GB2433065A

GB2433065A - Article of luggage and method of making the article

Info

Publication number: GB2433065A
Application number: GB0605290A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sedat Selvi
Original assignee: Landor and Hawa International Ltd
Current assignee: Landor and Hawa International Ltd
Priority date: 2005-03-18
Filing date: 2006-03-16
Publication date: 2007-06-13
Also published as: GB0605290D0; GB0505665D0

Abstract

A method of forming an article of luggage includes the steps of providing a blank 2A of material and removing predetermined regions 7 from the blank 2A to form a base section; for each of the said regions 7 joining the free edges 8, 9 of the blank 2A to form a tray. Preferably the blank 2A that is used to form the box is in the form of a Maltese Cross. Additionally the edges 8, 9 of the blank 2A produced by removal of said regions 7 are chamfered or thinned to facilitate their joining together, which may be achieved by a stitching operation. Two erected blanks 2A may be hinged together and joined by a zip fastener to form a finished suitcase.

Description

ARTICLE OF LUGGAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE ARTICLE

This invention relates to the construction of luggage such as cases including suitcases andlor trolley cases for use by travellers.

Such cases, can conveniently be considered is comprising two major types, the first the so-called soft' and the second the so-called hard' or non-soft case'.

Many constructions of such cases for use by travellers are known. These known constructions of both hard' and soft'. cases are of varied form and not infrequently include carrying handle arrangements and at least a pair of wheels/rollers for facilitating the movement of the case by a user.

In addition, it is also known to provide cases incorporating a towing handle structure which is usually moveable between a user case towing position and a retracted stowage position.

The above mentioned hard' cases are regarded as being hard in the sense that the walls, top and bottom cannot be pierced by a blade or needle as is possible with 1 5 soft case constructions.

Conventionally the so-called hard' cases incorporate a metal or plastics framework extending all round the internal perimeter of the case in such position as to provide structural strength to the case. Such frameworks can involve internal tongue and groove arrangements. In practice, in addition to such a framework known cases incorporate reinforcements at the top, base and corner sections. Such reinforcements can be formed from plywood, or P. E. Board The known soft' case conventionally incorporates internal framework of metal or appropriate plastics material extending around the total periphery of the associated case top and base/bottom sections which provides the means whereby the visual appearance of the case is obtained and also serves to support a soft outer covering. In addition, plywood or plastics material such as P. E. board re-enforcement at the case top, base, and corner sections may be incorporated.

Whilst the provision of an internal framework is a standard/common feature of soft' case construction it is known to avoid using the framework extending around the internal periphery of a soft' case and to provide instead plastics material i.e., P. E. side panels together with P. E. material base and back panels.

These particular cases have become known as Box' construction or side panel cases.

It has previously been proposed by the Applicants to form cases by utilising moulded forms for establishing the top and bottom sections of the case that are hinged one to the other to form the case.

It is an object of the invention to provide a suitcase construction that eliminates such frames and the need for pre-production of mould forms produced by a mounding operation.

Broadly, according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of of forming an article of luggage having a base section, including the step of forming the base providing section from a blank of material that is to provide the base section by removing predetermined regions from the blank, and joining for each such region the free edges of the blank that are produced by the removal of the associated region thereby to provide a tray like formation from the blank.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an article of luggage including base and lid/top sections formed from a blanks of material from which predetermined regions have been removed to provide free edges that for each such region are joined together in such manner as to produce from the blanks tray like formations..

Preferably, the method involves forming the top section of the article of luggage from a blank of material that is to provide the top section by removing predetermined regions from the blank, and joining for each such region the free edges of the blank that are produced by the removal of the associated region to provide a tray like formation from the blank.

A further aspect of the invention provides an article of luggage including a base providing section formed from a blank of material from which predetermined regions have been removed to provide free edges that for each such region are joined together in such manner as to produce from the blank a tray like formation, A still further aspect of the invention provides an article of luggage including base and lid/top providing sections formed from a blanks of material from which corner regions have been removed to provide free edges that for each such region of each section being joined together in such manner produce from the blanks tray like formations on the deformation of the blank(s) to enable the joining together of the said edges.

Preferably the blank or blanks is/are rectangular, and the edges edges of the blank formed by removal of the corner regions flare-out' In a preferred construction the article of luggage includes lid and base forming sections in which top and bottom sections are shaped by cutting and interconnecting predetermined regions of the thus cut panel to provide a tray like formation with said tray like formations being stiffened by providing a non-moulded layer of support material.

In a first preferred construction the layer of support material includes a plastics foamed plastics material..

In a further possible construction the material from which the top and bottom sections are formed is coated with a layer of plastics material prior to said cutting and interconnections required to produce the tray like formations If desired the sections are initially formed from the a fabric that is following its fonnation into a case providing section coated with a layer or additional layer of the foamed plastics material.

Preferably the plastics material layer is formed from a foamed plastics material such as that known as EVA.

Other plastics materials affording the requisite strength and weight in a resulting case may be used.

Preferably, also the formation of the top and bottom sections of the case eliminates the use of corner supports and/or side panel forming boards.

