WO2004080230A1

WO2004080230A1 - A multi-use luggage

Info

Publication number: WO2004080230A1
Application number: PCT/PH2003/000015
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joseph Chen; Isabelita H. Chen
Original assignee: Joseph Chen; Chen Isabelita H
Priority date: 2003-03-12
Filing date: 2003-12-03
Publication date: 2004-09-23
Also published as: AU2003291792A1; TWM257674U

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multi-use luggage, which comprises a case body having a front portion, a back portion, a top, an associated cover at front, and a backboard in the back. When the luggage is in its erect position, the outer corners at the bottom of the front portion of the case body has two casters, and the mid portion of the backboard is connected by a hinge means to the upper ends of a pair of leg supports each comprising a leg wheel at the lower end thereof. There is a pair of drive rod members having their lower ends connected by a hinge means to the lower portion of the backboard and their upper portions connected to each other by a connecting rod member. The drive rod members are connected to the leg supports through the engagement of elongated scissor grooves on the leg supports and scissor pins on the drive rod members. Thereby when the drive rod members are in the open position, they and the leg supports together form a scissors-like support frame. The drive rod members telescopically receive a pair of extension rods that are united by a handle bar for handling the support frame standing on the casters and the leg wheels. The connecting rod member is connected by a hinge means to an extension board which covers the top of the case body and moves back and forth on said top of the case body. Two locking slots formed on the top of the case body regulate the locking positions of 20 said extension board such that one locking slot locks the extension board in a foremost position where extension board overlaps with the top surface of the case body and causes the drive rod members as well as the leg supports to close up to form a compact luggage for storage or for shipping, while another locking slot locks the extension board in a rearmost position where the extension board forms an extended surface behind the top surface of the case body for placing goods or for sitting on, and to cause the drive rod members as well as the leg supports to extend, and to be locked in a sturdy, scissors-like support frame for the multi-use luggage.

Description

A MULTI-USE LUGGAGE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a traveling luggage, especially, a multi-use luggage that helps a traveler alleviate troubles due to having multiple luggages. The present invention is an improvement of U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,734 issued on

May 29, 2001 titled Multi-Purpose Traveling luggage, and a pending application IPO Philippines filed on February 8, 2000, Application No.: 1-2000-000279. Title: A Suitcase Cart.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is usually very inconvenient and burdensome for a traveler to carry numerous luggage.. To minimize the inconvenience, various innovations have been developed and sold in the market. Examples of such innovations include using a foldable lightweight stroller to assist in transporting heavy luggage; luggage with an attached pulling bar and rolling wheels for pulling along, etc.

However these designs though useful for transporting the innovations themselves, they lack the capability of lessening the burden of carrying other luggage. Moreover, standing long hours waiting for a ride etc. also is burden to a tourist, but no solutions have been found in these innovations. While the "Multi-purpose traveling luggage" of our U.S. Pat. No.

6,237,734 is generally satisfactory in achieving its intended goals of solving these problems; it nevertheless has the following shortcomings:

1. The connecting board placed between two drive rod members is too narrow, forming a very limited space, which is not sufficient for carrying goods.

2. To connect and disconnect the connecting board to the case body needs extra maneuvering, is troublesome. 3. When the scissors-like support frame is extended, the inclined top surface of the case body is not suitable for sitting on.

4. Many moving parts and its construction is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is then an objective of the present invention to provide a multi-use luggage which is simple, sturdy, and convenient, can be used for transporting other luggage to lessen the burden and exhaustion of a traveler having too many pieces of luggage, and can also be used as a sitting stool for alleviating the fatigue of a traveler during his journey. Particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a multi- use luggage which can be instantly transformed from a compact luggage into a luggage carrier for carrying other luggage, or into a comfortable, stable chair for a traveler to sit on, and can also be instantly returned to its original form without needing complicated, troublesome maneuvering. Further, it is another objective of the present invention to provide a multi- use luggage having a spacious, flat and smooth top space for carrying goods or for sitting on.

