CN210696326U

CN210696326U - Suitcase

Info

Publication number: CN210696326U
Application number: CN201921259874.3U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 兹维卡·弗拉伊曼; 纳丁·丹尼尔·霍罗维茨; 奥里特·施尼策尔
Original assignee: Rollinke Intelligent Products Co Ltd
Current assignee: Rollinke Intelligent Products Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-06
Filing date: 2019-08-06
Publication date: 2020-06-09
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-06
Also published as: CN110801089A; CA3107400A1; IL280580A; WO2020031173A1; IL261016A; EP3833212A4; EP3833212A1; US20210298437A1; JP2021533860A; DE202019005813U1; MX2021001449A

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to suitcases. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to collapsible suitcases. The suitcase includes a back shell and a front shell, both of which are made of a rigid material. The rear housing is configured with a substantially flat rear base and a peripheral rear wall extending upwardly from the flat rear base, and the front housing is configured with a substantially flat front base and a peripheral front wall extending upwardly from the flat front base. The suitcase is configurable between an expanded position and a collapsed position, wherein in the collapsed position the perimeter front wall receives the perimeter edge of the perimeter rear wall, and wherein in the collapsed position a thickness of the suitcase corresponds to a height of the rear shell and a thickness of the front base.

Description

Suitcase

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to suitcases (suitcase). More particularly, the present disclosure relates to collapsible suitcases (collapsible suitcases).

Background

References considered to be relevant to the presently disclosed subject matter as background are listed below:

-WO2017/064739

-US9,706,821

-US2015/0250277

-CN20725252998

-DE202008006727

-CN202514796

the acknowledgment of the above references herein should not be inferred as meaning that these references are in any way relevant to the patentability of the presently disclosed subject matter.

WO2017/064739 discloses a suitcase having a collapsible structure, which suitcase is capable of assuming an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration for normal use, comprising: a front housing provided with a peripheral edge; a rear shell provided with a peripheral edge associable with an edge of a front side; a peripheral side for spacing the front and rear shells, comprising a plurality of spacing walls defined between a first edge extending at an edge of the front shell and a second edge extending at an edge of the rear shell in the in-use configuration, the walls being connected by foldable hinged corners; a first reversible linear link element for connecting at least a segment of the first edge of the side face to at least a segment of the edge of the front shell; and a second reversible linear link element for connecting at least a section of the second edge of the side to at least a section of the edge of the rear shell; wherein at least one wall of the side is provided with at least one intermediate fold line perpendicular to the edge of the side, the suitcase being characterized in that: the side comprises a wall bounded by a first side and a second side, the first side being hingeable relative to a side of the edge of the front shell along a hinge section, the second side being hingeable relative to a side of the edge of the rear shell along a hinge section; and the wall comprises a first intermediate hinge line comprised between and parallel to the hinge sections of the wall.

US9,706,821 discloses a suitcase structure comprising: a rear box member; a front cover member; and a side gusset (gusset) member, wherein opposite sides of the side gusset member are respectively connected to an edge of the back box member and an edge of the front cover member so as to form an accommodation space configured to be closed, the side gusset member includes a plurality of side wall portions and a plurality of flexible structures linking the side wall portions, each of the flexible structures extends from the edge of the side gusset member connected to the back box member toward the edge of the side gusset member connected to the front cover member, a flexible deformability of the flexible structures is greater than a flexible deformability of the side wall portions, each of the flexible structures has an inclination formed and maintained between each of the flexible structures and the edge of the side gusset member connected to the back box member, a width of each of the flexible structures gradually decreases from a position near the back box member in a direction away from the back box member, and two side wall parts adjacent to each other can be bent and thus stacked with respect to each other by a flexible structure linking the two side wall parts.

US2015/0250277 discloses a collapsible suitcase comprising a front portion; a rear portion; and a collapsible wall portion connected to the front portion and the rear portion, the wall portion comprising at least three stacked substantially annular layers; the collapsible wall, the front and the rear cooperating to enclose a storage volume; at least one of the collapsible wall layers is rigid; and at least two of the layers are relatively flexible and configured to fold and expand between relatively expanded and relatively collapsed positions while the rigid layer remains substantially upright, including at least one flexible layer disposed to a front of the rigid layer and at least one flexible layer disposed to a rear of the rigid layer.