1 In a preferred construction, in addition to the provision of a carrying handle facility for the case of the invention, the construction of the case may additionally incorporate a towing handle and associated handling support wheels.

Preferably the base and lid forming sections are connected together by a zip fastener arrangement adapted for enabling the hinging of the two sections with respect to each other and to provide opening an closing facility to the case and expandability of the article of luggage.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how to carry the same into effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:-Figure 1 illustrates a general oblique view of a top or bottom section for a case incorporating the concepts of the present invention; Figure 2 illustrates the form of a blank of material involved in the formation of the sections of Figure 1; Figure 3 very schematically illustrates to an enlarged scale a detail of the blank of Figure 2; Figure 4 schematically illustrates the appearance of a detail in the construction of the case as seen from the interior of a corner of the case; Figure 5 is an oblique rear and side view of a case incorporating top and bottom sections involving the concepts of the invention and additionally illustrating fittings conventionally provided on cases.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates a side view of a case shown in Figure 5 (less 1 5 some of said said fittings) incorporating top and bottom sections involving the concepts of the invention; and Figure 7 is a back view of the case as shown in Figure 5 less the fittings of Figure Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figures 1 to 4, As is indicated in Figure 1 the case section 1 illustrated therein includes a main panel 2, side walls 3 (only one shown) and end walls 4 (only one shown).

The free marginal edges of the sides and walls are indicated by the side by side lines 5.

The section 1 is formed from a blank 6 of an appropriately rectangular shape whose corner regions 7 have been removed to provide the overall shape as indicated in the Figure 2.

The blank shape thus includes a main panel 2A, generally rectangular side strips 3A and generally rectangular end strips 4A. As will be appreciated these strips 3A and 4A are intended respectively to provide the sides 3 and the ends 4 of the associated case section 1.

As will be seen from the Figure 2 and the enlarged detail of Figure 3 the cut outs 7 are not square in shape but are such the the edges 8,9 of the blank flare outwardly.

That is they are inclined relative to each other such that the edges 8,9 of the associated sides 4A and 3A lie at angle to each other so that the associated sides and ends are trapezoidal in shape.

1 5 Collectively with this arrangement the blank has a Maltese cross appearance.

In the Figure 2 the free outer edges of the main parts of the sides and ends are identified with the numerals 3B and 4B.

In order to form the case section shown in Figure 1 the sides and ends 3A and 4A are deformed relative to the base section 2 so as to bring the edges 8,9 each of the four corner regions into contact with each other. This involves bending/deforming the sides 3A and ends 4A so that they lie substantially perpendicular to the plane of the main panel 2A.

Once the sides and ends have been so deformed they are stitched or otherwise connected together. The consequence of the stitching or other joining operation is to form from the blank a tray like formation that provides the associated case section.

In practice, the deformation is such as to provide rounded/curved transitions 3C and 4C between the main panel 2A and the sides and ends 3A and 4A as is indicated in Figure 1 The connection of the edges 8, 9 together forms a joining seam 10 (Figure 1) at each corner region of the thus formed tray formation.

In order to ensure that the line of stitching 10 arising from the stitching of the ends 8 and 9 to each other is not externally visible the marginal regions 8A and 9A of the edges 8 and 9 are turned inwards as indicated in the Figure 4.

This, in practice, requires that these marginal regions 8A and 9A need to be turned/folded transversely to the adjacent regions of the edges 8 and 9. In order to 1 5 accommodate and to facilitate the stitching operation the areas around the marginal regions 8A and 9A are shaved/tapered as indicated in Figure 3 to make them thinner to facilitate the folding and stitching operation.

A consequence of forming the blank into the Maltese cross formation provides the possibility of being able to adjustlmodify the shaping of the section corners when the cut-out edges 8 and 9 are stitched together. In practice, the angular relationship between the cut-out edges 8 and 9 i.e., the degree of flare-out' or flare-in' of these edges sets the form/profile of any resulting case section corner.

It should be noted that the term flare-out' relates to the form of the cut-outs 7 of the Figure 2 in which the open mouths of the cut- outs are wider than the closed base thereof. The term flare-in' relates to the reverse situation in which the mouths of the cut-outs are narrower than the associated base region of the cut-out.

The resulting form/profile of the blank can thus be selectively varied by changing the angular relationship between the cut-out edges 8 and 9 such as produce a greater or lesser extent of relative flare-out/flare-in of the edges 8 and 9.

The blank I in practice comprises a layer of an appropriate fabric material that can be formed from natural or man made materials. Conveniently this fabric layer is coated with a layer of a foamed plastics material such as known under the trade name of EVA of such thickness and density properties that the blank can be folded/deformed as above indicated to provide a self supporting tray like formation for the bottom and top sections. of an article of luggage such as a suitcase.

Thus the thickness and nature of the plastics layer is such that the combination of the plastics and fabric layers results in a base or top section formation for a case that retains its tray like formation without the need for the provision of additional circumscribing metallic or plastics stiffening frames.

To form the article of luggage i.e., case the two of the sections as so far described are secured one to the other by a a Zip fastener configuration 12 that provides as has been disclosed in our co-pending Application No. 0423238.5, the capability of expandability to the carrying volume of the case.

As may be noted from the Figures 5 and 7 the zip fastener arrangement 12 is stitched or otherwise secured to the free edge regions 5 of the side and end walls 3 and 4 of the associated tray like section.

It is conventional to provide, in addition to at least one carrying handle assembly 13, an end and/or side of the section providing the bottom of a suitcase with the facility of a towing handle 14, together with associated wheels 15 and case /rests 16 (Figure 5).

As a consequence of such requirements at least on the case side/end associated with the towing/carrying handle 14 and the end associated with the wheels 15 the interior of the associated section can be provided with suitably shaped and dimensioned stiffening plates to prevent the rivets, bolts etc., with which they connected to the case sections from pulling through the sections of the case when muse.

Thus Figure 5 illustrates a first such stiffening plate 17 associated with a carrying handle assembly 13 Also the upper end of the case section illustrated a second stiffening plate 18 associated with the mounting of the towing handle 14 and a further stiffening plate 19 associated with the mounting of the rests 16.

The wheels 15 are associated with wheels housing assemblies 20 mounted to the lower corners of the case base section, the assemblies being such as to provide adequate mounting support for the wheels and additionally to the provision of additional shape maintaining stiffness to the case end at the respective corners.

In practice a case formed in accordance with the above proposals is not restricted in terms of the constructions commonly met when using top and bottom sections formed by shape moulding a plastics material to the tray like formations required for case construction.

Claims

CLAIMS

I. A method of forming an article of luggage having a base section, including the step of forming the base providing section from a blank of material that is to provide the base section by removing predetermined regions from the blank, and joining for each such region the free edges of the blank that are produced by the removal of the associated region thereby to provide a tray like formation from the blank.

2,. A method as claimed in claim I, wherein the article of luggage has a top section and includes the step of forming the top section from a blank of 1 0 material that is to provide the top section by removing predetermined regions from the blank, and joining for each such region the free edges of the blank that are produced by the removal of the associated region to provide a tray like formation from the blank.

3. A method as claimed in claim I or 2, in which the blank or blanks is/are 1 5 rectangular, and which the corner regions of the blank are removed such that the edges of the blank resulting from the removal of the corner regions flare-out' 4. A method as claimed in claim 3, in which the removal of the corner regions forms a Maltese cross like form to the associated blank.

A method as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3,, in which the blank or blanks is/are rectangular and which the corner regions of the blank are removed such that the edges resulting from the removal of the corner regions flare-in'.

6 A method as claimed in claim 1,2,3,4 or 5, and including the step of chamfering or otherwise thinning the edges of the blank produced by the removal; of said regions. in such manner as to facilitate the joining together of the edges of a region.

7 A method as claimedin any one of the previous claims and including the step ofjoining said edges by a stitching operation.

8. A method of forming an article of luggage substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings..

9. An article of luggage including a base section formed from a blank of material from which blank predetermined regions have been removed to provide free edges that for each such region are joined together in such manner as to produce from the blank a tray like formation, 10,. An article of luggage including base and lid/top sections formed from a blanks of material from which predetermined regions have been removed to provide free edges that for each such region are joined together in such manner as to produce from the blanks tray like formations..

11. An article of luggage as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the blank or blanks is/are rectangular, and wherein the edges of the blank formed by removal of the 1 5 corner regions flare-out' 12. An article of luggage as claimed in claim 11, and wherein said regions are corner regions and wherein following the removal of said corner regions the blank or blanks have a Maltese cross like form.

13 An article of luggage as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the blank or blanks is/are rectangular, and wherein the edges of the blank formed by the removal of the corner regions flare-in'.

14 An article of luggage as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, and wherein said edges are turned/folded transversely to the adjacent regions of the blank(s) such manner as to accommodate and facilitate their joining together.

15. An article of luggage as claimed in claim 14, and wherein the area of the blank(s) around the said edges are shaved/tapered to make them thinner to facilitate the folding and edge joining.

16. An article of luggage as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 14, and wherein said edges are joined by line(s) of stitching.

17. An article of luggage as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 16, and wherein the material from which the section(s) is/are formed comprises a layer of fabric coated with a layer of plastics material prior to said cutting and the interconnections required to produce the tray like formation 18. An article of luggage as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 17, and wherein the sections are initially formed from the a fabric that is following its formation into a 1 case providing section coated with a layer or additional layer of the foamed plastics material.

19. An article of luggage as claimed in claim 18 and wherein the foamed plastics material is known as EVA.

An article of luggage e as claimed in claim 10, and wherein the base and lid forming sections are connected together by a zip fastener arrangement adapted for enabling the hinging of the two sections with respect to each other to provide for the opening and closing facility to the article and to enable expandability of the interior volume of the article.

21 An article of luggage as claimed in claim 10, and wherein the lid and base forming sections of such construction as to be shape wise self supporting in the absence of a perimeter frame, and in which both the base section and the lid section each comprises an outer layer of a fabric material strengthened/stiffened by a coating/layer of a plastics material the arrangement being such as to form a soft' suitcase.

28. An article of luggage, substantially as herein before described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.