Luggage With Transparent Liner

Abstract

A liner for a piece of luggage is made of transparent material which can be removed and inspected from all sides without the necessity of being opened.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common practice to require inspection of personal luggage when going through Customs and at airports for security reasons. In the usual case this requires opening the luggage and lifting all or part of the contents which frequently leaves the travel material disarranged and subject to wrinkling unless carefully repacked. With the present invention, this problem is minimized because the liner is transparent on all sides and thus removal of the articles is largely unnecessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides liners of a size adapted to fit a particular piece of luggage which are of transparent plastic material in varying degrees of rigidity as may be desired. The liner has a closure means for packing and unpacking and likewise has one or more liftout or carrying handles to facilitate inspection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the luggage containing the liner packed with clothing;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view with the liner and contents lifted out of the luggage;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the empty liner in open position;

FIG. 4 is a view of a liner with a different type of closure means;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a liner adapted to be used in a car bag to hold either men's suits or ladies dresses;

FIG. 6 is a view of a liner received in a typical pullman case;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a pair of similar liners received in a piece of luggage;

FIG. 7a is a view showing one of the liners embodied in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a liner adapted to be received in a tote bag;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a liner of FIG. 8 in closed position, and,

FIG. 10 is a section view through a portion of the liner showing the manner in which the loops and handles may be attached to the body of the liner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a typical suitcase 10 with a cover 11 containing elastic pockets 12 in the cover. The suitcase is of a conventional type and affords the proper strength and wear resistance. In the suitcase is a liner 15 of approximately the size and shape of the interior of the suitcase so that it will be received snugly therein and will fit without separate movement relative to the suitcase. The liner as shown in FIG. 3 is generally rectangular in construction and has an upper closure means 16 with fastening means 17 extending along three sides and a short distance along the fourth side, providing for the hinging of the closure means upon the rest of the material. The fastening means may be a zipper, a plastic groove fastner as used on some tobacco pouches or raised pile fabric fastner. One or more handles 18 are provided in order to facilitate lifting the liner out of the case when inspection is desired. Any suitable transparent thermoplastic material may be used such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvynychloride or other material which will give the desired degree of stiffness or rigidity. It is not necessary that the liner be fully rigid but a preferred condition is that of semi-rigidity so that the liner will retain its shape and continue to hold the contents essentially as packed even when turned over for inspection purposes.

It is not necessary that the closure be located at the end walls, and FIG. 4 shows a modification in which the closure is formed in the top of the liner.

FIG. 5 shows a modification in which the liner is adapted to fit into a car bag which can be hung from one end or folded in the middle with two handles 20.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the car bag of FIG. 5 in place in a case.

FIg. 7A is a view similar to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, but showing loops 22 to serve as handles rather than the more conventional handles 18.

FIG. 7 is a view showing how a plurality of liners may be used for convenience rather than having a single large liner, this arrangement being particularly advantageous with a larger piece of luggage.

FIG. 8 shows another modification where the liner is adapted to fit a customary tote bag, again having handles 18 and/or loops 22 for handling and inspection.

As shown in FIG. 10 the handle 18 and loop 20 may have a tongue 25 which is received between the wall 23 of the liner and an inturned flange 26 thereof. The tongues are retained in position be means of either heat sealing or by means of adhesive or be stitching.

Thus the invention provides an attractive, light weight device for use with a piece of luggage to facilitate inspection of the clothing and other travel articles wherever inspection is desired and without requiring the removal of the material since for most purposes inspection from all sides will suffice. Thus the material inside the liner retains its original position and no repacking following the inspection is necessary.

While the articles herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise articles, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a conventional suitcase having a cover of substantially the same length and width as the body of the suitcase and providing access to the entire interior of the suitcase when open, the improvement comprising shaped liner means positioned within and of the same size and shape as said interior of said suitcase, substantially filling said entire interior of said suitcase, a closure member for said liner means, handle means attached to said liner means and facilitating ready removal of said liner means from said suitcase, said liner means being formed from a transparent material permitting inspection of the contents thereof when said liner means is removed from said suitcase without removal of the contents from said liner means said liner means comprises a plurality of separate shaped liners which collectively are of the same size and shape as and fill the entire interior of said suitcase, each said separate liner having a pair of said handle means whereby each said liner can be removed independantly of the other liners.