RU2077859C1 - Briefcase (versions) - Google Patents

Abstract

Attache cases and business cases in general typically have a portfolio section for organizing papers and a main packing section. Depending on the needs of the user, these portions can be selectively closed off. However, it is best that these sections are relatively accessible depending on whether the case is opened from the vertical position or whether the case is opened from the horizontal position. Accordingly, applicant has provided a portfolio catch system which, depending on the orientation of the case (10), holds the portfolio (20) in a closed position where the front (22) of the portfolio is attached to the lid portion (11) of the case (10), or in the alternative, if the case (10) is opened from the vertical position, the panel (22) is held to the base (14) of the case (10), thus preventing the contents of the base (14) from spilling and automatically permitting ready access to the contents of the portfolio (20). Also disclosed is a series of lid containers (13) and base containers (15) arrayed along the upper edge of the lid (11) and base (14) shells at the upper side of the case (10). These containers (13, 15) are readily accessible in all conditions of the case (10), and are especially accessible when the case is opened from the vertical position wherein access to the contents of the portfolio (20), as well as these lid and base containers (13, 15), can be readily had.

Description

 The present invention relates to carry-ons such as business briefcases or diplomatic briefcases. In particular, the invention relates to “diplomat” portfolios having two main compartments for carrying and, in some cases, for folding out personal and business related items, the compartments being separated from each other by an internal hinged dividing panel.

 Such portfolios are divided into two types: the first includes portfolios made of non-rigid material such as fabric or leather (leatherette), often unstructured, essentially in the form of a large envelope. Another general view of portfolios includes “diplomat” briefcases with a rigid outer structure or coating, divided into a lid and a main part that are pivotally connected to each other along the base. The main body usually has a carrying handle attached to the upper surface. The lid and the main part in normal condition are optionally locked using a locking device. In business portfolios, quite often they use a section for papers or documents such as a folder, consisting of a number of vertically mounted flexible partitions that are attached to a dividing panel that is hinged along the lower inner edge of the lid. The entire design of the document section is secured on the left and right side with flexible insert panels that allow the separation panel and the intermediate partitions behind the separation panel to turn outward. This allows easy access to papers, documents, etc.

 The main part usually contains a large compartment for a piece of clothing or bundles of paper, books and other items. An example of such a portfolio is described in US Pat. No. 3,756,639. In this case, in addition to the features mentioned above, the portfolio contains a gravitationally sensitive latch that prevents the locking lever from tripping if someone tries to open the portfolio that is turned upside down. This prevents the paper contained in the main part from falling out. US patent N 4714286, describes a portfolio "diplomat" with another gravitationally sensitive element.

 The closest analogue of the invention is the portfolio described in US patent N 4433764.

 None of these portfolios of the prior art does not contain a device that automatically provides access to any item from the contents of the section for documents while keeping the contents of the main part of the portfolio "diplomat" from falling out of the portfolio, "diplomat" or from shifting to the bottom of the portfolio. Also, none of the above portfolios does not provide a device that automatically provides access to the portfolio section for documents when the portfolio is opened in an upright position, and provides access to the contents of the main part of the portfolio when the portfolio is opened in a horizontal position.

 In addition, these portfolios do not contain a way to lay out small items such as pencils, sunglasses, etc. for easy access to them when the portfolio is only partially open.

 Accordingly, the applicant has invented a briefcase comprising a main body and a lid and a document section in a portal position placed in the lid, the document section having a front panel pivotally hinged along its lower edge, means for fixing the front panel in the open or closed position relative to the lid and flexible wedges fastening the sides of the front panel and the sides of the cover.

 The lid has such a height dimension that the front panel of the document section occupies only a portion of this height, from the hinged side of the lid to the upper edge of the lid. Preferably, there is a means of securing the separating panel to the cover with the possibility of release, or alternatively to the main part, located at the upper edge of the separating panel, thereby the opening position of the cover relative to the main part around the hinge is limited by the position in which the separating panel of the document section can be opened when the separating panel attached to the main body. This fastening means comprises a protrusion located on the front panel of the document section, a first release-fixing protrusion means made on the main part, and a second protrusion fixing means on the lid made on the lid.

 A briefcase is also provided, which has a lid and a main part and means for fixing the lid and the main part together, made in the form, the lid being hinged to the main part and the lid restricts the compartment located in the lid, and the main part limits the main compartment.

 There is an inner panel located inside the briefcase to close the main compartment and the lid compartment.

 A first means is provided for automatically locking the panel in a first position in which the panel closes the main compartment when the briefcase is opened in a substantially vertical position. This tool also automatically locks the panel in a second position in which the panel closes the lid compartment when the briefcase is opened in a substantially horizontal position.

