) thereamong (see FIG. 4), the front panel 11
having two opposite first edges 111, and two opposite second edges
112, each of which interconnects the first edges 111; a foldable
body 10' including two opposite first flaps 15, two opposite second
flaps 17, a flexible bridge 16, and a pair of first zippers 40,
each of the first flaps 15 extending from and being foldable
relative to a respective one of the first edges 111 of the front
panel 11, each of the second flaps 17 extending from and being
foldable relative to a respective one of the second edges 112 of
the front panel 11, the flexible bridge 16 being disposed between
and interconnecting the first flaps 15, each of the second flaps 17
being detachably connected to the flexible bridge 16 and the first
flaps 15 through a respective one of the first zippers 40, the
foldable body 10' being operable between a folded state, as best
shown in FIG. 8, in which the second flaps 17 are detached from the
first flaps 15 and the flexible bridge 16 and the first and second
flaps 15, 17 are stacked one above the other on the front panel 11,
and an extended state, as best shown in FIG. 3, in which the second
flaps 17 are connected to the first flaps 15 and the flexible
bridge 16 through the first zippers 40 and cooperate with the first
flaps 15 and the flexible bridge 16 to define a secondary
compartment (II) (see FIG. 4) that is separated from the primary
compartment (I) by the front panel 11; a handle 20 mounted on the
main body 10; and a wheel unit 30 mounted on the main body 10.
[0021] The foldable body 10' further includes a stretching panel 18
that is connected securely to the front panel 11, that is foldable
relative to the front panel 11, that is detachably connected to the
first flaps 15 and the flexible bridge 16 (see FIGS. 1 and 4), and
that extends in a transverse direction relative to the front panel
11 so as to maintain a predetermined distance between the front
panel 11 and the flexible bridge 16 when the foldable body 10' is
disposed at the extended state. The stretching panel 18 includes
opposite first and second ends 181, 182 connected to the front
panel 11 and the flexible bridge 16, respectively, and two opposite
sides connected to the first flaps 15, respectively, and is stacked
on the front panel 11 when the foldable body 10' is disposed at the
folded state, as best shown in FIG. 6.
[0022] The expandable luggage further includes a first fastening
mechanism 19 that is provided on a peripheral edge of the
stretching panel 18, the first flaps 15, and the flexible bridge 16
in such a manner that the stretching panel 18 can be connected to
the first flaps 15, and the flexible bridge 16 through the first
fastening mechanism 19 in a hook-and-loop engaging manner. In this
embodiment, the first fastening mechanism 19 is a Velcro.RTM.
fastening mechanism.
[0023] The foldable body 10' further includes a pair of handgrips
19', each of which is connected to an exterior of a respective one
of the first flaps 15.
[0024] The expandable luggage further includes a second fastening
mechanism 50 that is provided on the second flaps 17 in such a
manner that the second flaps 17 can be tightened through the second
fastening mechanism 50 in a hook-and-loop engaging manner when the
foldable body 10' is disposed at the folded state. In this
embodiment, the second fastening mechanism 50 is a Velcro.RTM.
fastening mechanism.
[0025] The peripheral wall 13 of the main body 10 is formed with an
access opening (not shown) for access to the primary compartment
(I). The main body 10 further includes a second zipper 14 that is
provided on a periphery of the access opening for closing and
opening the access opening.
[0026] The handle 20 is secured to the rear panel 12, and is
telescopically extendable relative to the main body 10.
[0027] The wheel unit 30 is mounted on a bottom of the main body
10.
[0028] In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 2, each of the first
flaps 15 is semi-circular in shape, and has a semicircular edge 151
and a radius (W2) (see FIG. 2) that is less than the distance (W1)
between the first edges 111 of the front panel 11. The flexible
bridge 16 is integrally formed with the first flaps 15, and has two
opposite ends connected to middle points of the semicircular edges
151 of the first flaps 15, respectively. The predetermined distance
between the flexible bridge 16 and the front panel 11 is
substantially equal to the radius (W2) of each of the first flaps
15. The width (W3) between two lateral edges of each of the second
flaps 17 is less than the distance (W1) between the first edges 111
of the front panel 11. The length (L3) of each of the second flaps
17 is less than the distance (L1) between the second edges 112 of
the front panel 11.
[0029] Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, in combination with FIG. 2, to
dispose the foldable body low in the folded state, the first
zippers 40 are unzipped such that the second flaps 17 are detached
from the first flaps 15 and the flexible bridge 16, and the
stretching panel 18 is disconnected from the flexible bridge 16 and
the first flaps 15. Then, the first flaps 15 are folded relative to
the main body 10, and are laid on the front panel 11. Afterwards,
the second flaps 17 are folded relative to the main body 10, are
stacked on the first flaps 15, and are tightened through the second
fastening mechanism 50.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 9, when the foldable body 10' is disposed
at the folded state, the expandable luggage can be used as a
suitcase that can be towed with the help of the handle 20 and the
wheel unit 30.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 10, when the foldable body 10' is disposed
at the extended state, the expandable luggage can be used as a
carrying bag that can be carried through the handgrips 19'.
[0032] Compared to the conventional expandable luggages, the
configuration of the foldable body 10' of the expandable luggage of
this invention, which includes the first and second flaps 15, 17,
is much simpler and convenient to operate between the extended and
folded states.
[0033] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *