U.S. patent number 3,805,929 [Application Number 05/287,225] was granted by the patent office on 1974-04-23 for suitcase having a cooperating wheel and handle assembly.
Invention is credited to Yukio Kuwayama.
United States Patent |
3,805,929 |
Kuwayama |
April 23, 1974 |
SUITCASE HAVING A COOPERATING WHEEL AND HANDLE ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A suitcase adapted to be moved manually by a cooperating wheel
and handle assembly; is provided with a pair of wheels on one
angular corner of the lower base of the suitcase and a handle grip
pivotally mounted on an upper corner of the suitcase diagonally
opposite to the positions of the wheels. The grip is arranged so as
to protrude outwardly with an upward inclination from the upper
corner in an operative position when one side of the suitcase is
lifted and thereby tilted to allow the wheels to contact the ground
for travel thereon. In order not to distract from having the
appearance of a conventional suitcase, a mechanism is provided for
foldably storing the grip in the side wall of the suitcase.
Inventors: |
Kuwayama; Yukio (Nagoya,
JA) |
Family
ID: |
23101972 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/287,225 |
Filed: |
September 8, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
190/18A; 190/115;
16/113.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C
5/14 (20130101); A45C 13/262 (20130101); Y10T
16/451 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
A45C
13/00 (20060101); A45C 5/14 (20060101); A45C
13/26 (20060101); A45C 5/00 (20060101); A45c
013/26 (); A45c 013/28 () |
Field of
Search: |
;190/18A,58B,57
;16/113,115,124 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Ross; Herbert F.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A suitcase comprising in combination:
a housing having top, bottom, side and end walls, said housing
having opposed concave sections defining a compartment therein,
said housing fixedly secured along the bottom wall thereof for
pivotal movement and removable secured along the top wall
thereof;
a pair of recesses formed within said housing along the juncture of
said bottom wall and one of said end walls;
a pair of parallel arranged wheels mounted and embedded,
respectively, within said pair of recesses to form a pair of
corners having arcuate configurations on said housing, said wheels
adapted to provide manual moving of said suitcase when said
suitcase is tilted whereby said wheels contact the ground for
travel thereon; and
a handle grip means having a L-shaped configuration mounted on the
peripheral edges of said concave sections along the juncture of
said top wall and one of said end walls, said juncture being
positioned diagonally opposite to said first-mentioned juncture,
one end of said L-shaped handle grip means being pivotally mounted
on said top wall and having means for selectively placing said grip
means in an open operative position and a closed storage position,
said means for selectively placing said grip means in open or
closed position including a supporting lever arm pivotally
connected at one end thereof to said L-shaped means intermediate
the ends of said L-shaped means, a slotted plate mounted on said
one of said end walls for slidably receiving the other end of said
lever arm whereby said lever arm slides and moves the L-shaped
handle grip means between operative and storage positions, said
L-shaped handle grip means in said open operative position
providing a handle and lever means for facilitating the manual
moving of said wheeled suitcase, said L-shaped handle grip means in
said closed storage position together with said mentioned top wall
and one of said end walls forming a corner having an arcuate
configuration on said housing.
2. A suitcase according to claim 1, wherein each of said wheels is
supported on said housing by an axle member.
3. A suitcase according to claim 1, wherein said means for
selectively placing said grip means in an open operative position
and a closed storage position includes a housing mechanism having a
said plate formed with an elongated aperture means.
4. A suitcase according to claim 3, wherein said grip means and
said supporting arm are U-shaped channel members whereby said grip
means, said supporting arm lever and said guide plate in said
closed storage position fit together as a compact unit within said
mentioned side wall.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suitcase, particularly to a
large size suitcase that is provided with a cooperating wheel and
handle grip assemble. For maintaining the inherent appearance and
function of a conventional suitcase, a pair of wheels are provided
only at the lower angular corner portion of the suitcase, and a
cooperating handle grip is protrudely provided on the upper angular
corner diagonally opposite to the position of the wheels whereby
the handle grip facilitates the operating manipulation of the
suitcase when the suitcase is tilted with respect to the horizontal
plane and the wheels contact the ground for travel thereon. The
grip is provided with a mechanism that permits folding and storing
the grip within the housing of the suitcase.
B. Description of the Invention
There have been various types of suitcases commercially available
some of which are provided with small wheels and a handle for
implementing the motion to the wheeled suitcase. However, such
small wheel devices usually have only one wheel and such a one
wheel device provides instability to a suitcase in motion. Some
prior art suitcases are provided with two or four wheels, but
without exception these wheels protrude from the outer surface of
the suitcase and therefore such arrangements spoil the exterior
appearance of a suitcase. Furthermore, the prior art handle for a
manually movable wheeled suitcase is generally constructed as a
separate handle unit identical or similar to the ordinary handle.
Such a handle unit is insufficient functionally for implementing
the motion to a suitcase. Therefore, not only is the position of
the prior art handle arrangement improper but also the provision of
two identical handles on one suitcase at separate locations
obviously distracts from having the appearance of a conventional
suitcase.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a suitcase having
a cooperating wheel and handle assemble. Heretofore, when a
suitcase particularly a large size suitcase was to be manually
carried, a large amount of labor was required, but the carrying of
the suitcase is made simpler and easier by the utilization of a
suitcase with wheels.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent the
self-propelled motion to the suitcase by providing means for
grounding the angular corner of the base of the suitcase diagonally
opposite to the wheels.
This means include the provision of mounting wheels only at one
angular corner of the base of the suitcase and having such wheels
inoperative when the suitcase is erect in a normal supporting
position on the ground. The wheels are supported embedded in
recesses in the housing of the suitcase and therefore do not
distract from having the appearance of a conventional suitcase. By
utilizing only two wheels at one corner, the number of wheels
constitutes an effective minimum.
The cooperating wheel and handle assembly of the present invention
makes the self-propelled motion of the suitcase extremely easy from
the standpoint of function by providing the wheels only at one
angular corner of the base of the suitcase and by providing the
handle grip with an upward inclination from the angular corner of
the upper end of the suitcase diagonally opposite to the wheels so
as to protrude from the suitcase in the longitudinal direction.
Thereby the suitcase can be manually moved by lifting and thus
tilting one end of the suitcase by the handle grip and by having
the wheels contact the ground for travel thereon.
A further object of the present invention is to stabilize the
manual moving of the suitcase by providing two wheels at only one
angular corner of the suitcase.
A still further object of the present invention is to prevent the
handle grip from becoming an obstruction to the inherent use of the
suitcase and to preserve the exterior appearance of the suitcase by
providing a mechanism that permits folding and storing the handle
grip within the suitcase.
In essence, the present invention relates to a suitcase that
comprises a housing having top, bottom, side and end walls, the
housing having opposed concave sections defining a compartment
therein, the housing fixedly secured along the bottom wall thereof
for pivotal movement and removably secured along the top wall
thereof; a pair of recesses formed within the housing along the
juncture of the bottom wall and one of the end walls; a pair of
parallel arranged wheels respectively mounted within the pair of
recesses to form a pair of corners having arcuate configurations on
the housing, the wheels adapted to provide manual moving of the
suitcase when said suitcase is tilted whereby said wheels contact
the ground for travel thereon; and a handle grip means having a
L-shaped configuration mounted on the peripheral edges of the
concave sections along the juncture of the top wall and one of the
end walls, the juncture being positioned diagonally opposite to the
first-mentioned juncture, the L-shaped handle grip means being
pivotally mounted on the top wall and having means for selectively
placing the grip means in an open operative position and a closed
storage position, the L-shaped handle grip means in the open
operative position providing a handle and lever means for
facilitating the manual moving of the suitcase, the L-shaped handle
grip means in the closed storage position together with the
mentioned top wall one of the end walls forming a corner having an
arcuate configuration on the housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the suitcase according to the
present invention and is provided with a wheel and handle grip
assembly, illustrating by a chain line the position of the grip in
an open operative position;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line II -- II of FIG.
1 showing the caster units;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of an essential part of the grip
showing the grip foldably stored in a side wall of the
suitcase;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of an essential part of the grip
showing the grip protruding outwardly in an open operative
position;
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line V -- V of FIG. 3;
and FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along a line VI -- VI of
FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The suitcase of the present invention is indicated by the letter S
throughout the drawings. The suitcase S comprises a pair of caster
units C that are mounted only at the angular corners of one end of
the lower part or base of the suitcase, and a handle grip G that is
provided at one angular corner of the upper part of the suitcase
and that is diagonally opposite to the position of the caster units
C. The respective positions of the grip G and caster units C
facilitate the manual moving of the suitcase.