The present invention is directed to a multi-use luggage, which comprises a case body having a backboard at the back, and an associated cover connected to the front portion of the case body. When the multi-use luggage is in its erect position, two caster wheels are seen at the outer comers of the bottom side of the case body. There is a pair of leg supports attached to the mid portion of the backboard. Each of the lower ends of the leg supports is connected to a leg wheel. Each of the upper ends on the leg supports is fixedly comiected to the outer edge of the backboard. Additionally, there is a pair of drive rod members. The lower portion of the drive members are fixedly connected to the lower portions of the backboard. The upper portions of the drive rod members are connected to each other by a connecting rod member. Drive rod members slidably engages in the leg supports to form a scissors-like support frame. The drive rod members telescopically receive a pair of extension rods, which are united by a handle bar to facilitate the pushing or pulling of the scissors-like support frame.

An extension board pivotally connected to the drive rod members covers the rear portion of the case body. Said extension board has two guide pins gliding along two guiding slits set on' the top of the case body such that when said connecting board glides to its foremost position it overlaps with the top of the case body and brings the drive rod members to a closed position, while at its rearmost position it forms an extended surface to add to the top surface of the case body and to open up the drive rod members to form a scissors-like support frame for the multi-use luggage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONOF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a side view of the multi-use luggage of the present invention where the luggage is in an erect position;

Figure 2 is another side view of the multi-use luggage of the present invention, where the extension rods have been pulled out to form a luggage suitable for pulling along;

Figure 3 is another side view of the multi-use luggage of the present invention, where the scissors-like support frame has been opened, extension rods have been pulled out, and the extension board has been pulled backward to be locked in the rearmost position to form an extended surface for carrying goods and for sitting on;

Figure 4 is a back view of the multi-use luggage of the present invention showing the support frame in its closed position at the back of the case body;

Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment of the multi- use luggage;

Figure 6 and 7 are a partial sectional view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 5; Figure 8 is a partial perspective view of still another embodiment of the multi- use luggage wherein drive rod members have been partially pulled back and foldable sheet panel has been partially unfolded;

Figures 9 and 10 are partial side views of said embodiment showing the folded up and extended situations, respectively, of said foldable sheet panel;

Figures 11 is a side view of another embodiment of the multi-use luggage of the present invention in closed position; and

Figure 12 is a side view of the embodiment in figure 11 in open position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND BEST

EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Figs. 1 and 4, a multi-use luggage "A" comprises a case body 1 (which has an associated case cover 2 in front, and a backboard < number not shown> at the back side), a pair of casters 3, a pair of leg wheels 4, a pair of leg supports 5, a pair of drive rod members 6. When luggage "A" is placed in its erect position, the two casters 3 are located at the bottom of the outer comers of the case body 1, and the two leg wheels 4 are attached to the lower ends of two leg supports to form a four-points-support for the standing multi-use luggage "A".

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, leg wheels 4 are rotatably attached to the lower ends of the leg supports 5. The upper ends of the leg supports 5 are pivotally connected to the outer edges of the mid portion of the backboard of the case body 1 by a pair of pivot means 7. There is a pair of drive rod member 6 whose lower ends are pivotally connected to the lower portion of the backboard of case body 1 by a pair of pivot means 8. At near the middle portions of leg supports 5 there are elongated scissor grooves 9 for receiving, from the inner sides, a pair of scissor pins 10 from the mid portions of the drive rod members 6. As shown in Fig. 3, when the drive rod members 6 are pulled outwardly or away from the backboard, the scissor pins 10 of the drive rod members 6 are slidably moved within and along the scissor grooves 9, causing the leg supports 5 also to swing out with them, until the scissor grooves 9 and scissor pins 10 are engaged in a final "lock-in" position at the distal ends of the scissor grooves 9. In this position, the opened leg supports 5 with their leg wheels 4 as well as the opened drive rod members 6 form a scissors-like support frame for the multi-use luggage "A".

