GB2440310A

GB2440310A - Travel bag with retractable handle and wheeled support frame

Info

Publication number: GB2440310A
Application number: GB0614571A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ming-Hsing Huang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-07-21
Filing date: 2006-07-21
Publication date: 2008-01-30
Also published as: GB0614571D0

Abstract

A travel bag comprises a retractable handle 20 operatively coupled by a linkage 42 to a support frame 4 carrying at least one wheel 43 or roller at a free end thereof such that when the handle is extended the support frame is extended and when the handle is retracted the support frame is retracted.

Description

TRAVEL BAG

The present invention relates to travel bags and more particularly, to a travel bag with a wheeled foldaway support.

A conventional wheeled travel bag generally comprises a bag portion for holding items, a plurality of wheels mounted on the bottom side of the bag portion to make it easy to move, and a retractable handle mounted in the back side of the bag portion and movable between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration. In use, the retractable handle is set in the extended configuration so that the user can carry the extended retractable handle to pull the travel bag on the floor in a tilted orientation.

When the user is pulling the tilted travel bag along the floor, the user's hand and the wheels support the weight of the wheeled travel bag and its stored items. Because the user's hand bears much of the load when moving the wheeled travel bag, the user's hand is liable to ache after a short period of use.

An object of the present invention is to overcome or alleviate the above disadvantage.

The invention is defined in the independent claims.

The wheeled foldaway support in the travel bag of the invention enables the user to pull the travel bag stably on the floor with less effort.

In one embodiment the bag portion has a top side, a bottom side, and a back side. The wheels are rotatably mounted on the bottom side of the bag portion. The retractable handle is mounted in the back side of the bag portion and movable between an extended configuration and a retracted configuration. The foldaway support is rotatably mounted on the back side of the bag portion and coupled to the retractable handle. The foldaway support comprises a supporting frame, which has a fixed end pivoted to the back side of the bag portion and a free end opposite to the fixed end, at least one roller rotatably mounted on the free end of the supporting frame, and at least one link each having a first end pivotally coupled to the bottom end of the retractable handle and a second end pivotally coupled to a part of the supporting frame.

Therefore, when the user pulls the retractable handle out of the bag from the retracted configuration to the extended configuration, the links are forced by the retractable handle to push the supporting frame outwards from the back side of the bag to the extended configuration for supporting the bag on the ground in a tilted configuration.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below by way of example only with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings, wherein: FiG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing a travel bag according to the present invention in operation; FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the travel bag, showing the retractable handle and the foldaway support extended, and FIG. 3 is another schematic side view, showing the retracted configuration of the retractable handle and the foldaway support.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a travel bag in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a bag portion 1, a retractable handle 2, a plurality of wheels 3, and a foldaway support 4.

The bag portion 1 defines therein an accommodation space for holding items, having a receiving channel 11 vertically extending to the top side thereof.

The retractable handle 2 is mounted in the vertically extending receiving channel 11 of the bag portion 1 and movable between an extended configuration and a retracted configuration.

The wheels 3 are rotatably mounted on the bottom side of the bag portion 1 to make the bag easy to move.

The foldaway support 4 comprises a pair of rollers 43, a supporting frame 41, which has a fixed end rotatably coupled to a first pivot joint 51 at the back side of the bag and a free end mounted with the rollers 43, and two links 42, which are inserted through a respective longitudinal sliding slot 12 on the back side of the bag, each having a first end rotatably coupled to a second pivot joint 52 at the bottom end of the retractable handle 2 and a second end pivoted to a part of the supporting frame 41 between the fixed end and free end of the supporting frame 41.

When pulling the retractable handle 2 to the extended configuration, the second pivot joint 52 is moved toward the first pivot joint 51, and the links 42 are forced to bias the supporting frame 41, and therefore the supporting frame 41 is turned outwards from the back side of the bag 1 to an extended configuration where the supporting frame 41 defines with the back side of the bag portion 1 an acute angle. At this time, the wheels 3 and the rollers 43 support the travel bag on the ground in a tilted configuration, and the user can pull the tilted travel bag on the ground stably with less effort.

When not in use, the travel bag is kept on the ground in a vertical orientation, and then the retractable handle 2 is pushed back from the extended configuration to the retracted configuration to move the second joint 52 downwardly away from the first joint 51, and therefore the links 42 and the supporting frame 41 are retracted together and closely retracted against the back side of the bag portion 1 (see FIG. 3).

A prototype of the travel bag has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1-3. The travel bag functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims: 1. A travel bag comprising a bag portion, said bag portion

having a top side, a bottom side, and a back side, a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on the bottom side of said bag portion, a retractable handle mounted in the back side of said bag portion and movable between an extended configuration and a retracted configuration, wherein a foldaway support is rotatably mounted on the back side of said bag and coupled to said retractable handle, said foldaway support comprising a supporting frame, said supporting frame having a fixed end pivoted to the back side of said bag portion and a free end opposite to said fixed end, at least one wheel or roller rotatably mounted on the free end of said supporting frame, and at least one link, the or each said at least one link having a first end pivotally coupled to a bottom end of said retractable handle and a second end pivotally coupled to a part of said supporting frame.

2. A travel bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one roller includes a plurality of rollers arranged in parallel.

3. A travel bag comprising a handle retractably mounted on a bag portion and coupled by a linkage to a supporting frame carrying a wheel or roller at a free end thereof, whereby when the handle is extended the supporting frame is extended to enable the wheel or roller to support the travel bag on a ground surface and when the handle is retracted the supporting frame is retracted to hold the wheel or roller adjacent the bag portion.

4. A travel bag substantially as described hereinabove with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.