The suitcase S, as shown in FIG. 1, is of a conventional structural
type. The suitcase S includes a main body 1 and a cooperating lid 2
each having opposed concave sections. The body 1 and lid 2 are
coupled by means of hinges (not shown in the drawing) and together
define a compartment therein. The lid 2 is closed on the body 1 and
is locked by a suitable lock (not shown in the drawing). The inner
peripheral edges of both the body 1 and the lid 2 are fitted with
reinforcing metal strips 3, 4 respectively. A conventional handle 5
for use in the carrying of the suitcase S is provided on the
central portion of the upper side wall 6 of the body 1.
The caster units C are mounted only on the angular corners of one
end of the lower portion of the suitcase S in order to prevent the
self-travelling the suitcase S as shown in FIG. 1. The caster units
C include two parallel arranged wheels 7, 7' as shown in FIG. 2.
The wheels 7, 7' are provided with axle members 8, 8',
respectively, for support thereof. Each of the wheels is positioned
within a recess or concave portion 9 that is formed on the body 1
and the lid 2 respectively. Axle members 8, 8' are secured by
rivets or screws in their respective positions on body 1 and lid 2.
The embedding of the wheels 7, 7' in their respective recesses 9
and the formation of arcuate corners on the housing by the wheels
themselves provide an exterior appearance of the suitcase which is
similar to that of a conventional one.
The grip G is provided on the angular corner of the upper part of
the right side of the suitcase S as shown in FIG. 1. And the grip G
is structurally mounted on the side of the body 1. The grip G is
constructed as a U-shaped channel lever-type member, and its
outwardly extending tip is bent along the angular portion of the
suitcase S to form a L-shaped member S. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
4, a metal fixture 10 is rigidly secured by rivets or screws a
small distance from the upper corner of the right side of body 1.
The pivotal end of the grip G is supported on the metal fixture 10
by means of the pin 11 so as to be rotatably mounted as shown in
FIG. 5.
As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a guide plate 13 is fixed to the
right side wall 12 of the body 1. This guide plate 13 is formed as
of an elongate member having a predetermined thickness. An
elongated aperture or hole 14 starting from the one end to the
other end in the longitudinal direction is cut on the side wall of
the elongate plate. A supporting arm lever 15, as shown in FIG. 3
and FIG. 4, is journaled at the position 16 slightly lower than the
curved portion of the grip G at its one end, and the other end is
coupled to the guide plate 13 by means of a shaft 17 inserted
slidably in the hole 14 of the guide plate 13. The supporting arm
lever 15 is formed of a U-shaped channel member similar to the grip
G. When the grip G is folded and stored in the right side wall 12
of the body 1, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the U-shaped channel
supporting arm lever 15 fits within the guide plate 13, and at the
same time the U-shaped channel lever of the grip G fits within the
supporting arm lever 15 to form a compact unit in the closed
storage position in the side wall of the housing.
Also, the supporting arm lever 15 is positioned at an upper
position in the hole 14 of the guide plate 13 by means of the shaft
17 at its lower end and when the grip G is assembled, the grip G,
as shown in FIG. 4 is provided so as to be protruded with little
downward inclination in the longitudinal direction from the upper
right corner of the suicase S.
When a person finds it difficult to carry the suitcase, according
to the embodiment of the present invention, that is fully loaded
with articles, he pulls the grip G outwardly towards the direction
marked by an arrow as shown in FIG. 3. Then as he lifts the grip G
upwardly the supporting arm lever 15 is extended as shown in FIG. 4
and FIG. 1 (namely, the shaft 17 reaches the upper position of the
hole 14 of the guide plate 13). Thus, by the lifting of the one
side of the suitcase S the wheels 7, 7' are grounded. He can carry
the suitcase S by moving it with the wheels 7, 7' with a pushing or
pulling operation of the grip G in its use as a handle member.
Thereby one going on a journey can carry the suitcase S with
extreme ease and reduce the exhaustion of the physical
strength.
Also, when the grip G is not to be used, the shaft 17 provided at
the lower end of the supporting arm lever 15 is slidably shifted to
the lower part of the hole 14 of the guide plate 13, and the
supporting arm lever 15 is fitted and overlapped in the guide plate
13. Then the grip G fits within the supporting arm lever 15 so as
to be folded whereby the grip G is stored in a substantially
compact condition in the side wall 12 of the body 1. Thereafter the
suitcase may be lifted and carried as an ordinary suitcase using
the conventional-type handle 5 thereon.
* * * * *