When the opened drive rod members 6 are pushed back such as by hand to be re-attached to the backboard of the suitcase cart "A", the scissor pins 10 slide back to the other end of the elongated slot scissor grooves 9, resulting in returning the leg supports 5 together their leg wheels 4 to the original position to be re- attached to the backboard of case body 1. The scissors-like support frame structure is returned to the closed position, and the luggage is returned to its original compact form ready for storage or for shipping. The drive rod members 6 are hollow and telescopically receive a pair of extension rods 11. The upper ends of said extension rods 11 are united by a handle bar 12, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. When drive rod members 6 and leg supports 5 are in the closed position, and the extension rods 11 are pulled out by using the handle bar 12, the multi-use luggage "A" can be placed in an inclined position with greater angle supported by two leg wheels 4, and handle bar 12 can be held in hand to be pulled along as an ordinary wheeled luggage, as shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4 again, the upper portions of the drive rod members 6 are connected to each other by a connecting rod member 13. Extending upward form and is part of the connecting rod member 13 is hinge panel 14 having a spring loaded board hinge 15. Board hinge 15 hingedly connects said hinge panel 14 to an extension board 16, and, by means of the downward force of its built-in spring (not shown), also forces said extension board 16 to pivot downwardly on the axis of said board hinge 15. As shown again in figs. 1 and 4, extension board 16 which covers the entire rear area of the top of case body 1 and can slide back and forth over it, has at its front end two downwardly curved wings 17 covering the left and right sides of said rear area of the top of case body 1. At the insides of wings 17 there are protruding guide pins 18 which extend inwardly into guide slits 19 opened on the left and right sides of said rear area of the top of case body 1. At the front and rear ends of guide slits 19 there are sunken locking slots 20 and 20a, respectively, for allowing said guide pins 18 to drop in and to be locked in position. When guide pins 18 is locked inside locking slot 20, extension board 16 is locked in its foremost position overlapping with the top of case body 1. As drive rod members 6 is solidly connected to extension board 16 through connecting rod member 13, hinge panel 14 and board hinge 15, as shown in Fig. 1, it also is locked in its foremost, closed position attached to the backboard of case body 1, causing the entire scissors-like support frame to remain in a closed and locked position.

Referring now to Fig. 3, by lifting the front end of the extension board 16 to defeat the downward force of the spring loaded board hinge 15, guide pins 18 will rise and free itself from the confinement of locking slot 20, and, in this situation if drive rod members 6 are pulled backwardly away from the backboard of case body 1, guide pins 18 will glide backward along guide slits 19 until reaching its rear ends and drop into locking slot 20a to be locked and confined in that position. As locking slot 20a is situated at the rear end of the top of case body 1, and the guide pins 18 is situated at the front end of extension board 16, thus when guide pins 18 and locking slot 20a coincide and locked, extension board 16 extends rearward connecting the top of case body 1 and the opened drive rod members 6, forming an additional top area behind the top of case body 1 for multi-use luggage "A". When guide pins 18 drop into locking slot 20a, the front edge of the extension board 16 also drops into a recessed, sunken step 21 formed at the rear top edge of case body 1, till the underside of said front edge of the extension board 16 rests on the bottom of said step 21, allowing the top surfaces of both case body 1 and extension board 16 to remain level with each other, thus creating a spacious and smooth top surface for placing goods on it or for sitting on it. In this situation as drive rod members 6 are in their open position and together with leg supports 5 have formed a stable scissors-like support frame, thus by means of casters 3 as well as leg wheels 4 the multi-use luggage can be used as a steerable carriage for transporting extra luggage, or for sitting on. The top of the case body 1 when the luggage is in its erect position forms an inclined slope with the higher end situated at the rear end of said top case body 1, effectively offsetting the precarious rearward inclination of the top of case body 1 caused by the swinging out of leg supports, creating a water level, comfortable, and safe top surface for multi-use luggage "A", as shown in Fig. 3.