CN20725252998U discloses a folding suitcase comprising a support frame, tie rods (tie rod) and a box body, wherein the box body comprises a box lid, a box body and a box bottom. The support frame is fixedly connected with the bottom of the box, the box body is divided into two opposite parts, and the parts of the box body respectively penetrate through the support frame. The sleeve assembly b is movably connected, and the pull rod is movably connected with the support frame through the sleeve assembly a, and the box body is arranged between the box body and the box cover. The zipper I is provided with a zipper II between adjacent cases, and a zipper III is provided on the outer periphery of the case bottom.

DE202008006727 discloses a suitcase comprising two shells of identical construction, having a similar shape but with different dimensions.

CN202514796 discloses a collapsible luggage case comprising a shell top and a shell bottom and characterized in that a folded rubber structure is arranged between the shell top and the shell bottom and a zipper is arranged between the folded rubber structure and the shell bottom.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a suitcase is provided that includes a back shell and a front shell, both the front shell and the back shell being made of a rigid material; the rear housing is configured with a substantially flat rear base and a peripheral rear wall extending upwardly from the rear base, and the front housing is configured with a substantially flat front base and a peripheral front wall extending upwardly from the front base; a flexible peripheral closed loop side wall of the suitcase being attached to one of the peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall and the peripheral edge of the peripheral front wall, respectively, along one of the rear edge and the front edge of the flexible peripheral side wall, wherein the other of the rear edge and the front edge of the flexible peripheral side wall is hinged to the hinge portion of the other of the peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall and the peripheral edge of the peripheral front wall; the flexible peripheral side wall includes a sliding closure (e.g., a zipper fastener) along a reclosable portion that extends along an edge of the flexible peripheral side wall that is hinged via a hinge portion, the sliding closure extending along the entire edge of the flexible peripheral side wall (except for the hinge portion); the suitcase is configurable between an expanded position and a collapsed position, wherein in the collapsed position the perimeter front wall receives the perimeter edge of the perimeter rear wall, and wherein in the collapsed position a thickness of the suitcase corresponds to a height of the rear shell and a thickness of the front base.

For clarity, the terms "front shell" and "back shell" and elements associated therewith are used to distinguish between the two suitcase shells, however the shells are interchangeable.

According to a particular embodiment, the front shell is larger than the rear shell and at least a portion of the peripheral rear wall is surrounded by the peripheral front wall in the collapsed position, creating a space extending between the interior face of the rear base and the interior face of the front base, the space having a height substantially corresponding to the height of the peripheral rear wall, and further wherein in the collapsed position the space accommodates the peripheral side walls.

With the peripheral side wall fully expanded, the expanded position creates a storage space having an extended space extending between the interior face of the rear base and the interior face of the front base, the storage space having a thickness corresponding to the accumulation of the height of the peripheral rear wall, the height of the peripheral front wall, and the width of the peripheral side wall.

At least a bottom portion of the peripheral side wall may be provided with support means for imparting rigidity and stability to said bottom portion.

According to one example, the support mechanism may be a support plate. According to another example, the support mechanism may be an array of collapsible support beams. According to yet another example, the support mechanism may be a set of foldable panels that are unfoldable into a rigid support structure.

One or more rigid support plates may be hinged at an interior portion of the rear housing, wherein in the expanded position the one or more rigid support plates may be disposed flush with a corresponding portion of the peripheral sidewall.

A rigid bottom support panel may extend at least at a bottom base of the suitcase and be configured such that in the collapsed position the bottom support panel is disposed substantially parallel to the rear base and in the expanded position the bottom support panel may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the rear wall and flush with a corresponding bottom portion of the peripheral side wall.

At least one additional support panel may be configured at the top base of the suitcase such that in the collapsed position the additional support panel is disposed substantially parallel to the rear base and in the expanded position the support panel may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the rear wall and flush with a corresponding top portion of the peripheral side wall.

In the expanded position, the one or more support panels reinforce the flexible peripheral sidewall and impart stability to the suitcase in the expanded position.

In the collapsed position, the peripheral edge of the peripheral back wall substantially abuts the interior face of the front base.

According to one example, the flexible peripheral side wall is attached along its rear edge to the peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall, and the front edge of the flexible peripheral side wall is hinged to the peripheral edge of the peripheral front wall by a hinge portion, the front edge of the peripheral side wall comprising said sliding closure (e.g. a zip fastener); the slide closure includes a front zipper strip disposed at a peripheral edge of the peripheral front wall and a rear zipper strip disposed at a front edge of the peripheral side wall.

According to another example, the flexible perimeter side wall is attached along its front edge to the perimeter edge of the perimeter front wall, and the rear edge of the flexible perimeter side wall is hinged by a hinge portion to the perimeter edge of the perimeter rear wall, the rear edge of the perimeter side wall comprising said sliding closure (e.g. a zip fastener); the slide closure includes a rear zipper strip disposed at a peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall and a front zipper strip disposed at a rear edge of the peripheral side wall.

Any one or more of the following features, designs and configurations may be applied to the suitcase according to the present disclosure, alone or in various combinations thereof:

the planar footprint (footprint) of the front shell is slightly larger than the planar footprint of the rear shell;

the peripheral side wall is a flexible wall of the suitcase, which, in the collapsed position of the suitcase, is collapsed inwards into the space extending between the inner face of the rear base and the inner face of the front base;

the rear or front edge of the peripheral side wall may be attached to the peripheral edge of the peripheral rear or front wall respectively (i.e. the edge of the peripheral side wall not including the sliding closure) by one or more of sewing, gluing, integral moulding;

the front zipper strip may be attached to the peripheral edge of the peripheral wall by one or more of stitching, gluing, integral moulding;

at least one pair of rear wheels may be hinged near the rear bottom portion of the rear shell;

an additional pair of front wheels can be hinged near the front bottom portion of the front shell;

the wheels may be fixed rollers or rotating wheels;

in the collapsed position, the pair of rear wheels can rotate into a receiving recess configured at an outer face of the rear base, wherein the rear wheels do not substantially protrude from the outer face;

the base of the wheel may be provided at the inner face of the rear base, said base being lower than the height of the peripheral rear wall;

a handle may be configured at least one position of the peripheral side wall, the handle being stored in the space in the collapsed position;

one or more support plates may be removably attached at portions thereof to the inner face of the corresponding peripheral side wall;

the attachment of the support plate to the inner face of the corresponding peripheral side wall can be facilitated by a detachable fastening mechanism; for example, the detachable fastening mechanism may be a hook and pile fastener (Velcro)^TM) Snap fasteners, and the like;

one or more support plates may be hinged to the rear shell near the peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall;

the suitcase may be configured with a telescopic handle mechanism configurable between a retracted position and an extended position, the telescopic handle mechanism comprising one or more telescopic bars disposed flush with the rear base and a handle received in a recess at the retracted position, the recess being configured at the top base of the rear shell;

one or more telescopic rods can be received within a longitudinal recess configured at the outer face of the rear base;

one or more telescopic rods may be completely received within the longitudinal recess and substantially not protruding from the outer face of the rear base;

one or more telescoping rods may be attached to the interior face of the rear base and protrude through an opening at the top base of the rear base;

the longitudinal recess is disposed in the collapsed position in the space defined between the inner face of the flat rear base and the inner face of the flat front base;

one or more ground supports may be arranged at one or more locations of the peripheral side wall, near a front edge portion thereof;

one or more ground supports may be configured at the outer surface of one or more of the perimeter front and rear walls and the perimeter side walls;

the height of the peripheral side wall may be extended by a zipper.

The suitcase may be of any size. According to one configuration, the suitcase is a cart/trolley, complying with the cabin baggage size regulations;

the peripheral side wall can be any flexible material, such as fabric, organic or synthetic material, rubber, reinforced fabric, etc.;

the rear and front shells may be made of any non-flexible material, such as polymeric resins, composites, various combinations of such materials, and the like;

the suitcase may be configured with a storage compartment; the storage compartment may be internal or external.

The space divider may be arranged within the space;

straps may be provided to support items received within the extended storage space;

a strap may be provided to hold the suitcase in the most compact collapsed position;

the interior face of one or both of the rear shell and the front shell may be configured with a liner.

When the zipper is closed, the luggage case can also be collapsed into its collapsed position;

one or both of the front and rear bases may comprise one or more closable openings; one or more closable openings may facilitate access to the space of the suitcase. Additionally or alternatively, such closable openings may be fasteners at the peripheral side wall.

Either or both of the front and rear bases may include one or more soft portions. The soft portions may be integral with the rigid shell, or they may be applied to the rigid shell by a closure system (e.g., zipper fasteners) to facilitate access to the interior space of the suitcase;

the suitcase may comprise straps for tightening the suitcase at its collapsed portion;

the suitcase may include straps for carrying the suitcase in a backpack-like manner.

Drawings

In order to better understand the subject matter disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of an example suitcase subject matter of the present disclosure in a collapsed position;

FIG. 1B is a rear perspective view of the suitcase of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a side view of the suitcase of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of the carrying case in its expanded position;

FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of the suitcase of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a side view of the suitcase of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D is a rear side view of the suitcase of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2E is a front side view of the suitcase of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2F is a top side view of the suitcase of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a cross-section taken along line 3A-3A in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3B is a cross-section taken along line 3B-3B in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3C is a cross-section taken along line 3C-3C in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3D is a cross-section taken along line 3D-3D in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3E is a cross-section taken along line 3E-3E in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 4A is a longitudinal cross-section taken along line 4A-4A in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 4B is a cross-section taken along line 4B-4B in FIG. 2B;

FIG. 4C is a cross-section at the level of line 4C-4C in FIG. 2E;

FIG. 4D is a perspective longitudinal cross-section of the luggage case through the telescoping support rods along line 4D-4D in FIG. 2D;

FIG. 5A illustrates the top and bottom support plates deployed into their extended positions;

FIG. 5B illustrates the carrying case in its expanded fully open position;

FIG. 6 illustrates another example of a fully open suitcase in its expanded position with four support panels deployed;

FIG. 7A is a partial cross-section taken along line 7A-7A of FIG. 6;

fig. 7B is an enlarged view of a portion labeled 7B in fig. 7A; and

fig. 8 illustrates the suitcase in its expanded position in an upright position with the telescoping handle in its withdrawn position.

Detailed Description

Attention is directed to the drawings which illustrate one example of a collapsible carrying case, generally designated 10, according to the present disclosure that is expandable between a collapsed position (fig. 1A-1C and 3A-3E) and an expanded position (fig. 2A-2F and 4A-8).

Suitcase 10 includes a back shell 12 and a front shell 14, both

shells

12 and 14 being made of a non-flexible rigid material (such as a molded polymeric resin, a composite material, etc.). The rear housing 12 is configured with a substantially planar rear base 18 and a peripheral rear wall 20 extending upwardly therefrom. Front housing 14 is configured with a substantially flat front base 24 and a peripheral front wall 26 extending upwardly therefrom.

The flexible perimeter side wall 30 of the suitcase is made of a flexible material, such as fabric, a synthetic material, e.g. flexible plastic, rubber, etc., with or without reinforcement, the flexible perimeter side wall 30 of the suitcase is attached, e.g. by sewing, welding, gluing, etc., in this particular example, to a perimeter edge 34 of the perimeter back wall 20 along a back edge 32 of the perimeter side wall 30, with a front edge 38 of the perimeter side wall 30 hinged to a perimeter edge 40 of the perimeter front wall 26 at a hinge portion 27 (better seen in fig. 5A-6), and the front edge 38 of the perimeter side wall 30 is engageable with the perimeter edge 40 of the perimeter front wall 26 by a zipper fastener 42 (fig. 2A-2C) extending along the entire front edge 38 except for the hinge portion 27. Zipper fastener 42 includes a front zipper strip 44 attached to peripheral edge 40 of peripheral front wall 26, and a rear zipper strip (which may be integral or integral with front edge 38 of peripheral side wall 30) disposed at front edge 38 of peripheral side wall 30. A pair of zipper pulls 45 are provided for closing/opening the zipper 42. Note that while the specific example refers to the articulation of the flexible peripheral side wall 30 with the peripheral front wall 26 of the front housing, this is merely one example; it should be understood that the present disclosure also encompasses alternative arrangements in which the flexible peripheral side wall may be hinged to the peripheral back wall by a hinge portion and zipper arrangement located at the peripheral edge of the back peripheral wall.