 A briefcase is also provided, which comprises a lid, a main part, a hinge along the connecting edges of these parts, and means for fixing the lid and the main part together to close the briefcase. The lid limits the compartment in the lid and the main part limits the main compartment for packing. There is a section for documents in the normal position located in the compartment of the lid. This section for documents contains a panel defining the front of the section for documents, and corrugated wedges extending between the sides of this panel and the inside of the lid. Means are provided for fixing this panel in alternative positions, this means being able to fix the panel in a first position inside the lid or in a second position in the main part, this selective positioning being valid while the lid and the main part are in the closed position. This fixing means comprises a first bracket adapted to rotate relative to the lid, this bracket having a pendulum zone for recognizing the direction of gravity in order to engage the bracket with the possibility of engaging with the front panel when the briefcase is in an upright position, said means the second bracket installed in contained in the main part. This second bracket has a pendulum device for recognizing the direction of gravity and for mounting the bracket with the possibility of engaging with the panel when the briefcase is in an upright position, but to release the panel when the briefcase is in a horizontal position. This first and second brackets are so positioned relative to each other that they come into contact with each other when the briefcase is in an upright position. In particular, this second bracket contains a protruding shoulder, which causes the first bracket to disengage from the indicated panel when the second bracket is rotated by gravity when the briefcase is in an upright position.

 In FIG. 1 shows a “diplomat” briefcase according to the invention in an open position; in FIG. 2, the portfolio section of FIG. 1, with the lid open in a horizontal position; in FIG. 3, the briefcase of FIG. 1 after it has been opened in an upright position; in FIG. 4, part of the “diplomat” portfolio element of FIG. one; in FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 4, but showing the briefcase after it has been opened in an upright position.

 The “diplomat” portfolio 1 has a general shape and construction similar to the “diplomat” briefcases in the prior art. Like the same briefcases of the prior art, it comprises a lid 2, which limits the lid compartment 3. Portfolio 1 contains a main part, similar in design to the cover 2. This main part 4 determines the volume of the main compartment 5, which is usually larger than the compartment 3 of the cover. The cover 2 and the main part 4 in a known manner are connected by a hinge along their lower connecting edges. The lid and the base can be fixed together with locking clamps 6, which are made with the possibility of entry into the receivers 7 located in the main part. The locking jaws 6 are driven by a rotatable locking bar 8, which rotates the grips from the engaged state in the receivers 7. This locking mechanism may include a locking device, such as a regular key lock or, possibly, a combination lock, which is well known in the field manufacturing luggage. The main body includes a carrying handle 9 shown here inserted into the cavity along the upper side of the main body. It is also possible more conventional execution of the handle in the form of a handle or belt over the shoulder attached to the surface on the upper side of the main part.

 The compartment in the lid is primarily occupied by the document section 10, which comprises a separation panel 11 usually made of thin but hard material that is pleasant to look, and corrugated wedges 12 made of flexible fabric, leather or leather substitute. These corrugated wedges have a substantially triangular shape over the entire length, which allows the panel 11 to rotate around its lower edge on the lower side of the lid in the compartment in the lid to show its contents.

 On both sides of the document section, pivot bearings 13 are provided having a known construction. 0 they limit the degree of rotation of the cover 2 around the hinge 5.

 A pair of rod elements 14 is attached along the upper horizontal edge of the panel 11. These rod elements 14 form corresponding ends protruding beyond its sides. The upper edge of the panel 11 determines the height of the section for documents, which is significantly less than the entire height of the cover 2 and compartment 3 in the cover, limited by it. There are one or more sections 15 in the space between the upper edge of the panel 11 and the upper edge of the compartment in the lid 15. These sections can take many forms, such as pockets made of leather or fabric made of a zipper, but in a preferred embodiment they are made in the form of drawers with simple spring-loaded hinged doors that rotate around their lower edges to provide access to the compartments 15 limited by them. The importance of this innovation will be described below.

 Similarly, the main compartment 5 comprises one or more sections 16 of the main part. Similar to lid sections 15, these sections can take many forms, but in this case they are shown in the form of a box-like structure with lids on hinges that rotate around their lowermost edges (when the briefcase is upright). The importance of these compartments or sections, and their location within the base will be described below in great detail.

 The panel 11 is held in the position shown in FIG. 1 using a pair of grippers 17 of a document section that grips the protruding ends of at least one of the rods 14.

 Figure 2 shows this device in detail. The grip 18 comprises a housing 19 in which a first pivoting element 20 is fastened for relatively free pivoting movement about the axis shown. This first pivot element comprises a first bracket 21, which is configured to grip the rod element 14, as shown. Further, the first pivoting element 20 comprises a pendulum element 22, which is displaced by gravity. In the position shown in figure 2, the pendulum element 22 creates a counterclockwise torque around the axis to bring the bracket 21 into tight engagement with the protruding end of the rod 14. The second housing 23 is designed similarly to the housing 19, is located directly opposite it inside the main compartment 5 and mounted on the inner side walls of the main part 4. The first housing and the second housing may have mating surfaces 24 to facilitate alignment of these buildings and the elements contained therein with each other but friend when the cover and the main part are connected to each other.

 The second rotary element 25 is mounted to rotate freely inside the second body 23. This second rotary element has a second bracket 26, which is integral with the second pendulum section 21, which is also displaced by gravity, and the position of which is determined by the action of gravity. The protruding shoulder 28 forms part of the pendulum section 27. As will be discussed below, this protruding shoulder 28 can come into contact and, under the influence of gravity, rotate the pendulum element 25, the first pivoting element 20. Under certain conditions, the second housing 23 contains half-cylindrical grooves for receiving and accurate positioning of the rod elements 14 when the cover and base are fixed to each other.

 As shown in figures 1 and 2, the panel 11 is fixed in the closed position using the bracket 21 of the first rotary element 20. Thus, the capture 18 of the document section and the corresponding capture 18 on the other side of the briefcase can be manually released from the section for documents, when the briefcase is in the position of figure 1, to provide access to the contents of the section for documents. Naturally, the contents of the lid section 15 and the base sections 16 can be easily accessed by snapping off their doors with the finger holes shown.

 When the lid and base are connected to each other and are moved from the horizontal position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the vertical closed position shown in FIG. 3, the first and second pivoting elements come into contact with each other to simultaneously cause the first pivoting the element 20 is released from its engagement with the end of the rod element 14 and enter the second bracket 26 into engagement with the second rod element 14. This can best be seen in figure 4. Here, the second pivoting member 25 has already moved relative to the briefcase in a clockwise direction. The coupling of the surface 24 of the first and second housings ensured the exact positioning of all the parts relative to each other, and half rods on the front surface of the second housing 23 already fixed both rods in a precisely aligned position relative to different sections of the brackets. Note that the second pivoting member 25 has rotated to bring the protruding shoulder 28 into contact with the pendulum portion 22 of the first pivoting member 20. While the pendulum element 22 tends to remain in the position shown in FIG. 2, more force is applied to it due to the greater mass of the element 25 when the protruding shoulder 28 comes into contact with it. Thus, the first bracket 21 disengages from the end of the rod 14. If the briefcase opens in this vertical position, in which the second pivoting member 25 and its corresponding bracket 26 are engaged with the rod 14, the situation shown in FIG. 5 will occur. . In particular, the panel 11 is held by the second pivoting member 25, covering most, if not all of the main compartment 5 in the main part 4. At the same time, the corrugated wedges 12 are pulled to their open position to show the contents of the document section 10. The size of the wedges 12 is such that it allows the lid to be opened to a significant, but limited extent. Thus, the magnitude of the opening to which the lids rotate, opening from this vertical position, is limited by the corrugated sides, and not the supports 13.

 Thus, the contents of the main compartment 5 are held in a position that makes it unlikely that the contents will fall down and prevent the portfolio from being completely closed again. In addition, in the position shown in FIG. 5, access to the contents of the document section is made very convenient, and the various sections of the document section are arranged so that the user can access them from the top of the portfolio. In addition, the contents of sections 15 in the lid and sections 16 of the main part are now easily accessible, since these sections are located along the upper edges of the lid and the main part adjacent to the open and located in the compartments contents of the document section.

 Thus, the described “diplomat” portfolio is configured to automatically and immediately respond to various user needs, depending on whether the portfolio is opened in a horizontal position or the portfolio is opened in a vertical position. This new action is performed without the need for the user to first open the briefcase and decide whether the main compartment 5 should be closed for access and inspection for packaging (items) or whether it should be open for inspection of the document section. Thus, the disadvantages of the prior art portfolios are simply overcome. In each case, when the briefcase is opened in a vertical position, essentially accidental loss of contents or visual access to the contents of the main compartment 5 is prevented.

 It should be understood that other arrangements are encompassed by the present invention. Although a pair of rods with protruding ends 14 is shown, an alternative construction is easily performed in which the brackets 21 and 26 can alternately engage with only one rod. This can simply be done if the protruding shoulder 28 is slightly offset and the pivoting elements 20 and 25 are offset from each other to allow the exciting portions to pass past each other and engage in different parts of the same rod 14. In addition, although simple pendulum loads, other devices for recognizing gravity are also provided. A mercury relay (mercury switch) or some other position recognition device may be used to control electromechanical grips performing the same operation.

