US20070175719A1

US20070175719A1 - Travel bag

Info

Publication number: US20070175719A1
Application number: US11/328,282
Authority: US
Inventors: Wei-Hung Lai
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-10
Filing date: 2006-01-10
Publication date: 2007-08-02

Abstract

A travel bag, which includes two side panels each having a peripheral flange for the mounting of a fabric covering, a top lug, and a horizontal bottom wall, a top panel mounted on the side panels at the top side, a reinforcing plate affixed to the top lugs of the side panels at the bottom side of the top panel to reinforce the structural strength of the top panel, a bottom panel affixed to and supported on the horizontal bottom walls of the side panels, wheels pivotally mounted in the bottom side of the bottom panel, and a retractable handle coupled to the top panel.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to travel bags and more particularly, to such a travel bag, which is well protected against impact.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional travel bag 10, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises a tough plastic box frame 11, a retractable handle 13 mounted on the back-side of the box frame 11, a fabric covering 14 covered on and fixedly secured to the box frame 11 with stitches, wheels 12 pivotally installed in the bottom side of the box frame 11 and exposed to the outside of the fabric covering 14, and a cover panel 15 hinged to the fabric covering 14 at one side, and a zipper 16 adapted to close/open the cover panel 15.
The aforesaid conventional travel bag 10 has drawbacks as follows:
1. The box frame 11 is not collapsible. In factory, box frames 11 cannot be received one inside another to reduce space occupation before delivered to the assembly line.
2. The box frame 11 can only protect the top and bottom sides and the two opposite lateral sides of the travel bag 10 against impact, and the back side of the travel bag 10 is not well protected, and therefore the corner area of the box frame 11 tends to be damaged.
3. The monotonous fabric covering 14 does not cause a unique sense of beauty.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. According to one aspect of the present invention, the travel bag comprises two symmetrical side panels arranged in parallel, a top panel mounted on the side panels at the top side, a bottom panel mounted on the side panels at the bottom side, a plurality of wheels pivotally mounted in the bottom side of the bottom panel, and a retractable handle coupled to the top panel. In factory, all parts can be closely received together before delivery to the assembly line, thereby saving much storage space.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the side panels each have a peripheral flange for the mounting of a fabric covering.
According to still another, aspect of the present invention, the side panels each further have a top lug and a horizontal bottom wall. Further, a reinforcing plate is affixed to the top lugs of the side panels to support the top panel and to reinforce the structural strength of the top panel. Further, the bottom pane is affixed to and supported on the horizontal bottom walls of the side panels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a travel bag according to the prior art.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a travel bag according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an elevational assembly view of the travel bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention before installation of the fabric cover member.
FIG. 4 is an elevational assembly view of the travel bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention after installation of the fabric cover member.
FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a side panel for a travel bag according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a travel bag according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2˜4, a travel bag 200 in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising two symmetrical side panels 20, a top panel 25, a bottom panel 26, a plurality of wheels 28 pivotally mounted in the bottom side of the bottom panel 26, and a retractable handle 27 coupled to the top panel 25.
The side panels 20 each have a peripheral flange 21 for the mounting of a fabric covering member 30, a top lug 22, and a horizontal bottom wall 23. A reinforcing plate 24 is affixed to the top lugs 22 of the side panels 20 to support the top panel 25 and to reinforce the structural strength of the top panel 25. The bottom panel 26 is affixed to and supported on the horizontal bottom walls 23 of the side panels 20.
Further, the side panels 20, the top panel 25, the bottom panel 26 and the reinforcing plate 24 are respectively molded from ABS (copolymer of Acrylonitrile, Butadiene, and Styrene) for the advantage of high toughness.
The side panels 20, the top panel 25, the bottom panel 26 and the reinforcing plate 24 are fastened together with rivets, and then a fabric cover member 30 that has a cover flap 31 and a zipper 32 is stitched to the side panels 20, the top panel 25 and the bottom panel 26.
The invention has the following advantages:
1. The top, bottom and two opposite lateral sides of the travel bag 200 is well protected by the tough top panel 25, the tough bottom panel 26 and the tough side panels 20.
2. The side panels 20 each have a peripheral flange 21 to reinforce the structural strength and to protect the corner area of the travel bag 200 against impact.
3. The reinforcing plate 24 reinforces the structural strength of the top panel 25 and the side panels 20.
4. The side panels 20 are exposed to the outside of the fabric cover member 30, showing a unique outer appearance design.
5. In factory, all parts can be closely received together, saving storage space.
6. The side panels 20, the top panel 25, and the bottom panel 26 can be made in different colors, showing a color effect.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show an alternate form of the present invention. According to this embodiment, each side panel 20 has a recessed portion 201 formed on the outer wall subject to a predetermined pattern, and the fabric cover member 30 is covered on the recessed portion 201, showing a sense of beauty.
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 spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A travel bag comprising two symmetrical side panels arranged in parallel, a top panel mounted on said side panels at a top side, a bottom panel mounted on said side panels at a bottom side, a plurality of wheels pivotally mounted in a bottom side of said bottom panel, and a retractable handle coupled to said top panel wherein said side panels each have a peripheral flange for the mounting of a fabric covering, a top lug, and a horizontal bottom wall; a reinforcing plate is affixed to the top lugs of said side panels to support said top panel and to reinforce the structural strength of said top panel; said bottom pane is affixed to and supported on the horizontal bottom walls of said side panels.