Although not shown, the suitcase may be configured with an expansion mechanism by configuring a zipper on the flexible side gusset portion at the peripheral side wall 30, whereby opening the zipper expands the width of the peripheral side wall 30 and closing the zipper contracts the peripheral side wall 30.

It should be understood that one or both of the front base 24 and the rear base 18 may include one or more closable openings (not shown), wherein the one or more closable openings may facilitate access to the space of the suitcase. Additionally or alternatively, such closable openings may be fasteners at the peripheral side wall.

Either or both of the front and rear bases may include one or more soft portions (not shown). The soft portions may be integral with the rigid shell, or they may be applied to the rigid shell by a closure system (e.g., zipper fasteners) to facilitate access to the interior space of the suitcase.

A pair of wheels 48 are hinged at a bottom portion of the rear shell 12, the wheels 48 being freely rotatable wheels or rollers having a flat support base 50 including an outer portion 50A and an inner portion 50B, the inner portion 50B being fixedly disposed within the suitcase, as will be discussed below.

The suitcase is also configured with a telescoping handle disposed at the rear shell 12, which in this example includes two telescoping rods 60 (e.g., seen in fig. 1B, 2D) and a handle 62 disposed at the top end of the telescoping rods. The telescoping handle is manipulable between a retracted position (fig. 1B, 2D, etc.) and an extracted position (fig. 8) for rolling along the suitcase 10. The arrangement is such that in the retracted position of the telescopic handle, the handle 62 is received within a recess 64 at the top rear of the rear shell 12 so that it does not protrude above and behind the surface of the rear shell 12. Likewise, the telescoping rods 60 are each received within a support guide tube 63, the support guide tube 63 in turn being fixedly secured within a longitudinal recess 65 at the rear base 18 such that the guide tube 63 is flush with the rear surface of the rear base 18 (i.e., the recess projects at the interior face 19 of the rear base 18).

As an alternative (not shown), a guide tube may be arranged at the inner face 19 of the rear base 18, with the telescopic rod extending through a suitable opening at the top portion of the peripheral rear wall 20 of the rear base 18.

It is further noted that the peripheral side wall 30 is provided at its top portion with a carrying handle 31 and a side carrying handle 33 (fig. 8). The carrying handles may be made of a flexible material, or they may be rigid. However, when they are disposed on the exterior face of the peripheral side wall 30, they collapse inwardly when the suitcase is folded, as will be discussed below. Further, the peripheral sidewall 30 may be configured with one or more storage pockets at the exterior face (labeled 37A) and/or the interior face (labeled 37B) of the peripheral sidewall 30.

The peripheral side wall 30 is further configured with one or more supports 66 at a bottom portion at its exterior face, whereby in the expanded position of the suitcase 10, when placed in its upright position, the suitcase 10 is supported by the wheels 48 and the one or more supports 66, thereby maintaining the level and stability of the suitcase. Although the one or more supports 66 are made of a rigid material, in the collapsed position of the suitcase they are fully received within the space of the suitcase and do not protrude or interfere.

In order to stabilize the suitcase and maintain a substantially rectangular shape in its expanded position, one or more rigid support panels (collectively designated 70) are hinged at an interior portion of the rear shell 12 (see fig. 5A-8). The rigid support plate 70 is made of non-flexible material and is hinged at the inner face of the peripheral rear wall 20 (or inner face 19 of rear wall 18) by means of a flexible connection pivot 72 (fig. 7A and 7B), wherein in the expanded position said rigid support plate 70 is set flush with the corresponding portion of the peripheral side wall 30. The support plate 70 is secured by a removable fastening mechanism (e.g., hook and pile fasteners (Velcro)^TM) Snap fasteners, etc.) are removably attached to the interior face of the corresponding peripheral sidewall 30.

The bottom rigid support panel 70 extends at the bottom base of the suitcase 10 and is configured such that, in the collapsed position, the bottom support panel 70 is disposed substantially parallel to the rear base 18 and flush with the interior face 19, and, in the expanded position, the bottom support panel 70 is disposed substantially perpendicular to the rear wall 18 and flush with a corresponding interior bottom portion of the peripheral side wall 30. Also, additional support panels (top and side support panels) are configured at the top base and side walls of the suitcase 10 and are configured such that in the collapsed position they are disposed substantially parallel to the rear base and in the expanded position they may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the rear wall and flush with the corresponding inner top and side wall portions of the peripheral side wall 30.