 In addition, although the position of the portfolio is used to initiate various actions of the fixing elements of the section for documents, other devices that do not go beyond the subject of patent claims can be used. For example, it is undoubtedly possible to have a separate latch actuated externally before the briefcase is opened to cause either the panel to be fastened to the base or the panel to be fastened to the lid. In addition, an alternative action of fastening or gripping can be initiated using the handle 9 for wearing. For example, a mechanical connection may be provided between the handle 9 and the grippers so that if the handle 9 is in a vertical position, as shown in FIG. 5, the document section is attached to the base, as shown. However, if the handle 9 is in the position shown in FIG. 1, the panel is locked in the closed position in the lid.

 Although the present invention has been described in relation to a business briefcase (“diplomat” briefcase), the foregoing could easily be applied to other types of hand luggage in which external pockets or access panels are unsuitable or not available, but the user wishes to access the contents of the briefcase lid and / or the contents of the small compartments located along the top of the briefcase when the briefcase is in an upright position.

Claims (12)

 1. A briefcase comprising a housing and a cover pivotally connected to each other, a handle attached to its upper side, a fixed separation panel located inside the portfolio between the housing and the cover and having a height less than the height of the cover to form a space between the upper edge of the separation panel and a lid, characterized in that it comprises means for securing the dividing panel in an open or closed position relative to the lid, while the dividing panel is pivotally fixed next to the lower side to housing, and in the space between the upper edge of the dividing panel and the cover or in the area corresponding to this space on the inside of the housing is at least one closable section.  2. A briefcase according to claim 1, characterized in that the sides of the dividing panel are additionally connected to the lid by means of flexible elements limiting the degree of opening of the lid relative to the housing, and the fastening means of the dividing panel is located at its upper edge and is configured to connect the dividing panel with case. 3. A briefcase according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for securing the separation panel comprises a pair of protrusions located one above the other on its side and a pair of rotary elements for engagement with the protrusions with the possibility of their release, one of which is installed in the lid and the other
in the case.  4. The briefcase according to claim 3, characterized in that the rotary elements include means for recognizing the position of the briefcase, while when the briefcase is open in an upright position, the first protrusion is fixed by a swivel element mounted in the case, and when the briefcase is open in a horizontal position, the second the protrusion is fixed by a rotary element mounted in the cover.  5. The briefcase according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle is fixed to the housing.  6. The briefcase according to claim 5, characterized in that a cavity is formed in the housing to accommodate a folded handle.  7. A briefcase comprising a housing and a lid provided with fixing means and pivotally connected to each other, and a separation panel located inside the briefcase to separate the cavity formed in the lid from the cavity formed in the housing, characterized in that it has means for automatically mounting the separation panel on the housing, the cavity of the housing becomes closed, and the briefcase is open in an upright position, and means for automatically mounting the separation panel on the lid, it becomes closed olost cover and case is opened from a horizontal position.  8. The briefcase according to claim 7, characterized in that it is made in the form of a “diplomat” briefcase, and in the cavity formed in the lid there is a document section connected to the sides of the separation panel by means of corrugated wedges made to rotate out from the lid cavity when the means for automatically securing the separation panel does not hold it in the closed position.  9. A briefcase comprising a housing and a lid provided with fixing means and pivotally interconnected, a fixed separation panel located inside the briefcase to separate the cavity formed in the lid from the cavity formed in the housing, and a document section with flexible sides between the cover and the separation panel, characterized in that it comprises means for selectively fastening the separation panel in a first position inside the cover or in a second position next to the cover, made with both sintering the possibility of alternating position of the separation panel with the portfolio closed, and the sides of the document section are made in the form of wedges.  10. The briefcase according to claim 9, characterized in that the means for securing the separation panel comprises a pair of staples with pendulum sections for recognizing the direction of gravity, while the bracket installed in the lid is configured to connect to the separation panel when the portfolio is in a horizontal position, and release from it when the portfolio is in an upright position, and the bracket mounted in the housing is configured to connect to a dividing panel when the portfolio is in an upright position, and about freedom from it when the portfolio is horizontal.  11. A briefcase according to claim 10, characterized in that both brackets are arranged to contact one another depending on the horizontal or vertical position of the briefcase.  12. The briefcase according to claim 11, characterized in that the bracket mounted in the lid is configured to be released from the dividing panel by contact with the shoulder formed on the bracket mounted in the housing when the latter is rotated by gravity when the briefcase occupies vertical position.

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