To return the scissors-like support frame to its closed, folded form, just lift up the front end of extension board 16 to free guide pins 18 from locking slot 20a, push the drive rod member 6 toward the backboard of case body 1 , then guide pins

18 will glide forward along guide slits 19 till reaching the end of guide slits 19 and drop into locking slot 20 to be confined there. The drive rod members together with leg supports 5 will be folded in a locked position for storage or for shipping, as shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show another embodiment of the multi-use luggage, in that wedge-shaped top case 22 having its higher, open end sitaated at the rear end of the top of case body 1, is fixedly fastened to said top of case body 1. Extension plate 23 covering the rear portion of top case 22 has its rear end connected to plate hinge 24, while its front end pivotally press down against the top surface of top case 22 caused by the built-in spring (not shown) of plate hinge 24. Said plate hinge 24 connects said extension plate 23 to hinge panel 14 which, in turn, is connected to connecting rod member 13, and thus also is connected to drive rod members 6. Thus when drive rod members 6 close up to be attached to the backboard of case body 1, they also push extension plate 23 to move forward above the top surface of top case 22 and to reach its foremost destination; and when said drive rod members 6 move backward and open up, they also pull back extension plate 23, causing it to move backward and form an extended surface behind the top surface of case body 1. The rear end of extension plate 23 angles down to form a vertical rim 25. At both ends of vertical rim 25 there are guide arms 26 having their rear, but ends fixedly connected to said vertical rim 25 and their front portions extend into top case 22, such that when extension plate 23 moves back and forth above top case 22, the front ends of guide arms 26 also move back and forth inside top case 22 with the tips of their ends pressing against the bottom surface of top case 22 caused by the downward thrust of the spring of plate hinge 24. Locking studs 27 are formed at the distal front ends of guide arms

26 and, while gliding over the bottom surface of top case 22 said locking studs 27 will either fall into and be locked inside a locking hole 28 opened at the front area of the bottom surface of top case 22, or fall into and be locked inside locking hole 28a opened at the rear area of the bottom surface of said top case 22. In the former situation extension plate 23 is locked in its foremost position overlapping with the rear area of top case 22 and the drive rod members are locked in a closed position forming a compact multi-use luggage for storage or for shipping, or, in the latter situation, the extension plate 23 is locked in its extended position forming an additional surface for the top of case body 1, and the drive rod members 6 together with the leg supports 5 are locked in their open position to form a sturdy, steerable multi-use luggage for transporting other luggage, or for sitting on. The rear top edge of top case 22 has a sunken, recessed step 29 allowing the front edge of the extension plate 23 to fall into and to be supported there so that the top surface of the multi-use luggage is flat and smooth, ideal for placing goods or for sitting on.

Figures 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the multi-use luggage in that the open top case 30 having an associated case cover 31 affixed thereon is fixedly secured to the top of case body 1. Flexible and foldable sheet 32, whose front edge being hingedly connected to the rear edge of open top case 30 and whose rear edge being connected to connecting rod 13 on drive members 6, extends or retract by folding or unfolding itself between open top case 30 and connecting rod 13 to form an additional surface area for case cover 31, or to cancel said additional surface area and allows the scissor-like support frame to return to its closed, compact position for storage or shipping. Control arm 33, whose rear end being pivotally held on the control arm socket 34 on connecting rod 13, and whose front end being bent crosswise to form a glide key 35, is guided guiding groove 36 on open top case 30 to move forward or backward along guiding groove 36 or to allow its glide key35 to drop into either of two locking pits 37a or 37b to cause drive rod members 6 to be fixed in an extended, opened up position, or in a folded, closed up position.

Two sets of hinge ears 38, each on one comer of the rear, lower edge of open top case 30, receive and pivotally hold leg supports 5 by their top ends, thus allowing part of the weight load born by case cover 31 to be directly transmitted to leg wheel 4 through leg support 5, effectively allowing case body 1 to be constructed using flexible, lightweight materials such as canvas or plastic sheets.