In the expanded position, the one or more support panels reinforce the flexible peripheral side walls and impart stability to the suitcase in the expanded position and secure the overall rectangular shape of the suitcase 10.

An important feature of the suitcase according to the present disclosure is the thickness ratio between the expanded position and the fully collapsed position of the suitcase 10. Thus, the arrangement is such that the planar footprint of the front shell 14 is slightly larger than the planar footprint of the rear shell 12, whereby in the collapsed position (fig. 1A-1C and 3A-3E), the peripheral front wall 26 receives the peripheral edge 34 of the peripheral rear wall 20, and wherein the thickness T of the suitcase 10 in the collapsed position corresponds to the height H of the rear shell 12 and the thickness T of the front base 24.

The term footprint refers to the planar dimension of the shell member. It is therefore worth noting that the front shell 14 is larger than the rear shell 12 and that, in the collapsed position, at least a portion of the peripheral rear wall 20 is surrounded by the peripheral front wall 26, creating a space S extending between the inner face 19 of the rear base 18 and the inner face 29 of the front base 24, said space having a height h substantially corresponding to the height of the peripheral rear wall 20 and, furthermore, wherein, in the collapsed position, said space S completely houses the peripheral side walls 30 and all the other components discussed above, such as the inner portion 50B members of the wheel support, the longitudinal recess 65, etc. In the collapsed position, peripheral edge 34 of peripheral back wall 20 substantially abuts interior face 29 of front base 24.

With peripheral side wall 30 fully expanded, the expanded position of the suitcase creates an expanded storage space S 'extending between interior face 19 of rear base 18 and interior face 29 of front base 24, where the expanded storage space S' has a thickness corresponding to the accumulation of the height of peripheral rear wall 20, the height of peripheral front wall 26, and the width of peripheral side wall 30.

The suitcase 10 is collapsed from its expanded position into its collapsed position by detaching one or more support panels 70 from the interior face of the peripheral side wall 30 and folding the support panels 70 inwardly in the direction of arrow 79, disposing the support panels 70 against the interior face 19 of the back wall 18. The peripheral side walls 30 can then be folded inwards into the space S' and then the two

shells

12 and 14 are pressed against each other until a fully collapsed position is obtained, in which the peripheral edge 34 of the peripheral rear wall 20 substantially abuts against the inner face 29 of the front base 24. Unfolding of the suitcase 10 into its fully expanded position occurs in the reverse order, i.e., first the two

shells

12 and 14 are displaced away from each other, resulting in the peripheral side wall 30 being fully unfolded and extended, then the one or more support panels 70 are turned outwardly (in the direction opposite to arrow 79), securing the support panels 70 to the interior face of the peripheral side wall 30, so that the suitcase 10 is ready for use.

According to one particular example, the overall thickness of the suitcase in its expanded position may comply with guidelines set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for cabin/carry-on luggage dimensions, defining a maximum thickness (depth) of 25cm (10 inches), while in the collapsed position the thickness may be configured to be no more than about 6 cm. However, this is one particular example, and it should be understood that the present disclosure is applicable to suitcases of any size.

Claims

1. A suitcase, characterized in that it comprises a rear shell and a front shell, both made of a rigid material;

the rear housing is configured with a substantially flat rear base and a peripheral rear wall extending upwardly from the flat rear base, and the front housing is configured with a substantially flat front base and a peripheral front wall extending upwardly from the flat front base;

a flexible peripheral closed annular side wall of the suitcase being attached along one of a rear edge and a front edge of the flexible peripheral closed annular side wall to one of a peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall and a peripheral edge of the peripheral front wall, respectively, wherein the other of the rear edge and the front edge of the flexible peripheral closed annular side wall is hinged to a hinge portion of the other of the peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall and the peripheral edge of the peripheral front wall,

the flexible peripheral closed annular sidewall comprises a sliding closure along a reclosable portion extending along an edge of the flexible peripheral closed annular sidewall that is hinged via the hinge portion, the sliding closure extending along the entire edge of the flexible peripheral closed annular sidewall except for the hinge portion;

the suitcase is configurable between an expanded position and a collapsed position, wherein in the collapsed position the perimeter front wall receives the perimeter edge of the perimeter rear wall, and wherein in the collapsed position a thickness of the suitcase corresponds to a height of the rear shell and a thickness of the flat front base.

2. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein the front shell is larger than the rear shell, and at least a portion of the peripheral back wall is surrounded by the peripheral front wall in the collapsed position, creating a space extending between an interior face of the planar back base and an interior face of the planar front base, the space having a height substantially corresponding to a height of the peripheral back wall, and further wherein in the collapsed position the space accommodates the flexible peripheral closed annular sidewall.

3. The suitcase according to claim 1, wherein one or more rigid support plates are hinged at an interior portion of the rear shell, wherein in the expanded position the one or more rigid support plates are disposed flush with a corresponding portion of the flexible peripheral closed annular sidewall.

4. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein a rigid bottom support plate extends at least at a bottom base of the suitcase and is configured such that, in the collapsed position, the bottom support plate is disposed substantially parallel to the planar rear base and, in the expanded position, the bottom support plate is disposed substantially perpendicular to the peripheral rear wall and flush with a corresponding bottom portion of the flexible peripheral closed annular side wall.

5. The suitcase of claim 4, wherein at least one additional support panel is configured at a top base of the suitcase and is configured such that in the collapsed position the additional support panel is disposed substantially parallel to the planar rear base and in the expanded position the additional support panel is disposable substantially perpendicular to the peripheral rear wall and flush with a corresponding top portion of the flexible peripheral closed annular side wall.

6. The suitcase according to claim 5, wherein one or more of the bottom support panel and the at least one additional support panel are detachably attached at portions thereof to an inner face of the corresponding flexible peripheral closed annular sidewall.

7. The suitcase of claim 6, wherein one or more of the bottom support panel and the at least one additional support panel are hinged to the rear shell near a peripheral edge of the peripheral rear wall.

8. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein in the collapsed position the peripheral edge of the peripheral back wall substantially abuts an interior face of the planar front base.

9. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein a planar footprint of the front shell is slightly larger than a planar footprint of the rear shell.

10. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein in the collapsed position the flexible peripheral closed loop side wall is folded inwardly into a space extending between an interior face of the flat rear base and an interior face of the flat front base.

11. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein at least one pair of rear wheels is hinged near a rear bottom portion of the rear shell.

12. The suitcase of claim 11, wherein a base of the wheel is disposed at the interior face of the planar rear base, the base being lower than a height of the peripheral rear wall.

13. The carrying case of claim 1, wherein a handle is configured at least one location of the flexible peripheral closed loop side wall, the handle being stored in the collapsed position within a space extending between an interior face of the planar rear base and an interior face of the planar front base.

14. The suitcase of claim 1, further comprising a telescoping handle mechanism configurable between a retracted position and an extended position, the telescoping handle mechanism comprising one or more telescoping rods disposed flush with the flat rear base and a handle received within a recess disposed at a top base of the rear shell in the collapsed position.

15. The suitcase of claim 14, wherein the one or more telescoping rods are received within a longitudinal recess configured at an exterior face of the planar rear base.

16. The suitcase of claim 15, wherein the one or more telescoping rods are received entirely within the longitudinal recess and do not substantially protrude from an exterior face of the planar rear base.

17. The suitcase of claim 14, wherein the one or more telescoping rods are attached to an interior face of the flat rear base and protrude through an opening at a top base of the flat rear base.

18. The suitcase of claim 15, wherein the longitudinal recess is disposed within a space defined between an interior face of the planar rear base and an interior face of the planar front base at the collapsed position.

19. The suitcase of claim 14, wherein one or more ground supports are configured at one or more locations of the flexible peripheral closed loop sidewall proximate a front edge portion thereof.

20. The suitcase of claim 14, wherein a height of the flexible peripheral closed loop sidewall is extendable by a zipper.

21. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein an interior face of one or both of the back shell and the front shell is configurable with a liner.

22. The suitcase of claim 1, wherein one or both of the flat front base and the flat rear base may include one or more closable openings that facilitate access into a space of the suitcase.

23. The suitcase of claim 22, wherein the closable opening is complementary to the sliding closure.