GB2415955A

GB2415955A - Luggage

Info

Publication number: GB2415955A
Application number: GB0415416A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sedat Selvi
Original assignee: Landor and Hawa International Ltd
Current assignee: Landor and Hawa International Ltd
Priority date: 2004-07-09
Filing date: 2004-07-09
Publication date: 2006-01-11
Also published as: GB0415416D0

Abstract

A frameless piece of luggage (1) is constructed of moulded top and bottom sections (2, 3) and a soft central section (4). The top and bottom portions (2, 3) are each moulded to form an enclosure 10, or compartment, having an open face extending inwardly towards the central portion of the piece of luggage (1). The top and bottom portions (2, 3) may be moulded of so-called soft or hard material and the soft central section (4) may be either moulded or not. Wheels (6, 7), a carrying handle (5) and a trolley frame (30) may also be provided. The central section (4) may include a lid (19) bounded by a zip fastener (21) and an expansion gusset with a second zip fastener (22) may be provided.

Description

: : - 1 241 5955 Luggage

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to luggage, and particularly, though not exclusively, to the construction of luggage, such as a suitcase or trolley case for use by travellers.

Background of the Invention

In general, the following description will refer to luggage having a top, to which a handle is usually mounted, a bottom, to which one or two pairs of wheels are usually mounted, a pair of sides extending between the top and bottom, and front and back panels, the front panel conventionally providing the lid of the case, which is fastened to the rest of the case and can be opened for access to the inside of the case.

It is well known that such luggage can be constructed in various ways. It is common for luggage to be categorized according to various modes of construction. For example, luggage can be provided with a trolley frame or not.

A trolley frame is an extendible frame that can be either collapsed into a side or front or back of a piece of luggage, or can be extended therefrom to provide a handle that enables the luggage to be pulled along on a pair of wheels in the manner of a trolley. Irrespective of whether the luggage is provided with a trolley frame or not, wheels can be provided at the bottom thereof (either one pair or two pairs), with a handle on the top. Such luggage without the trolley it; e I eve I r e ' I, e bee Iree e e - 2 frame is generally called a wheel case or wheel bag, but with the trolley frame is known as a trolley case or a trolley bag if it does have the trolley frame.

Another way of categorizing luggage is according to whether it includes an internal strengthening frame or not. In this case, it should be noted that the frame does not refer to the trolley frame, but to a strengthening framework, which may extend partly or completely around the sides and top and bottom of the luggage to provide reinforcement.

Luggage is conveniently also categorized in the marketplace as either socalled "soft" luggage or "hard" luggage, the difference between soft and hard lying in its resistance to piercing by sharp objects. More particularly, it should be noted that the difference between soft and hard luggage does not relate to the material from which it is made, nor to whether it was moulded, nor to its rigidity, except insofar as it affects the resistance to piercing by blades, needles, scissors, etc. Thus, hard luggage can be defined as luggage having substantial resistance to piercing, in normal use, whereas soft luggage has little or no such resistance.

Conventionally, soft cases are provided with a strengthening frame around the top, bottom and sides of the luggage to provide internal reinforcement, with the sides of the luggage being made of fabric material. Hard cases are conventionally made of a moulded plastics material, so as to provide the necessary hard resistance to piercing, and can also be made with a strengthening frame, although they can also be made without such a frame if :. ;e Ale.:: ace - 3 the rigidity of the moulded plastics material is sufficient to provide the required support for the luggage shape and structure.

The aforementioned soft cases, however, tend to be somewhat heavy because of the weight of the strengthening frame that needs to be included, which also, of course, increases the costs.

Brief Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, the invention provides a frameless piece of luggage constructed of moulded top and bottom sections and a soft central section extending between the top and bottom sections and providing sides, back and front of the piece of luggage, wherein at least the front of the piece of luggage is openable and closable.

The moulded top and bottom sections may be either soft or hard, and the soft central section may be either moulded or not. The soft moulded top and bottom sections are preferably made from a foamed plastics material, for example EVA or expanded PVC and the hard moulded top and bottom sections are preferably made from a hard plastics material, for example, ABS or polycarbonate material.

Preferably, at least one of the moulded top and bottom sections is shaped to define an enclosure having an open interior. In one embodiment, at least one of the moulded top and bottom sections is preferably shaped to define an end and partial or full sides of a compartment. More particualrly, at least one of the e: ce ce. ë::: .e .e se - 4 moulded top and bottom sections is shaped to define an end and at least three partial or full sides of a compartment.

The central section preferably has a first edge attached to a periphery of the moulded top section and a second edge attached to a periphery of the moulded bottom section. Preferably, the first and second edges of the central section are attached to a periphery of the sides of the compartment defined by the moulded top and bottom sections.

A handle is preferably mounted to the moulded top section. One or more pairs of wheels may be mounted to the moulded bottom section. The moulded bottom section preferably incorporates integral locations for partially accommodating said wheels. A trolley frame may be attached to the piece of luggage, if desired.

Because the top and bottom portions are moulded, an internal strengthening frame is not required, thereby reducing the complexity, weight and price of such a piece of luggage.

Brief Description of the Drawings

One embodiment of the invention will now be more fully described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, of which: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a piece of luggage according to on embodiment of the present invention; c - 5 FIG. 2 shows one side view of the piece of luggage of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 shows a second side view of the piece of luggage of FIG 1; FIG. 4 shows a front view of the piece of luggage of FIG 1; FIG. 5 shows a partial schematic exploded view of the piece of luggage of FIG 1; and FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the piece of luggage of FIG. 1 lying on its rear with its lid open to expose the interior thereof.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Thus, as shown in Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, an embodiment of a piece of luggage 1 according to the invention includes, generally, a top portion 2, a bottom portion 3 and a central portion 4. The top and bottom portions 2 and 3 are each moulded to form an enclosure 10, or compartment, having an open face extending inwardly towards the central portion of the piece of luggage. The top portion 2 is provided with a carrying handle 5 and the bottom portion 3 is provided with a pair of wheels 6 and 7, as well as a foot 8 to facilitate stability of the piece of luggage when standing upright on the ground.

In general, each of the moulded top and bottom portions 2 and 3 are moulded to have a main face 9 (forming the top or bottom of the piece of luggage), as well as four sides 11 - 14 to define the enclosure 10 or compartment between them.

The four sides may be of identical height (relative to the main face 9), or may have differing heights. For example, as shown in the drawings, a rear side 11 extends further from the main face 9 than a front side 12, with the two a: : de :. :: :: : : - 6 connecting sides 13 and 14 having a height gradient so as to meet the heights of the rear and front sides 11 and 12.

Nevertheless, the top and bottom portions 2 and 3 are not necessarily identical since the top portion 2 may be provided with a moulded recess 15 below the carrying handle 5 to facilitate grabbing of the carrying handle 5, and the bottom portion 3 may be provided with a pair of recesses 16 and 17 at two of the corners thereof, which may be profiled to house the pair of wheels 6 and 7 in a manner known in the art.

The top and bottom portions 2 and 3 are moulded from a foamed plastics material, for example that known in the trade as EVA, which may, if desired, be bonded to a soft fabric material prior to being heat shrunk to the required moulded configuration. EVA foam is a type of expanded vinyl, a layer of which, perhaps 5-6 mm thick can be bonded to a soft fabric and then heat shrunk to provide a moulded, though soft, front and back panel and, perhaps top, bottom and side panels also. Alternatively, if a hard plastics material is used for the moulded top and bottom portions, it could be made of ABS plastics, which can be vacuum formed. It will, of course, be apparent that various ridges, corrugations or other shapes may be provided in the moulding configuration in order to provide desirable features, for example to provide strengthening or rigidity, or for aesthetic purposes.

The central portion 4 is, in this embodiment, formed of a rear section 18, a front lid section 19 and a pair of side sections 20, although it could, of course, be formed in one piece. Again, these sections may be formed of EVA bonded to a soft fabric, but, in this case, they need not be heat moulded, although they can be moulded if desired. The rear section 18 and the side sections 20 are joined together, for example by stitching along a seam, or in any other manner, and to the peripheral edges of the four sides 11 - 14 of the top and bottom portions 2 and 3. The front lid section 19 is joined to the side sections 20 and to the front side 12 of the top and bottom portions 2 and 3 using a zip fastener 21, one half of which is stitched to one side section 20 and to the front side 12 of the top and bottom portions 2 and 3, and the other half of which is stitched to the front lid section 19 around three side edges thereof. The fourth side edge of the front lid section 19 is secured in any desired manner, for example by stitching, to the other side section 20 to form a hinge therewith so that the front lid section 19 can be opened and closed.

In the illustrated embodiment, the front lid section 19 is provided with a second zip fastener 22 extending around the periphery thereof and providing an expansion gusset (not shown) between the two halves of the second zip fastener 22, whereby, if the second zip fastener is "opened", the expansion gusset is released to allow the front lid section 19 to expand to provide extra storage space within the piece of luggage 1.

The piece of luggage may have a trolley frame 30 incorporated therein, as shown in FIG. 1 to enable the piece of luggage to be easily pulled along pivoting on the pair of wheels 6 and 7. The trolley frame 30 conventionally includes a handle 31 located at the upper end of two parallel bars 32 that telescope into . - 8 two tubes located in the rear section of the piece of luggage. However, the trolley frame 30 need not be present, and is not shown in the other Figures for clarity.

As shown in FIG. 6, the interior of the piece of luggage, in this embodiment a case, may include dividers 23 arranged to cover the enclosures (or compartments) 10. The dividers 23 may be of lining material or of mesh material and are preferably connected via zip fasteners to the peripheral edges of three of the four sides 11 - 14 of the top and bottom portions 2 and 3, with the fourth peripheral edge having a hinged connection to the respective divider 23. As is common in the art, the case may be provided with elasticated packing straps 24, and one or more large (25) and small (26) elasticated pockets formed in a lining of a side of the case. Furthermore, elasticated pockets 27 can be provided in lining material on the interior side of the front lid section 19, where a zipped mesh pocket 28 can also be provided. A labelling area 29 may also be provided, for example to enable an owner to write a return name and address in the event that the case was lost, or for manufacturer's or distributor's branding information.

It will be appreciated that although only a few particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, various modifications and improvements can be made by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, although the top and bottom portions have been described in the above embodiment as being moulded of soft material, it will be appreciated that one or both of the top and bottom : t. ele ce.: ae: : - 9 - portions could be made of moulded hard material, if desired. Furthermore, although the above embodiment has been described with only one carrying handle 5 (as well as the trolley frame 30), it will be appreciated that other handles may be provided, if desired, to facilitate movement of the piece of luggage in other orientations.

Claims

c: le 'l. . ecee::: a..e .e.e - 10 Claims 1. A frameless piece of

luggage constructed of moulded top and bottom sections and a soft central section extending between the top and bottom sections and providing sides, back and front of the piece of luggage, wherein at least the front of the piece of luggage is openable and closable.
2. A frameless piece of luggage according to claim 1, wherein the moulded top and bottom sections are soft.
3. A frameless piece of luggage according to claim 2, wherein at least the moulded top and bottom sections are made from a foamed plastics material, for example EVA or expanded PVC.
4. A frameless piece of luggage according to claim 1, wherein the moulded top and bottom sections are hard.
5. A frameless piece of luggage according to claim 4, wherein at least the moulded top and bottom sections are made from a hard plastics material, for example, ABS or polycarbonate material.
6. A frameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, wherein the soft central section is moulded.

e: tc 't. . i. . ece eee. . - 11
7. A frameless piece of luggage according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the soft central section is not moulded.
8. A frameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the moulded top and bottom sections is shaped to define an enclosure having an open interior.
9. A frameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the moulded top and bottom sections is shaped to define an end and partial or full sides of a compartment.
10. A frameless piece of luggage according to any one of claim 9, wherein at least one of the moulded top and bottom sections is shaped to define an end and at least three partial or full sides of a compartment.
11. A frameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, wherein the central section has a first edge attached to a periphery of the moulded top section and a second edge attached to a periphery of the moulded bottom section.
12. A frameless piece of luggage according to either claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the central section comprises first and second edges which are attached to a periphery of the sides of the compartment defined by the moulded top and bottom sections.

.e c.e ce. .e.e.e - 12
13. A frameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, further comprising a handle mounted to the moulded top section.
14. A frameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, further comprising one or more pairs of wheels mounted to the moulded bottom section.
15. A frameless piece of luggage according to claim 14, wherein the moulded bottom section incorporates integral locations for partially accommodating said wheels.
16. A frameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, further comprising a trolley frame attached thereto.
17. A Nameless piece of luggage according to any preceding claim, wherein the front of the piece of luggage comprises a lid portion and a fastener for fastening the lid to the remainder of the piece of luggage in a closed position.
18. A frameless piece of luggage according to claim 17, wherein the front of the piece of luggage comprises an expandable portion.
19. A frameless piece of luggage substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.