Still, in another embodiment of the present invention as shown in figures 11 and 12, a pair of connecting rods 39 having one of its end portion pivotally connected to the bottom rear end comer of case body 1 by pins 40 and the opposed end portion thereof being slidably secured on leg slots 41 by inserting a slidable pins 42 into the leg slots 41 provided on support legs 5. The connecting rods 39 serve as support or reinforcement for the framework of the multi-use luggage 10 when it is in open position, ands is folded into a near parallel position with leg supports 5 by sliding slidable pins 42 along said leg slots 41 when said framework is in its closed position.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A multi-use luggage comprising: a case body having a front portion, a back portion, and a top; an associated cover connecting to the front portion of the case body; a backboard connecting to the back portion of the case body; said backboard having an upper portion, a mid portion, and a lower portion; at least one pair of casters provided at lower outer corners of the front portion of the case body; a pair of leg supports having upper ends and lower ends; said upper ends of said leg supports being connected to the mid portion of said backboards; each of said lower ends of said leg supports receiving a leg wheel; said leg supports having a pair of elongated scissor grooves; a pair of drive rod members having upper ends and lower ends; said lower ends of said drive rod members being connected by hinge means to said lower portion of the backboard; and upper ends of said drive rod members receiving a pair of extension rods; said drive rod members having a pair of scissor pins which are slidably engaged in the pair of elongated scissor grooves of said leg supports, whereby when said drive rod members are pulled outwards from the backboard, said pair of scissor pins slides to an end of said pair of elongated scissor grooves to form a scissor-like support frame; a connecting rod member connecting said pair of drive rod members; and a board hinge connecting said connecting rod member by a hinge means to an extension board which covers and slides back and forth over the top of the case body such that when said extension board slides to its foremost position it overlaps with the top of the case body and closes up the scissors-like support frame, while at its rearmost position the extension board forms an additional surface to the top surface of the case body, and opens upon the drive rod members to form a scissors-like support frame.

2. The multi-use luggage according to claim 1 wherein the top of the case body when the luggage is in its erect position forms an inclined slope with its higher end situated at the top of the backboard.

3. The multi-use luggage according to claim 1 wherein the rear top comer of the case body forms a recessed, sunken edge having a flat bottom for receiving and supporting the front edge of said extension board.

4. The multi-use luggage according to claim 1 wherein the front end of said extension board has at least one protruding guide pin.

5. The multi-use luggage according to claim 1 wherein said top of the case body has at least one guide slit to receive and guide said guide pin of the extension board.

6. The multi-use luggage according to claim 5 wherein said guide slit on the top of the case body has at least two locking slots for locking said guide pin of the extension board in fixed positions.

7. The multi-use luggage according to claim 1 wherein the top of the case body has a box-like hollow structure attached to it.

8. The multi-use luggage according to claim 7 wherein the top of said hollow structure is covered by an extension plate moving back and forth regulated by a guide arm attached to said extension plate and moves inwardly or outwardly inside said hollow structure.

9. The multi-use luggage according to claim 7 and 8 wherein the hollow structure has at least two locking holes opened inside said hollow structure for receiving and locking said guide arm in definite locations.

10. A multi-use luggage according to claim 7, wherein the box-like hollow structure forms an open top case having an associated top cover hingedly affixed thereon.

11. The multi-use luggage according to claims 1,7 or 10, wherein the open top case is connected to said drive members by a foldable sheet panel having its front edge affixed to the rear top edge of said open top case and its rear edge hingedly affixed to said connecting rod of said drive members.

12. The multi-luggage according to claim 7, wherein said open top case has at least one guiding groove with two locking pits at its distal ends for guiding and locking in places the control arm pivotally held on connecting rod member of said drive rod members.

13. The multi-use luggage according to claim 7, wherein two sets on hinge ears each fixedly attached to one rear lower comer of said open top case pivotally receive and hold in place the top ends of leg supports thereof.

14. The multi-use luggage in accordance with claims 1 or 7, wherein said case body is provided with a pair of connecting rods having one of its end portion pivotally connected to the bottom rear end comer of said case body by a pin, and the opposed end portion thereof being slidably secured on leg slots provided on said leg supports by inserting said slidable pin into said leg slots.